to him by his mother’s side, came to him.  Surrounded on all sides, in that battle by Nagas, that Naga, O king, assumed a huge form mighty as Ananta himself.  With diverse kinds of Nagas then he covered the Rakshasa.  While being covered by those Nagas, that bull among Rakshasas reflected for a moment, and assuming the form of Garuda, he devoured those snakes.  When that Naga of his mother’s line was devoured through illusion, Iravat became confounded.  And while in that state, the Rakshasa slew him with his sword, Alamvusha felled on the earth Iravat’s head decked with ear-rings and graced with a diadem and looking beautiful like a lotus or the moon.

“When the heroic son of Arjuna was thus slain by the Rakshasa, the Dhartarashtra host with all the kings (in it) were freed from grief.  In that great battle that was so fierce, awful was the carnage that occurred among both the divisions.  Horses and elephants and foot-soldiers entangled with one another, were slain by tuskers.  And many steeds and tuskers were slain by foot-soldiers.  And in that general engagement bodies of foot-soldiers and cars, and large numbers of horses belonging both to thy army and theirs, were slain.  O king, by car-warriors.  Meanwhile, Arjuna, not knowing that the son of his loins had been slaughtered, slew in that battle many kings who had been protecting Bhishma.  And the warriors, O king, of thy army and the Srinjayas, by thousands, poured out their lives as libations (on the fire of battle), striking one another.  And many car-warriors, with dishevelled hair, and with swords and bows fallen from their grasp fought with their bare arms, encountering one another.  The mighty Bhishma also, with shafts capable of penetrating into the very vitals, slew many mighty car-warriors and caused the Pandava army to tremble (the while).  By him were slain many combatants in Yudhishthira’s host, and many tuskers and cavalry-soldiers and car-warriors and steeds.  Beholding, O Bharata, the prowess of Bhishma in that battle, it seemed to us that it was equal to that of Sakra himself.  And the prowess of Bhimasena, as also that of Parshata, was hardly less, O Bharata, (than that of Bhishma).  And so also the battle fought by that great bowman (viz., Satyaki) of Satwata’s race, was equally fierce.  Beholding, however, the prowess of Drona, the Pandavas were struck with fear.  Indeed they thought, ’Alone, Drona can slay us with all our troops.  What then should be said of him when he is surrounded by a large body of warriors who for their bravery are renowned over the world?  Even this, O king, was what the Partha said, afflicted by Drona.  During the progress of that fierce battle, O bull of Bharata’s race, the brave combatants of neither army forgave their adversaries of the other.  O sire, the mighty bowmen of both thy army and that of the Pandavas, inflamed with wrath, fought furiously with one another, as if they were possessed of by the Rakshasas and demons.  Indeed, he did not see any one in the battle which was so destructive of lives and which was considered as a battle of the demons, to take of life.”