Accepting the worship
thus offered unto him, the Brahmana with a joyous heart sat at his ease.
Then Yudhishthira addressed him and said, 'The king of the Panchalas hath,
by fixing a special kind of dower, given away his daughter according to
the practice of his order and not freely. This hero hath, by satisfying
that demand, won the princess. King Drupada, therefore, hath nothing now
to say in regard to the race, tribe, family and disposition of him who
hath performed that feat. Indeed, all his queries have been answered by
the stringing of the bow and the shooting down of the mark. It is by doing
what he had directed that this illustrious hero hath brought away Krishna
from among the assembled monarchs. In these circumstances, the king of the
Lunar race should not indulge in any regrets which can only make him
unhappy without mending matters in the least. The desire that king Drupada
hath all along cherished will be accomplished for his handsome princess
who beareth, I think, every auspicious mark. None that is weak in strength
could string that bow, and none of mean birth and unaccomplished in arms
could have shot down the mark. It behoveth not, therefore, the king of the
Panchalas to grieve for his daughter today. Nor can anybody in the world
undo that act of shooting down the mark. Therefore the king should not
grieve for what must take its course.'
"While Yudhishthira was saying all this, another messenger from the king
of the Panchalas, coming thither in haste, said, 'The (nuptial) feast' is
ready.
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