eat prowess. It is my duty, O great sage, to see
that their funeral rites are duly performed. I do not desire that I
should be protected by my present rulers. Do thou, O sage, speedily make
such arrangements that I may exist (as before).'"

"'Vasudeva continued, "The sage Kasyapa then, seeking out those Kshatriyas
of great energy whom the goddess had indicated, installed them duly as
kings (for protecting her). Those Kshatriya races that are now extant are
the progeny of those princes. That which thou hast questioned me, O son
of Panda, happened in days of yore even thus."'

"Vaisampayana continued, 'Conversing thus with Yudhishthira, that
foremost of righteous persons, the high-souled Yadava hero proceeded
quickly on that car, illumining all the points of the compass like the
divine Surya himself.'"

SECTION LI

"Vaisampayana said, 'King Yudhishthira, hearing of those feats of Rama,
became filled with wonder and said unto Janardana, "O thou of Vrishni's
race, the prowess of the high-souled Rama, who in wrath had freed the
earth of Kshatriyas, was like that of Sakra himself. The scions of
Kshatriyas, troubled with the fear of Rama, were concealed (and brought
up) by kine, Ocean, leopards, bears and apes. Worthy of every praise is
this world of men and fortunate are they that reside in it where a feat,
that was again so righteous, was accomplished by a Brahmana." After
this discourse was ended, those two illustrious persons, viz., Krishna of
unfading glory and Yudhishthira proceeded thither where the puissant son
of Ganga lay on his bed of arrows. They then beheld Bhishma stretched on
his arrowy bed and resembling in splendour the evening Sun covered with
his own rays. The Kuru hero was surrounded by many ascetics like he of a
hundred sacrifices by the deities of heaven. The spot on which he lay was
highly sacred, being situate on the banks of the river Oghavati.
Beholding him from a distance, Krishna and Dharma's royal son, and the
four Pandavas, and the other headed by Saradwat, alighted from their
vehicles and collecting their restless minds and concentrating all their
senses, approached the great Rishis. Saluting those foremost of Rishis
headed by Vyasa, Govinda and Satyaki and the others approached the son of
Ganga. Beholding Ganga's son of great ascetic merit, the Yadu and Kuru
princes, those foremost of men, took their seats, surrounding him. Seeing
Bhishma looking like a fire about to die out, Kesava with