the other Kurus, the king had won victory and fame and had almost attained the end of the hostilities.  Having thus obtained the victory, he placed himself once more in a situation of doubt and peril.  This has been an act of great folly on the part of Yudhishthira, O Pandava, since he hath made the result of the battle depend upon the victory or the defeat of only one warrior!  Suyodhana is accomplished, he is a hero; he is again firmly resolved.  This old verse uttered by Usanas hath been heard by us.  Listen to me as I recite it to thee with its true sense and meaning!  ’Those amongst the remnant of a hostile force broken flying away for life, that rally and come back to the fight, should always be feared, for they are firmly resolved and have but one purpose!  Shakra himself, O Dhananjaya, cannot stand before them that rush in fury, having abandoned all hope of life.  This Suyodhana had broken and fled.  All his troops had been killed.  He had entered the depths of a lake.  He had been defeated and, therefore, he had desired to retire into the woods, having become hopeless of retaining his kingdom.  What man is there, possessed of any wisdom, that would challenge such a person to a single combat?  I do not know whether Duryodhana may not succeed in snatching the kingdom that had already become ours!  For full thirteen years he practised with the mace with great resolution.  Even now, for slaying Bhimasena, he jumpeth up and leapeth transversely!  If the mighty-armed Bhima does not slay him unfairly, the son of Dhritarashtra will surely remain king!” Having heard those words of the high-souled Keshava, Dhananjaya struck his own left thigh before the eyes of Bhimasena.  Understanding that sign, Bhima began to career with his uplifted mace, making many a beautiful circle and many a Yomaka and other kinds of manoeuvres.  Sometimes adopting the right mandala, sometimes the left mandala, and sometimes the motion called Gomutraka, the son of Pandu began to career, O king, stupefying his foe.  Similarly, thy son, O monarch, who was well conversant with encounters with the mace, careered beautifully and with great activity, for slaying Bhimasena.  Whirling their terrible maces which were smeared with sandal paste and other perfumed unguents, the two heroes, desirous of reaching the end of their hostilities, careered in that battle like two angry Yamas.  Desirous of slaying each other, those two foremost of men, possessed of great heroism, fought like two Garudas desirous of catching the same snake.  While the king and Bhima careered in beautiful circles, their maces clashed, and sparks of fire were generated by those repeated clashes.  Those two heroic and mighty warriors struck each other equally in that battle.  They then resembled, O monarch, two oceans agitated by the tempest.  Striking each other equally like two infuriated elephants, their clashing maces produced peals of thunder.  During the progress of that dreadful and fierce battle at close quarters,