foremost of men and steeds and elephants.  Deeply pierced by Vrishasena in that battle, O king, Pandu’s son Nakula, that foremost of men, endued with great activity, became filled with rage and rushed in that encounter against the son of Karna from desire of slaying him.  Then Vrishasena poured showers of keen shafts upon Nakula of great energy as the latter precipitately advanced against him in that battle like a hawk with outstretched wings from desire of meat.  Baffling, however, his antagonist’s showers of shafts, Nakula careered in diverse beautiful motions.  Then Karna’s son, O king, in that dreadful battle, cut off, with his mighty shafts, the shield, decked with a 1,000 stars, of Nakula, while he was careering with great activity in those beautiful motions.  Without losing a moment, that resister of foes, (Vrishasena), with half a dozen sharp razor-headed shafts, then cut off that naked sword of Nakula, polished and keen-edged, made of steel, capable of bearing a great strain and of destroying the bodies of all foes, and terrible and fierce as the poison of the snake, while he was whirling it rapidly.  After this, Vrishasena deeply pierced his antagonist in the centre of his chest with some well-tempered and keen shafts.  Having achieved those feats in battle that were applauded by all noble persons and that could not be achieved by other men, the high-souled Nakula of great activity, afflicted with those shafts, proceeded to the car, O king, of Bhimasena.  The steedless son of Madri, thus afflicted by Karna’s son, sprang upon Bhima’s car like a lion springing upon a mountain summit, in the sight of Dhananjaya.  The high-souled and heroic Vrishasena then, filled with wrath, poured his arrowy showers upon those two mighty car-warriors for piercing those two sons of Pandu.  After the destruction of that car belonging to the son of Pandu (Nakula), and after his sword also had been speedily cut off with (Vrishasena’s) shafts; many other foremost of Kuru heroes, uniting together, approached the Pandava brothers, and began to strike them with showers of shafts.  Then those two sons of Pandu, Bhima and Arjuna, filled with wrath, and resembling two fires fed with libations of clarified butter, poured terrible showers of arrows upon Vrishasena and the other assembled warriors around him.  The son of the Wind-god then, addressing Phalguna, said, “Behold, Nakula here is being afflicted.  The son of Karna is resisting us.  Proceed, therefore, against Karna’s son.”  Hearing these words, the diadem-decked (Arjuna) approached the car of his brother Vrikodara.  Beholding that hero arrived near, Nakula addressed him, saying, “Do thou speedily slay this one.”  Thus addressed in that battle by his brother, Nakula, standing before him, the diadem-decked Arjuna, that formidable hero, precipitately caused his ape-bannered vehicle, guided by Keshava himself, to be driven towards Vrishasena.’”

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