And the fragrance therefrom could be
perceived from the distance of a Yojana (eight miles). And they were each
furnished with a hundred doors wide enough to admit a crowd of persons;
they were adorned with costly beds and carpets, and beautified with
various metals; they resembled the peaks of the Himavat. And in those
seven-storied houses of various sizes dwelt the monarchs invited by
Drupada whose persons were adorned with every ornament and who were
possessed with the desire of excelling one another. And the inhabitants of
the city and the country who had come to behold Krishna and taken their
seats on the excellent platforms erected around, beheld seated within
those mansions those lions among kings who were all endued with the energy
of great souls. And those exalted sovereigns were all adorned with the
fragrant paste of the black aloe. Of great liberality, they were all
devoted to Brahma and they protected their kingdoms against all foes. And
for their own good deeds they were loved by the whole world.
"The Pandavas, too, entering that amphitheatre, sat with the Brahmanas and
beheld the unequalled affluence of the king of the Panchalas. And that
concourse of princes, Brahmanas, and others, looking gay at the
performances of actors and dancers (large presents of every kind of wealth
being constantly made), began to swell day by day. And it lasted, O king,
several days, till on the sixteenth day when it was at its full, the
daughter of Drupada, O thou bull of the Bharata race, having washed
herself clean entered the amphitheatre, richly attired and adorned with
every ornament and bearing in her hand a dish of gold (whereon were the
usual offerings of Arghya) and a garland of flowers.
Pages:
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720