From that day, O Bharata, the
Rakshasas (of the region) were seen by the inhabitants of that town to be
very peaceful towards mankind. Then Bhima, dragging the lifeless cannibal,
placed him at one of the gates of the town and went away unobserved by any
one. The kinsmen of Vaka, beholding him slain by the might of Bhima,
became frightened and fled in different directions.
"Meanwhile Bhima, having slain the Rakshasa, returned to the Brahmana's
abode and related to Yudhishthira all that had happened, in detail. The
next morning the inhabitants of the town in coming out saw the Rakshasa
lying dead on the ground, his body covered with blood. Beholding that
terrible cannibal, huge as a mountain cliff, thus mangled and lying on the
ground, the hair of the spectators stood erect. Returning to Ekachakra,
they soon gave the intelligence. Then, O king, the citizens by thousands
accompanied by their wives, young and old, all began to come to the spot
for beholding the Vaka and they were all amazed at seeing that superhuman
feat. Instantly, O monarch, they began to pray to their gods. Then they
began to calculate whose turn it had been the day before to carry food to
the Rakshasa. And ascertaining this, they all came to that Brahmana and
asked him (to satisfy their curiosity). Thus asked by them repeatedly,
that bull among Brahmanas, desirous of concealing the Pandavas, said these
words unto all the citizens, 'A certain high-souled Brahmana, skilled in
mantras, beheld me weeping with my relatives after I had been ordered to
supply the Rakshasa's food.
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