SECTION XIII
(Samayapalana Parva)
"Janamejaya said, 'While living thus disguised in the city of the
Matsyas, what did those descendants of the Kuru race endued with great
prowess, do, O regenerate one!'
"Vaisampayana said, 'Hear, O king, what those descendants of Kuru did
while they dwelt thus in disguise in the city of the Matsyas, worshipping
the king thereof. By the grace of the sage Trinavindu and of the
high-souled lord of justice, the Pandavas continued to live unrecognised
by others in the city of Virata. O lord of men, Yudhishthira, as courtier
made himself agreeable to Virata and his sons as also to all the Matsyas.
An adept in the mysteries of dice, the son of Pandu caused them to play
at dice according to his pleasure and made them sit together in the
dice-hall like a row of birds bound in a string. And that tiger among
men, king Yudhishthira the Just, unknown to the monarch, distributed
among his brothers, in due proportion, the wealth he won from Virata. And
Bhimasena on his part, sold to Yudhishthira for price, meat and viands of
various kinds which he obtained from the king. And Arjuna distributed
among all his brothers the proceeds of worn-out cloths which he earned in
the inner apartments of the palace. And Sahadeva, too, who was disguised
as a cowherd gave milk, curds and clarified butter to his brothers. And
Nakula also shared with his brothers the wealth the king gave him,
satisfied with his management of the horses. And Draupadi, herself in a
pitiable condition, looked after all those brothers and behaved in such a
way as to remain unrecognized. And thus ministering unto one another's
wants, those mighty warriors lived in the capital of Virata as hidden
from view, as if they were once more in their mother's womb. And those
lords of men, the sons of Pandu, apprehensive of danger from the son of
Dhritarashtra, continued to dwell there in concealment, watching over
their wife Draupadi. And after three months had passed away, in the
fourth, the grand festival in honour of the divine Brahma which was
celebrated with pomp in the country of the Matsyas, came off. And there
came athletes from all quarters by thousands, like hosts of celestials to
the abode of Brahma or of Siva to witness that festival. And they were
endued with huge bodies and great prowess, like the demons called
Kalakhanjas. And elated with their prowess and proud of their strength,
they were highly honoured by the king. And their shoulders and waists and
necks were like those of lions, and their bodies were very clean, and
their hearts were quite at ease. And they had many a time won success in
the lists in the presence of kings. And amongst them there was one who
towered above the rest and challenged them all to a combat. And there was
none that dared to approach him as he proudly stalked in the arena. And
when all the athletes stood sad and dispirited, the king of the Matsyas
made him fight with his cook. And urged by the king, Bhima made up his
mind reluctantly, for he could not openly disobey the royal behest. And
that tiger among men then having worshipped the king, entered the
spacious arena, pacing with the careless steps of a tiger. And the son of
Kunti then girded up his loins to the great delight of the spectators.
And Bhima then summoned to the combat that athlete known by the name of
Jimuta who was like unto the Asura Vritra whose prowess was widely known.
And both of them were possessed of great courage, and both were endued
with terrible prowess. And they were like a couple of infuriate and
huge-bodied elephants, each sixty years old. And those brave tigers among
men then cheerfully engaged in a wrestling combat, desirous of
vanquishing each other. And terrible was the encounter that took place
between them, like the clash of the thunderbolt against the stony
mountain-breast. And both of them were exceedingly powerful and extremely
delighted at each other's strength. And desirous of vanquishing each
other, each stood eager to take advantage of his adversary's lapse. And
both were greatly delighted and both looked like infuriate elephants of
prodigious size. And various were the modes of attack and defence that
they exhibited with their clenched fists.[12] And each dashed against the
other and flung his adversary to a distance. And each cast the other down
and pressed him close to the ground. And each got up again and squeezed
the other in his arms. And each threw the other violently off his place
by boxing him on the breast. And each caught the other by the legs and
whirling him round threw him down on the ground. And they slapped each
other with their palms that struck as hard as the thunderbolt. And they
also struck each other with their outstretched fingers, and stretching
them out like spears thrust the nails into each other's body. And they
gave each other violent kicks. And they struck knee and head against
head, producing the crash of one stone against another. And in this
manner that furious combat between those warriors raged on without
weapons, sustained mainly by the power of their arms and their physical
and mental energy, to the infinite delight of the concourse of
spectators. And all people, O king, took deep interest in that encounter
of those powerful wrestlers who fought like Indra and the Asura Vritra.
And they cheered both of them with loud acclamations of applause. And the
broad-chested and long-armed experts in wrestling then pulled and pressed
and whirled and hurled down each other and struck each other with their
knees, expressing all the while their scorn for each other in loud
voices. And they began to fight with their bare arms in this way, which
were like spiked maces of iron. And at last the powerful and mighty-armed
Bhima, the slayer of his foes, shouting aloud seized the vociferous
athlete by the arms even as the lion seizes the elephant, and taking him
up from the ground and holding him aloft, began to whirl him round, to
the great astonishment of the assembled athletes and the people of
Matsya. And having whirled him round and round a hundred times till he
was insensible, the strong-armed Vrikodara dashed him to death on the
ground. And when the brave and renowned Jimuta was thus killed, Virata
and his friends were filled with great delight. And in the exuberance of
his joy, the noble-minded king rewarded Vallava then and there with the
liberality of Kuvera. And killing numerous athletes and many other men
possessed of great bodily strength, he pleased the king very much. And
when no one could be found there to encounter him in the lists, the king
made him fight with tigers and lions and elephants. And the king also
made him battle with furious and powerful lions in the harem for the
pleasure of the ladies. And Arjuna, too, pleased the king and all the
ladies of the inner apartments by singing and dancing. And Nakula pleased
Virata, that best of kings, by showing him fleet and well-trained steeds
that followed him wherever he went. And the king, gratified with him,
rewarded him with ample presents. And beholding around Sahadeva a herd of
well-trained bullocks, Virata that bull among men, bestowed upon him also
wealth of diverse kinds. And, O king, Draupadi distressed to see all
those warriors suffer pain, sighed incessantly. And it was in this way
that those eminent persons lived there in disguise, rendering services
unto king Virata.'"
--------------------END OF PARVA 4 : UPA-PARVA 13 ---------------------
