Page:The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa (1884).djvu/342

308 tience, their armours and war-ornaments dangling or waving with their agitated steps. The charioteers soon brought handsome cars harnessing fine horses thereto. Those splendid warriors then, furnished with all kinds of weapons, rode on those cars, and with upraised weapons pursued the retreating chief of the Kurus. Then, O Bharata, occurred the terrible encounter between those innumerable monarchs on the one side and the Kuru warrior alone on the other. And the assembled monarchs threw at their foe ten thousand arrows at the same time. Bhisma, however, speedily checked those numberless arrows before they could come upon him, by means of a shower of his own arrows innumerable as the down on the body. Then those kings surrounded him on all sides and rained arrows on him like masses of clouds showering on the mountain-breast. But Bhisma arresting by his shafts the course of that arrowy downpour then pierced each of the monarchs with three shafts. The latter, on the other hand, pierced Bhisma, each with five shafts. But, O king, Bhisma checked these by his prowess and pierced each of the contending kings with two shafts. The combat became so fierce with that dense shower of arrows and other missiles, that it looked very like the encounter between the celestials and the Asuras of old, and men of courage, who took no part in it were struck with fear to even loooklook [sic] at the scene. Bhisma cut off on the field of battle, by his arrows, bows, and flag-staffs, and coats of mail, and human heads by hundreds and thousands. And such was his terrible prowess and extraordinary lightness of hand and such the skill with which he protected himself that the contending charioteers, though his enemies, began to applaud him loudly. Then that foremost of all wielders of weapons having vanquished in war all those monarchs, pursued his way towards the capital of the Bharatas, taking those maidens along with him.

"It was then, O king, that that mighty charioteer, king Shalya of immeasurable prowess, from behind summoned Bhisma the son of Shantanu to an encounter. And desirous of obtaining the maidens, he came upon Bhisma like a mighty leader of a herd of Elephants rushing upon another and tearing with his tusks the latter's hips at sight of a female