his bow, and then he took up his bow for using it, lying aside the reins.  During those opportunities the son of Madri covered him with arrows.  Then Karna, desirous of rescuing thy son, rushed to that spot.  Thereupon, Vrikodara, with great care, pierced Karna in the chest and arms with three broad-headed shafts sped from his bow drawn to its fullest stretch.  Struck with those shafts like a snake with a stick, Karna stopped and began to resist Bhimasena, shooting keen shafts.  Thereupon, a fierce battle took place between Bhima and Radha’s son.  Both of them roared like bulls, and the eyes of both were expanded (with rage).  Excited with wrath, and rushing towards each other, with great speed, they roared at each other.  Those two delighters, in battle were then very close to each other.  So near were they that they could not easily shoot their shafts at each other.  Thereupon, an encounter with maces happened.  Bhimasena speedily broke with his mace the Kuvara of Karna’s car.  That feat of his, O king, seemed highly wonderful.  Then the valiant son of Radha, taking up a mace, hurled it at Bhima’s car.  Bhima, however, broke it with the mace of his own.  Then taking up a heavy mace, once more, Bhima hurled it at Adhiratha’s son.  Karna struck that mace with numerous shafts of beautiful wings, sped with great force, and once again with other shafts, Thus struck with Karna’s shafts, the mace turned back towards Bhima, like a snake afflicted with incantations.  With the rebound of that mace, the huge standard of Bhima, broke and fell down.  Struck with that same mace, Bhima’s driver also became deprived of his senses.  Then Bhima, mad with rage, sped eight shafts at Karna, and his standard and bow, and leathern fence, O Bharata.  The mighty Bhimasena, that slayer of hostile heroes, with the greatest care, O Bharata, cut off, with those keen shafts, the standards, the bow, and the leathern fence of Karna.  The latter then, viz., the son of Radha, taking up another invincible and gold-decked bow, shot a number of shafts, and quickly slew Bhima’s steeds of the hue of bears, and then his two drivers.  When his car was thus injured, Bhima, that chastiser of foes, quickly jumped into the car of Nakula like a lion jumping down upon a mountain summit.’

“Meanwhile, Drona and Arjuna, those two foremost of car-warriors, preceptor and pupil, both skilled in weapon, O monarch, fought with each other in battle, stupefying the eyes and minds of men with their lightness in the use of weapons and the sureness of their aim, and with the motions of their cars.  Beholding that battle, the like of which had never been witnessed before, between preceptor and pupil, the other warriors abstained from fighting with each other and trembled.  Each of those heroes, displaying beautiful revolutions of his car, wished to place the other on his right.  The warriors present there beheld their prowess and became filled with wonder.  Indeed, that great battle between Drona and the son of Pandu resembled