Then Yudhishthira, clad in
golden mail, his arrows having been extracted and himself made sound with
mantras and drugs by foremost of surgeons well-disposed towards him,
quickly came to that spot for witnessing (the encounter between Arjuna
and Karna). Beholding king Yudhishthira the just arrived there like the
resplendent full Moon freed from the jaws of Rahu and risen in the
firmament, all creatures became filled with delight. Beholding those two
foremost of warriors, those two first of heroes and slayers of foes,
viz., Karna and Partha, engaged in fight, the spectators, both celestial
and terrestrial, restraining the animals they rode or that were yoked
unto their vehicles, stood motionless. As the two heroes, O king, struck
each other with many foremost of arrows, O king, the sounds caused by the
bows, bow-strings, and palms, of both Dhananjaya and Adhiratha's son,
became tremendous and their well-sped arrows also caused a deafening
whizz. Then the bow-string of the son of Pandu, stretched with force,
broke with a loud noise. During the interval thus offered, the Suta's son
pierced Partha with a hundred small arrows, keen and steeped in oil,
winged with the feathers of birds, and resembling snakes freed from their
sloughs. He then quickly pierced Vasudeva with sixty shafts, and then
Phalguna again with eight. Surya's son then pierced Bhima with thousands
upon thousands of mighty arrows. Having pierced Krishna and Partha's
standard, Karna felled many amongst the Somakas that followed Partha.
Pages:
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473