Vaishampayana said: ‘Having ridden out of the capital, Vairati Prithivinjaya said to his charioteer: “Drive to where the Kurus have gone. Once I have defeated the assembled Kurus, who wish for victory, I will quickly seize their cows and return again to my own city.” Then Pandunandana urged on those fine horses, and the horses, driven on by the lion among men, swift as the wind and adorned with golden garlands, bore them onward as though tracing lines across the sky. Having gone not far, the son of Matsya and Dhananjaya, destroyers of enemies, beheld the army of the mighty Kurus as they approached the cremation ground. That vast army of theirs, roaring like the ocean, shone like a forest of many trees creeping across the sky. The dust of the earth raised by that movement could be seen, destroying the sight of beings and touching the heavens, O best of men. Having seen that great army, thronged with elephants, horses, and chariots, guarded by Karna, Duryodhana, and Kripa, and by the son of Shantanu, and by Drona together with his son, the wise great archer, Vairati, his hair standing on end and troubled by fear, said to Partha: “I have no heart to fight the Kurus; see how my hair stands on end. I will not be able to withstand the endless army of the Kurus, full of many mighty heroes, terrible and hard to approach even for the gods. I dare not hope to enter the army of the Bharatas, formidable with bows, tangled with chariots, elephants and horses, filled with foot soldiers and banners. Merely at the sight of the enemy in battle, my spirit seems to tremble. There stand Drona, Bhishma, Kripa, Karna, Vivimshati, Ashvatthaman, Vikarna, Somadatta and Bahlika; there stands the hero Duryodhana, the king and best of charioteers, along with brilliant great archers, all masters of war. Merely at the sight of these Kurus, drawn up in battle array and ready to strike, my hair has risen and darkness has come over me.”’