from circumambulating him.  He avoided the blows of his foe by moving away in bent postures or jumping aloft.  He struck, coming up to his foe face to face, or dealt back-thrusts while moving away from him.  Both accomplished in encounters with the mace, Bhima and Duryodhana thus careered and fought, and struck each other.  Those two foremost ones of Kuru’s race careered thus, each avoiding the other’s blows.  Indeed, those two mighty warriors thus coursed in circles and seemed to sport with each other.  Displaying in that encounter their skill in battle, those two chastisers of foes sometimes suddenly attacked each other with their weapons, like two elephants approaching and attacking each other with their tusks.  Covered with blood, they looked very beautiful, O monarch, on the field.  Even thus occurred that battle, awfully and before the gaze of a large multitude, towards the close of the day, like the battle between Vritra and Vasava.  Armed with maces, both began to career in circles.  Duryodhana, O monarch, adopted the right mandala, while Bhimasena adopted the left mandala.  While Bhima was thus careering in circles on the field of battle, Duryodhana, O monarch, suddenly struck him a fierce blow on one of his flanks.  Struck by thy son, O sire, Bhima began to whirl his heavy mace for returning that blow.  The spectators, O monarch, beheld that mace of Bhimasena look as terrible as Indra’s thunder-bolt or Yama’s uplifted bludgeon.  Seeing Bhima whirl his mace, thy son, uplifting his own terrible weapon, struck him again.  Loud was the sound, O Bharata, produced by the descent of thy son’s mace.  So quick was that descent that it generated a flame of fire in the welkin.  Coursing in diverse kinds of circles, adopting each motion at the proper time, Suyodhana, possessed of great energy, once more seemed to prevail over Bhima.  The massive mace of Bhimasena meanwhile, whirled with his whole force, produced a loud sound as also smoke and sparks and flames of fire.  Beholding Bhimasena whirling his mace, Suyodhana also whirled his heavy and adamantine weapon and presented a highly beautiful aspect.  Marking the violence of the wind produced by the whirl of Duryodhana’s mace, a great fear entered the hearts of all the Pandus and the Somakas.  Meanwhile those two chastisers of foes, displaying on every side their skill in battle, continued to strike each other with their maces, like two elephants approaching and striking each other with their tusks.  Both of them, O monarch, covered with blood, looked highly beautiful.  Even thus progressed that awful combat before the gaze of thousands of spectators at the close of day, like the fierce battle that took place between Vritra and Vasava.  Beholding Bhima firmly stationed on the field, thy mighty son, careering in more beautiful motions, rushed towards that son of Kunti.  Filled with wrath, Bhima struck the mace, endued with great impetuosity and adorned with gold, of the angry Duryodhana.  A loud sound with