rmed also the Agnishtoma, and other special Vedic sacrifices,
extracting great quantities of Soma juice. And, O king, Vyushitaswa had
for his dear wife, Bhadra, the daughter of Kakshivat, unrivalled for
beauty on earth. And it hath been heard by us that the couple loved each
other deeply. King Vyushitaswa was seldom separated from his wife. Sexual
excess, however, brought on an attack of phthisis and the king died
within a few days, sinking like the Sun in his glory. Then Bhadra, his
beautiful queen, was plunged into woe, and as she was sonless, O tiger
among men, she wept in great affliction. Listen to me, O king, as I
narrate to you all that Bhadra said with bitter tears trickling down her
cheeks. 'O virtuous one', she said, 'Women serve no purpose when their
husbands are dead. She who liveth after her husband is dead, draggeth on
a miserable existence that can hardly be called life. O bull of the
Kshatriya order, death is a blessing to women without husbands. I wish to
follow the way thou hast gone. Be kind and take me with thee. In thy
absence, I am unable to bear life even for a moment. Be kind to me, O
king and take me hence pretty soon. O tiger among men, I shall follow
thee over the even and uneven ground. Thou hast gone away, O lord, never
to return. I shall follow thee, O king, as thy own shadow. O tiger among
men, I will obey thee (as thy slave) and will ever do what is agreeable
to thee and what is for thy good. O thou of eyes like lotus-petals,
without thee, from this day, mental agonies will overwhelm me and eat
into my heart. A wretch that I am, some loving couple had doubtless been
separated by me in a former life, for which, in this life, I am made to
suffer the pangs of separation from thee. O king, that wretched woman who
liveth even for a moment separated from her lord, liveth in woe and
suffereth the pangs of hell even here. Some loving couple had doubtless
been separated by me in a former life, for which sinful act I am
suffering this torture arising from my separation from thee. O king, from
this day I will lay myself down on a bed of Kusa grass and abstain from
every luxury, hoping to behold thee once more. O tiger among men, show
thyself to me. O king, O lord, command once more thy wretched and
bitterly weeping wife plunged in woe.'

"Kunti continued, 'It was thus, O Pandu, that the beautiful Bhadra wept
over the death of her lord. And the weeping Bhadra clasped in her arms
the corpse in anguish