The display of Abhimanyu's prowess

Sanjaya said Then that brother of Karna armed with a bow and stretching its string repeatedly, soon placed himself between those two high-souled car-warriors.

Then as if smiling he pierced the invincible Abhimanyu together with his umbrella, standard, charioteer and steeds with ten sharp arrows.

Then beholding Abhimanyu, who had been achieving superhuman feats after the manner of his father and grandfather, afflicted with those shafts, your warriors became enraptured.

Thereupon Abhimanyu smiled and bending his bow shot a winged shaft that lopped off his antagonist's head and then the latter fell down from his chariot.

The, O monarch, Karna was extremely pained on seeing his brother slain and overthrown like a blossoming Karnikara tree thrown drown by the wind from the mountain top.

Thereafter having compelled Karna 10 tumn back from the field with arrows furnished with Kanka feathers, Subhadra's son quickly assailed other mighty bowmen.

Then Abhimanyu possessed of fierce energy and great renown, wrought up with rage, began to break through the various division of cars, elephants, steeds and infantry.

Meanwhile Karna who had been afflicted by Abhimanyu with his myriads of shafts, fled away from the field of battle, being borne by fleet steeds. Your army then began to give way.

Then when the sky was covered with the arrows of Abhimanyu, like the flights of locusts or thick showers of rain, o king, nothing could be distinguished.

Amongst all your warriors then thus slaughtered by Abhimanyu with his sharp shafts, none stayed on the field, except the ruler of the Sindhus.

Thereupon, that foremost of princes viz., Subhadra's son, blowing his conch fell. O foremost of the Bharatas, upon the army of Bharatas.

Then like fire set to work on a heap of dried grass, consuming the hostile ranks, Arjuna's son moved in circles amidst the Kaurava hou.

Breaking through the hostije array, he began to afflict car-warriors, elephant-riders, horse-men and infantry with his great arrows; and thus made the earth impassable with headless trunks.

Mangled with the shafts of excellent make, shot from the bow of Subhadra's son, the Kauravas fled in fear of their lives, slaying, as they ran, their own partisans that happened to meet them.

Those dreadful shafts of terrible effects and touch, penetrating penetrating through car-warriors, elephants and horses, struck on the earth's surface.

With weapons in grasp, with fingerpreservers, with maces in clutch and with Angadas and decked with golden ornaments, arms were seen to be strewn on the ground.

Arrows and bows and swords and corpses and heads with ear-rings and garlands were seen on the ground by hundreds.

Strewn over with Upashkaras, Adishthanas, long poles and with shattered Akshasas and broken wheels and yokes, thousands in number, with arrows, bows, swords, fallen standards; with backless bows and shafts scattered about, with the bodies of slain Kshatriyas, horses and elephants, the field of battle looking fierce soon became impassable.

Then as the princes were being slaughtered by Abhimanyu, they created a loud noise enhancing the apprehension of the cowards by calling one another by their names.

That din, O foremost of the Bharatas, filled all the points of the compass with its echo; the son of Subhadra then assailed the Kauravas host killing excellent car-warriors, steeds and elephants.

Then like fire set to a heap of straw, Arjuna's son began to consume his foes; and he was then seen to stand in the very centre of the Bharata troops.

Then surrounded as he was by our troops and covered with dust, we could not obtain sight of him, when he, O Bharata, careered through the cardinal and subsidiary directions.

The next moment, O Bharata, we beheld him shining like the mid-day sun and wrenching the lives out of elephants, steeds and men.

We then beheld, O mighty monarch, Abhimanyu afflict his foes. In that battle that grandson of Vasava viz., Abhimanyu equal to Vasava himself in prowess, shone, O mighty monarch, in the very centre of your troops.