Having saluted their sire according to custom, those slayers of
foes, the Pandavas, announced themselves to him, each uttering his own
name. Dhritarashtra, exceedingly afflicted with grief on account of the
slaughter of his sons, then reluctantly embraced the eldest son of Pandu,
who was the cause of that slaughter. Having embraced Yudhishthira the
just and spoken a few words of comfort to him, O Bharata, the
wicked-souled Dhritarashtra sought for Bhima, like a blazing fire ready
to burn everything that would approach it. Indeed, that fire of his
wrath, fanned by the wind of his grief, seemed then to be ready to
consume the Bhima-forest. Ascertaining the evil intentions cherished by
him towards Bhima, Krishna, dragging away the real Bhima, presented an
iron statue of the second son of Pandu to the old king. Possessed of
great intelligence, Krishna had, at the very outset, understood the
intentions of Dhritarashtra, and had, therefore, kept such a contrivance
ready for baffling them. Seizing with his two arms that iron Bhima, king
Dhritarashtra, possessed of great strength, broke into pieces, thinking
it to be Bhima himself in flesh and blood. Endued with might equal to
that of 10,000 elephants, the king reduced that statue into fragments.
His own breast, however, became considerably bruised and he began to
vomit blood. Covered with blood, the king fell down on the ground like a
parijata tree topped with its flowery burden. His learned charioteer
Sanjaya, the son of Gavalgana, raised the monarch and soothing and
comforting him, said, Do not act so.
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