Then, here and there, battle broke out among the great-souled warriors, yours and the enemy's, unyielding in the fight. The great chariot-warriors, releasing weapons of every form and rushing upon one another, joined in combat. Horses met elephants, footmen met charioteers, and all in the fight, O king, sought great glory for themselves. Suddenly, from the clash, a great, thick dust arose, raised up by the feet and wheels of chariots, horses, elephants, and foot-soldiers. A dense, smoky-red dust covered the field of battle, and neither one's own men nor the enemy, O king, could tell each other apart. Father did not know son, nor son father, when in that ghastly slaughter every boundary had vanished. From the weapons, best of the Bharatas, and from the roaring of men, there arose an immense noise, as though bamboo were burning. There a river flowed, of blood and entrails of elephants, horses, and men, with hair for its moss and grass. From the bodies of men and from the heads falling in battle there was heard a tremendous sound, as of falling stones. The earth was strewn with headless men, elephants with severed limbs, and horses with shattered bodies. Again the great chariot-warriors, releasing weapons of many kinds and rushing upon one another, joined in combat. Horses, driven by their riders, met other horses, clashed with one another in the fight, and fell lifeless. Men, meeting men, their eyes red with fury, grappled chest to chest and slew one another. Elephants, sent by their mahouts against the enemy's elephants, struck other elephants in battle with the tips of their tusks. Streaming with blood and adorned with banners, they appeared locked together like thunderclouds with lightning. Some, pierced by tusk-tips and with their temples cracked by javelins, rushed forward roaring, bellowing like rain clouds. Others, with trunks cut in two, and still others with severed limbs, fell in that tumult like mountains with their wings clipped. Others, the finest of elephants, their flanks torn open by other elephants, poured out abundant blood, as mountains pour out ore. Others, struck by iron arrows and pierced by javelins, with their riders slain, appeared like mountains without peaks. Some, overcome with fury, blinded by rut and unrestrained, trampled chariots, horses, and foot-soldiers by the hundreds in the battle. So too horses, struck by their riders' spears and javelins, dashed this way and that, throwing every direction into confusion. Charioteers together with charioteers, noble sons ready to lay down their bodies, having summoned their utmost strength, performed deeds without fear. As in the crush of a svayamvara, they struck one another, seeking glory, O king, or heaven, these warriors skilled in battle. While this hair-raising battle went on in this way, the great army of Dhritarashtra's son was for the most part put to flight.