Endued with awful impetuosity, those arrows pierced Karna and
passing out of his body fell upon the surface of the earth. Trembling at
the shock, Karna then displayed his activity to the utmost of his power.
Steadying himself by a powerful effort he invoked the brahmastra.
Beholding the brahmastra, Arjuna invoked the Aindra weapon with proper
mantras. Inspiring gandiva, its string, and his shafts also, with
mantras, that scorcher of foes poured showers like Purandara pouring rain
in torrents. Those arrows endued with great energy and power, issuing out
of Partha's car, were seen to be displayed in the vicinity of Karna's
vehicle. The mighty car-warrior Karna baffled all those shafts displayed
in his front. Seeing that weapon thus destroyed, the Vrishni hero,
addressing Arjuna, said, "Shoot high weapons, O Partha! The son of Radha
baffles thy shafts." With proper mantras, Arjuna then fixed the
brahmastra on his string, and shrouding all the points of the compass
with arrows, Partha struck Karna (with many) arrows. Then Karna, with a
number of whetted shafts endued with great energy, cut off the string of
Arjuna's bow. Similarly he cut off the second string, and then the third,
and then the fourth, and then the fifth. The sixth also was cut off by
Vrisha, and then the seventh, then the eighth, then the ninth, then the
tenth, and then at last the eleventh. Capable of shooting hundreds upon
hundreds of arrows, Karna knew not that Partha had a hundred strings to
his bow.
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