The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose: Vana Parva, Part 1 — John Shaqi
The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose: Vana Parva, Part 1
Religion
The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose: Vana Parva, Part 1
Epic literature, Sanskrit
"Vidura continued, 'Thus addressed by the Rakshasa, the virtuous
Yudhishthira, steadfast in his pledges, said, "It can never be so,"--and
in anger rebuked the Rakshasa. The mighty-armed Bhima then tore up in
haste a tree of the length of ten _Vyasas_ and stripped it of its
leaves. And in the space of a moment the ever-victorious Arjuna stringed
his bow _Gandiva_ possessing the force of the thunderbolt. And, O
Bharata, making Jishnu desist, Bhima approached that Rakshasa still
roaring like the clouds and said unto him, "_Stay! Stay!_" And thus
addressing the cannibal, and tightening the cloth around his waist, and
rubbing his palms, and biting his nether lip with his teeth, and armed
with the tree, the powerful Bhima rushed towards the foe. And like unto
Maghavat hurling his thunderbolt, Bhima made that tree, resembling the
mace of Yama himself descend with force on the head of the cannibal. The
Rakshasa, however, was seen to remain unmoved at that blow, and wavered
not in the conflict. On the other hand, he hurled his lighted brand,
flaming like lightning, at Bhima. But that foremost of warriors turned
it off with his left foot in such a way that it went back towards the
Rakshasa. Then the fierce Kirmira on his part, all on a sudden uprooting
a tree darted to the encounter like unto the mace-bearing Yama himself.
And that fight, so destructive of the trees, looked like the encounter
in days of yore between the brothers Vali and Sugriva for the possession
of the same woman. And the trees struck at the heads of the combatants,
were broken into splinters, like lotus-stalks thrown on the temples of
infuriate elephants. And in that great forest, innumerable trees,
crushed like unto reeds, lay scattered as rags. That encounter with
trees between that foremost of Rakshasas and that best of men, O thou
bull of the Bharata race, lasted but for a moment. Then taking up a
crag, the angry Rakshasa hurled it at Bhima standing before him, but the
latter wavered not. Then like unto Rahu going to devour the sun
dispersing his rays with extended arms, the Rakshasa with out-stretched
arms darted towards Bhima, who had remained firm under the blow
inflicted with the crag. And tugging at and grappling with each other in
diverse ways they appeared like two infuriate bulls struggling with each
other. Or like unto two mighty tigers armed with teeth and claws, the
encounter between them waxed fierce and hard. And remembering their
(late) disgrace at the hands of Duryodhana, and proud of the strength of
his arms, and conscious also of Krishna looking at him, Vrikodara began
to swell in vigour. And fired with anger, Bhima seized the Rakshasa with
his arms, as one elephant in rut seizeth another. And the powerful
Rakshasa also in his turn seized his adversary, but Bhimasena that
foremost of all men endued with strength, threw the cannibal down with
violence. The sounds that in consequence of those mighty combatants
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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