t these _tirthas_,
O thou virtuous one! By this, thou wilt acquire great fame, like king
Mahabhisha! O tiger among kings, even as the virtuous Yayati and king
Pururavas, dost thou blaze forth with thy own virtue. Like king
Bhagiratha and the illustrious Rama, dost thou shine among kings even as
the Sun himself. And thou art, O great king, celebrated (in the world)
even as Muni or Ikshwaku, or the highly famous Puru or Vainya! And as in
days of yore the slayer of Vritra, after burning all his foes, ruled the
three worlds, his mind freed from anxiety, so wilt thou rule thy
subjects, after slaying all thy enemies. And, O thou of eyes like lotus
leaves, having conquered the earth according to the customs of thy
order, thou wilt obtain renown by thy virtue, even like
Kartaviryaryuna.'"

Vaisampayana continued, "O great king, having comforted the monarch
thus, the illustrious Rishi Narada, bidding farewell to the king,
disappeared there and then. And the virtuous Yudhishthira, reflecting
upon the subject, began to recite unto the ascetics the merit attaching
to _tirthas_!"

SECTION LXXXVI

Vaisampayana continued, "Having ascertained the opinion of his brothers,
and of the intelligent Narada, king Yudhishthira, addressing Dhaumya,
who was like unto the Grandsire himself, said, 'I have for the
acquisition of arms, sent away that tiger among men, Jishnu, whose
prowess is incapable of being baffled, and who is possessed of long arms
and immeasurable intelligence. O thou of ascetic wealth, that hero is
devoted to me, endued with ability, and well-skilled in weapons, and
like unto the exalted Vasudeva himself. I know them both, Krishna and
Arjuna, those destroyers of enemies, O Brahmana, endued with prowess,
even as the puissant Vyasa knoweth them. I know Vasudeva and Dhananjaya
to be none else than Vishnu himself, possessed of the six attributes.
And this is also what Narada knoweth, for he hath always spoken so unto
me. I also know them to be _Rishis_, Nara and Narayana. Knowing him to
possess the ability, I have sent him (on the mission). Not inferior unto
Indra and fully competent (for the task), I have sent that son of a god
to see the lord of the celestials and obtain weapons from him. Bhishma
and Drona are _Atirathas_. Kripa and the son of Drona are invincible;
these mighty warriors have been installed by Dhritarashtra's son in the
command of his army. All these are versed in the Vedas, are heroic, and
possessed of the