carried
off, Bhima of mighty strength was fired with wrath, and addressed the
Rakshasa, saying, 'I had ere this found thee out for a wicked wight from
thy scrutiny of our weapons; but as I had no apprehension of thee, so I
had not slain thee at that time. Thou wert in the disguise of a
Brahmana--nor didst thou say anything harsh unto us. And thou didst take
delight in pleasing us. And thou also didst not do us wrong. And,
furthermore, thou wert our guest. How could I, therefore, slay thee, who
wert thus innocent of offence, and who wert in the disguise of a
Brahmana? He that knowing such a one to be even a Rakshasa, slayeth him,
goes to hell. Further, thou canst not be killed before the time cometh.
Surely to-day thou hast reached the fullness of thy time in as much as
thy mind hath been thus turned by the wonder-performing Fate towards
carrying off Krishna. By committing thyself to this deed, thou hast
swallowed up the hook fastened to the line of Fate. So like unto a fish
in water, whose mouth hath been hooked, how canst thou live to-day? Thou
shall not have to go whither thou intendest to, or whither thou hadst
already gone mentally; but thou shall go whither have repaired Vaka and
Hidimva.'

"Thus addressed by Bhima, the Rakshasa in alarm put them down; and being
forced by Fate, approached for fight. And with his lips trembling in
anger he spake unto Bhima, saying, 'Wretch! I have not been bewildered; I
had been delaying for thee. To day will I offer oblations of thy blood to
those Rakshasas who, I had heard, have been slain by thee in fight' Thus
addressed, Bhima, as if bursting with wrath, like unto Yama himself at
the time of the universal dissolution, rushed towards the Rakshasa,
licking the corners of his mouth and staring at him as he struck his own
arms with the hands. And seeing Bhima waiting in expectation of fight,
the Rakshasa also darted towards him in anger, like unto Vali towards the
wielder of the thunderbolt, repeatedly gaping and licking the corners of
his mouth. And when a dreadful wrestling ensued between those two, both
the sons of Madri, waxing exceeding wroth rushed forward; but Kunti's
son, Vrikodara, forbade them with a smile and said, 'Witness ye! I am
more than a match for this Rakshasa. By my own self and by my brothers,
and by my merit, and by my good deeds, and by my sacrifices, do I swear
that I shall slay this Rakshasa.' And after this was said, those two
heroes, the Rakshasa and Vrik