Chapter 67: Balarâma Slays the Ape Dvivida

(1) The honorable king said: 'I wish to hear further of Râma the Unlimited and Immeasurable One whose activities are so amazing; what else did the Prabhu do?'

(2) S'rî S'uka said: 'There was a certain ape named Dvivida ['the two-faced one'], a friend of Naraka [or Bhaumâsura, see 10.59], who as the mighty brother of Mainda had been Sugrîva [the monkey-chief, see also 9.10: 32] his adviser [*]. (3) The ape to avenge his friend [who was killed by Krishna] wreaked havoc setting fire to the cities, villages, mines and cowherd communities of the kingdom. (4) Some day he tore loose rocks and devastated with them all the lands of the province of Ânarta, especially at those places where the Killer of his friend, the Lord, dwelt [in Dvârakâ]. (5) The other day stood he at the shore in the midst of the ocean to churn with a force of ten thousand elephants with his arms the ocean its water and flooded he the coastal regions. (6) At the âs'ramas of the exalted seers he wickedly broke down the trees and fouled the sacrificial fires with urine and stool. (7) Like a wasp hiding an insect, threw he brutally men and women in a mountain valley in caves which he sealed with large boulders. (8) Thus ravaging the lands and [even] defiling women of standing went he, [some day] hearing the sweetest music, to the mountain named Raivataka. (9-10) There he saw Balarâma the Lord of the Yadus wearing a lotus garland, most attractive in all His limbs in the midst of a bevy of women while He with rolling eyes was singing, intoxicated of drinking vârunî [see also 10.65: 19]. His body had therewith a brilliant glow like that of an elephant in rut. (11) The mischievous tree-dweller climbed on a branch and presented himself by shaking the tree and crying out frantically. (12) Seeing his impudence laughed Baladeva's consorts out aloud; as women in for some fun they at first thought little of it. (13) The ape ridiculed them with odd gestures of his eyebrows and such and showed right in front of them as Râma was watching, his arse to them. (14-15) Balarâma, the best of launchers, threw angry a rock at him, but the rascal ape made fun of Him dodging it and seizing the jar of liquor, and further aggravated Him by wickedly laughing breaking the jar and pulling the ladies' clothes; and thus was he, with all his power, full of false pride with his insults offending the Strong One. (16) Faced with his rudeness and the ravage all around created by his terror, took He angry up His club and plow, decided to kill the enemy. (17) Dvivida also of great talents uprooted a s'âla tree with one hand and struck swiftly approaching Balarâma on the head with it. (18) But Sankarshana like a mountain unshaken most strong took hold of it as it descended on His head and struck him back with Sunanda [His club]. (19-21) Hit by the club on his skull looked he with the resulting downpour of blood as nice as a mountain red of oxide. On his turn charged he next, ignoring the blow, uprooting and stripping another tree violently again, but Balarâma now enraged smashed it into a hundred pieces just as He did with another one that was taken up with great fury. (22) By the Supreme Lord time and again being beaten and beaten, stripped he that way raging with his uprooting the forest of all its trees. (23) When he, frustrated, next released a hail of stones over Baladeva, pulverized the Wielder of the Club them all with ease. (24) With the both his arms as big as palm trees clenching his fists, charged the champion of the apes now the Son of Rohinî and beated he Him on the chest. (25) The Great Lord of the Yadus thereupon threw aside His club and plow and hammered with His hands him furiously on the collarbone so that Dvivida fell down vomiting blood. (26) Of the impact of him shook the mountain with all its cliffs and trees, o tiger among the Kurus, like it was a boat in the water tossed by the wind. (27) Sounding 'Jaya!', 'All glories!' and 'Excellent!', poured the enlightened, the perfected and the great sages residing in heaven down a shower of flowers.

(28) Thus having finished Dvivida who wreaked havoc in the world, was the Supreme Lord upon entering the city by the people glorified with hymns.'