ere to be twisted into chords. And with clenched fists they
struck each other at times, pretending to aim at particular limbs while
the blows descended upon other parts of the body. It was thus that those
heroes fought with each other. The citizens consisting of thousands, of
Brahmanas, Kshatriyas and Vaisyas and Sudras, and even women and the
aged, O tiger among men, came out and gathered there to behold the fight.
And the crowd became so great that it was one solid mass of humanity with
no space between body and body. The sound the wrestlers made by the
slapping of their arms, the seizing of each other's necks for bringing
each other down, and the grasping of each other's legs for dashing each
other to the ground, became so loud that it resembled the roar of thunder
or of falling cliffs. Both of them were foremost of mighty men, and both
took great delight in such encounter. Desirous of vanquishing the other,
each was on the alert for taking advantage of the slightest lapse of the
other. And, O monarch, the mighty Bhima and Jarasandha fought terribly on
in those lists, driving the crowd at times by the motions of their hands
like Vritra and Vasava of old. Thus two heroes, dragging each other
forward and pressing each other backward and with sudden jerks throwing
each other face downward and sideways, mangled each other dreadfully. And
at times they struck each other with their knee-joints. And addressing
each other loudly in stinging speeches, they struck each other with
clenched fists, the blows descending like a mass of stone upon each
other. With broad shoulders and long arms and both well-skilled in
wrestling encounters, they struck each other with those long arms of
theirs that were like maces of iron. That encounter of the heroes
commenced on the first (lunar) day of the month of Kartic (October) and
the illustrious heroes fought on without intermission and food, day and
night, till the thirteenth lunar day. It was on the night of the
fourteenth of the lunar fortnight that the monarch of Magadha desisted
from fatigue. And O king, Janardana beholding the monarch tired,
addressed Bhima of terrible deeds, and as if to stimulate him said,--'O
son of Kunti, a foe that is fatigued cannot be pressed for if pressed at
such a time he may even die. Therefore, O son of Kunti, this king should
not be oppressed by thee. On the other hand, O bull of the Bharata race,
fight with him With thy arms, putting forth as much strength o