' Hearing those words of theirs, Virata,
that lord of hosts, said unto them, 'Do ye perform the last rites of the
Sutas. Let all the Kichakas be burnt, in one blazing pyre with gems and
fragrant unguents in profusion.' And filled with fear, the king then
addressed his queen Sudeshna, saying, 'When _Sairindhri_ comes back, do
thou tell her these words from me, "Blessed be thou, O fair-faced
_Sairindhri_. Go thou whithersoever thou likest. The king hath been
alarmed, O thou of graceful hips, at the defeat already experienced at
the hands of the Gandharvas. Protected as thou art by the Gandharvas, I
dare not personally say all this to thee. A woman, however, cannot
offend, and it is for this that I tell thee all this through a woman."'"
Vaisampayana continued, "Thus delivered by Bhimasena after the slaughter
of the Sutas, the intelligent and youthful Krishna relieved from all her
fears, washed her limbs and clothes in water, and proceeded towards the
city, like a doe frightened by a tiger. And beholding her, the citizens,
O king, afflicted with the fear of the Gandharvas fled in all
directions. And some of them went so far as to shut their eyes. And
then, O king, at the gate of the kitchen, the princess of Panchala saw
Bhimasena staying, like an infuriate elephant of gigantic proportions.
And looking upon him with wonder-expanded eyes, Draupadi, by means of
words intelligible to them alone, said, 'I bow unto that prince of the
Gandharvas, who hath rescued me.
Pages:
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99