Vaisampayana continued, “Thus praised by the son of Pandu, the Goddess showed herself unto him.  And approaching the king, she addressed him in these words, ’O mighty armed king, listen, O Lord, to these words of mine.  Having vanquished and slain the ranks of the Kauravas through my grace, victory in battle will soon be thine.  Thou shalt again lord it over the entire Earth, having made thy dominions destitute of thorns.  And, O king, thou shalt also, with thy brothers, obtain great happiness.  And through my grace, joy and health will be thine.  And they also in the world who will recite my attributes and achievements will be freed from their sins, and gratified.  I will bestow upon them kingdom, long life, beauty of person, and offspring.  And they, O king, who will invoke me, after thy manner, in exile or in the city, in the midst of battle or of dangers from foes, in forests or in inaccessible deserts, in seas or mountain fastnesses, there is nothing that they will not obtain in this world.  And ye sons of Pandu, he will achieve success in every business of his that will listen to, or himself recite with devotion, this excellent hymn.  And through my grace neither the Kuru’s spies, nor those that dwell in the country of the Matsyas, will succeed in recognising you all as long as ye reside in Virata’s city!’ And having said these words unto Yudhishthira, that chastiser of foes, and having arranged for the protection of the sons of Pandu, the Goddess disappeared there and then.”

SECTION VII

Vaisampayana said, “Then tying up in his cloth dice made of gold and set with lapis lazuli, and holding them below his arm-pit, king Yudhishthira,—­that illustrious lord of men—­that high-souled perpetuator of the Kuru race, regarded by kings, irrepressible in might, and like unto a snake of virulent poison,—­that bull among men, endued with strength and beauty and prowess, and possessed of greatness, and resembling in form a celestial though now like unto the sun enveloped in dense clouds, or fire covered with ashes, first made his appearance when the famous king Virata was seated in his court.  And beholding with his followers that son of Pandu in his court, looking like the moon hid in clouds and possessed of a face beautiful as the full moon, king Virata addressed his counsellors and the twice-born ones and the charioteers and the Vaisyas and others, saying, ’Enquire ye who it is, so like a king that looketh on my court for the first time.  He cannot be a Brahmana.  Methinks he is a man of men, and a lord of earth.  He hath neither slaves, nor cars, nor elephants with him, yet he shineth like the very Indra.  The marks on his person indicate him to be one whose coronal locks have undergone the sacred investiture.  Even this is my belief.  He approacheth me without any hesitation, even as an elephant in rut approacheth an assemblage of lotuses!’