in hue and possessed of great speed and endued with
the splendour of the Moon or the Kasa grass, and that
run devouring the skies, are yoked unto his car.
Urged on by Krishna, like the masses of clouds driven
by the wind, and their limbs decked with gold, they
bear Arjuna to battle. That foremost of all persons
conversant with arms, Arjuna, burned that great force
of thine like a swelling conflagration consuming dry
grass in the forest in the season of winter.
Possessed of the splendour of Indra himself, while
penetrating into our ranks, we have seen Dhananjaya
to look like an elephant with four tusks. While
agitating thy army and inspiring the kings with fear,
we have seen Dhananjaya to resemble an elephant agitating
a lake overgrown with lotuses. While terrifying
all the warriors with the twang of his bow, we have
again seen the son of Pandu to resemble a lion inspiring
smaller animals with dread. Those two foremost
of bowmen in all the worlds, those two bulls among
all persons armed with the bow, the two Krishnas,
clad in mail, are looking exceedingly beautiful.
Today is the seventeenth day of this awful battle,
O Bharata, of those that are being slaughtered in the
midst of this fight. The diverse divisions of
thy army are broken and dispersed like autumnal clouds
dispersed by the wind. Savyasaci, O monarch, caused
thy army to tremble and reel like a tempest-tossed
boat exposed on the bosom of the ocean. Where
was the Suta’s son, where was Drona with all
his followers, where was I, where wert thou, where
was Hridika’s son, where thy brother Duhshasana
accompanied by his brothers (when Jayadratha was slain)?
Upon beholding Jayadratha and finding him within the
range of his arrows, Arjuna, putting forth his process
upon all thy kinsmen and brothers and allies and maternal
uncles, and placing his feet upon their heads, slew
king Jayadratha in the very sight of all. What
then is there for us to do now? Who is there
among thy troops now that would vanquish the son of
Pandu? That high-souled warrior possesses diverse
kinds of celestial weapons. The twang, again,
of Gandiva robbeth us of our energies. This army
of thine that is now without a leader is like a night
without the Moon, or like a river that is dried up
with all the trees on its banks broken by elephants.
The mighty-armed Arjuna of white steeds will, at his
pleasure, career amid this thy masterless host, like
a blazing conflagration amid a heap of grass.
The impetuosity of those two, Satyaki and Bhimasena,
would split all the mountains or dry up all the oceans.
The words that Bhima spoke in the midst of the assembly
have all been nearly accomplished by him, O monarch.
That which remains unaccomplished will again be accomplished
by him. While Karna was battling before it, the
army of the Pandavas, difficult to be defeated, was
vigorously protected by the wielder of Gandiva.
You have done many foul wrongs, without any cause,
unto the righteous Pandavas. The fruits of those