Bhima and Duryodhan
Bhima came and proud Duryodhan with their maces held on high,Like two cliffs with lofty turrets cleaving through the azure sky!
In their warlike arms accoutred with their girded loins they stood,Like two untamed jungle tuskers in the deep and echoing wood!
And as tuskers range the forest, so they range the spacious field,Right to left and back they wander and their ponderous maces wield!
Unto Kuru's sightless monarch wise Vidura drew the scene,Pritha proudly of the princes spake unto the Kuru queen.
While the stalwart Bhima battled with Duryodhan brave and strong,Fierce in wrath, for one or other, shouted forth the maddened throng,
"Hail to Kuru prince Duryodhan!" "Hail to Bhima hero proud!"Sounds like these from surging myriads rose in tumult deep and loud.
And with troubled vision Drona marked the heaving restless plain,Marked the crowd by anger shaken, like the tempest-shaken main,
To his son then whispered Drona quick the tumult to appease,Part the armed and angry wrestlers, bid the deadly combat cease,
With their lifted clubs the princes slow retired on signal given,Like the parting of the billows, mighty-heaving, tempest-driven!
Came forth then the ancient Drona on the open battle-ground,Stopped the drum and lofty trumpet, spake in voice like thunder's sound:
"Bid him come, the gallant Arjun! pious prince and warrior skilled,Arjun, born of mighty INDRA, and with VISHNU'S prowess filled."
Words in this poem
- jungle n.
- A dense growth of brushwood, grasses, reeds, vines, etc.; an almost impenetrable thicket of trees, canes, and reedy vegetation, as in India, Africa, Australia, and Brazil. [Hind. jangal desert, forest, jungle; Skr. ja desert.]
- wield v. t.
- To govern; to rule; to keep, or have in charge; also, to possess. [OE. welden to govern, to have power over, to possess, AS. geweldan, gewyldan, from wealdan; akin to OS. waldan, OFries. walda, G. walten, OHG. waltan, Icel. val]
- sightless a.
- Wanting sight; without sight; blind.
- stalwart a.
- Brave; bold; strong; redoubted; daring; vehement; violent. [OE. stalworth, AS. stælwyrth serviceable, probably originally, good at stealing, or worth stealing or taking, and afterwards extended to other causes of estimat]
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
- prowess n.
- Distinguished bravery; valor; especially, military bravery and skill; gallantry; intrepidity; fearlessness. Chaucer. Sir P. Sidney. [OF. proece, proesce, F. prouesse. See Prow, a.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Bhima and Duryodhan is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Mahabharata (condensed), Project Gutenberg ebook #19630, the Romesh Chunder Dutt translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Vyasa, Bhima and Duryodhan, in The Mahabharata (condensed) (1899), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #19630, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/mahabharata/bhima-and-duryodhan.html, id L15756.
Form and metre
Bhima and Duryodhan is 22 lines in 11 stanzas of 2 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 91% of the lines. The metre is trochaic octameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 15.1 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in trochaic octameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AA highA · skyA
- 2 AA stoodA · woodA
- 3 AA fieldA · wieldA
- 4 AA sceneA · queenA
- 5 AA strongA · throngA
- 6 AA proudA · loudA
- 7 AA plainA · mainA
- 9 AA givenA · drivenA
- 10 AA groundA · soundA
- 11 AA skilledA · filledA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against trochaic octameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Bhima came and proud Duryodhan with their maces held on high, | 15 | ··········/˘··· |
| Like two cliffs with lofty turrets cleaving through the azure sky! | 15 | ····/˘/˘/˘··/˘· |
| In their warlike arms accoutred with their girded loins they stood, | 15 | ··/·······/˘··· |
| Like two untamed jungle tuskers in the deep and echoing wood! | 15 | ····/˘······/˘· |
| And as tuskers range the forest, so they range the spacious field, | 15 | ······/˘····/˘· |
| Right to left and back they wander and their ponderous maces wield! | 15 | ······/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Unto Kuru's sightless monarch wise Vidura drew the scene, | 15 | ····/˘/········ |
| Pritha proudly of the princes spake unto the Kuru queen. | 15 | ··/˘··/˘······· |
| While the stalwart Bhima battled with Duryodhan brave and strong, | 15 | ··/˘··/˘······· |
| Fierce in wrath, for one or other, shouted forth the maddened throng, | 15 | ······/˘/˘··/˘· |
| "Hail to Kuru prince Duryodhan!" "Hail to Bhima hero proud!" | 15 | ············/˘· |
| Sounds like these from surging myriads rose in tumult deep and loud. | 15 | ····/˘/˘··/˘··· |
| And with troubled vision Drona marked the heaving restless plain, | 15 | ··/˘/˘····/˘/˘· |
| Marked the crowd by anger shaken, like the tempest-shaken main, | 15 | ····/˘/˘··/˘/˘· |
| To his son then whispered Drona quick the tumult to appease, | 15 | ····/˘····/˘·˘/ |
| Part the armed and angry wrestlers, bid the deadly combat cease, | 15 | ····/˘/˘··/˘/˘· |
| With their lifted clubs the princes slow retired on signal given, | 16 | ··/˘··/˘·˘/·/˘/˘ |
| Like the parting of the billows, mighty-heaving, tempest-driven! | 16 | ··/˘··/˘/˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| Came forth then the ancient Drona on the open battle-ground, | 15 | ····/˘····/˘/˘· |
| Stopped the drum and lofty trumpet, spake in voice like thunder's sound: | 15 | ····/˘/˘····/˘· |
| "Bid him come, the gallant Arjun! pious prince and warrior skilled, | 15 | ····/˘··/··/˘˘· |
| Arjun, born of mighty INDRA, and with VISHNU'S prowess filled." | 15 | ····/˘····/˘/˘· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.