he had acquired from culture and practice.  Borne by his well-broken steeds, endued with the speed of Garuda or the Wind, and thoroughly obedient to the behests of him who held their reins, he quickly checked the heir of Asmaka.  Staying before him, the handsome son of Asmaka, endued with great might, pierced him with ten shafts and addressing him, said, ‘Wait, Wait.’  Abhimanyu then, with ten shafts, cut off the former’s steeds and charioteer and standard and two arms and bow and head, and caused them to fall down on the earth, smiling the while.  After the heroic ruler of the Asmakas had thus been slain by the son of Subhadra, the whole of his force wavered and began to fly away from the field.  Then Karna and Kripa, and Drona and Drona’s son, and the ruler of the Gandharas, and Sala and Salya, and Bhurisravas and Kratha, and Somadatta, and Vivinsati, and Vrishasena, and Sushena, and Kundavedhin, and Pratardana, and Vrindaraka and Lalithya, and Pravahu, and Drighalochana, and angry Duryodhana, showered their arrows upon him.  Then Abhimanyu, excessively pierced by those great bowmen with their straight shafts, shot shafts at Karna which was capable of piercing through every armour and body.  That shaft, piercing through Karna’s coat of mail and then his body, entered the earth like a snake piercing through an anthill.  Deeply pierced, Karna felt great pain and became perfectly helpless.  Indeed, Karna began to tremble in that battle like a hill during an earthquake.  Then with three other shafts of great sharpness, the mighty son of Arjuna, excited with rage, slew those three warriors, viz., Sushena, Drighalochana, and Kundavedhin.  Meanwhile, Karna (recovering from the shock) pierced Abhimanyu with five and twenty shafts.  And Aswatthaman struck him with twenty, and Kritavarman with seven.  Covered all over with arrows, that son of Sakra’s son, filled with rage, careered over the field.  And he was regarded by all the troops as Yama’s self armed with the noose.  He then scattered over Salya, who happened to be near him thick showers of arrows.  That mighty-armed warrior then uttered loud shouts, frightening thy troops therewith.  Meanwhile, Salya, pierced by Abhimanyu accomplished in weapons, with straight shafts penetrating into his very vitals, sat down on the terrace of his car and fainted away.  Beholding Salya thus pierced by the celebrated son of Subhadra, all the troops fled away in the very sight of Bharadwaja’s son.  Seeing that mighty-armed warrior, viz., Salya, thus covered with shafts of golden wings, thy army fled away like a head of deer attacked by a lion.  And Abhimanyu glorified by the Pitris, the gods, and Charanas, and Siddhas, as also by diverse classes of creatures on the earth, with praises about (his heroism and skill in) battle, looked resplendent like a sacrificial fire fed with clarified butter.’”

SECTION XXXVI

“Dhritarashtra said, ’While Arjuna’s son was thus grinding, by means of his straight arrows, our foremost bowmen, what warriors of my army endeavoured to check him?’