engaged in encountering each other, became so absorbed in it that, they could not attend to anything else.  Somadatta’s son, for enhancing the glory of Drona, resisted king Manimat of great activity as the latter came to fight.  Then Manimat quickly cut off the bowstring, the standard, the banner, the charioteer and the umbrella of Somadatta’s son and caused them to fall down from the latter’s car.[49] The son of Somadatta then, bearing the device of the sacrificial stake on his standard, that slayer of foes, quickly jumping down from his car, cut off with his large swords, his antagonist with his steeds, charioteer, standard, and car.  Re-ascending then upon his own car, and taking up another bow, and guiding his steeds himself, he began, O monarch, to consume the Pandava host.  Vrishasena (the son of Karna), competent for the feat, resisted with showers of arrows king Pandava who was rushing to battle like Indra himself following the Asuras for smiting them.  With maces and spiked bludgeons, and swords and axes and stones, short clubs and mallets, and discs, short arrows and battle-axes with dust and wind, and fire and water, and ashes and brick-bats, and straw and trees, afflicting and smitting, and breaking, and slaying and routing the foe, and hurling them on the hostile ranks, and terrifying them therewith, came Ghatotkacha, desirous of getting at Drona.  The Rakshasa Alambusha, however, excited with rage, encountered him with diverse weapons and diverse accoutrements of war.  And the battle that took place between those two foremost of Rakshasas resembled that which took place in days of old between Samvara and the chief of the celestials.  Thus blessed be thou, took place hundreds of single combats between car-warriors and elephants, and steeds and foot-soldiers of thy army and theirs in the midst of the dreadful general engagement.  Indeed, such a battle was never seen or heard of before as that which then took place between those warriors that were bent upon Drona’s destruction and protection.  Indeed, many were the encounters that were then seen on all parts of field, some of which were terrible, some beautiful, and some exceedingly fierce, O lord.’”

SECTION XXIV

“Dhritarashtra said, ’When the troops were thus engaged and thus proceeded against one another in separate divisions, how did Partha and the warriors of my army endued with great activity fight?  What also did Arjuna do towards the car-warriors of the Samsaptakas?  And what, O Sanjaya, did the Samsaptakas, in their turn, do to Arjuna?’

“Sanjaya said, ’When the troops were thus engaged and proceeded against one another, thy son Duryodhana himself rushed against Bhimasena, leading his elephant division.  Like an elephant encountering an elephant, like a bull encountering a bull, Bhimasena, summoned by the king himself, rushed against that elephant division of the Kaurava army.  Skilled in battle and endued with great might of arms, Pritha’s