yas
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 ap