Page:The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa (1884).djvu/116

82 the huge head of the Danava cut off by the discus and resembling a then rose to the sky and began to utter dreadful cries. And the Danava's headless trunk falling upon the ground and rolling thereon made the Earth tremble with her mountains, forests, and islands. And from that time hath arisen a quarrel between Rahu's head and the Sun and the Moon. And to this day it swalloweth the Sun and the Moon, (causing the eclipses.)

And Narayana quitting his ravishing female form, and hurling many terrible weapons at them, made the Danavas tremble. And thus on the shores of the sea of commenced the dreadful battle of the gods and the Asuras. And javelins and lances and various weapons by thousands began to be discharged on all sides. And mangled with the discus and wounded with swords, saktis, and maces, the Asuras in large numbers vomitted blood and lay prostrate on the earth. Cut off from the trunks with sharp double edged swords, heads adorned with bright gold fell continually on the field of battle. Their bodies drenched in gore, the great Asuras lay dead everywhere. It seemed as if mountain peaks lay scattered all around. And when the sun rose in his splendour, thousands of warriors striking one another with their weapons, the sounds 'Alas!' and 'Oh!' were heard everywhere. The warriors fighting at a distance from one another brought one another down by sharp iron missiles, and those fighting at close quarters slew one another by blows of the fist. And the air was filled with shrieks of distress. Everywhere were heard the alarming sounds, 'cut off,' 'pierce,' 'after,' 'hurl down,' 'advance.'

"And when the battle was raging fiercely, Nara and Narayana entered the field. And Narayana seeing the heavenly bow in the hand of Nara, called to his mind his own weapon—the discus. And lo! the discus, Sudarshana, destroyer of enemies, like to Agni in effulgence, and dreadful in battle, came from the sky as soon as thought of. And when it came, Achyuta of fierce energy, of arms like the trunk of an elephant, hurled with great force the weapon, effulgent as flaming fire, dreadful, and of extraordinary lustre, and capable of destroying hostile towns. And that discus blazing like the fire