Trishasti Shalaka Purusa Caritra Part 6

Author(s): Hemchandracharya, Helen M Johnson
Publisher: Oriental Research Institute Vadodra

Page 360

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: CHAPTER TWELVE equipped themselves with complete armor. Three thousand elephants, as many horses, as many chariots, three crores of foot-soldiers-this force of each one of the ten princes, so great, was in addition to Kūņika's might. The Lord of Campā, going against Cetaka with so great an army, covered the earth and the sun with clouds of dust.
Cețaka with unlimited troops went to attack Kūņika, accompanied by eighteen crowned kings. Three thousand elephants, as many horses, as many chariots, and three crores of foot-soldiers--that was the army of each one of the eighteen kings. King Cețaka also had an army equal in number. Cetaka went to the border of his own country and halted with his army. He made a deep ocean-formation hard to break. The lord of Campā went there with an army of the number mentioned before and made the garuda-formation unbreakable by an enemy-army. The terrible war-drums of both armies were beaten by the thousands, their sound filling the space between heaven and earth. Soldiers of both armies, who had taken the oath to die fighting, met, with their hands which were whitened with dust lifted up like pillars of fame.
Prince Kāla, general of Kūņika's army, in the beginning advanced to fight with Cetaka's army. Horseman fought with horseman, elephant-rider with elephant-rider, charioteer with charioteer, foot-soldier with foot-soldier in both armies. Then the earth appeared to have mountains of big rocks from the elephants and horses that had been felled by blows from spears. The rivers of blood looked like they had islands with water-men from the broken chariots and from the men killed in battle. There was the appearance of a plantation of asipatra246 from the flashing swords of eminent heroes on the battle-field. Rākşasas satisfied their desire for garlands with heroes' lotus-hands, cut off by swords, springing up. Soldiers' heads fell, cut off by sword-blades,
246 230. A kind of sugar-cane with sword-shaped leaves. MW. :