Covering the earth and the welkin and the ten points of the compass
and the very course of the sun with its effulgence, it caused his own
body also to blaze up with light. The robes of all the warriors took
fire, at which they fled away. Loud sounds also arose there, like what is
heard when a forest of bamboos in a wilderness is on fire. Beholding that
fiery weapon acting on all sides, the suta's son Karna of great valour
shot in that encounter the varunastra for quenching it. That
conflagration then, in consequence of Karna's weapon, became quenched.
A large mass of clouds quickly caused all the points of the compass to be
enveloped with darkness. Those clouds whose extremities presented the
aspect of mountains, surrounding every side, flooded the earth with
water. That fierce conflagration, though it was such, was still quenched
by those clouds in a trice. The entire welkin and all the directions,
cardinal and subsidiary, were shrouded by clouds. Thus shrouded by
clouds, all the points of the compass became dark and nothing could be
seen.
Then Arjuna dispelled those clouds caused by Karna, by means of the
vayavyastra. After this, Dhananjaya, incapable of being over-mastered by
foes inspired gandiva, its string, and his shafts, with mantras, and
invoked into existence another weapon that was the favourite of the chief
of the celestials and that resembled the thunder in energy and prowess.
Then razor-headed arrows, and anjalikas, and crescent-shaped shafts, and
nalikas, and cloth-yard shafts and those equipped with heads like the
boar's ear, all keen and sharp, issued from gandiva in thousands, endued
with the force and impetuosity of the thunder.
Pages:
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466