nu. And for
the destruction of the wicked and the preservation of religion, even He
hath taken his birth among men in the race of the Yadus. And the
adorable Vishnu is styled Krishna. These, O king of Sindhu, are the
achievements of the Lord whom all the worlds worship and whom the
learned describe as without beginning and without end, unborn and
Divine! They call Him, the unconquerable Krishna with conchshell, discus
and mace, and adorned with the emblem of a curl of hair, Divine, clad in
silken robes of yellow hue, and the best of those versed in the art of
war. Arjuna is protected by Krishna the possessor of these attributes.
That glorious and lotus-eyed Being of infinite power, that slayer of
hostile heroes, riding in the same chariot with Pritha's son, protecteth
him! He is, therefore, invincible; the very gods cannot resist his
power, still less can one with human attributes vanquish the son of
Pritha in battle! Therefore, O king, thou must let him alone! Thou
shalt, however, be able to vanquish for a single day only, the rest of
Yudhishthira's forces along with thine enemies--the four sons of
Pandu!'"

Vaisampayana continued, "Having said these words unto that prince, the
adorable Hara of three eyes, the destroyer of all sins, the consort of
Uma, and lord of wild beasts, the destroyer of (Daksha's) sacrifice, the
slayer of Tripura and He that had plucked out the eyes of Bhaga,
surrounded by his dwarfish and hunch-backed and terrible followers
having frightful eyes and ears and uplifted arms, vanished, O tiger
among kings, from that place with his consort Uma! And the wicked
Jayadratha also returned home, and the sons of Pandu continued to dwell
in the forest of Kamyaka."

SECTION CCLXXI

Janamejaya said, "What did those tigers among men, the Pandavas, do,
after they had suffered such misery in consequence of the ravishment of
Draupadi?"

Vaisampayana said, "Having defeated Jayadratha and rescued Krishna, the
virtuous king Yudhishthira took his seat by the side of that best of
_Munis_. And among those foremost of ascetics who were expressing their
grief upon hearing Draupadi's misfortune, Yudhishthira, the son of
Pandu, addressed Markandeya, saying, 'O adorable Sire, amongst the gods
and the ascetics, thou art known to have the fullest knowledge of both
the past as well as the future. A doubt existeth in my mind, which I
would ask thee to solve! This lady is the daughter of Drupada; she hath
issued from th