sixth in the Bharata. In this have been composed one hundred and seventeen sections. The number of slokas is five thousand, eight hundred and eighty.four as told by Vyasa conversant with the Vedas.
"Then is recited the wonderful Parva called Drona full of incidents. First comes the installation in the command of the army of the great instructor in arms, Drona : then the vow made by that great master of weapons of seizing the wise Yudhishthira in battle to please Duryodhana ; then the retreat of Arjuna from the field before the Sansaptakas; then the overthrow of Bhagadatta like to a second Indra in the field, with the elephant Supritika, by Arjuna ; then the death of the hero Abhimanyu in his teens, alone and unsupported, at the hands of many Maharathas including Jayadratha; then after the death of Abhimanyu, the destruction by Arjuna, in battle of seven Akshauhinis of troops and then of Jayadratha ; then the entry, by Bhima of mighty arms and by that foremost of warrior-in-chariot, Satyaki, into the Kaurava ranks impenetrable even to the gods, in search of Arjuna in obedience to the orders of Yudhishthira, and the destruction of the remnant of the Sansaptakas. In the Drona Parva, is the death of Alam busha, of Srutayus, of Jalasandha, of Shomadatta, of Virata, of the great warrior-in-chariot Drupada, of Ghatotkacha and others; in this Parva, Aswatthaman, excited beyond measure at the fall of his father in battle, discharged the terrible weapon Narayana. Then the glory of Rudra in connection with the burning of the three cities). Then the arrival of Vyasa and recital by him of the glory of Krishna and Arjuna. This is the great seventh Parva of the Bharata in which all the heroic chiefs and princes mentioned were sent to their account. The number of sections in this is one hundred and seventy. The number of slokas as composed in the Drona Parva by Rishi Vyasa, the son of Parasara and the possessor of true knowledge after much medi. tation, is eight thousand, nine hundred and nine,
"Then comes the most wonderful Parva called Karna. In this is narrated the appointment of the wise king of Madra as (Karna's) charioteer. Then the history of the fall of the Asura Tripura. Then the application to each other by Karna and Salya of harsh words on their setting out for the field, then the story of the swan and the crow recited in insulting allusion: then the death of Pandya at the hands of the bigh-souled Aswatthaman, then the death of Dandasena; then that of Darda : then Yudhishthira's imminent risk in single combat with Karna in the presence of all the warriors: then the mutual wrath of Yudhishthira and Arjuna ; then Krishna's pacification of Arjuna. In this Parva, Bhima, in fulfilment of his vow, having ripped open Dussa sana's breast in battle drank the blood of his heart. Then Arjuna
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