After a couple of days of fighting, most of the Kauravas had been destroyed with the exception of Duryodhan and a few others. The Pandavas set out in search of Duryodhan but could not locate him as he was hiding in the waters of a lake.

On finding him, the brothers stood at the banks, taunting him and challenging him to come out and fight like a man. Duryodhan said that it was wrong for them to challenge him all together as he had no weapon and was all alone. He said that he would be willing to fight as long as they provided him with a weapon and fought him one by one. 

Upright, kind-hearted and generous Yudhisthir agreed to give him the weapon of his choice as well as the combatant of his choice and the entire kingdom back were he to win. Lord Krishna was furious at this foolish offer and another game of chance. He also knew that Duryodhan was the first among equals in the use of the mace and Bhima might not have much of a chance. So he advised him to strike Duryodhan below the navel. Even though this was against the rules, lord Krishna explained that even the gods had to resort to trickery when they fought the demons to ensure that good won over evil. In this way Bhima was able to secure a resounding victory over Duryodhan.