The Mahabharata - A retelling

Tensions in Hastinapura - Chapter 45

Tensions in Hastinapura

"Oh King", Vaishampayana continued his recitation of the Mahabharata to King Janamejaya. "The Pandava's arrival to the Kamyaka forest was not an easy one by any means. As soon as they entered the forest, in the darkest of nights, they beheld a terrifying Rakshasa with a blazing torch in his hand. His red bloodshot eyes were akin to the burning fire and his long hair and long white teeth made him look all the more threatening.

Seeing the Pandavas, Draupadi, and the Brahmanas, the rakshasa roared in anger and stretched his long arm in immense anger. His roar was so powerful that all the birds and beasts fled in fear. Draupadi couldn't bear the terrible sound and immediately fainted, Arjuna catching her.

Yudhishthira, seeing Draupadi's condition, mustered courage and faced the rakshasa. "Who are you? What do you want from us?", he asked.

"I am Kirmira. Who are you, lone travelers? Are you willingly offering yourselves to be devoured by me by roaming the forest in this hour?", the rakshasa replied.

"Oh Kirmira, we are the Pandavas. This is our wife Draupadi and these Brahmanas are our guests and therefore our responsibility. We have come here to spend our twelve years of exile. Please let us through", Yudhishthira said.

Kirmira's eyes widened when he knew who they were. "You are the Pandavas?!", he asked in shock. He then eyed Bheema, who was the tallest and most built amongst them. "And you must be Bheema, the wretch who killed my brother Baka!", Kirmira said, shocking the Pandavas.

"How lucky am I! I have been looking for this Bheema who not only has killed my brother but also my dear friend Hidimba and abducted his sister! And now, he himself comes to my clutches, ready to be vanquished by me!", saying this, Kirmira laughed loudly.

"I am going to kill this wretch who is a constant threat to us Rakshasas!", Kirmira said, his eyes livid with rage.

"My brother cannot be slain!", Yudhishthira boldly told the rakshasa.

Bheema, in response, uprooted the nearby huge tree with great strength and held it above his head, ready for attack. Arjuna too readied his Gandeeva and arrow. However, Bheema stopped Arjuna from launching any attack and let out a menacing cry while charging towards Kirmira with the uprooted tree. He mightily hit Kirmira's head with the tree. But, to everyone's shock, the rakshasa remained unmoved and unaffected.

Then, Kirmira hurled his torch to Bheema who quickly stopped it with his foot. Kirmira then uprooted a tree, so did Bheema. With trees as weapons, the two fought each other, the trees breaking as reeds in the course of their fight.

After fighting with trees for a while, Kirmira lifted a rock and threw it at Bheema. However, the rock broke to smithereens after hitting Bheema's chest. The two then rushed towards each other and battled with their arms. Bheema fuelled his anger further by reminding himself of the grave insults that were heaped on his family and especially Draupadi. His complete wrath was now directed toward Kirmira.

He caught Kirmira by his waist and shook him wildly. The Rakshasa was trembling like a tree in a storm. As Bheema tried to crush him in his arms, Kirmira let out a terrifying cry in pain. After that, Kirmira almost passed out due to the pain and fell to the ground. Bheema seized the opportunity and placed his knee on Kirmira's waist and strangled him to death.

Like the calm after a storm, the forest suddenly seemed quiet after the fight with Kirmira's slain body on the ground and Bheema panting.

The Pandavas and Draupadi, with the Brahmanas then further went into the forest and found a space to set up their hut. With help from everyone, they successfully set up their place of habitat in the forest the next day. After a long day's worth of work, the Pandavas were resting with Draupadi and the Brahmanas.