hishthira. And Yudhishthira, upon
beholding him quickly rose from his seat, surrounded by his brothers, and
worshipped the Rishi who was his grand-father, with water to wash his
feet and the offer of a seat. The illustrious one having taken his seat
on a costly carpet inlaid with gold, addressed king Yudhishthira the just
and said.--'Take thy seat'. And after the king had taken his seat
surrounded by his brothers, the illustrious Vyasa, truthful in speech
said,--'O son of Kunti, thou growest from good fortune. Thou hast
obtained imperial sway so difficult of acquisition. And O perpetuator of
the Kuru race, all the Kauravas have prospered in consequence of thee. O
Emperor, I have been duly worshipped. I desire now to go with thy leave!
King Yudhishthira the just, thus addressed by the Rishi of dark hue,
saluted (him) his grandfather and touching his feet said,--'O chief of
men, a doubt difficult of being dispelled, hath risen within me. O bull
among regenerate ones, save thee there is none to remove it. The
illustrious Rishi Narada said that (as a consequence of the Rajasuya
sacrifice) three kinds of portents, viz., celestial, atmospherical and
terrestrial ones happen. O grandsire, have those portents been ended by
the fall of the kind of the Chedis?''

Vaisampayana continued,--"Hearing these words of the king, the exalted
son of Parasara, the island-born Vyasa of dark hue, spoke these
words,--'For thirteen years, O king, those portents will bear mighty
consequences ending in destruction, O king of kings, of all the
Kshatriyas. In course of time, O bull of the Bharata race, making thee
the sole cause, the assembled Kshatriyas of the world will be destroyed,
O Bharata, for the sins of Duryodhana and through the might of Bhima and
Arjuna. In thy dream, O king of kings thou wilt behold towards the end of
this might the blue throated Bhava, the slayer of Tripura, ever absorbed
in meditation, having the bull for his mark, drinking off the human
skull, and fierce and terrible, that lord of all creatures, that god of
gods, the husband of Uma, otherwise called Hara and Sarva, and Vrisha,
armed with the trident and the bow called Pinaka, and attired in tiger
skin. And thou wilt behold Siva, tall and white as the Kailasa cliff and
seated on his bull, gazing unceasingly towards the direction (south)
presided over by the king of the Pitris. Even this will be the dream thou
wilt dream today, O king of kings. Do not grieve for dreaming