er no human mother bore,
Sprung from altar as Draupadi human shape for thee she wore,

By the Wielder of the trident she was waked to form and life,
Born in royal Drupad's mansion, righteous man, to be thy wife,

These are bright aerial beings, went for thee to lower earth,
Borne by Drupad's stainless daughter as thy children took their birth!

This is monarch Dhrita-rashtra who doth o'er _gandharvas_ reign,
This is brave immortal Karna, erst on earth by Arjun slain,

Like the fire in ruddy splendour, for the Sun inspired his birth,
As the son of Chariot-driver he was known upon the earth!

'Midst the _Sadhyas_ and the _Maruts_, 'midst immortals pure and bright,
Seek thy friends the faithful Vrishnis matchless in their warlike might.

Seek and find the brave Satyaki who upheld thy cause so well,
Seek the Bhojas and Andhakas who in Kuru-kshetra fell!

This is gallant Abhimanyu whom the fair Subhadra bore,
Still unconquered in the battle, slain by fraud in yonder shore,

Abhimanyu, son of Arjun, wielding Arjun's peerless might,
With the Lord of Night he ranges, beauteous as the Lord of Night!

This, Yudhishthir, is thy father! by thy mother joined in heaven,
Oft he comes into my mansions in his flowery chariot driven,

This is Bhishma, stainless warrior, by the _Vasus_ is his place,
By the god of heavenly wisdom teacher Drona sits in grace!

_These and other mighty warriors, in the earthly battle slain,
By their valour and their virtue walk the bright ethereal plain!_

_They have cast their mortal bodies, crossed the radiant gate of heaven,
For to win celestial mansions unto mortals it is given!_

_Let them strive by kindly action, gentle speech, endurance long,
Brighter life and holier future into sons of men belong!"_

TRANSLATOR'S EPILOGUE

Ancient India, like ancient Greece, boasts of two great Epics. One
of them, the _Maha-bharata_, relates to a great war in which all the
warlike races of Northern India took a share, and may therefore be
compared to the Iliad. The other, the _Ramayana_, relates mainly to
the adventures of its hero, banished from his country and wandering
for long years in the wildernesses of Southern India, and may
therefore be compared to the Odyssey. It is the first of these
two Epics, the Iliad of Ancient India, which is the subject of
tile foregoing pages.

The great war which is the subject of this Epic is believed to have
been fought in the thirteenth or fourteenth cen