e hath two friends that are like unto the
immortals, and in point of strength the foremost of all men endued with
might. They are called Hansa and Dimvaka who are both incapable of being
slain by weapons. The mighty Jarasandha, being united with them, becomes
incapable, I think, of being vanquished by even the three worlds. O thou
foremost of all intelligent men, this is not our opinion alone but all
other kings also are of the same mind. There lived, O monarch, a king of
the name of Hansa, who was slain by Rama (Valadeva) after a battle of
eighteen days. But, O Bharata, hearing people say that Hansa had been
killed, Dimvaka, O king, thought that he could not live without Hansa. He
accordingly jumped into the waters of the Yamuna and killed himself.
Afterwards when Hansa, the subjugator of hostile heroes, heard that
Dimvaka, had killed himself, he went to the Yamuna and jumped into its
waters. Then, O bull of the Bharata race, king Jarasandha, hearing that
both Hansa and Dimvaka had been killed, returned to his kingdom with an
empty heart. After Jarasandha had returned, O slayer of all foes, we were
filled with pleasure and continued to live at Mathura. Then the widow of
Hansa and the daughter of Jarasandha, that handsome woman with eyes like
lotus-petals, grieved at the death of her lord, went unto her father, and
repeatedly urged, O Monarch, the king of Magadha, saying,--O slayer of
all foes, kill thou the slayer of my husband.--Then, O great king,
remembering the conclusion to which we had come of old we became
exceedingly cheerless and fled from Mathura. Dividing our large wealth
into small portions so as to make each portion easily portable, we fled
from fear of Jarasandha, with our cousins and relatives. Reflecting upon
everything, we fled towards the west. There is a delightful town towards
the west called Kusasthali, adorned by the mountains of Raivata. In that
city, O monarch, we took up our abode. We rebuilt its fort and made it so
strong that it has become impregnable even to the Gods. And from within
it even the women might fight the foe, what to speak of the Yadava heroes
without fear of any kind? O slayer of all foes, we are now living in that
city. And, O tiger of the Kuru race, considering the inaccessibility of
that first of mountains and regarding themselves as having already
crossed the fear of Jarasandha, the descendants of Madhu have become
exceedingly glad. Thus, O king, though possessed of strength a