The End of Bakasura

Some time later, Bhima heard footsteps. When he looked up, he saw a huge, hairy monster with sharp teeth and claws. His eyes were red with fury at Bhima, who was eating the food intended for him. 

"Fool!" roared Bakasura. "Your end is at hand. I will now dispatch you to Yamaloka (the land of the dead)." 

Bakasura uprooted a tree and prepared to attack Bhima. But Bhima remained calm and composed. He slowly got down from the cart and began to fight the demon. As the battle intensified, Bakasura realized he had met his match. He was surprised that a human could possess such incredible power. In the end, Bhima emerged victorious, knocking Bakasura down and killing him.

Bhima loaded the dead Bakasura onto the cart and wheeled it back to Ekachakra. He laid the corpse by the wayside, then returned to the Brahmin's house and fell into a deep slumber. When the villagers saw Bakasura's corpse, they heaved a sigh of relief. The Brahmin told them that a godlike person had taken the food cart from him and gone to kill Bakasura.

Killing Bakasura was no mean feat. The news spread, and people suspected that only Bhima could have accomplished it. Kunti advised her sons that it was time to leave Ekachakra, lest their true identities be discovered.

Kunti and the Pandavas left the Brahmin's house and reached the Ganga riverbank only after dusk. Suddenly, they saw a chariot racing toward them. The warrior in the chariot saw them and yelled, "Wait! How dare you come to the Ganga riverbank at such a late hour? Who are you? Don't even think of bathing in this river. Go away immediately unless you want to die."

The Pandavas wondered who this warrior could be. He was actually Angaraparna, the king of the Gandharvas, who had been bathing in the Ganga with his wife. When he saw that a group of Brahmins had arrived at the riverbank, he boarded his chariot and came to warn them. Arjuna replied, "O King! We had no idea that you would come to bathe in the Ganga so late at night. But this sacred river belongs to everyone; no individual has any special right over it."