The killing of lomaharShaNa

The bhArgava mArkaNDeya told jaimini that he had no time to narrate to him lengthy tales as was his usual tradition, because he was starting his sacrificial satra and need to begin the specified oblations. Instead, he asked him to go the talking pelicans of the narmada to learn more tales. jaimini approached the brahminical pelicans in the cave in the lower vindhya-s splashed by the waters of the narmada to query them about the awful deeds of balabhadra. He was amazed to see 4 birds that were reciting mantra-s like vipra-s The pelicans having fanned jaimini to relieve him of the heat from his exertions in reaching their cave agreed to narrate to him the tales he wanted. They said:
“kR^iShNa has decided to side with the pANDavas and I cannot do much about it given his bond with arjuna. I think things can be done better. I will not go with duryodhana because my brother is on the other side. But king duryodhana is my dear student in the use of the gadA and I will not go against him under any condition. Thus thinking, balabhadra detached his army and went to dvAravati where he saw his people in great happiness and fed well. To relax he settled to have a bath at a spring and the fair revatI placed a bowl of wine for him. Quaffing several bowls he and revatI became inebriated, and in joyous delight decided to go to the raivata park that he had set up for his enjoyment. Clasping the apsarA-like revatI he marched into the sylvan retreat in a stumbling walk along with his several girl-friends joining them with vAruNi beer and liquor. The park was glorious beyond description with all kinds of animals, trees and herbs. He in the pleasure-giving grip of revatI surrounded by the bevy of beautiful girls, with his sunanda pestle in hand, was admiring his grove. Their intoxication was accentuated by the sweet cacophony of cuckoos, grebes, tittiri-s, mynas, warblers, tailor birds, weaver birds, cranes, wood-peckers, shirkes, crows, parrots, bee-eaters, pheasants and peacocks flitting amongst mango, amalaka, kovIdara, ashoka, jackfruit trees and palms dotting the dvaraka sea-side, and water-lilies with broad leaves on the ponds. Enjoying various kAma-keli-s and krIDa-s with his girl-friends and wife he arrived a bower. There he saw a group of learned bhArgava-s, vaishvAmitra-s, bharadvAja-s and gotama-s collecting glorious paurANic narratives of old times from the sUta lomaharShaNa. The brAhmaNas were clad in black antelope coats and seated on kusha grass seats with the sUta in their midst. Seeing saMkarShaNa swinging his pestle, with blood-shot eyes due to alcoholic inebriation the brAhmaNa-s were terrified and hastily rose up and saluted the rampaging kShatriya, but the sUta alone remained seated. baladeva flew into fit of fury and with his red eyes rolling swung his pestle and smashed the skull of the sUta to pieces. The brAhmaNa-s seeing this, fled in terror into the forest, laying a spell on him. balabhadra-s found his body developed a stench of blood that did not go away and immediately he realized he had committed a grave pApa and the displeasure of the vipra-s. To relieve himself of his sins he decided to go on a tirtha yatra culminating in pratiloma sarasvatI.”