O righteous lady.  There is nothing higher than penances.  It is by penances that one attains to the Supreme.  O queen, my heart no longer turns as of old towards kingdom.  My mind is wholly set upon penances now.  The whole Earth is empty now.  O auspicious lady, she does not please me any longer.  Our kinsmen have been reduced in number.  Our strength is no longer what it was before.  The Panchalas have been wholly exterminated.  They exist in name only.  O auspicious lady, I do not behold any one that may assist as their re-establishment and growth.  All of them have been consumed to ashes by Drona on the field of battle.  Those that remained were slain by Drona’s son at night.  The Chedis and the Matsyas, who were our friends, no longer exist.  Only the tribes of the Vrishnis are all that remain, Vasudeva having upheld them.  Beholding only the Vrishnis I wish to live.  My desire of life, however, is due to my wish of acquiring merit and not wealth or enjoyment.  Do thou cast auspicious looks upon us all.  To obtain thy sight will be difficult for us.  The king will commence to practise the most austere and unbearable of penances.’  Hearing these words, that lord of battle, the mighty-armed Sahadeva, with eyes bathed in tears, addressed Yudhishthira, saying,—­’O chief of Bharata’s race, I dare not leave my mother.  Do thou return to the capital soon.  I shall practise penances, O puissant one.  Even here I shall emaciate my body by penances, engaged in serving the feet of the king and of these my mothers.’  Unto that mighty-armed hero, Kunti, after an embrace, said—­’Depart, O son.  Do not say so.  Do my bidding.  Do all of you go hence.  Let peace be yours.  Ye sons, let happiness be yours.  By your stay here, our penances will be obstructed.  Bound by the ties of my affection for thee, I shall fall off from my high penances.  Therefore, O son, leave us.  Short is the period that we have of life, O thou of great puissance.’  By these and diverse other speeches of Kunti, the minds of Sahadeva and king Yudhishthira were composed.  Those foremost ones of Kuru’s race, having received the permission of their mother as also of the (old) monarch, saluted the latter and began to take his leave.’

“Yudhishthira said, ’Gladdened by auspicious blessings, we shall return to the capital.  Indeed, O king, having received thy permission, we shall leave this retreat, freed from every sin.’  Thus addressed by the high-souled king Yudhishthira the just, that royal sage, viz., Dhritarashtra, blessed Yudhishthira and gave him permission.  The king comforted Bhima, that foremost of all persons endued with great strength.  Endued with great energy and great intelligence, Bhima showed his submissiveness to the king.  Embracing Arjuna and clasping those foremost of men, viz., the twins also, and blessing them repeatedly, the Kuru king gave them permission to depart.  They worshipped the feet of Gandhari and received her blessings also.  Their mother