maid servants and embellished by every kind of sports and amusements.  And having set all those apart for thee, I have speedily come hither.  And all on a sudden, women have begun to praise me, saying, There is not in this world any other person like unto thee in beauty and dress!’ Hearing this, Bhima said, ’It is well that thou art handsome, and it is well thou praisest thyself.  I think, however, that thou hadst never before this such pleasurable touch!  Thou hast an acute touch, and knowest the ways of gallantry.  Skilled in the art of love-making, thou art a favourite with women.  There is none like thee in this world!’”

Vaisampayana continued, “Saying this, that son of Kunti, the mighty-armed Bhima of terrible prowess, suddenly rose up, and laughingly said, ’Thy sister, O wretch, shall today behold thee dragged by me to the ground, like a mighty elephant, huge as a mountain, dragged to the ground by a lion.  Thyself slain Sairindhri will live in peace, and we, her husbands, will also live in peace.’  Saying this, the mighty Bhima seized Kichaka by the hairs of his head, which were adorned with garlands.  And thus seized with force by the hair, that foremost of mighty persons, Kichaka, quickly freed his hair and grasped the arms of Bhima.  And then between those lions among men, fired with wrath, between that chief of the Kichaka clan, and that best of men, there ensued a hand-to-hand encounter, like that between two powerful elephants for a female elephant in the season of spring, or like that which happened in days of yore between those lions among monkeys, the brothers Vali and Sugriva.  And both equally infuriate and both eager for victory, both those combatants raised their arms resembling snakes furnished with five hoods, and attacked each other with their nails and teeth, wrought up to frenzy of wrath.  Impetuously assailed by the powerful Kichaka in that encounter, the resolute Bhima did not waver a single step.  And locked in each other’s embraces and dragging each other, they fought on like two mighty bulls.  And having nails and teeth for their weapons, the encounter between them was fierce and terrible like that of two furious tigers.  And felling each other in fury, they encountered each other like a couple of elephants with rent temples.  And the mighty Bhima then seized Kichaka, and Kichaka, that foremost of strong persons threw Bhima down with violence.  And as those mighty combatants fought on, the crash of their arms produced a loud noise that resembled the clatter of splitting bamboos.  Then Vrikodara throwing Kichaka down by main force within the room, began to toss him about furiously even as a hurricane tosseth a tree.  And attacked thus in battle by the powerful Bhima, Kichaka grew weak and began to tremble.  For all that, however, he tugged at the Pandava to the best of his power.  And attacking Bhima, and making him wave a little, the mighty Kichaka struck him with his knees and brought him down to