eet words, "By thee hath been achieved a feat incapable of being
achieved by the gods and the Asuras. And, O Partha, by slaying my mighty
enemies, thou hast paid the preceptor's fee. And, O Dhananjaya, thus in
battle shalt thou always remain calm, and discharge the weapons
unerringly, and there shall not stand thee in fight celestials, and
_Danavas_, and _Rakshasas_, and _Yakshas_, and _Asuras_, and
_Gandharvas_ and birds and serpents. And, O Kaunteya, by conquering it
even by the might of thy arms, Kunti's son Yudhishthira, will rule the
earth."'"

SECTION CLXXIII

"Arjuna continued, 'Then firmly confident, the sovereign of the
celestials considering as his own, pertinently said these words unto me
wounded by cleaving shafts, "All the celestial weapons, O Bharata, are
with thee, so no man on earth will by any means be able to over-power
thee. And, O son, when thou art in the field, Bhishma and Drona and
Kripa and Karna and Sakuni together with other Kshatriyas shall not
amount unto one-sixteenth part of thee." And the lord Maghavan granted
me this golden garland and this shell, Devadatta, of mighty roars, and
also his celestial mail impenetrable and capable of protecting the body.
And Indra himself set on my (head) this diadem. And _Sakra_ presented me
with these unearthly apparels and unearthly ornaments, elegant and rare.
In this manner, O king, (duly) honoured, I delightfully dwelt in Indra's
sacred abode with the children of the _Gandharvas_. Then, well-pleased,
_Sakra_, together with the celestials, addressed me, saying, "O Arjuna,
the time hath come for thy departure; thy brothers have thought of
thee." Thus, O Bharata, remembering the dissensions arising from that
gambling, did I, O king, pass those five years in the abode of Indra.
Then have I come and seen thee surrounded by our brothers on the summit
of this lower range of the _Gandhamadana_.'

"Yudhishthira said, 'O Dhananjaya, by fortune it is that the weapons
have been obtained by thee; by fortune it is that the master of the
immortals hath been adored by thee. O repressor of foes, by fortune it
is that the divine _Sthanu_ together with the goddess had become
manifest unto thee and been gratified by thee in battle, O sinless one;
by fortune it is that thou hadst met with the Lokapalas, O best of the
Bharatas. O Partha, by fortune it is that we have prospered; and by
fortune it is that thou hast come back. To-day I consider as if the
entire earth engar