“’Shakuni said, “Brave warriors, when excited with rage in battle, do not obey the command of their leaders.  It does not behove thee to be angry with those men.  This is not the time to stand indifferently.  We shall, therefore, all of us, united together with our cars and horses and elephants, proceed, for rescuing those great bowmen, the followers of the Madra king!  With great care, O king, we shall protect one another.”  Thinking after the manner of Shakuni, all the Kauravas then proceeded to that place where the Madras were.  Duryodhana also, thus addressed (by his maternal uncle) proceeded, encompassed by a large force, against the foe, uttering leonine shouts and causing the Earth to resound with that noise.  “Slay, pierce, seize, strike, cut off!” These were the loud sounds that were heard then, O Bharata, among those troops.  Meanwhile the Pandavas, beholding in that battle the followers of the Madra king assailing them unitedly, proceeded against them, arraying themselves in the form called Madhyama.  Fighting hand to hand, O monarch, for a short while those heroic warriors, the followers of the Madra king, were seen to perish.  Then, whilst we were proceeding, the Pandavas, united together and endued with great activity, completed the slaughter of the Madrakas, and, filled with delight, uttered joyous shouts.  Then headless forms were seen to arise all around.  Large meteors seemed to fall down from the sun’s disc.  The Earth became covered with cars and broken yokes and axles and slain car-warriors and lifeless steeds.  Steeds fleet as the wind, still attached to yokes of cars (but without drivers to guide them) were seen to drag car-warriors, O monarch, hither and thither on the field of battle.  Some horses were seen to drag cars with broken wheels, while some ran on all sides, bearing after them portions of broken cars.  Here and there also were seen steeds that were hampered in their motions by their traces.  Car-warriors, while falling down from their cars, were seen to drop down like denizens of heaven on the exhaustion of their merits.  When the brave followers of the Madra king were slain, the mighty car-warriors of the Parthas, those great smiters, beholding a body of horse advancing towards them, rushed towards it with speed from desire of victory.  Causing their arrows to whiz loudly and making diverse other kinds of noise mingled with the blare of their conchs, those effectual smiters possessed of sureness of aim, shaking their bows, uttered leonine roars.  Beholding then that large force of the Madra king exterminated and seeing also their heroic king slain in battle, the entire army of Duryodhana once more turned away from the field.  Struck, O monarch, by those firm bowmen, the Pandavas, the Kuru army fled away on all sides, inspired with fear.’

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