t scent of thy
person. Great hath been our relief at this. O foremost of kings,
beholding thee, O first of men, great hath been our happiness. O son of
Pritha, let that happiness last longer through thy stay here, for a few
moments more. Do thou remain here, O Bharata, for even a short while. As
long as thou art here, O thou of Kuru's race, torments cease to afflict
us." These and many similar words, uttered in piteous voices by persons in
pain, the king heard in that region, wafted to his ears from every side.

"'Hearing those words of beings in woe, Yudhishthira of compassionate
heart exclaimed aloud, "Alas, how painful!" And the king stood still. The
speeches of those woe-begone and afflicted persons seemed to the son of
Pandu to be uttered in voices that he had heard before although he could
not recognise them on that occasion.

"'Unable to recognise voices, Dharma's son, Yudhishthira, enquired, saying,
"Who are you? Why also do you stay here?"

"'Thus addressed, they answered him from all sides, saying, "I am Karna!"
"I am Bhimasena!" "I am Arjuna!" "I am Nakula!" "I am Sahadeva!" "I am
Dhrishtadyumna!" "I am Draupadi!" "We are the sons of Draupadi!" Even thus,
O king, did those voices speak.

"'Hearing those exclamations, O king, uttered in voices of pain suitable
to that place, the royal Yudhishthira asked himself, "What perverse destiny
is this? What are those sinful acts which were committed by those
high-souled beings, Karna and the sons of Draupadi, and the
slender-waisted princess of Panchala, so that their residence has been
assigned in this region of foetid smell and great woe? I am not aware of
any transgression that can be attributed to these persons of righteous
deeds. What is that act by doing which Dhritarashtra's son, king
Suyodhana, with all his sinful followers, has become invested with such
prosperity? Endued with prosperity like that of the great Indra himself,
he is highly adored. What is that act through the consequence of which
these (high-souled ones) have fallen into Hell? All of them were
conversant with every duty, were heroes, were devoted to truth and the
Vedas; were observant of Kshatriya practices; were righteous in their
acts; were performers of sacrifices; and givers of large presents unto
brahmanas. Am I asleep or awake? Am I conscious or unconscious? Or, is
all this a mental delusion due to disorders of the brain?"

"'Overwhelmed by sorrow and grief, and with his senses agitate