Karna Parva — Dreadful battle

Sanjaya said O monarch, Dhananjaya, seeing, Bhima almost sinking under the pressure of the attack of many of great Kaurava warriors, left aside the son of Suta and his division, O Bharata and went to the rescue of his brother and sent many warriors of the hostile army to Pluto's region.

His showers of shafts fell dividedly, some covered the skies, while other killed your army.

O king, Dhananjaya, filling the sky (which is the place for birds to play) with his arrows, seemed at that time the very destroyer of Kurus.

He with his long flat-pointed shafts and various other brilliant weapons and keen like razor, began to cut-off bodies and heads of enemies.

Warriors dead and dying, trunks without heads, lopped off portions of human bodies deprived of armour, covered the battle-field.

O monarch, heaps of unshapely and mangled bodies of elephants and horses, cutoff by Dhananjaya with his weapons in different ways and broken cars made the field look ghastly and awful and the way uneven and impassable, resembling the great river Vaitarani.

It was also strewn with cars, some without horses and some with horses yoked on them and some with drivers and some without drivers, as also with broken axles, wheels and arrows.

Four hundred fearful and highly trained elephants ridden by wrathful warriors enveloped in golden coloured armors and decked with golden ornaments, urged by the pressure of the heels and toes of their guides, who were also powerful, filled with rage and cruel, came forward and was struck down by the chosen weapons of Kiritin or the diademdecked Arjuna and fell down resembling great mountain tops inhabited by living beings when loosened. Dhananjaya covered the earth by killing many great and choice elephants by his shafts.

Heaps of carcasses of elephants with greasy matter oozing out of them looked like clouds and as the sun stands out in relief dispersing the clouds, so Dhananjaya's car passed through these masses of dead elephants.

Phalguna made a great havoc and the path was covered with dead horses, men, elephants and with many broken chariots, as also with dead bodies of warriors divested to their coats of mail, instruments of war and other weapons and the place was also strewn over with various sorts of weapons loosened from the clutches that held them.

The awful sound made by his out-stretched Gandiva was like the clash of thunder amidst the gloomy clouds.

As in a hurricane a great vessel is wrecked to pieces by the tossing of the sea, so your army was broken and it suffered badly from Dhananjaya's shots.

Lots of deadly, burning and meteor-like shots, coming like thunder-bolts out of the Gandiva, began to burn down your troops.

As on a night, a blazing forest of bamboos burns on a great mountain, so your great army looked ablaze under fire from (Arjuna's) shots.

Your troops, being thus hard pressed, burnt and distressed and killed by Kiritin's (Arjuna's), arrows began to fly in all directions.

As in a great forest, herds of deer being afraid fly wildly in all directions when it catches fire, verily such became the fate of the Kauravas when they were burnt to death by Savyasachin.

Leaving the strong-armed Bhimasena the distressed Kaurava troops retreated from the filed.

Thus breaking down the Kuru army the unconquerable Vibhatsu then approached Bhimasena and resied there for a while.

Phalguna then receiving Bhima's caress and consulting him for a while, informed him that the arrows with which Yudhishthira was afflicted have been drawn out of his body and that he is keeping well.

O Bharata, then taking Bhima's permission, Dhananjaya again advanced towards his enemies, making the earth and sky ring back with the rattling noise of his car-wheels.

Then your ten sons, who were born after Dushasana, all good warriors and brave hearted, surrounded Dhananjaya.

O Bharata, they with drawn bows distressed Arjuna with fiery arrows even as do the hunters an elephant and seemed to dance in the battlefield (With excitement).

And the destroyer of (Asura) Madhu, quite confident that Kiritin will soon send them to the region of Pluto, urged on the car, brought them all to the right side.

Then seeing that Arjuna with his car was getting from them, they made a rush towards him. Then Partha soon struck off their banners, bows and horses and they fell down on the earth; then with some crescent-shaped arrows.

And with ten other shafts cut-off their heads. Those heads with lips and eyes red with rage looked fair like a collection of lotuses.

The destroyer of his enemies (Arjuna) thus sending ten gold mailed Kauravas to the other world with ten broad-headed, gold-winged and swift arrows proceeded onward.