Legend · 1 telling · West India
The lake Bhima could not sound
The story, beat by beat
- Bhima claims the victory; the head names one god.
- Krishna takes Bhima to a lake in Lanka he cannot sound, and forgives him.
How it is told, place by place
Base telling · Primary text (translation)
Skanda Purana, Kaumarika Khanda 66
Ashamed after the head's verdict, Bhima is carried by Krishna on Garuda across the ocean to Lanka, to a lake twelve yojanas long. He dives and cannot reach the bottom. Krishna lifts the lake with his thumb and tells him it lies where Rama's killing of Kumbhakarna left the giant's tongue. Bhima asks forgiveness and is forgiven.
Skanda Purana, Kaumarika Khanda 66, Krishna beheads Barbarika, tr. G. V. Tagare (Wisdom Library); Barbarika Upakhyana, Skanda Purana 59 to 66, chapter summary (dvaipayana.net)
Sources: Skanda Purana, Kaumarika Khanda 66, Krishna beheads Barbarika, tr. G. V. Tagare (Wisdom Library); Barbarika Upakhyana, Skanda Purana 59 to 66, chapter summary (dvaipayana.net)
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