Chapter 165

“Sanjaya said, ‘The ruler of the Madras shrouded on all sides, withclouds of shafts, Virata with his troops, who was proceeding quickly forgetting at Drona. The battle that took place between those two greatbowmen resembled, O king, that between Vala and Vasava in days of yore.The ruler of the Madras, O monarch, with great activity, struck Virata,that commander of a large division, with a hundred straight shafts. KingVirata, in return, pierced the ruler of the Madras with nine keen arrows,and once more with three and seventy, and once again with a hundred. Theruler of the Madras, then, slaying the four steeds yoked unto Virata’scar, cut down with a couple of shafts, the latter’s umbrella andstandard. Quickly jumping down from that steedless car, the king stood,drawing his bow and shooting keen shafts. Beholding his brother deprivedof his steeds, Satanika quickly approached him on his car in the verysight of all the troops. The ruler of the Madras, however, piercing theadvancing Satanika with many shafts, despatched him to the abode of Yama.Upon the fall of the heroic Satanika, Virata, that commander of a largedivision, ascended the fallen hero’s car, decked with standard andgarlands.[223] opening his eyes wide, and with prowess doubled by wrath,Virata quickly covered the car of the ruler of the Madras with wingedarrows. The ruler of the Madras then, excited with rage, deeply piercedVirata, that commander of a large division, in the chest, with a hundredstraight shafts. Deeply pierced by the mighty ruler of the Madras, thatgreat car-warrior, viz., Virata, sat down on the terrace of his car andswooned away. His driver, then, beholding him mangled with shafts in thatencounter, bore him away. Then that vast force, O Bharata, fled away onthat night, oppressed by hundreds of arrows of Salya, that ornament ofbattle. Beholding the troops flying away, Vasudeva and Dhananjaya quicklyadvanced to that spot, O monarch, where Salya was stationed. Then thatprince of the Rakshasas, viz., Alamvusha, O king, riding upon a foremostcar, harnessed with eight steeds, having terrible-looking Pisachas ofequine faces yoked unto it, furnished with blood-red banners, decked withfloral garlands made of black iron, covered with bear-skins, andpossessing a tall standard over which perched a terrible, fierce-looking,and incessantly shrieking vulture, of spotted wings and wide-open eyes,proceeded against those advancing heroes. That Rakshasa, O king, lookedbeautiful like a loose heap of antimony, and he withstood the advancingArjuna, like Meru withstanding a tempest, scattering showers of arrows, Omonarch, upon Arjuna’s head. The battle then that commenced between theRakshasa and that human warrior, was exceedingly fierce. And it filledall the spectators there, O Bharata, with wonder. And it conduced to thejoy also of vultures and crows, of ravens and owls and Kanakas andjackals. Arjuna struck Alamvusha with six shafts and then cut off hisstandard with ten sharp arrows. With a few other arrows, he cut off hisdriver, and with some others his Trivenu, and with one more, his bow, andwith four others his four steeds. Alamvusha strung another bow, but thatalso Arjuna cut off in two fragments. Then, O bull of Bharata’s race,Partha pierced that prince of the Rakshasas with four keen arrows. Thuspierced, the Rakshasas fled away in fear. Having vanquished him, Arjunaquickly proceeded towards the spot where Drona was, shooting as he went,many shafts, O king, at men, elephants, and steeds. Slaughtered Omonarch, by the illustrious son of Pandu, the combatants fell down on theground, like trees laid low by a tempest. Thus treated by the illustriousson of Pandu, all of them fled like a frightened herd of deer.'”