His grasp became loosened, at which his bow Gandiva dropped from his hand.  He trembled like the prince of mountains in an earthquake.  Availing himself of that opportunity, the mighty car-warrior Vrisha, desirous of extricating his car-wheel that had been swallowed up by the earth, jumped down from his vehicle.  Seizing the wheel with his two arms he endeavoured to drag it up, but though possessed of great strength, he failed in his efforts, as destiny would have it.  Meanwhile the diadem-decked and high-souled Arjuna, recovering his senses, took up a shaft, fatal as the rod of Death, and called anjalika.  Then Vasudeva, addressing Partha, said, “Cut off with thy arrow the head of this enemy of thine, viz., Vrisha, before he succeeds in getting upon his car.”  Applauding those words of the lord Vasudeva, and while the wheel of his enemy was still sunk, the mighty car-warrior Arjuna took up a razor-headed arrow of blazing effulgence and struck the standard (of Karna) bearing the elephant’s rope and bright as the spotless sun.  That standard bearing the device of the costly elephant’s rope, was adorned with gold and pearls and gems and diamonds, and forged with care by foremost of artists excelling in knowledge, and possessed of great beauty, and variegated with pure gold.  That standard always used to fill thy troops with high courage and the enemy with fear.  Its form commanded applause.  Celebrated over the whole world, it resembled the sun in splendour.  Indeed, its effulgence was like that of fire or the sun or the moon.  The diadem-decked Arjuna, with that razor-headed shaft, exceedingly sharp, equipped with wings of gold, possessed of the splendour of fire when fed with libations of clarified butter, and blazing with beauty, cut off that standard of Adhiratha’s son, that great car-warrior.  With that standard, as it fell, the fame, pride, hope of victory, and everything dear, as also the hearts of the Kurus, fell, and loud wails of “Oh!” and “Alas!” arose (from the Kuru army).  Beholding that standard cut off and thrown down by that hero of Kuru’s race possessed of great lightness of hand, thy troops, O Bharata, were no longer hopeful of Karna’s victory.  Hastening then for Karna’s destruction, Partha took out from his quiver an excellent Anjalika weapon that resembled the thunder of Indra or the rod of fire and that was possessed of the effulgence of the thousand-rayed Sun.  Capable of penetrating the very vitals, besmeared with blood and flesh, resembling fire or the sun, made of costly materials, destructive of men, steeds, and elephants, of straight course and fierce impetuosity, it measured three cubits and six feet.  Endued with the force of the thousand-eyed Indra’s thunder, irresistible as Rakshasas in the night, resembling Pinaka or Narayana’s discus, it was exceedingly terrible and destructive of all living creatures.  Partha cheerfully took up that great weapon, in the shape of an arrow, which could not be resisted by the very gods, that high-souled