exceedingly distressed.  And that mighty armed hero thought all that to have been the act of some Yaksha or Rakshasa.  And Pritha’s son Vrikodara thought, ’I shall surely have to fight today.  Let me, therefore, first appease my thirst.’  Then that bull of the Bharata race rushed forward with the intention of drinking.  Thereupon the Yaksha said, ’O child, do not commit this rash act!  This lake hath already been in my possession.  Do thou first answer my questions, and then drink and take away as much water as thou requirest!’”

Vaisampayana continued, “Thus addressed by that Yaksha of immeasurable energy, Bhima, without answering his questions, drank of the water.  And as soon as he drank, he fell down dead on the spot.  Then thinking that his brothers had left him long since, Yudhishthira waited for some time.  And the king said unto himself again and again, ’Why is it that the two sons of Madri are delaying?  And why doth the wielder also of the Gandiva delay?  And why doth Bhima too, endued with great strength, delay?  I shall go to search for them!’ And resolved to do this, the mighty-armed Yudhishthira then rose up, his heart burning in grief.  And that bull among men, the royal son of Kunti thought within himself.  ’Is this forest under some malign influence?  Or, is it infested by some wicked beasts?  Or, have they all fallen, in consequence of having disregarded some mighty being?  Or, not finding water in the spot whither those heroes had first repaired, they have spent all this time in search through the forest?  What is that reason for which those bulls among men do not come back?’ And speaking in this strain, that foremost of monarchs, the illustrious Yudhishthira, entered into that mighty forest where no human sound was heard and which was inhabited by deer and bears and birds, and which was adorned with trees that were bright and green, and which echoed with the hum of the black-bee and the notes of winged warblers.  As he was proceeding along, he beheld that beautiful lake which looked as if it had been made by the celestial artificer himself.  And it was adorned with flowers of a golden hue and with lotuses and Sindhuvars.  And it abounded with canes and Ketakas and Karaviras and Pippalas, and fatigued with toil, Yudhishthira saw that tank and was struck with wonder.”

SECTION CCCXI

Vaisampayana said, “Yudhishthira saw his brothers, each possessed of the glory of Indra himself, lying dead like the Regents of the world dropped from their spheres at the end of the Yuga.  And beholding Arjuna lying dead, with his bow and arrows dropped on the ground, and also Bhimasena and the twins motionless and deprived of life, the king breathed a hot and long sigh, and was bathed in tears of grief.  And beholding his brothers lying dead, the mighty armed son of Dharma with heart racked in anxiety, began to lament profusely, saying, ’Thou hadst, O mighty-armed Vrikodara, vowed, saying,—­I shall with mace