Brahmana of infinite power had asked.  And while measuring with his paces the space he sought, Hari assumed a wonderful and extraordinary form.  And with only three paces he instantly covered this illimitable world.  And then that everlasting God, Vishnu, gave it away unto Indra.  This history which has just been related to thee, is celebrated as the “Incarnation of the Dwarf.”  And from him, all the gods had their being, and after him the world is said to be Vaishnava, or pervaded by Vishnu.  And for the destruction of the wicked and the preservation of religion, even He hath taken his birth among men in the race of the Yadus.  And the adorable Vishnu is styled Krishna.  These, O king of Sindhu, are the achievements of the Lord whom all the worlds worship and whom the learned describe as without beginning and without end, unborn and Divine!  They call Him, the unconquerable Krishna with conchshell, discus and mace, and adorned with the emblem of a curl of hair, Divine, clad in silken robes of yellow hue, and the best of those versed in the art of war.  Arjuna is protected by Krishna the possessor of these attributes.  That glorious and lotus-eyed Being of infinite power, that slayer of hostile heroes, riding in the same chariot with Pritha’s son, protecteth him!  He is, therefore, invincible; the very gods cannot resist his power, still less can one with human attributes vanquish the son of Pritha in battle!  Therefore, O king, thou must let him alone!  Thou shalt, however, be able to vanquish for a single day only, the rest of Yudhishthira’s forces along with thine enemies—­the four sons of Pandu!’”

Vaisampayana continued, “Having said these words unto that prince, the adorable Hara of three eyes, the destroyer of all sins, the consort of Uma, and lord of wild beasts, the destroyer of (Daksha’s) sacrifice, the slayer of Tripura and He that had plucked out the eyes of Bhaga, surrounded by his dwarfish and hunch-backed and terrible followers having frightful eyes and ears and uplifted arms, vanished, O tiger among kings, from that place with his consort Uma!  And the wicked Jayadratha also returned home, and the sons of Pandu continued to dwell in the forest of Kamyaka.”

SECTION CCLXXI

Janamejaya said, “What did those tigers among men, the Pandavas, do, after they had suffered such misery in consequence of the ravishment of Draupadi?”

Vaisampayana said, “Having defeated Jayadratha and rescued Krishna, the virtuous king Yudhishthira took his seat by the side of that best of Munis.  And among those foremost of ascetics who were expressing their grief upon hearing Draupadi’s misfortune, Yudhishthira, the son of Pandu, addressed Markandeya, saying, ’O adorable Sire, amongst the gods and the ascetics, thou art known to have the fullest knowledge of both the past as well as the future.  A doubt existeth in my mind, which I would ask thee to solve!