amous in all the worlds under the name of Suvira. His soul
was intent on religion and he possessed wealth like another Indra, the
lord of the deities. Suvira too had a son who was invincible in battle,
and who was the best of all warriors and known by the name of Sudurjaya.
And Durjya too, possessed of a body like that of Indra, had a son who
beamed with splendour like that of fire. He was the great monarch named
Duryodhana who was one of the foremost of royal sages. Indra used to pour
rain profusely in the kingdom of this monarch, who never fled from the
battlefield and was possessed of valour like unto Indra himself. The
cities and the kingdom of this king were filled with riches and gems and
cattle and grain of various kinds. There was no miser in his kingdom nor
any person afflicted with distress or poverty. Nor was there in his
kingdom any person that was weak in body or afflicted with disease. That
king was very clever, smooth in speech, without envy, a master of his
passions, of a righteous soul, full of compassion, endued with prowess,
and not given to boasting. He performed sacrifices, and was
self-restrained and intelligent, devoted to Brahmanas and Truth. He never
humiliated others, and was charitable, and learned in the Vedas and the
Vedanta. The celestial river Narmada, auspicious and sacred and of cool
waters, in her own nature, O Bharata, courted him. He begot upon that
river, a lotus-eyed daughter, by name Sudarsana, who was, O king, endued
with great beauty. No creature, O Yudhisthira, had ever been born before
among womankind, that was possessed of such beauty as that excellent
damsel who was the daughter of Duryodhana. The god Agni himself courted
the beautiful princess Sudarsana, and taking the shape of a Brahmana, O
monarch, sought her hand from the king. The king was unwilling to give
his daughter in marriage to the Brahmana who was poor and not of the same
rank with himself. Thereupon Agni vanished from his great sacrifice. The
king, grieved at heart, then addressed the Brahmanas, saying,--'Of what
sin have I, ye excellent Brahmanas, or you, been guilty, that Agni should
disappear from this sacrifice, even as good done unto wicked men
disappears from their estimation. Great, indeed, must that sin of ours be
for which Agni has thus disappeared. Either must the sin be yours, or, it
must be mine. Do you fully investigate the matter.'--Then hearing the
king's words, O foremost prince of Bharata's race, t