Shloka 21
Balarāma Slays the Ape Dvivida
Dvivida-vadha
मूषलाहतमस्तिष्को विरेजे रक्तधारया । गिरिर्यथा गैरिकया प्रहारं नानुचिन्तयन् ॥ १९ ॥ पुनरन्यं समुत्क्षिप्य कृत्वा निष्पत्रमोजसा । तेनाहनत् सुसङ्क्रुद्धस्तं बल: शतधाच्छिनत् ॥ २० ॥ ततोऽन्येन रुषा जघ्ने तं चापि शतधाच्छिनत् ॥ २१ ॥
mūṣalāhata-mastiṣko vireje rakta-dhārayā girir yathā gairikayā prahāraṁ nānucintayan
Struck on the skull by the Lord’s club, Dvivida shone with streaming blood, like a mountain adorned with red ochre. Ignoring his wound, he uprooted another tree, stripped off its leaves by brute strength, and struck Śrī Balarāma again; but the enraged Lord shattered that tree into hundreds of pieces. Then the ape seized yet another tree and attacked in fury, and the Lord smashed that one also into hundreds of fragments.
FAQs
It says Dvivida’s head was smashed by the club-blow, blood streamed like red ochre on a mountain, yet he arrogantly ignored the injury.
The comparison highlights the vivid sight of blood flowing over his body, like mineral-red lines on a mountain face, emphasizing the intensity of the combat.
Unchecked pride can make a person ignore clear consequences; devotion and humility protect one from the self-destructive insistence on ego.