thou must say,—­I am the slave of the Pandavas.—­on this condition alone, I will pardon thee thy life!  This is the customary rule of conquest on the field of battle.’  Thus addressed and treated, king Jayadratha said to the mighty and fierce warrior who always looked awful, ‘Be it so!’ And he was trembling and senseless and begrimed with dust.  Then Arjuna and Vrikodara, securing him with chains, thrust him into a chariot.  And Bhima, himself mounting that chariot, and accompanied by Arjuna, drove towards the hermitage.  And approaching Yudhishthira seated there, he placed Jayadratha in that condition before the king.  And the king, smiling, told him to set the Sindhu prince at liberty.  Then Bhima said unto the king, ’Do thou tell Draupadi that this wretch hath become the slave of the Pandavas.’  Then his eldest brother said unto him affectionately, ’If thou hast any regard for us, do thou set this wretch at liberty!’ And Draupadi too, reading the king’s mind, said, ’Let him off!  He hath become a slave of the king’s and thou, too, hast disfigured him by leaving five tufts of hair on his head.’  Then that crest-fallen prince, having obtained his liberty, approached king Yudhishthira and bowed down unto him.  And seeing those Munis there, he saluted them also.  Then the kind-hearted king Yudhishthira, the son of Dharma, beholding Jayadratha in that condition, almost supported by Arjuna, said unto him, ’Thou art a free man now; I emancipate thee!  Now go away and be careful not to do such thing again; shame to thee!  Thou hadst intended to take away a lady by violence, even though thou art so mean and powerless!  What other wretch save thee would think of acting thus?” Then that foremost king of Bharata’s race eyed with pity that perpetrator of wicked deeds, and believing that he had lost his senses, said, ’Mayst thy heart grow in virtue!  Never set thy heart again on immoral deeds!  Thou mayst depart in peace now with thy charioteers, cavalry and infantry.’  Thus addressed by Yudhishthira, the prince, O Bharata, was overpowered with shame, and bending down his head, he silently and sorrowfully wended his way to the place where the Ganga debouches on the plains.  And imploring the protection of the god of three eyes, the consort of Uma, he did severe penance at that place.  And the three-eyed god, pleased with his austerities deigned to accept his offerings in person.  And he also granted him a boon!  Do thou listen, O monarch, how the prince received that boon!  Jayadratha, addressing that god, asked the boon, ’May I be able to defeat in battle all the five sons of Pandu on their chariots!’ The god, however, told him ‘This cannot be.’  And Maheswara said, ’None can slay or conquer them in battle.  Save Arjuna, however, thou shall be able to only check them (once) on the field of battle!  The heroic Arjuna, with mighty arms, is the god incarnate styled Nara.  He practised austerities of old in the Vadari forest.  The God Narayana is his friend.  Therefore,