SECTION 83
"Sanjaya said, 'Fighting fiercely, prince Duhshasana achieved the most
difficult feats in that encounter. With a single shaft he cut off Bhima's
bow, and then with six shafts he pierced his foe's driver. Having
achieved those feats, the prince, endued with great activity, pierced
Bhima himself with nine shafts. Indeed the high-souled warrior, without
losing a moment, then pierced Bhimasena with many shafts of great energy.
Filled with rage at this, Bhimasena, endued with great activity, sped at
thy son a fierce dart. Beholding that terrible dart impetuously coursing
towards him like a blazing brand, your high-souled son cut it off with ten
shafts shot from his bow drawn to its fullest stretch. Seeing that
difficult feat achieved by him, all the warriors, filled with joy,
applauded him highly. Thy son then once more pierced Bhima deeply with
another shaft. Blazing with wrath at sight of Duhshasana, Bhima then
addressed him, saying, "Pierced I have been, O hero, quickly and deeply,
by thee. Bear now, however, once more, the stroke of my mace." Having
said this, the enraged Bhima took up that terrible mace of his for
Duhshasana's slaughter. Once more addressing him, he said, "O you of
wicked soul, I shall today drink your blood on the field of battle." Thus
addressed, your son sped at Bhima with great force a fierce dart
resembling Death itself. Bhima also, his form filled with wrath, whirled
his terrible mace and hurled it at his antagonist. That mace,
precipitately breaking Duhshasana's dart, struck your son on his head.
Indeed, perspiring like an elephant with juicy secretions trickling down
his body, Bhima, in that dreadful battle, hurled his mace at the prince.
With that weapon, Bhimasena forcibly threw Duhshasana down from his car
at a distance measured by the length of ten bows. Struck with the
impetuous mace, Duhshasana, thrown down on the ground, began to tremble.
All his steeds also, O king, were slain, and his car too was reduced to
atoms by that falling weapon. As regards Duhshasana himself, his armour
and ornaments and attire and garlands were all displaced, and he began to
writhe, afflicted with agony. Endued with great activity, Bhimasena then
recollected, in the midst of that terrible battle and standing as he did
amid many foremost warriors of the Kuru army, all the acts of hostility
(done towards the Pandavas) by your sons. The mighty-armed Bhima of
inconceivable feats, O king, beholding Duhshasana (in that plight), and
recollecting the seizure of Draupadi's tresses and her disrobing while
she was ill,--indeed, the innocent Bhima, reflecting also upon the
diverse other wrongs inflicted on that princess while her husbands sat
with faces turned away from the scene, blazed up in wrath like fire fed
with libations of clarified butter. Addressing Karna and Suyodhana and
Kripa and Drona's son and Kritavarma, he said, "Today I shall slay the
wretched Duhshasana. Let all the warriors protect him (if they can)."
Having said this, Bhima of exceeding strength and great activity suddenly
rushed, from desire of slaying Duhshasana. Like a lion of fierce
impetuosity rushing towards a mighty elephant, Vrikodara, that foremost
of heroes, rushed towards Duhshasana in that battle and attacked him in
the very sight of Suyodhana and Karna. Jumping down from his car, he
alighted on the ground, and fixed his eyes steadfastly on his fallen foe.
Drawing then his whetted sword of keen edge, and trembling with rage, he
placed his foot upon the throat of Duhshasana, and ripping open the
breast of his enemy stretched on the ground, quaffed his warm life-blood.
Then throwing him down and cutting off, O king, with that sword the head
of your son, Bhima of great intelligence, desirous of accomplishing his
vow, again quaffed his enemy's blood little by little, as if for enjoying
its taste. Then looking at him with wrathful eyes, he said these words,
"I regard the taste of this blood of my enemy to be superior to that of
my mother's milk, or honey, or clarified butter, or good wine that is
prepared from honey, or excellent water, or milk, or curds, or skimmed
milk, or all other kinds of drinks there are on earth that are sweet as
ambrosia or nectar." Once more, Bhima of fierce deeds, his heart filled
with wrath, beholding Duhshasana dead, laughed softly and said, "What
more can I do to thee? Death has rescued you from my hands." They, O
king, that saw Bhimasena, while he filled with joy at having quaffed the
blood of his foe, was uttering those words and stalking on the field of
battle, fell down in fear. They that did not fall down at the sight, saw
their weapons drop from their hands. Many, from fear, cried out feebly
and looked at Bhima with half-shut eyes. Indeed, all those that stood
around Bhima and beheld him drink the blood of Duhshasana, fled away,
overwhelmed with fear, and saying unto one another, "This one is no human
being!" When Bhima had assumed that form, people, beholding him quaff his
enemy's blood, fled away with Citrasena, saying unto one another, 'This
Bhima must be a rakshasa!" Then the (Pancala) prince Yudhamanyu, at the
head of his troops, fearlessly pursued the retreating Citrasena and
pierced him with seven keen shafts, quickly sped one after another. At
this, like a trampled snake of great energy repeatedly darting out its
tongue and desirous of vomiting its poison, Citrasena turned back and
pierced the Pancala prince with three shafts and his driver with six. The
brave Yudhamanyu then struck off his enemy's head with a shaft equipped
with goodly wings and an exceedingly keen point and sped with great care
from his bow drawn to its fullest stretch. Upon the fall of his brother
Citrasena, Karna, filled with wrath and displaying his prowess, put the
Pandava host to flight, at which Nakula rushed against that warrior of
immeasurable energy. Bhima, having slain there (at the very sight of
Karna) the vindictive Duhshasana, took up a little quantity of his blood,
and, endued with stentorian lungs, he said these words in the hearing of
all those foremost of heroes of the world, "O wretch amongst men, here I
drink your life-blood from your throat. Filled with joy, abuse us once
more, saying 'beast, beast' (as you didst before)." And he continued,
"They that danced at us then, saying, 'beast, beast,' even we will dance
at them now, repeating their own words. Our sleep at the palace at
Pramanakoti, the administration of deadly poison to our food, the bites
of black cobras, the setting fire to the house of lac, the robbing of our
kingdom by gambling, our exile in the woods, the cruel seizure of
Draupadi's beautiful tresses, the strokes of shafts and weapons in
battle, our miseries at home, the other kinds of sufferings we endured at
Virata's abode, all these woes borne by us through the counsels of
Shakuni and Duryodhana and Radha's son, proceeded from you as their
cause. Through the wickedness of Dhritarashtra and his son, we have
endured all these woes. Happiness has never been ours." Having said these
words, O king, the victorious Vrikodara, once more spoke these words unto
Keshava and Arjuna. Indeed, bathed in blood, with blood flowing from his
wounds, with face exceedingly red, filled with great wrath, Bhimasena
endued with great activity, said these words, "Ye heroes, that which I
had vowed in respect of Duhshasana in battle, I have accomplished today.
I will soon accomplish my other vow by slaying that second beast, viz.,
Duryodhana, in this sacrifice of battle. Striking the head of that
wicked-souled one with my foot in the presence of the Kauravas, I shall
obtain peace." Having said these words, Bhima, filled with great joy,
drenched with blood, uttered loud shouts, even as the mighty and
high-souled Indra of a 1,000 eyes had roared after slaying (the Asura)
Vritra.'"
--------------------END OF PARVA 8 : UPA-PARVA 83 ---------------------
