well taught by thee. Blessed be thou.
There is none that could say so to us, save our mother Kunti and Vidura
of great wisdom. It behoveth thee to do all that is necessary now for
our departure, and for enabling us to come safely through this woe, as
well as for our victory over the foe.'"

Vaisampayana continued, "Thus addressed by Yudhishthira, Dhaumya, that
best of Brahmanas, performed according to the ordinance the rites
ordained in respect of departure. And lighting up their fires, he
offered, with _mantras_, oblations on them for the prosperity and
success of the Pandavas, as for their reconquest of the whole world. And
walking round those fires and round the Brahmanas of ascetic wealth, the
six set out, placing Yajnaseni in their front. And when those heroes had
departed, Dhaumya, that best of ascetics, taking their sacred fires, set
out for the Panchalas. And Indrasena, and others already mentioned, went
to the Yadavas, and looking after the horses and the cars of the
Pandavas passed their time happily and in privacy."

SECTION V

Vaisampayana said, "Girding their waists with swords, and equipped with
finger-protectors made of iguana skins and with various weapons, those
heroes proceeded in the direction of the river Yamuna. And those bowmen
desirous of (speedily) recovering their kingdom, hitherto living in
inaccessible hills and forest fastnesses, now terminated their
forest-life and proceeded to the southern bank of that river. And those
mighty warriors endued with great strength and hitherto leading the
lives of hunters by killing the deer of the forest, passed through
_Yakrilloma_ and Surasena, leaving behind, on their right, the country
of the Panchalas, and on their left, that of the Dasarnas. And those
bowmen, looking wan and wearing beards and equipped with swords, entered
Matsya's dominions leaving the forest, giving themselves out as hunters.
And on arriving at that country, Krishna addressed Yudhishthira, saying,
'We see footpaths here, and various fields. From this it appears that
Virata's metropolis is still at a distance. Pass we here what part of
the night is still left, for great is my fatigue.'

"Yudhishthira answered, 'O Dhananjaya of Bharata's race, do thou take up
Panchali and carry her. Just on emerging from this forest, we arrive at
the city.'"

Vaisampayana continued, "Thereupon like the leader of a herd of
elephants, Arjuna speedily took up Draupadi, and on coming to the
vicinity