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SETUBANDHA
38. The stout arms of an ape, which had endured sword-cuts, and resembled a bar dented by the tusks of a mighty elephant, were fractured as they bent under the pressure of the mountain held by him.
39. Having tasted the blood in a warrior's wound containing fragments of his armour, a bird, though thirsty, did not drink but shunned it, because it was flavourless on account of the presence of iron splinters.
40. The severed arm of a warrior quivered even after it had dropped. Wrath was manifest even on the prostrate face. The trunk ran along, even though the head was lopped off, with streams of blood spurting out of the throat.
41. The enemy's onslaught stimulated the ardour of the warriors. Inveterate hatred sustained their valour. The heavy task that confronted them enhanced their pride, bringing on the urge to fight.
42. The warriors acquired fame, just as they subdued the enemy. They were impatient of delay, just as they were intolerant of the enemy's challenge. They accepted death like joy, and gave up their life, just as they flung a missile.
43. Those of the apes who endured sword-cuts were crushed by their own mountains as they fainted, bowed down with the weight, their arms weary and feeble from loss of blood.
44. The warriors preserved their honour like a flower, and did not believe their fame to be perfect, however much it increased. Only they had no craving for life, held in high esteem in the world,
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45. When their own sector became quiet, with the distinguished warriors slain, the valiant went over to an area of heavy combat with the enemy where the press of battle was at its height.
46. The strong strove to achieve fame, and could not brook any humiliation of their valour. They appeased their wrath (by slaying the enemy), and increased the tempo of daring exploits.
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