he vanquished horsemen and elephants and car-warriors
(that had been assailing him from every side).
Then Bhimasena, beholding the diadem-decked Phalguna
encompassed, O bull of Bharata’s race, by a large
(Kaurava) host consisting of three kinds of forces,
abandoned the small unslaughtered remnant of the Kaurava
car-warriors with whom he had been engaged, and rushed
impetuously, O king, to the spot where Dhananjaya’s
car was. Meanwhile the Kaurava force that still
remained after heavy slaughter, exceedingly weakened,
fled away, Bhima (as already said) beholding Arjuna,
proceeded towards his brother. The unfatigued
Bhima, armed with a mace, destroyed, in that battle,
the portion that still remained after the greater
part had been slaughtered by Arjuna, of the Kaurava
host possessed of great might. Fierce as the
death-night, subsisting upon men and elephants and
steeds as its food, and capable of crushing walls and
mansions and gates of cities, that exceedingly terrible
mace of Bhima incessantly descended on men and elephants
and steeds around him. That mace, O sire, slew
numberless steeds and riders. With that mace the
son of Pandu crushed men and steeds cased in steel
armour. Struck therewith, they fell down with
great noise. Biting the earth with their teeth,
and bathed in blood, these, with the crowns of their
heads and bows and lower limbs crushed, laid themselves
down on the field, supplying all carnivorous creatures
with food. Satiated with blood and flesh and
marrow, and eating bones as well, that mace (of Bhimasena)
became, like the death-night, difficult of being gazed
at. Having slain 10,000 horses and numerous foot-soldiers,
Bhima ran hither and thither in rage, armed with his
mace. Then, O Bharata, thy troops, beholding Bhima
mace in hand, thought that Yama himself, armed with
his fatal bludgeon, was in their midst. The son
of Pandu then, excited with rage, and resembling an
infuriated elephant, penetrated into the elephant division
(of the Kauravas), like a Makara entering the ocean.
Having, with his formidable mace, penetrated into
that elephant division, the enraged Bhima, within a
very short time, despatched it to Yama’s abode.
We then beheld those infuriated elephants with spiked
plates on their bodies falling on every side, with
their riders and standards, like winged mountains.
Having destroyed that elephant division, the mighty
Bhimasena, once more riding on his car, followed Arjuna
at his rear. That great host, thus slaughtered,
filled with cheerlessness and about to fly away, stood
almost inactive, O monarch, assailed on all sides with
weapons. Beholding that host looking humble and
standing inactive and almost motionless, Arjuna covered
it with life-scorching shafts. Men and steeds
and elephants, pierced in that battle with showers
of shafts by the wielder of Gandiva, looked beautiful
like Kadamva flowers with their filaments. Thus
struck with Arjuna’s shafts that quickly slew
men and steeds and cars and elephants, loud wails,