Vaisampayana continued, "And the powerful Bhimasena, having thus come
under the power of the snake, thought of its mighty and wonderful
prowess; and said unto it, 'Be thou pleased to tell me, O snake, who
thou art. And, O foremost of reptiles, what wilt thou do with me? I am
Bhimasena, the son of Pandu, and next by birth to Yudhishthira the just.
And endued as I am with the strength of ten thousand elephants, how hast
thou been able to overpower me? In fight have been encountered and slain
by me innumerable lions, and tigers, and buffaloes, and elephants. And,
O best of serpents, mighty _Rakshasas_ and _Pisachas_, and _Nagas_, are
unable to stand the force of my arms. Art thou possessed of any magic,
or hast thou received any boon, that although exerting myself, I have
been overcome by thee? Now I have been convinced that the strength of
men is false, for, O serpent, by thee hath such mighty strength of men
been baffled.'"
Vaisampayana continued, "When the heroic Bhima of noble deed had said
this, the snake caught him, and coiled him all round with his body,
having thus subdued that mighty-armed one, and freed his plump arms
alone, the serpent spake these words, 'By good fortune it is that,
myself being hungry, after long time the gods have to-day destined thee
for my food; for life is dear unto every embodied being, I should relate
unto thee the way in which I have come by this snake form. Hear, O best
of the pious, I have fallen into this plight on account of the wrath of
the _Maharshis_. Now desirous of getting rid of the curse, I will
narrate unto thee all about it. Thou hast, no doubt, heard of the royal
sage, _Nahusha_. He was the son of Ayu, and the perpetuator of the line
of thy ancestors. Even I am that one. For having affronted the
_Brahmanas_ I, by (virtue of) Agastya's malediction, have come by this
condition. Thou art my agnate, and lovely to behold.--so thou shouldst
not be slain by me,--yet I shall to-day devour thee! Do thou behold the
dispensation of Destiny! And be it a buffalo, or an elephant, none
coming within my reach at the sixth division of the day, can, O best of
men, escape. And, O best of the Kurus, thou hast not been taken by an
animal of the lower order, having strength alone,--but this (hath been
so) by reason only of the boon I have received. As I was falling rapidly
from Sakra's throne placed on the front of his palace, I spake unto that
worshipful sage (Agastya), "Do thou free me from this curse." Thereat
filled with compassion, that energetic one said unto me, "O king, thou
shall be freed after the lapse of some time." Then I fell to the earth
(as a snake); but my recollection (of former life) did not renounce me.
And although it be so ancient, I still recollect all that was said. And
the sage said unto me, "That person who conversant with the relation
subsisting between the soul and the Supreme Being, shall be able to
answer the questions put by thee, shall deliver thee. And, O king, taken
by thee, strong beings superior to thee, shall immediately lose their
strength." I heard these words of those compassionate ones, who felt
attached unto me. And then the Brahmanas vanished. Thus, O highly
effulgent one, having become a serpent, I, doing exceedingly sinful
acts, live in unclean hell, in expectation of the (appointed) time.' The
mighty-armed Bhimasena addressed the serpent, saying, 'I am not angry, O
mighty snake,--nor do I blame myself. Since in regard to happiness and
misery, men sometimes possess the power of bringing and dismissing them,
and sometimes do not. Therefore one should not fret one's mind. Who can
baffle destiny by self-exertion? I deem destiny to be supreme, and
self-exertion to be of no avail. Smitten with the stroke of destiny, the
prowess of my arms lost, behold me to-day fallen unto this condition
without palpable cause. But to-day I do not so much grieve for my own
self being slain, as I do for my brothers deprived of their kingdom, and
exiled into the forest. This Himalaya is inaccessible, and abounds with
_Yakshas_ and the _Rakshasas_. And searching about for me, they will be
distracted. And hearing that I have been killed, (my brothers) will
forego all exertion, for, firm in promise, they have hitherto been
controlled by my harsh speech, I being desirous of gaining the kingdom.
Or the intelligent Arjuna (alone), being versed in every lore, and
incapable of being overcome by gods and _Rakshasas_ and _Gandharvas_,
will not be afflicted with grief. That mighty-armed and exceedingly
powerful one is able single-handed to speedily pull down from his place
even the celestials. What shall I say of the deceitfully gambling son of
Dhritarashtra, detested of all men, and filled with haughtiness and
ignorance! And I also grieve for my poor mother, affectionate to her
sons, who is ever solicitous for our greatness in a large measure than
is attained by our enemies. O serpent, the desire that forlorn one had
in me will all be fruitless in consequence of my destruction. And gifted
with manliness, the twins, Nakula and Sahadeva, following their elder
brother (me), and always protected by the strength of my arms, will,
owing to my destruction, be depressed and deprived of their prowess, and
stricken with grief. This is what I think.' In this way Vrikodara
lamented profusely. And being bound by the body of the snake, he could
not exert himself.
"On the other hand, Kunti's son, Yudhishthira, (seeing) and reflecting
on dreadful ill omens, became alarmed. Terrified by the blaze of the
points of the horizon, jackals stationing themselves on the right of
that hermitage, set up frightful and inauspicious yells. And ugly
_Vartikas_ as of dreadful sight, having one wing, one eye, and one leg,
were seen to vomit blood, facing the sun. And the wind began to blow
dryly, and violently, attracting grits. And to the right all the beasts
and birds began to cry. And in the rear the black crows cried, 'Go!'
'Go!' And momentarily his (Yudhishthira's) right arm began to twitch,
and his chest and left leg shook (of themselves). And indicating evil
his left eye contracted spasmodically. Thereupon, O Bharata, the
intelligent Yudhishthira the just, inferring some great calamity (to be
imminent), asked Draupadi, saying, 'Where is Bhima?' Thereat Panchali
said that Vrikodara had long gone out. Hearing this, that mighty-armed
king set out with Dhaumya, after having said unto Dhananjaya, 'Thou
shouldst protect Draupadi.' And he also directed Nakula and Sahadeva to
protect the _Brahmanas_. And issuing from the hermitage that lord,
Kunti's son, following the footprints of Bhimasena, began to search for
him in that mighty forest. And on coming to the east, he found mighty
leaders of elephant-herds (slain) and saw the earth marked with Bhima's
(foot-prints). Then seeing thousands of deer and hundreds of lions lying
in the forest, the king ascertained his course. And on the way were
scattered trees pulled down by the wind caused by the thighs of that
hero endued with the speed of the wind as he rushed after the deer. And
proceeding, guided by those marks, to a spot filled with dry winds and
abounding in leafless vegetables, brackish and devoid of water, covered
with thorny plants and scattered over with gravel, stumps and shrubs and
difficult of access and uneven and dangerous, he saw in a mountain
cavern his younger brother motionless, caught in the folds of that
foremost of snakes."