SECTION XVIII
Sanjaya said,--"Soon after, O king, a loud uproar, causing the heart to
tremble was heard, made by the combatants ready for the fight. Indeed,
with the sounds of conches and drums, the grunts of elephants, and the
clatter of car-wheels, the Earth seemed to rend in twain. And soon the
welkin and the whole Earth was filled with the neigh of chargers and the
shouts of combatants. O irresistible one, the troops of your sons and of
the Pandavas both trembled when they encountered each other. There (on
the field of battle) elephants and cars, decked in gold, looked beautiful
like clouds decked with lightning. And standards of diverse forms, O
king, belonging to the combatants on your side, and adorned with golden
rings, looked resplendent like fire. And those standards of your side and
theirs, resembled, O Bharata, the banners of Indra in his celestial
mansions. And the heroic warriors all accoutred and cased in golden coats
of mail endued with the effulgence of the blazing Sun, themselves looked
like blazing fire or the Sun. All the foremost warriors amongst the
Kurus, O king, with excellent bows, and weapons upraised (for striking),
with leathern fences on their hands, and with standards,--those mighty
bowmen, of eyes large as those of bulls, all placed themselves at the
heads of their (respective) divisions. And these amongst your sons, O
king, protected Bhishma from behind, viz.. Dussasana, and Durvishaha, and
Durmukha, and Dussaha and Vivinsati, and Chitrasena, and that mighty
car-warrior Vikarna. And amongst them were Satyavrata, and Purumitra, and
Jaya, and Bhurisravas, and Sala. And twenty thousand car-warriors
followed them. The Abhishahas, the Surasenas, the Sivis, and the Vasatis,
the Swalyas, the Matsyas, the Amvashtas, the Trigartas, and the Kekayas,
the Sauviras, the Kitavas, and the dwellers of the Eastern, Western, and
the Northern countries,--these twelve brave races were resolved to fight
reckless of the lives. And these protected the grandsire with a
multitudinous array of cars. And with a division that consisted of ten
thousand active elephants, the king of Magadha followed that large car
division. They that protected the wheels of the cars and they that
protected the elephants, numbered full six millions. And the
foot-soldiers that marched in advance (of the army), armed with bows,
swords, and shields, numbered many hundreds of thousands. And they fought
also using their nails and bearded darts. And the ten and one Akshauhinis
of your son, O Bharata, looked, O mighty king, like Ganga separated from
Yamuna.[102]"
--------------------END OF PARVA 6 : UPA-PARVA 18 ---------------------
