ave obtained victory in
battle. Such being the case, all of us, with our counsellors, shall
propitiate Yudhishthira the son of Kunti. Blessed be thou, with all thy
brothers, O bull among the sons of Pandu. If, O king, we have ever said
or done anything in ignorance to offend thee, it behoveth thee to
forgive us. The son of Pandu is virtuous.'"

Vaisampayana continued, "Then the high-souled Virata, delighted greatly,
approached king Yudhishthira and made an alliance with him, and offered
him his whole kingdom together with the sceptre and treasury and
metropolis. And addressing all the Pandavas, and especially Dhananjaya,
the mighty king of the Matsyas repeatedly said, 'By good luck it is that
I see you.' And having again and again embraced Yudhishthira and Bhima
and the sons of Madri, and smelt their heads, Virata, that owner of a
large army, was not satiated with gazing at them. And being highly
pleased, he said unto king Yudhishthira, 'By good luck it is that I see
you safe from woods. By good luck it is that ye have accomplished with
difficulty the period of exile, undiscovered by those wicked wights. I
make over my entire kingdom to the sons of Pritha, and what else I have.
Let the sons of Pandu accept these without the slightest hesitation. And
let Dhananjaya, called also Savyasachin, accept the hand of Uttara:
for that best of men is fit to be her lord.' Thus addressed, king
Yudhishthira the just cast a look upon Dhananjaya, the son of Pritha.
And looked at by his brother, Arjuna said unto the Matsya king, 'O
monarch, I accept thy daughter as my daughter-in-law. And alliance of
this kind between the Matsya and the Bharatas is, indeed, desirable.'"

SECTION LXXII

"Virata said, 'Why, O best among the Pandavas, dost thou not wish to
accept as wife this my daughter that I bestow upon thee?'

"Arjuna said, 'Residing in thy inner apartments, I had occasion always
to behold thy daughter, and she too, alone or in company trusted me as
her father. Well-versed in singing and dancing, I was liked and regarded
by her, and, indeed, thy daughter always regardeth me as her protector.
O king, I lived for one whole year with her though she had attained the
age of puberty. Under these circumstances, thyself or other men may not
without reason, entertain suspicions against her or me. Therefore, O
king, myself who am pure, and have my senses under control, beg to thee,
O monarch, thy daughter as my daughter-in-law. Thus do I at