Chapter 14

“Sanjaya said, ‘Srutakarman then, O king, filled with wrath, struck thatlord of Earth, viz., Citrasena, in that battle, with fifty shafts. Theruler of the Abhisars (in return), striking Srutakarman, O king, withnine straight arrows, pierced his driver with five. Srutakarman then,filled with rage, struck Citrasena at the head of his forces, with a keenarrow in a vital part. Deeply pierced, O monarch, with that arrow by thathigh-souled prince the heroic Citrasena felt great pain and swooned away.During this interval, Srutakarman of great renown covered that lord ofEarth, (viz., his insensible antagonist), with ninety arrows. The mightycar-warrior Citrasena then, recovering consciousness, cut off hisantagonist’s bow with a broad-headed arrow, and pierced his antagonisthimself with seven arrows. Taking up another bow that was decked withgold, and capable of striking hard, Srutakarman then, with his waves ofarrows, made Citrasena assume a wonderful appearance. Adorned with thosearrows, the youthful king, wearing beautiful garlands, looked in thatbattle like a well-adorned youth in the midst of an assembly. Quicklypiercing Srutakarman with an arrow in the centre of the chest, he saidunto him, “Wait, Wait!” Srutakarman also, pierced with that arrow in thebattle, began to shed blood, like a mountain shedding streams of liquidred chalk. Bathed in blood and dyed therewith, that hero shone in battlelike a flowering Kinsuka. Srutakarman, then, O king, thus assailed by thefoe, became filled with rage, and cut in twain the foe-resisting bow ofCitrasena. The latter’s bow having been cut off, Srutakarman then, Oking, pierced him with three hundred arrows equipped with goodly wings,covering him completely therewith. With another broad-headed arrow,sharp-edged and keen pointed, he cut off the head, decked with head-gearof his high-souled antagonist. That blazing head of Citrasena fell downon the ground, like the moon loosened from the firmament upon the Earthat will. Beholding the king slain, the troops of Citrasena, O sire,rushed impetuously against (his slayer). That great bowman then, filledwith rage, rushed, shooting his shafts, against that army, like Yamafilled with fury, against all creatures at the time of the universaldissolution. Slaughtered in that battle by thy grandson armed with thebow, they quickly fled on all sides like elephants scorched by aforestconflagration. Beholding them flying away, hopeless of vanquishingthe foe, Srutakarman, pursuing them with his keen arrows, lookedexceedingly resplendent (on his car). Then Prativindhya, piercing Citrawith five arrows, struck his driver with three and his standard with one.Him Citra pierced, striking in the arms and the chest, with ninebroad-headed shafts equipped with wings of gold, having keen points, andplumed with Kanka and peacock feathers. Then Prativindhya, O Bharata,cutting off with his shafts the bow of his antagonist deeply struck thelatter with five keen arrows. Then Citra, O monarch, sped at thy grandsona terrible and irresistible dart, adorned with golden bells, andresembling a flame of fire. Prativindhya, however, in that battle, cutoff, with the greatest ease, into three fragments, that dart as itcoursed towards him like a flashing meteor. Cut off into three fragments,with Prativindhya’s shafts, that dart fell down, like the thunderboltinspiring all creatures with fear at the end of the Yuga. Beholding thatdart baffled, Citra, taking up a huge mace decked with a net-work ofgold, hurled it at Prativindhya. That mace slew the latter’s steeds anddriver also in that great battle, and crushing, besides, his car, fellwith great impetuosity on the Earth. Meanwhile, having alighted from hiscar, O Bharata, Prativindhya hurled at Citra a dart, well-adorned andequipped with a golden staff. Catching it as it coursed towards him, thehigh-souled king Citra, O Bharata, hurled the very weapon atPrativindhya. Striking the brave Prativindhya in that battle, thatblazing dart, piercing through his right arm, fell down on the Earth, andfalling illumined the whole region like a blast of lightning. ThenPrativindhya, O king, filled with rage, and desiring to compass thedestruction of Citra, sped at him a lance decked with gold. That lancepenetrating through his armour and chest, entered the Earth like a mightysnake in its hole. Struck with that lance, the king fell down, stretchingout his large and massive arms that resembled a couple of iron clubs.Beholding Citra slain, thy warriors, those ornaments of battle, rushedimpetuously at Prativindhya from all sides. Shooting diverse kinds ofshafts and Sataghnis decked with rows of bells, they soon coveredPrativindhya like masses of clouds covering the Sun. The mighty-armedPrativindhya, consuming with his arrowy showers those assailants of hisin that battle, routed thy army like the thunder-wielding Sakra routingthe Asura host. Thus slaughtered in battle by the Pandavas, thy troops, Oking, suddenly dispersed in all directions like congregated masses ofclouds dispersed by the wind. While thy army, slaughtered on all sides,was thus flying away, only Drona’s son singly rushed with speed againstthe mighty Bhimasena. All at once a fierce encounter ensued between themlike to what had taken place between Vritra and Vasava in the battlebetween the gods and the Asuras (of old).'”