And he said, 'King Pandu, my brother of great fame,
hath, indeed, died today when those heroic sons of his together with their
mother have been burnt to death. Ye men, repair quickly to Varanavata and
cause the funeral rites to be performed of those heroes and of the
daughter of Kuntiraj! Let also the bones of the deceased be sanctified
with the usual rites, and let all the beneficial and great acts (usual on
such occasions) be performed. Let the friends and relatives of those that
have been burnt to death repair thither. Let also all other beneficial
acts that ought, under the circumstances, to be performed by us for the
Pandavas and Kunti be accomplished by wealth.'
"Having said this, Dhritarashtra, the son of Ambika, surrounded by his
relatives, offered oblations of water to the sons of Pandu. And all of
them, afflicted with excessive sorrow, bewailed aloud, exclaiming, 'O
Yudhishthira! Oh prince of the Kuru race!'--While others cried aloud, 'Oh,
Bhima!--O Phalguna!'--while some again,--'Oh, the twins!--Oh, Kunti!'--
Thus did they sorrow for the Pandavas and offer oblations of water unto
them. The citizens also wept for the Pandavas but Vidura did not weep much,
because he knew the truth.
"Meanwhile the Pandavas endued with great strength with their mother
forming a company of six going out of the town of Varanavata arrived at
the banks of the Ganga. They then speedily reached the opposite bank aided
by the strength of the boatmen's arms, the rapidity of the river's current,
and a favourable wind.
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