, 'Thou art the chief
of the Kurus, and the king of us, thy subjects! Where dost thou go, O
just monarch, leaving all these citizens and the inhabitants of the
country, like a father leaving his sons? Fie on the cruel-hearted son of
Dhritarashtra! Fie on the evil-minded son of Suvala! Fie on Karna! For,
O foremost of monarchs, those wretches ever wish unto thee who art firm
in virtue! Having thyself established the unrivalled city of
Indraprastha of the splendour of Kailasa itself, where dost thou go,
leaving it, O illustrious and just king, O achiever of extraordinary
deeds! O illustrious one, leaving that peerless palace built by Maya,
which possesseth the splendour of the palace of the celestials
themselves, and is like unto a celestial illusion, ever guarded by the
gods, where dost thou go, O son of Dharma?' And Vibhatsu knowing the
ways of virtue, pleasure, and profit said unto them in a loud voice,
'Living in the forest, the king intendeth to take away the good name of
his enemies! O we with the regenerate ones at your head, versed in
virtue and profit, do you approaching the ascetics separately and
inclining them to grace, represent unto them what may be for our supreme
good!' Upon hearing these words of Arjuna, the Brahmanas and the other
orders, O king, saluting him cheerfully walked round the foremost of
virtuous men! And bidding farewell unto the son of Pritha, and
Vrikodara, and Dhananjaya and Yajnaseni, and the twins, and commanded by
Yudhishthira, they returned to their respective abodes in the kingdom
with heavy hearts."

SECTION XXIV

Vaisampayana said, "After they had departed, Yudhishthira the virtuous
son of Kunti, unwavering in his promises, addressed all his brothers,
saying, 'We shall have to dwell in the solitary forest for these twelve
years. Search ye, therefore, in this mighty forest for some spot
abounding in birds and deer and flowers and fruits, beautiful to behold,
and auspicious, and inhabited by virtuous persons and where we may dwell
pleasantly for all these years!' Thus addressed by Yudhishthira,
Dhananjaya replied unto the son of Dharma, after reverencing the
illustrious king as if he were his spiritual preceptor. And Arjuna said,
'Thou hast respectfully waited upon all the great and old _Rishis_.
There is nothing unknown to thee in the world of men. And O bull of the
Bharata race, thou hast always waited with reverence upon Brahmanas
including Dwaipayana and others, and Narada of