88.15

O majesty even in that grand company of great archers your son’s words were bold and brazen. But furious as the Destroyer, like Indra holding his thunderbolt or like time’s ministrant sceptred Death whom none can oppose, like Varuna rudely awoken and bearing his spear to his flock, like the great fire at the end of the age that burns us all away the destroyer of the Nivata·kavachas stood with Narayana at his side in his supernal car, wild with might and rage and hate and soon to add to his towering store of triumphs the fulfillment of his mighty oath, and clad in pearled armour with his sword and diadem of gold and his bright robes and garlands and glittering torcs and rings and with Gandiva in his hand Nara shone then across the plain like the risen sun.

88.20

O king. In the broad path of arrows at the van of his horde, Dhanan·jaya drew to a halt and blazed. O majesty, he blew into his great conch and as he did Krishna lifted Pancha·janya and with all his breath added its note to the sound.

88.25

O lord of men the drone from those two shells shook through the lines of your soldiers and their hair stood on end as a witless horror took hold of them. The sound was like the roll of thunder that brings fear to all mortal things and all about us the animals pissed and shat in terror and a tremor passed through the whole of the host. My lord every man felt his knees go weak and his thoughts dissolve as above the susurrus of the other spirits in the standards we heard a gruesome hoot from the monkey’s muzzle.*