and elephants; the warriors were supplied with weapons of the most
dangerous sort. The army of the Kauravas was surrounded by a deep trench
fortified by towers, and further protected by fireballs and jars full of
scorpions to be thrown at the assailants.

As night fell, before the battle, the moon's face was stained with blood,
earthquakes shook the land, and the images of the gods fell from their
places.

The next morning, when Arjuna, from his chariot, beheld the immense army,
he was appalled at the thought of the bloodshed to follow, and hesitated
to advance. Krishna insisted that it was unnecessary for him to lament,
setting forth his reasons in what is known as the Bhagavat-gita, the
divine song, in which he said it was no sin to slay a foe, since death is
but a transmigration from one form to another. The soul can never cease to
be; who then can destroy it? Therefore, when Arjuna slew his cousins he
would merely remove their offensive bodies; their souls, unable to be
destroyed, would seek other habitations. To further impress Arjuna,
Krishna boasted of himself as embodying everything, and as having passed
through many forms. Faith in Krishna was indispensable, for the god placed
faith above either works or contemplation. He next exhibited himself in
his divine form to Arjuna, and the warrior was horror-stricken at the
terrible divinity with countless arms, hands, and heads, touching the
skies. Having been thus instructed by Krishna, Arjuna went forth, and the
eighteen days' battle began.

The slaughter was wholesale; no quarter was asked or given, since each
side was determined to exterminate the other. Flights of arrows were
stopped in mid-air by flights of arrows from the other side. Great maces
were cut in pieces by well-directed darts. Bhima, wielding his great club