with
Yudhishthira looked pale or ill, or was lean or weak, or was melancholy
or terrified. And the chief of the Kurus--the virtuous king
Yudhishthira--maintained his brothers as if they were his sons, and his
relatives as if they were his uterine brothers. And Draupadi of pure fame
fed her husbands and the Brahmanas, as if she was their mother; and last
of all took her food herself. And the king himself wending towards the
east, and Bhima, towards the south, and the twins, towards the west and
the north, daily killed with bow in hand the deer of the forest, for the
sake of meat. And it was that the Pandavas lived for five years in the
woods of Kamyaka, in anxiety at the absence of Arjuna, and engaged all
the while in study and prayers and sacrifices."

SECTION LI

Vaisampayana said, "That bull among men--Dhritarashtra--the son of
Amvika, having heard of this wonderful way of life--so above that of
men--of the sons of Pandu, was filled with anxiety and grief. And
overwhelmed with melancholy and sighing heavily and hot, that monarch,
addressing his charioteer Sanjaya, said, 'O charioteer, a moment's peace
I have not, either during the day or the night, thinking of the terrible
misbehaviour of my sons arising out of their past gambling, and thinking
also of the heroism, the patience, the high intelligence, the unbearable
prowess, and the extraordinary love unto one another of the sons of
Pandu. Amongst the Pandavas, the illustrious Nakula and Sahadeva, of
celestial origin and equal unto the chief himself of the celestials in
splendour, are invincible in battle. They are firm in the wielding of
weapons, capable of shooting at a long distance, resolute in battle, of
remarkable lightness of hand, of wrath that is not easily quelled,
possessed of great steadiness, and endued with activity. Possessed of the
prowess of lions and unbearable as the Aswins themselves, when they will
come to the field of battle with Bhima and Arjuna in front, I see, O
Sanjaya, that my soldiers will all be slain without a remnant. Those
mighty warriors of celestial origin, unrivalled in battle by anybody,
filled with rage at the remembrance of that insult to Draupadi, will show
no forgiveness. The mighty warriors of the Vrishnis also, and the
Panchalas of great energy, and the sons of Pritha themselves, led by
Vasudeva of unbaffled prowess, will blast my legions. O charioteer, all
the warriors on my side assembled together, are not competent to