And being highly
pleased, he said unto king Yudhishthira, 'By good luck it is that I see
you safe from woods. By good luck it is that ye have accomplished with
difficulty the period of exile, undiscovered by those wicked wights. I
make over my entire kingdom to the sons of Pritha, and what else I have.
Let the sons of Pandu accept these without the slightest hesitation. And
let Dhananjaya, called also Savyasachin, accept the hand of Uttara:
for that best of men is fit to be her lord.' Thus addressed, king
Yudhishthira the just cast a look upon Dhananjaya, the son of Pritha.
And looked at by his brother, Arjuna said unto the Matsya king, 'O
monarch, I accept thy daughter as my daughter-in-law. And alliance of
this kind between the Matsya and the Bharatas is, indeed, desirable.'"
SECTION LXXII
"Virata said, 'Why, O best among the Pandavas, dost thou not wish to
accept as wife this my daughter that I bestow upon thee?'
"Arjuna said, 'Residing in thy inner apartments, I had occasion always
to behold thy daughter, and she too, alone or in company trusted me as
her father. Well-versed in singing and dancing, I was liked and regarded
by her, and, indeed, thy daughter always regardeth me as her protector.
O king, I lived for one whole year with her though she had attained the
age of puberty. Under these circumstances, thyself or other men may not
without reason, entertain suspicions against her or me.
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