abode frequented by gods and _Maharshis_, those great warriors proceeded
smoothly towards the jujube tree called Visala and took up their
quarters there. Then all those magnanimous men having reached the place
of Narayana, continued to live there, bereft of all sorrow, at beholding
_Kuvera's_ favourite lake, frequented by gods and _Siddhas_. And viewing
that lake, those foremost of men, the sons of Pandu traversed that
place, renouncing all grief even as immaculate _Brahmana rishis_ (do) on
attaining a habitation in the _Nandana_ gardens. Then all those warriors
having in due course happily lived at Badari for one month, proceeded
towards the realm of Suvahu, king of the _Kiratas_, by following the
same track by which they had come. And crossing the difficult Himalayan
regions, and the countries of China, Tukhara, Darada and all the climes
of Kulinda, rich in heaps of jewels, those warlike men reached the
capital of Suvahu. And hearing that those sons and grandsons of kings
had all reached his kingdom, Suvahu, elated with joy, advanced (to meet
them). Then the best of the Kurus welcomed him also. And meeting king
Suvahu, and being joined by all their charioteers with Visoka at their
head and by their attendants, Indrasena and others, and also by the
superintendents and servants of the kitchen, they stayed there
comfortably for one night. Then taking all the chariots and chariot-men
and dismissing Ghatotkacha together with his followers, they next
repaired to the monarch of mountains in the vicinity of the _Yamuna_. In
the midst of the mountain abounding in waterfalls and having grey and
orange-coloured slopes and summits covered with a sheet of snow, those
warlike men having then found the great forest of Visakhayupa like unto
the forest of Chitraratha and inhabited by wild boars and various kinds
of deer and birds, made it their home. Addicted to hunting as their
chief occupation, the sons of Pritha peacefully dwelt in that forest for
one year. There in a cavern of the mountain, Vrikodara, with a heart
afflicted with distraction and grief, came across a snake of huge
strength distressed with hunger and looking fierce like death itself. At
this crisis Yudhishthira, the best of pious men, became the protector of
Vrikodara and he, of infinite puissance, extricated Bhima whose whole
body had been fast gripped by the snake with its folds. And the twelfth
year of their sojourn in forests having arrived, those scions of the
ra