Vaisampayana said,—­’O Janamejaya, having said this unto the son of Pritha, Narada went away, accompanied by those Rishis with whom he had come.  And after Narada had gone away, king Yudhishthira, O thou of the Kuru race, began to think, along with his brothers, of that foremost of sacrifices called Rajasuya.’

SECTION XIII

Vaisampayana said,—­“Yudhishthira, having heard these words of Narada, began to sigh heavily.  And, O Bharata, engaged in his thoughts about the Rajasuya, the king had no peace of mind.  Having heard of this glory of the illustrious monarchs (of old) and being certain about the acquisition of regions of felicity by performers of sacrifices in consequence of their sacred deeds, and thinking especially of that royal sage Harischandra who had performed the great sacrifice king Yudhishthira desired to make preparations for the Rajasuya sacrifice.  Then worshipping his counsellors and others present at his Sabha, and worshipped by them in return, he began to discuss with them about that sacrifice.  Having reflected much, that king of kings, that bull amongst the Kurus, inclined his mind towards making preparations for the Rajasuya.  That prince of wonderful energy and prowess, however, reflecting upon virtue and righteousness, again set his heart to find out what would be for the good of all his people.  For Yudhishthira, that foremost of all virtuous men, always kind unto his subjects, worked for the good of all without making any distinctions.  Indeed, shaking off both anger and arrogance, Yudhishthira always said,—­Give unto each what is due to each,—­and the only sounds that he could hear were,—­Blessed be Dharma!  Blessed be Dharma!  Yudhishthira! conducting himself thus and giving paternal assurance to everybody, there was none in the kingdom who entertained any hostile feelings towards him.  He therefore came to be called Ajatasatru (one with no enemy at all).  The king cherished every one as belonging to his family, and Bhima ruled over all justly.  Arjuna, used to employing both his hands with equal skill, protected the people from (external) enemies.  And the wise Sahadeva administered justice impartially.  And Nakula behaved towards all with humility that was natural to him.  Owing to all this, the kingdom became free from disputes and fear of every kind.  And all the people became attentive to their respective occupations.  The rain became so abundant as to leave no room for desiring more; and the kingdom grew in prosperity.  And in consequence of the virtues of the king, money-lenders, the articles required for sacrifices, cattle-rearing, tillage, and traders, all and everything grew in prosperity.  Indeed, during the reign of Yudhishthira who was ever devoted to truth, there was no extortion, no stringent realisation of arrears of rent, no fear of disease, of fire, or of death by poisoning and incantations, in the kingdom.  It was never heard at that time that thieves or cheats