Mahabharata Karna parva Chapter 29

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Mahabharata Karna parva Chapter 29

"Dhritarashtra said, 'I have heard from thee, O Sanjaya, of many poignant and unbearable griefs as also of the losses sustained by my sons. From what thou hast said unto me, from the manner in which the battle has been fought, it is my certain conviction, O Suta, that the Kauravas are no more. Duryodhana was made carless in that dreadful battle. How did Dharma's son (then) fight, and how did the royal Duryodhana also fight in return? How also occurred that battle which was fought in the afternoon? Tell me all this in detail, for thou art skilled in narration, O Sanjaya.' "Sanjaya said, 'When the troops of both armies were engaged in battle, according to their respective divisions, thy son Duryodhana, O king, riding on another car and filled with rage like a snake of virulent poison, beholding king Yudhishthira the just, quickly addressed his own driver, O Bharata, saying, "Proceed, proceed, quickly take me there, O driver, where the royal son of Pandu, clad in mail shineth under yon umbrella held over his head." Thus urged by the king, the driver, in that battle, quickly urged his royal master's goodly car towards the face of Yudhishthira. At this, Yudhishthira also, filled with rage and looking like an infuriate elephant, urged his own driver saying, "Proceed to where Suyodhana is." Then those two heroes and brothers and foremost of car-warriors encountered each other. Both endued with great energy, both filled with wrath, both difficult of defeat in battle, approaching each other, those two great bowmen began to mangle each other with their arrows in that battle. Then king Duryodhana, in that encounter, O sire, with a broad-headed arrow whetted on stone, cut in twain the bow of the virtuous monarch. Filled with rage, Yudhishthira could not brook that insult. Casting aside his broken bow, with eyes red in wrath, Dharma's son took up another bow at the head of his forces, and then cut off Duryodhana's standard and bow.
Duryodhana then, taking up another bow, pierced the son of Pandu. Filled with rage, they continued to shoot showers of shafts at each other. Desirous of vanquishing each other, they resembled a pair of angry lions. They struck each other in that battle like a couple of roaring bulls. Those mighty car-warriors continued to career, expecting to find each other's lapses. Then wounded with shafts sped from bows drawn to their fullest stretch the two warriors, O king, looked resplendent like flowering Kinsukas. They then, O king, repeatedly uttered leonine roars. Those two rulers of men, in that dreadful battle, also made loud sounds with their palms and caused their bows to twang loudly. And they blew their conchs too with great force. And they afflicted each other very much. Then king Yudhishthira, filled with rage, struck thy son in the chest with three irresistible shafts endued with force of thunder.

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