gashed, some decked with ear-rings, and some divided with wounds about the well-trimmed hair were seen rolling on the ground covered with dust.  And soon the field of battle was overspread with the limbs of Kshatriya warriors, cut off by means of arrows and lying like trunks of Sala trees.  And scattered over with heads decked in ear-rings, and sandal-besmeared arms looking like the bodies of snakes, the field of battle became exceedingly beautiful.  And as cars encountered cars, and horsemen encountered horsemen, and foot-soldiers fought with foot-soldiers, and elephants met with elephants, the frightful dust soon became drenched with torrents of blood.  And some amongst the combatants began to swoon away, and the warriors began to fight reckless of consideration of humanity, friendship and relationship.  And both their course and sight obstructed by the arrowy shower, vultures began to alight on the ground.  But although those strong-armed combatants furiously fought with one another, yet the heroes of neither party succeeded in routing their antagonists.  And Satanika having slain a full hundred of the enemy and Visalaksha full four hundred, both those mighty warriors penetrated into the heart of the great Trigarta host.  And having entered into the thick of the Trigarta host, those famous and mighty heroes began to deprive their antagonists of their senses by causing a closer conflict to set in—­a conflict, in which the combatants seized one another by the hair and tore one another with their nails.[29] And eyeing the point where the cars of the Trigartas had been mustered in strong numbers, those heroes at last directed their attack towards it.  And that foremost of car-warriors, king Virata also, with Suryadatta in his van and Madiraksha in his rear, having destroyed in that conflict five hundred cars, eight hundred horses, and five warriors on great cars, displayed various skilful manoeuvres on his car on that field of battle.  And at last the king came upon the ruler of the Trigartas mounted on a golden chariot.  And those high-souled and powerful warriors, desirous of fighting, rushed roaring against each like two bulls in a cow-pen.  Then that bull among men, irrepressible in battle, Susarman, the king of the Trigartas, challenged Matsya to a single combat on car.  Then those warriors excited to fury rushed against each other on their cars and began to shower their arrows upon each other like clouds pouring torrents of rain.[30] And enraged with each other, those fierce warriors, both skilled in weapons, both wielding swords and darts and maces, then moved about (on the field of battle) assailing each other with whetted arrows.  Then king Virata pierced Susarman with ten shafts and each of his four horses also with five shafts.  And Susarman also, irresistible in battle and conversant with fatal weapons, pierced king of Matsya with fifty whetted shafts.  And then, O mighty monarch, in consequence of the dust on the field of battle, the soldiers of both Susarman and Matsya’s king could not distinguish one another.”