
Artist's commentary
Vallabha's Knife
Bhīma's favorite knife.
There is actually another, differently shaped knife, which was used for a different purpose.
When the five Pandava brothers were exiled from their kingdom after losing a bet, they were forced to spend twelve years in the forest. Then, in the thirteenth year, they were forced to live in anonymity. In the kingdom of Matsya, the brothers assumed various disguises and served King Virāṭa. Yudhiṣṭhira the eldest, assumed the role of an advisor of dice named Kanka. Arjuna, the third son, disguised himself as a eunuch named Brihannala. Nakula, the fourth son, disguised himself as an ostler and assumed the name Granthika. Sahadeva, the fifth son, tended cattle and took the name Tatripala. For his part, Bhīma decided to assume the role of Vallabha, a cook.
"Oh man, I didn't know what was gonna happen, but I got lucky. King Virāṭa suddenly assigned ME the position of head cook. That king sure had a good eye for talent! You want to know what I did all day? Obviously, I lived there, cooking all the dishes I wanted to make! My bulging muscles might've given away my talent for martial arts, but I spent all my days cooking. Well...there might've been one time when I had to, uh, tenderize a guy because he picked on my Draupadī. But I suppose you can still call that cooking, right? No?"
...Tenderize?