O thou of mighty arms.  Do thou, O son of Kunti, repair to that dancing-hall, and take the life, O Pandava, of Kichaka, that son of a Suta intoxicated with vanity.  From vanity alone, that son of a Suta slights the Gandharvas.  O best of smiters, lift him up from the earth even as Krishna had lifted up the Naga (Kaliya) from the Yamuna.  O Pandava, afflicted as I am with grief, wipe thou my tears, and blessed be thou, protect thy own honour and that of thy race.’

“Bhima said, ’Welcome, O beauteous lady.  Except the glad tidings thou bringest me, I need, O thou of exceeding beauty, no other aid whatever.  The delight that I feel, O thou of great beauty, on hearing from thee about my coming encounter with Kichaka, is equal to what I felt in slaying Hidimva.  I swear unto thee by Truth, by my brothers, and by morality, that I will slay Kichaka even as the lord of the celestials slew Vritra.  Whether secretly or openly, I will crush Kichaka, and if the Matsyas fight for him, then I will slay them too.  And slaying Duryodhana afterwards, I shall win back the earth.  Let Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti, continue to pay homage unto the king of Matsya.’  Hearing these words of Bhima, Draupadi said, ’In order that, O lord, thou mayst not have to renounce the truth already pledged to me, do thou, O hero, slay Kichaka in secret.’  Bhima assuring her said, ’Even today I shall slay Kichaka together with his friends unknown to others during the darkness of the night.  I shall, O faultless lady, crush, even as an elephant crusheth a vela fruit,[16] the head of the wicked Kichaka who wisheth for what is unattainable by him!’”

    [16] Some texts read, Vilwam nagaviodhara—­i.e., ’As an
    elephant lifts up a vela fruit.’

Vaisampayana continued, “Repairing first to the place of assignation at night, Bhima sat down, disguising himself.  And he waited there in expectation of Kichaka, like a lion lying in wait for a deer.  And Kichaka, having embellished his person as he chose, came to the dancing-hall at the appointed time in the hope of meeting Panchali.  And thinking of the assignation, he entered the chamber.  And having entered that hall enveloped in deep gloom, that wretch of wicked soul came upon Bhima of incomparable prowess, who had come a little before and who was waiting in a corner.  And as an insect approacheth towards a flaming fire, or a puny animal towards a lion, Kichaka approached Bhima, lying down in a bed and burning in anger at the thought of the insult offered to Krishna, as if he were the Suta’s Death.  And having approached Bhima, Kichaka possessed by lust, and his heart and soul filled with ecstacy smilingly said, ’O thou of pencilled eye-brows, to thee I have already given many and various kinds of wealth from the stores earned by me, as well as hundred maids and many fine robes, and also a mansion with an inner apartment adorned with beauteous and lovely and youthful