the gate of the palace he sent the news of his arrival to his father.  And the porter then, approaching the king, said, ’Thy son Uttara, waiteth at the gate with Vrihannala as his companion.’  And the Matsya king, with a cheerful heart, said unto him, ’Do thou usher both, as I am very anxious to see them.’  Then Yudhishthira, the king of the Kurus, gently whispered unto the ears of the warder, ’Let Uttara enter alone; Vrihannala must not come in.  Such is the vow of that hero of mighty arms that whoever causeth a wound on my person or sheddeth my blood except in battle, shall not live.  Inflamed with rage he will never bear patiently to see me bleeding, but will slay Virata even now with his counsellors and troops and steeds.’”

SECTION LXVIII

Vaisampayana said, “Then Bhuminjaya, the eldest son of the king, entered, and having worshipped the feet of his father approached Kanka.  And he beheld Kanka covered with blood, and seated on the ground at one end of the court, and waited upon by the Sairindhri.  And seeing this, Uttara asked his father in a hurry, saying, ’By whom, O king, hath this one been struck?  By whom hath this sinful act been perpetrated?’

“Virata said, ’This crooked Brahmana hath been struck by me.  He deserveth even more than this.  When I was praising thee, he praised that person of the third sex.’

“Uttara said, ’Thou hast, O king, committed an improper act.  Do thou speedily propitiate him so that the virulent poison of a Brahmana’s curse may not consume thee to thy roots!’”

Vaisampayana continued, “Having heard the words of his son, Virata, that enhancer of the limits of his kingdom, began to soothe Kunti’s son, who was like unto a fire hid in ashes, for obtaining his forgiveness.  And unto the king desirous of obtaining his pardon the Pandava replied, ’O king, I have long ago forgiven it.  Anger I have none.  Had this blood from my nostrils fallen on the ground, then, without doubt, thou, O monarch, wouldst have been destroyed with thy kingdom.  I do not, however, blame thee, O king, for having struck an innocent person.  For, O king, they that are powerful generally act with unreasoning severity.’”

Vaisampayana continued, “When the bleeding had stopped, Vrihannala entered (the council-room) and having saluted both Virata and Kanka, stood silent.  And the king, having appeased the chief of the Kurus, began to praise, in Savyasachin’s hearing, Uttara who had returned from the battle.  And the king said, ’O enhancer of the joys of Kekaya’s princess, in thee have I truly a son!  I never had nor shall have, a son that is equal to thee!  How, indeed, couldst thou, O child, encounter that Karna who leaveth not a single mark unhit amongst even a thousand that he may aim at all at once?  How couldst thou, O child, encounter that Bhishma who hath no equal in the whole world of men?  How also couldst thou, O child, encounter Drona, that foremost