inextricable difficulty. Do thou now
depart in peace, and may prosperity be thine.' Thus dismissed, he
repaired to his capital and the Pandavas too, O blessed lord, wandering
from forest to forest passed their days merrily with Draupadi. Thus, O
king, have I related to thee the story which thou askedest me to repeat.
And it was thus that the machinations of the wicked sons of
Dhritarashtra about the Pandavas in the forest, were frustrated."

SECTION CCLXII

Vaisampayana said, "These great warriors of the race of Bharata
sojourned like immortals in the great forest of Kamyaka, employed in
hunting and pleased with the sight of numerous wild tracts of country
and wide reaches of woodland, gorgeous with flowers blossoming in
season. And the sons of Pandu, each like unto Indra and the terror of
his enemies, dwelt there for some time. And one day those valiant men,
the conquerors of their foes, went about in all directions in search of
game for feeding the Brahmanas in their company, leaving Draupadi alone
at the hermitage, with the permission of the great ascetic Trinavindu,
resplendent with ascetic grandeur, and of their spiritual guide Dhaumya.
Meanwhile, the famous king of Sindhu, the son of Vriddhakshatra was,
with a view to matrimony, proceeding to the kingdom of Salwa, dressed in
his best royal apparel and accompanied by numerous princes. And the
prince halted in the woods of Kamyaka. And in that secluded place, he
found the beautiful Draupadi, the beloved and celebrated wife of the
Pandavas, standing at the threshold of the hermitage. And she looked
grand in the superb beauty of her form, and seemed to shed a lustre on
the woodland around, like lightning illuminating masses of dark clouds.
And they who saw her asked themselves, 'Is this an Apsara, or a daughter
of the gods, or a celestial phantom?' And with this thought, their hands
also joined together, they stood gazing on the perfect and faultless
beauty of her form. And Jayadratha, the king of Sindhu, and the son of
Vriddhakshatra, struck with amazement at the sight of that lady of
faultless beauty, was seized with an evil intention. And inflamed with
desire, he said to the prince named Kotika, 'Whose is this lady of
faultless form? Is she of the human kind? I have no need to marry if I
can secure this exquisitely beautiful creature. Taking her with me, I
shall go back to my abode, Oh sir, and enquire who she is and whence she
has come and why also that delicat