“Meanwhile, Phalguna, impelled by the desire of doing good unto
Bharadwaja’s son, assailed the son of Prishata with a shower of arrows
and felled him from the elephant on which he was seated. And, O monarch,
Arjuna, like unto the terrible fire that consumeth all things at the end
of the Yuga, began to prostrate on the ground horses and cars and
elephants by thousands. The Panchalas and the Srinjayas, on the other
hand, thus assailed by the Pandava, met him with a perfect shower of
weapons of various kinds. And they sent up a loud shout and fought
desperately with Arjuna. The battle became furious and terrible to
behold. Hearing the enemy’s shouts, the son of Indra was filled with
wrath and assailing the hostile host with a thick shower of arrows,
rushed towards it furiously afflicting it with renewed vigour. They who
observed the illustrious Arjuna at that time could not mark any interval
between his fixing the arrows on the bowstring and letting them off. Loud
were the shouts that rose there, mingled with cheers of approval. Then
the king of the Panchalas, accompanied by (the generalissimo of his
forces) Satyajit, rushed with speed at Arjuna like the Asura Samvara
rushing at the chief of the celestials (in days of yore). Then Arjuna
covered the king of Panchala with a shower of arrows. Then there arose a
frightful uproar among the Panchala host like unto the roar of a mighty
lion springing at the leader of a herd of elephants. And beholding Arjuna
rushing at the king of Panchala to seize him, Satyajit of great prowess
rushed at him. And the two warriors, like unto Indra and the Asura
Virochana’s son (Vali), approaching each other for combat, began to grind
each other’s ranks. Then Arjuna with great force pierced Satyajit with
ten keen shafts at which feat the spectators were all amazed. But
Satyajit, without losing any time, assailed Arjuna with a hundred shafts.
Then that mighty car-warrior, Arjuna, endued with remarkable lightness of
motion, thus covered by that shower of arrows, rubbed his bow-string to
increase the force and velocity of his shafts. Then cutting in twain his
antagonist’s bow, Arjuna rushed at the king of the Panchalas, but
Satyajit, quickly taking up a tougher bow, pierced with his arrows
Partha, his chariot, charioteer, and horses. Arjuna, thus assailed in
battle by the Panchala warrior, forgave not his foe. Eager to slay him at
once, he pierced with a number of arrows his antagonist’s horses, flags,
bow, clenched (left) fist, charioteer, and the attendant at his back.
Then Satyajit, finding his bows repeatedly cut in twain and his horses
slain, desisted from the fight.