The display of Abhimanyu's prowess

Dhritarashtra said What warriors of my army then tried to resist the son of Arjuna in battle when he was thus crushing my troops with his straight-flying arrows?

Sanjaya said Hear, 0 king, of the wonderful achievements of the prince (Abhimanyu), when he was engaged in breaking through the cardivision protected by by Bharadvaja's himself.

Sceing Shalya the ruler of the Madras worsted in battle by Subhadra's son with his arrows, his younger brother, inflamed with wrath proceeded to battle, showering shafts in all directions.

He shot ten arrows, injured Abhimanyu with horses and charioteer killed, challenge in a loud voice and said-O! stay there undeviated.

Thereupon the light-handed son of Arjuna, with his arrows, cut-off his antagonist's head and neck, arms and legs, four steeds, umbrella, standard and charioteer; his triple bamboo pole fixed to the car, his car-terrace, car-wheels, । yokes, shafts, quivers, car-bottom, his banner, his implements of war with which the car was furnished and also the two persons engaged in protecting his car-wheels. No one was then able to discern him in consequence of the swiftness of his movement). Shalya's brother then pierced through his ornaments and antires. fell down dead on the ground, like a mighty mountain-crest broken by the overwhelming vehemence of a tempest.

His followers then seized with panic, fled in : all directions. Beholding that fcat achieved by Arjuna's son, all creatures were filled with i delight and they applauded him, O Bharata, saying, “Well-done" Well-done".

When Shalya's brother had thus been killed, many of his soldiers, loudly proclaiming their names, places of residence and families, rushed against Arjuna's son, being excited with rage and wielding in their arms various kinds of weapons.

All those warriors were possessed of great strength, some of them rushed on their car, others on steeds, others on elephants and some on foot. With the whizz of their arrows, with the loud clatter of their car-wheels, with warcries, with roars, whoops and exclamations, with leonine roars and cries with the twang of their bow-strings and with many other kinds of sound-seeking to terrify Arjuna's son, they rushed at him saying, “You shall not escape us today with your life, even if it cost us our own lives."

Hearing them thus speak, the son of Subhadra smilingly pierced those with shafts who had smitten him first.

Holding diverse kinds of weapons, all beautiful and swift-going, to the gaze of the people, Arjuna's heroic son battled with them mildly.

Then, in no way less than Krishna and Arjuna, Abhimanyu began to display all those weapons he had received from Vasudeva's son and Arjuna.

Setting at naught the heavy burden he had drawn upon himself and dismissing all fears away, Abhimanyu then scattered his arrows (in all directions). No interval could then be noticed between his taking up and shooting the shafts.

Only his bow drawn to the fullest stretch could then be seen blazing like the burning disc of the sun in the autumnal sky.

Then, O Bharata, there were heard the twangs of his bow and the slapping of his palms, resembling the rumble of rain-clouds surcharged with the thunder during the rains.

Bashful, unenvious, handsome and devoted to the elders, the son of Subhadra, out of respect for his heroic opponents fought on with arrows and other weapons,

Mildly; but gradually he grew fierce, O king, like the blazing autumnal Sun at the end of the rainy seasons.

Then like the lustrous orb shooting his rays, he, excited with wrath, shot hundreds of diverse kinds of arrows, all whetted on stone and furnished with golden wings.

Then with horse-shoe-headed arrows, calftooth-headed shafts, with Vipatas, with long shafts with crescent-headed arrows and with Anjalikas, that illustrious warriors. Began to mangle the car-division of your army, even before the of Bharadvaja's Thereupon the army afflicted with his shafts turned its face away from the field of battle. eyes son.