ata, at length at a beautiful
place called Pramanakoti on the banks of the Ganga, he built a palace
decorated with hangings of broad-cloth and other rich stuffs. And he
built this palace for sporting in the water there, and filled it with all
kinds of entertaining things and choice viands. Gay flags waved on the
top of this mansion. The name of the house was 'the water-sport house.'
Skilful cooks prepared various kinds of viands. When all was ready, the
officers gave intimation to Duryodhana. Then the evil-minded prince said
unto the Pandavas, 'Let us all go to the banks of the Ganga graced with
trees and crowned with flowers and sport there in the water.' And upon
Yudhishthira agreeing to this, the sons of Dhritarashtra, taking the
Pandavas with them, mounted country-born elephants of great size and cars
resembling towns, and left the metropolis.

"On arriving at the place, the princes dismissed their attendants, and
surveying the beauty of the gardens and the groves, entered the palace,
like lions entering their mountain caves. On entering they saw that the
architects had handsomely plastered the walls and the ceilings and that
painters had painted them beautifully. The windows looked very graceful,
and the artificial fountains were splendid. Here and there were tanks of
pellucid water in which bloomed forests of lotuses. The banks were decked
with various flowers whose fragrance filled the atmosphere. The Kauravas
and the Pandavas sat down and began to enjoy the things provided for
them. They became engaged in play and began to exchange morsels of food
with one another. Meanwhile the wicked Duryodhana had mixed a powerful
poison with a quantity of food, with the object of making away with
Bhima. That wicked youth who had nectar in his tongue and a razor in his
heart, rose at length, and in a friendly way fed Bhima largely with that
poisoned food, and thinking himself lucky in having compassed his end,
was exceedingly glad at heart. Then the sons of Dhritarashtra and Pandu
together became cheerfully engaged in sporting in the water. Their sport
having been finished, they dressed themselves in white habiliments, and
decked themselves with various ornaments. Fatigued with play, they felt
inclined in the evening to rest in the pleasurehouse belonging to the
garden. Having made the other youths take exercise in the waters, the
powerful second Pandava was excessively fatigued. So that on rising from
the water, he lay down o