ruthlessly covered that carless youth, fighting single-handed with them, with showers of arrows.  Bowless and carless, with an eye, however, to his duty (as a warrior), handsome Abhimanyu, taking up a sword and a shield, jumped into the sky.  Displaying great strength and great activity, and describing the tracks called Kausika and others, the son of Arjuna fiercely coursed through the sky, like the prince of winged creatures (viz., Garuda.).  ‘He may fall upon me sword in hand,’ with such thoughts, those mighty bowmen, were on the lookout for the laches of Abhimanyu, and began to pierce him in that battle, with their gaze turned upwards.  Then Drona of mighty energy, that conqueror of foes with a sharp arrow quickly cut off the hilt, decked with gems, of Abhimanyu’s sword.  Radha’s son Karna, with sharp shafts, cut off his excellent shield.  Deprived of his sword and shield thus, he came down, with sound limbs, from the welkin upon the earth.  Then taking up a car-wheel, he rushed in wrath against Drona.  His body bright with the dust of car-wheels, and himself holding the car-wheel in his upraised arms, Abhimanyu looked exceedingly beautiful, and imitating Vasudeva (with his discus), became awfully fierce for a while in that battle.  His robes dyed with the blood flowing (from his wounds), his brow formidable with the wrinkles visible thereon, himself uttering loud leonine roars, lord Abhimanyu of immeasurable might, staying in the midst of those kings, looked exceedingly resplendent on the field of battle.’”

SECTION XLVII

“Sanjaya said, ’That joy of Vishnu’s sister (viz., Abhimanyu), that Atiratha, decked with the weapons of Vishnu himself, looked exceedingly beautiful on the field of battle and looked like a second Janardana.  With the end of his locks waving in the air, with that supreme weapon upraised in his hands, his body became incapable of being looked at by the very gods.  The kings beholding it and the wheel in his hands, became filled with anxiety, and cut that off in a hundred fragments.  Then that great car-warrior, the son of Arjuna, took up a mighty mace.  Deprived by them of his bow and car and sword, and divested also of his wheel by his foes, the mighty-armed Abhimanyu (mace in hand) rushed against Aswatthaman.  Beholding that mace upraised, which looked like the blazing thunderbolt, Aswatthaman, that tiger among men, rapidly alighted from his car and took three (long) leaps (for avoiding Abhimanyu).  Slaying Aswatthaman’s steeds and two Parshni charioteers with that mace of his, Subhadra’s son, pierced all over with arrows, looked like a porcupine.  Then that hero pressed Suvala’s son, Kalikeya, down into the earth, and stew seven and seventy Gandhara followers of the latter.  Next, he slew ten car-warriors of the Brahma-Vasatiya race, and then ten huge elephants.  Proceeding next towards the car of Duhsasana’s son, he crushed the latter’s car and steeds,