dancing-hall. Alone will he come at night to the empty hall. Slay him
there, 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.'