ran streams of liquid chalk. Lances hurled by
horsemen, or those held horizontally by hostile combatants,
were seized by many of those beasts, while many amongst
them twisted and broke those weapons. Many huge
elephants, whose armour had been cut off with shafts,
looked, O king, like mountains divested of clouds
at the advent of winter. Many foremost of elephants
pierced with arrows winged with gold, looked beautiful
like mountains, O sire, whose summits are lighted
with blazing brands. Some of those creatures,
huge as hills, struck by hostile compeers, fell down
in that battle, like winged mountains (when clipped
of their wings). Others, afflicted with arrows
and much pained by their wounds, fell down touching
the Earth, in that dreadful battle, at their frontal
globes or the parts between their tusks. Others
roared aloud like lions. And many, uttering terrible
sounds, ran hither and thither, and many, O king, uttered
cries of pain. Steeds also, in golden trappings,
struck with arrows, fell down, or became weak, or
ran in all directions. Others, struck with arrows
and lances or dragged down, fell on the Earth and
writhed in agony, making diverse kinds of motion.
Men also, struck down, fell on the Earth, uttering
diverse cries of pain, O sire; others, beholding their
relatives and sires and grandsires, and others seeing
retreating foes, shouted to one another their well-known
names and the names of their races. The arms
of many combatants, decked with ornaments of gold,
cut off, O king, by foes, writhed on the ground, making
diverse kinds of motions. Thousands of such arms
fell down and sprang up, and many seemed to dart forward
like five-headed snakes. Those arms, looking like
the tapering bodies of snakes, and smeared with sandal
paste, O king, looked beautiful, when drenched with
blood, like little standards of gold. When the
battle, becoming general, raged so furiously on all
sides, the warriors fought with and slew one another
without distinct perceptions of those they fought
with or struck. A dusty cloud overspread the field
of battle, and the weapons used fell in thick showers.
The scene being thus darkened, the combatants could
no longer distinguish friends from foes. Indeed,
that fierce and awful battle proceeded thus. And
soon there began to flow many mighty rivers of the
bloody currents. And they abounded with the heads
of combatants that formed their rocks. And the
hair of the warriors constituted their floating weeds
and moss. Bones formed the fishes with which
they teemed, and bows and arrows and maces formed the
rafts by which to cross them. Flesh and blood
forming their mire, those terrible and awful rivers,
with currents swelled by blood, were thus formed there,
enhancing the fears of the timid and the joy of the
brave. Those awful rivers led to the abode of
Yama. Many plunged into those streams inspiring
Kshatriyas with fear, and perished. And in consequence
of various carnivorous creatures, O tiger among men,


