Canto Ten - Chapter 67

The king said: I wish to hear more about the wondrous deeds of immeasurable Lord Ananta. What else did the almighty Balarāma accomplish?

Śrī Śuka said: A certain ape named Dvivida was a friend of Naraka, a minister of Sugrīva, and the mighty brother of Mainda.

Seeking revenge for his friend, the ape devastated the kingdom. He set fires and burned cities, villages, mines, and cowherd settlements.

In some places he uprooted mountains and crushed whole regions with them, especially Ānarta, where Hari, the killer of his friend, resided.

At times he stood in the ocean and churned up its water with his arms, flooding the coastal lands with the strength of ten thousand elephants.

The villain broke the trees in the hermitages of eminent sages and polluted their sacred fires with stool and urine.

Arrogantly seizing men and women, he confined them in mountain valleys and caves and sealed the openings with boulders, as a wasp encloses an insect.

While thus ravaging the lands and violating respectable women, he heard exceedingly beautiful singing and went to Mount Raivataka.

There he saw Lord Balarāma, master of the Yadus, wearing a lotus garland, every limb handsome, standing amid a gathering of young women.

He was singing after drinking Vāruṇī, His eyes unsteady with exhilaration and His body shining like a rutting elephant.

The wicked ape climbed a tree branch, shook the trees, made shrill chattering sounds, and displayed himself.

Seeing the ape's insolence, Balarāma's young companions, playful by nature and fond of laughter, laughed at him.

The ape mocked them with movements of his brows and other facial gestures, and while Rāma watched he exposed himself to the women.

Angered, Bala, foremost of fighters, hurled a rock at him. The ape dodged the stone and seized the jar of liquor.

Laughing, the rogue mocked and provoked Balarāma. The wicked ape smashed the jar and pulled at the women's garments.

Powerful and swollen with pride, he insulted Balarāma and ran off. Seeing his insolence and remembering the regions he had afflicted,

Balarāma became angry and took up His club and plow, determined to kill the enemy. Mighty Dvivida raised a śāla tree in his hand.

Rushing forward, he struck Balarāma on the head with it. Saṅkarṣaṇa stood immovable as a mountain and received the blow upon His head.

The mighty Lord then struck him with His club Sunanda. His skull battered by the club, Dvivida shone with a stream of blood,

like a mountain streaked with red mineral. Ignoring the blow, he uprooted another tree and powerfully stripped it of its leaves.

Furiously he struck Balarāma with it, but the Lord shattered it into a hundred pieces. Dvivida struck with another tree, and Balarāma shattered that one too.

Fighting the Supreme Lord in this way, he repeatedly pulled up trees whenever each was broken, until he had left the forest treeless.

Enraged, he then showered rocks upon Balarāma, but the club-bearing Lord playfully pulverized them all.

The lord of apes made fists of his arms, which resembled palm trees, rushed at Rohiṇī's son, and struck Him in the chest with both.

The lord of the Yadus laid aside His club and plow and angrily struck Dvivida's collarbones with His two fists. Vomiting blood, the ape fell.

O tiger among the Kurus, as he fell, the mountain with its cliffs and trees shook like a boat upon the water in a strong wind.

The gods, Siddhas, and foremost sages showered flowers from the sky while cries of 'Victory!' 'Obeisance!' and 'Well done! Well done!' resounded.

Having thus killed Dvivida, who had brought disorder to the world, the Supreme Lord entered His city while the people praised Him.