" O Pandava, beholding that foremost of warriors,
Sahadeva, engaged in tending kine, and sleeping at night on calf-skins,
how can I bear to live? He again who is crowned with the three
attributes of beauty, arms, and intelligence, is now the superintendent
of Virata's steeds. Behold the change brought on by time. Granthika
(Nakula), at sight of whom hostile hosts fled from the field of battle,
now traineth horses in the presence of the king, driving them with the
speed. Alas, I now see that handsome youth wait upon the gorgeously
decked and excellent Virata, the king of the Matsyas, and display horses
before him. O son of Pritha, afflicted as I am with all these hundred
kinds of misery on account of Yudhishthira, why dost thou, O chastiser
of foes, yet deem me happy? Listen now to me, O son of Kunti, as I tell
thee of other woes far surpassing these. What can be sadder to me than
miseries so various as these should emaciate me while ye are alive.'"
SECTION XX
"Draupadi said, 'Alas, on account of that desperate gambler, I am now
under Sudeshna's command, living in the palace in the guise of a
_Sairindhri_. And, O chastiser of foes, behold the plight of poignant
woe which I, a princess, am now in. I am living in expectation of the
close of this stated period.[14] The extreme of misery, therefore, is
mine. Success of purpose, victory, and defeat, as regards mortals, are
transitory. It is in this belief that I am living in expectation of the
return of prosperity to my husbands.
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