best of women, day by day in succession, aided by that priest.  O king, the celestial Rishi told me of a very wonderful and extraordinary thing in connection with these marriages, viz., that the illustrious princess of slender waist regained her virginity every day after a previous marriage.  After the weddings were over, king Drupada gave unto those mighty car-warriors diverse kinds of excellent wealth.  And the king gave unto them one hundred cars with golden standards, each drawn by four steeds with golden bridles.  And he gave them one hundred elephants all possessing auspicious marks on their temples and faces and like unto a hundred mountains with golden peaks.  He also gave them a hundred female servants all in the prime of youth and clad in costly robes and ornaments and floral wreaths.  And the illustrious monarch of the Lunar race gave unto each of those princes of celestial beauty, making the sacred fire a witness of his gifts, much wealth and many costly robes and ornaments of great splendour.  The sons of Pandu endued with great strength, after their wedding were over, and after they had obtained Krishna like unto a second Sri along with great wealth, passed their days in joy and happiness, like so many Indras, in the capital of the king of the Panchalas,’”

SECTION CCI

(Vaivahika Parva continued)

“Vaisampayana said, ’King Drupada, after his alliance with the Pandavas, had all his fears dispelled.  Indeed, the monarch no longer stood in fear even of the gods.  The ladies of the illustrious Drupada’s household approached Kunti and introduced themselves unto her, mentioning their respective names, and worshipped her feet with heads touching the ground.  Krishna also, attired in red silk and her wrists still encircled with the auspicious thread, saluting her mother-in-law with reverence, stood contentedly before her with joined palms.  Pritha, out of affection, pronounced a blessing upon her daughter-in-law endued with great beauty and every auspicious mark and possessed of a sweet disposition and good character, saying, ’Be thou unto thy husband as Sachi unto Indra, Swaha unto Vibhavasu, Rohini unto Soma, Damayanti unto Nala, Bhadra unto Vaisravana, Arundhati unto Vasishtha, Lakshmi unto Narayana!  O amiable one, be thou the mother of long-lived and heroic children, and possessed of everything that can make thee happy!  Let luck and prosperity ever wait on thee!  Wait thou ever on husbands engaged in the performance of grand sacrifices.  Be thou devoted to thy husbands.  And let thy days be ever passed in duly entertaining and reverencing guests and strangers arrived at thy abode, and the pious and the old; children and superiors.  Be thou installed as the Queen of the kingdom and the capital of Kurujangala, with thy husband Yudhishthira the just!  O daughter, let the whole earth, conquered by the prowess of thy husbands endued with great strength, be given away by thee unto Brahmanas at horse-sacrifice!  O accomplished one whatever gems there are on earth possessed of superior virtues, obtain them, O lucky one, and be thou happy for a full hundred years!  And, O daughter-in-law, as I rejoice today beholding thee attired in red silk, so shall I rejoice again, when, O accomplished one, I behold thee become the mother of a son!’