sticking on his forehead, that brahmana looked beautiful like a
three-peaked mountain washed with water in the season of rains. The son
of Drona then afflicted the Pandava with hundreds of arrows, but failed
to shake him like the wind failing to shake the mountain. Similarly the
son of Pandu, filled with joy, could not in that battle shake the son of
Drona with his hundreds of keen shafts like torrents of rain failing to
shake a mountain. Shrouding each other with showers of terrible shafts
those two great car-warriors, those two heroes, endued with fierce might,
shone resplendent on those two foremost of cars of theirs. Then they
looked like two blazing Suns risen for the destruction of the world, and
engaged themselves in scorching each other with their rays representing
excellent arrows. Endeavouring with great care to counteract each other's
feats in the great battle, and actually engaged in matching deed by deed
with showers of arrows most fearlessly, those two foremost of men
careered in that combat like a couple of tigers. Both invincible and
terrible, arrows constituted their fangs and bows their mouths. They
became invisible under those clouds of arrows on all sides like the Sun
and the Moon in the firmament shrouded by masses of clouds. And then
those two chastisers of foes soon became visible and blazed forth like
Mars and Mercury freed from cloudy screens. Then at that instant during
the progress of that awful battle, Drona's son placing Vrikodara to his
right, poured hundreds of fierce arrows upon him like the clouds pouring
torrents of rain upon a mountain. Bhima, however, could not brook that
indication of his enemy's triumphs. The son of Pandu, O king, from that
very station on Ashvatthama's right, began to counteract the latter's
feats. Their cars continuing to wheel around in diverse ways and advance
and retreat (according to the exigencies of the situation), the battle
between those two lions among men became exceedingly furious. Careering
in diverse paths, and (executing) circular manoeuvres, they continued to
strike each other with arrows shot from their bows drawn to their fullest