a tree in the forest crushed by a tusker.  Today the widowhood of the wives of Radha’s son is at hand.  Verily, they must have in their (last night’s) dreams seen signs of approaching evil, O Mahadeva!  Verily, thou shalt today see the wives of Karna become widows.  I cannot restrain my wrath at what was done before now by this fool of little foresight when he beheld Krishna dragged to the assembly and when laughing at us he abused us repeatedly in vile words.  Today, O Govinda, thou shalt behold Karna crushed by me like a tree with its load of flowers crushed by an infuriated elephant.  Today, O slayer of Madhu, thou shalt, after Karna’s fall, hear those sweet words, ’By good luck, O thou of Vrishni’s race, victory hath been thine!’ Thou shalt today comfort the mother of Abhimanyu with a lighter heart for having paid thy debt to the foe.  Today thou shalt, filled with joy, comfort thy paternal aunt Kunti.  Today thou shalt, O Madhava, comfort Krishna of tearful face and king Yudhishthira the just with words sweet as nectar."’”

88

“Sanjaya said, ’Meanwhile the welkin, filled with gods and Nagas and Asuras and Siddhas and Yakshas and with large bands of Gandharvas and Rakshasas, and Asuras and regenerate Rishis and royal sages and birds of excellent feathers, assumed a wonderful aspect.  All human beings assembled there beheld those beings of wonderful aspect staying in the sky, and the sky itself resounded with the voice of musical instruments and song and adulatory hymns and laughter and dance, and diverse other kinds of charming sounds.  Then both the Kaurava and the Pandava warriors, filled with joy, and causing the earth and the ten points of the compass to resound with the voice of musical instruments, the blare of conchs, and leonine roars and the din of battle, began to slaughter their foes.  Teeming with men and steeds and elephants and cars and weapons, unbearable to combatants in consequence of the falling of maces and swords and darts and rapiers, abounding in heroes, and crowded with lifeless bodies, the field of battle, crimsoned with gore, looked exceedingly resplendent.  Indeed, the battle between the Kurus and the Pandavas then resembled that in days of yore between the gods and the Asuras.  After that fierce and awful battle had commenced between Dhananjaya and Adhiratha’s son, each of those two heroes, clad in excellent mail, shrouded the ten points of the compass and the host opposed to him with keen and straight arrows.  A darkness having been caused there with the arrows shot on that occasion, neither thy warriors nor the enemy could any longer see anything.  From fear all the warriors there sought the protection of either Karna or Arjuna like rays of light spread out in the welkin converging towards either the sun or the moon.  The two heroes then, each baffling the other’s weapons with his own, like the east and the west winds encountering each other, looked exceedingly resplendent like the sun and the moon