ent of the sons of Pandu were hard. They
must pass twelve years in exile, and then they must remain a year in
concealment. If they were discovered within this last year, they must
go into exile for another twelve years.

Having passed the twelve years of exile in forests, the Pandav
brothers disguised themselves and entered into the menial service
of Virata, king of the Matsyas, to pass the year of concealment.
Yudhishthir presented himself as a Brahman, skilled in dice, and
became a courtier of the king. Bhima entered the king's service
as cook. For Arjun, who was so well known, a stricter concealment
was necessary. He wore conch bangles and earrings and braided
his hair, like those unfortunate beings whom nature has debarred
from the privileges of men and women, and he lived in the inner
apartments of the king. He assumed the name of _Brihannala_, and
taught the inmates of the royal household in music and dancing.
Nakula became a keeper of the king's horses, and Sahadeva took
charge of the king's cows. Draupadi too disguised herself as a
waiting-woman, and served the princess of the Matsya house in that
humble capacity.

In these disguises the Pandav brothers safely passed a year in
concealment in spite of all search which Duryodhan made after them.
At last an incident happened which led to their discovery when the
year was out.

Cattle-lifting was a common practice with the kings of ancient India,
as with the chiefs of ancient Greece. The king of the Trigartas and
the king of the Kurus combined and fell on the king of the Matsyas
in order to drive off the numerous herd of fine cattle for which his
kingdom was famed. The Trigartas entered the Matsya kingdom from
the south-east, and while Virata went out with his troops to meet
the foe, Duryodhan with his Kuru forces fell on the kingdom from
the north.

When news came that the Kurus had invaded the kingdom, there was
no army in the capital to defend it. King Virata had gone out with
most of his troops to face the Trigartas in the south-east, and the
prince Uttara had no inclination to face the Kurus in the north. The
disguised Arjun now came to the rescue in the manner described in
this Book. The description of the bows, arrows, and swords of the
Pandav brothers which they had concealed in a tree, wrapped like
human corpses to frighten away inquisitive travellers, throws some
light on the arts and manufacture of ancient times. The portions
translated in this Boo