ornaments, and vehicles, and beds, delicious viands of various
kinds, and cardinal drinks of diverse species. And the king also made
gifts of land unto the Brahmanas with due rites, and also cattle by
thousands. And he also gave away thousands of steeds and much gold and
much wealth of other kinds, unto persons of all ages. And, O bull of the
Bharata race, the city of the Matsya king, thronged with men cheerful and
well-fed, shone brightly like a great festival.'"

The end of Virata Parva

FOOTNOTES

1. Brahma Vadini--Nilakantha explains this as Krishna-kirtanasila.

2. This speech of Vaisampayana is not included in some texts within the
second section. To include it, however, in the third, is evidently a
mistake.

3. The sloka commencing with Adushta and ending ratheshu cha does not
occur in texts except those in Bengal.

4. A difference of reading is observable here. The sense, however, is the
same.

5. An independent female artisan working in another person's
house.--Wilson.

6. Some of the Bengal text read Sarvastramaya for Sarvamantramaya. The
former is evidently incorrect.

7. This is a very difficult sloka. Nilakantha adopts the reading
Sanjayet. The Bengal editions read Sanjapet. If the latter be the correct
reading, the meaning then would be,--'Let none talk about what transpires
in the presence of the king. For those even that are poor, regard it as a
grave fault.' The sense evidently is that the occurrences in respect of a
king which one witnesses should not be divulged. Even they that are
powerless regard such divulgence of what occurs in respect of them as an
insult to them, and, therefore, inexcusable.

8. The Bengal editions, read Rajna in the instrumental case. Following a
manuscript text of a Pandit of my acquaintance I read Rajnas in the
genitive.

9. Mahishasura, the son of Rambhasura. Durga had to fight for many many
years before she could slay this formidable Asura. The story occurs in
the Markandeya Purana. To this day, Bengal during the great Durga Puja
festival in autumn, worships the goddess with great veneration.

10. Literally, one that rescues from difficulty.

11. Kamachara is explained by Nilakantha thus, although in other places
it bears a quite different meaning.

12. Krita--attack; Pratikrita--warding it off; Sankata--clenched. Some
texts read Sankatakais. The meaning then would be 'cased in gauntlets.'

13. Bhuti, Hri, Sri, Kirti and Kanti are respectively the feminin