“Yudhishthira said, ‘O Bhima, let this mighty and heroic Rakshasa chief,thy legitimate son, devoted to us, and truthful, and conversant withvirtue carry (his) mother (Draupadi) without delay. And, O possessor ofdreadful prowess, depending on the strength of thy arms, I shall reachthe Gandhamadana, unhurt, together with Panchala’s daughter.'”
“Dhritarashtra said, ‘While Arjuna’s son was thus grinding, by means ofhis straight arrows, our foremost bowmen, what warriors of my armyendeavoured to check him?’
Vaisampayana said, “On one occasion, while residing in the retreat ofNara and Narayana, Narada the son of Pramesthi, having duly accomplishedthe rites and observances in honour of the deities, set himself toperform thereafter the rites in honour of the Pitris.
“Having heard these words of his mother, Yudhishthira said, ‘What thou, Omother, hast deliberately done, moved by compassion for the afflictedBrahmana, is, indeed, excellent Bhima will certainly come back with life,after having slain the cannibal, inasmuch as thou art, O mother, alwayscompassionate unto Brahmanas.
“The holy one said, ‘It shall be, O thou of mighty arms, what thou, OPandavas, sayest, I will strive to bring about that which would bebeneficial to both the Pandavas and the Kurus.
Vaisampayana said, “When the high-souled sons of Pandu had proceeded onlytwo miles, Draupadi unaccustomed to travel on foot, sank down. Weary andafflicted as she was, the poor daughter of Panchala became faint, onaccount of the hailstorm and also of her extreme delicacy.
“Dhritarashtra said, ‘My heart, O Sanjaya, is agitated with differentemotions, viz., shame and gratification, upon hearing that Subhadra’s sonsingly held in cheek the whole army of my son. O son of Gavalgana, ten meeverything once more in detail about the encounter of youthful Abhimanyu,which seems to have been pretty like Skanda’s encounter with the Asurahost.’
“Vaisampayana said, ‘The heroic son of Sakuni, who was a mightycar-warrior among the Gandharas, accompanied by a large force, proceededagainst the Kuru hero of curly hair.
Vaisampayana said, ‘Having heard these words of Nara and Narayana, theRishi Narada became filled with devotion towards the Supreme Being.
“Vaisampayana said ‘Then Vaka, huge as a mountain, thus broken (onBhima’s knee), died, uttering frightful yells. Terrified by these sounds,the relatives of that Rakshasa came out, O king, with their attendants.Bhima, that foremost of smiters, seeing them so terrified and deprived ofreason, comforted them and made them promise (to give up cannibalism),saying, ‘Do not ever again kill human beings.
