Chapter 106

“Sanjaya said, ‘Having fled away from Bhima, Alamvusha, in another partof the field, careered fearlessly in battle. And while he was thusfearlessly careering in battle, the son of Hidimva rushed impetuously athim and pierced him with keen shafts. The battle between those two lionsamong Rakshasas became terrible. Both of them invoked into existenceillusions like Sakra and Samvara (in days of old). Alamvusha, excitedwith rage, attacked Ghatotkacha. Indeed, that encounter between those twoforemost of Rakshasas resembled that of old between Rama and Ravana, Olord! Then Ghatotkacha having pierced Alamvusha, in the centre of thechest with twenty long shafts, repeatedly roared like a lion. Smilingly,O king, Alamvusha also, repeatedly piercing the invincible son ofHidimva, uttered loud roars in joy, filling the entire welkin. Then,those two foremost of Rakshasas, endued with great might, became filledwith rage. They fought with each other, displaying their powers ofillusion, but without any of them getting any advantage over the other.Each, creating a hundred illusions, stupefied the other. Bothaccomplished in producing’ illusions, O king, that Ghatotkacha displayedin battle, were all destroyed, O monarch, by Alamvusha, producing similarillusions of his own. Beholding that prince of Rakshasas, viz.,Alamvusha, who was accomplished in producing illusions, fight in thatmanner, the Pandavas became filled with anxiety, they then caused him tobe surrounded by many foremost of car-warriors. Bhimasena and others, Omonarch, all rushed in rage against him. Hemming him, O sire, on allsides by means of numberless cars, they shrouded him from every side withshafts, like men in a forest encompassing an elephant with blazingbrands. Baffling that shower of weapons by means of the illusion of hisown weapons, freed himself from that press of cars like an elephant froma forest conflagration. Then drawing his terrible bow whose twangresembled the thunder of Indra, he pierced the son of the Wind-god withfive and twenty shafts, and Bhimasena’s son with five, and Yudhishthirawith three, and Sahadeva with seven, and Nakula with three and seventy,and each of the five sons of Draupadi with five shafts, and uttered aloud roar. Then Bhimasena pierced him in return with nine shafts, andSahadeva with five. And Yudhishthira pierced the Rakshasa with a hundredshafts. And Nakula pierced him with three shafts. The son of Hidimvahaving pierced him with five hundred shafts, Alamvusha once more piercedhim with seventy, and that mighty warrior uttered a loud roar. With thatloud roar of Ghatotkacha the earth shook, O king, with her mountains andforests and with her trees and waters. Deeply pierced on all sides bythose great bowmen and mighty car-warriors, Alamvusha pierced each ofthem in return with five arrows. Then that Rakshasa, O chief of theBharatas, viz., the son of Hidimva, filled with rage, pierced that otherangry Rakshasa in battle with many shafts. Then that mighty prince ofRakshasas, viz., Alamvusha, deeply pierced, quickly shot countless shaftsequipped with wings of gold and whetted on stone. Those shafts, perfectlystraight, all entered the body of Ghatotkacha, like angry snakes of greatstrength entering a mountain summit. Then the Pandavas, O king, filledwith anxiety, and Hidimva’s son Ghatotkacha, also sped at their foe fromevery side clouds of keen shafts. Thus struck in battle by the Pandavas,desirous of victory, Alamvusha mortal as he was, did not know what to do.Then that delighter in battle, viz., the mighty son of Bhimasena,beholding that state of Alamvusha, set his heart upon his destruction. Herushed with great impetuosity towards the car of the prince of Rakshasas,that car which resembled a burnt mountain summit or a broken heap ofantimony. The son of Hidimva, inflamed with wrath, flew from his own carto that of Alamvusha, and seized the latter. He then took him up from thecar, like Garuda taking up a snake. Thus dragging him up with his arms,he began to whirl him repeatedly, and then crushed him into pieces,hurling him down on the earth, like a man crushing an earthen pot intofragments by hurling it against a rock. Endued with strength andactivity, possessed of great prowess, the son of Bhimasena, inflamed withwrath in battle, inspired all the troops with fear. All the limbs brokenand bones reduced to fragments, the frightful Rakshasa Alamvusha, thusslain by the heroic Ghatotkacha, resembled a tall Sala uprooted andbroken by the wind. Upon the slaughter of that wanderer of the night, theParthas became very cheerful. And they uttered leonine roars and wavedtheir garments. Thy brave warriors, however, beholding that mighty princeor Rakshasas, viz., Alamvusha, slain and lying like a crushed mountain,uttered cries, O monarch, of Oh and Alas. And people, possessed withcuriosity, went to view that Rakshasa lying helplessly on the earth likea piece of charcoal (no longer capable of burning). The RakshasaGhatotkacha, then, that foremost of mighty beings, having thus slain hisfoe, uttered a loud shout, like Vasava after slaying (the Asura) Vala.Having achieved that exceedingly difficult feat, Ghatotkacha, was muchapplauded by his sires as also by his relatives. Indeed, having felledAlamvusha, like an Alamvusha fruit, he rejoiced exceedingly with hisfriends. There arose then a loud uproar (in the Pandava army) of conchsand of diverse kinds of arrows. Hearing that noise the Kauravas utteredloud shouts in reply, filling the whole earth with its echoes.'”