perishing, destroyed many steeds and cars and elephants.  Indeed, numberless were the shafts that Bhishma shot in battle.  Slaughtering the Pandava host for ten days together, Bhishma made the terraces of numberless cars empty and deprived innumerable elephants and steeds of life.  Having assumed the form of Rudra or of Upendra in battle, he afflicted the Pandava divisions and caused a great carnage amongst them.  Desirous of rescuing the wicked Suyodhana who was sinking in a raftless sea, he slaughtered many lords of Earth among the Cedis, the Pancalas, and the Kaikayas, and caused a great massacre of the Pandava army teeming with cars and steeds and elephants.  Innumerable foot-soldiers among the Srinjayas, all well-armed, and other lords of earth, were incapable of even looking at that hero when he careered in battle like the Sun himself of scorching splendour.  At last the Pandavas, with all their resources, made a mighty effort, and rushed against that warrior who, inspired with the desire of victory, used to career in battle even in this way.  Without availing himself of any aid, he routed, however, the Pandavas and the Srinjayas in battle, and came to be regarded as the one foremost hero in the world.  Encountering him, Shikhandi, protected by thee, slew that tiger among men with his straight shafts.  Having obtained thee that art a tiger among men (as his foe), that grandsire is now stretched on a bed of arrows, like Vritra when he obtained Vasava for his foe.  The fierce Drona also slaughtered the hostile army for five days together.  Having made an impenetrable array and caused many mighty car-warriors to be slain, that great car-warrior had protected Jayadratha (for some time).  Fierce as the Destroyer himself, he caused a great carnage in the nocturnal battle.  Endued with great valour, the heroic son of Bharadwaja consumed innumerable combatants with his arrows.  At last, encountering Dhrishtadyumna, he attained to the highest end.  If, on that day, thou hadst not checked in battle all the (Dhartarashtra) car-warriors headed by the Suta’s son, Drona then would never have been slain.  Thou heldst in check the whole Dhartarashtra force.  It was for this, O Dhananjaya, that Drona could be slain by the son of Prishata.  What other Kshatriya, save thee, could in battle achieve such feats for compassing the slaughter of Jayadratha.  Checking the vast (Kaurava) army and slaying many brave kings, thou killedest king Jayadratha, aided by the might and energy of thy weapons.  All the kings regarded the slaughter of the ruler of the Sindhus to have been exceedingly wonderful.  I, however, do not regard it so; thou didst it and thou art a great car-warrior.  If this vast assemblage of Kshatriyas, obtaining thee as a foe, suffer extermination in course of even a whole day, I should, I think, still regard these Kshatriyas to be truly mighty.  When Bhishma and Drona have been slain, the terrible Dhartarashtra host, O Partha, may be regarded to have