thira then censured the gods as also Dharma himself.50 Afflicted by the very foul odor, he addressed the celestial messenger, saying,—'Return to the presence of those whose messenger thou art!51 Tell them that I shall not go back to where they are, but shall stay even here, since, in consequence of my companionship, these afflicted brothers of mine have become comforted!'52 Thus addressed by the intelligent son of Pāndu, the celestial messenger returned to the place where the chief of the deities was, viz., he of a hundred sacrifices.53 He represented unto him the acts of Yudhishthira. Indeed, O ruler of men, he informed Indra of all that Dharma's son had said."54
Section III.
Vaiçampāyana said,—"King Yudhishthira the just, the son of Prithā, had not stayed there for more than a moment when, O thou of Kuru's race, all the gods with Indra at their head came to that spot.1 The deity of Righteousness, in his embodied form, also came to that place where the Kuru king was, for seeing that monarch.2 Upon the advent of those deities of resplendent bodies and sanctified and noble deeds, the darkness that had overwhelmed that region immediately disappeared.3 The torments undergone by beings of sinful deeds were no longer seen. The river Vaitarani, the thorny Cālmali,4 the iron jars, and the boulders of rock, so terrible to behold, also vanished from sight. The diverse repulsive corpses also, which the Kuru king had seen, disappeared at the same time.5 Then a breeze, delicious and fraught with pleasant perfumes, perfectly pure, and delightfully cool, O Bhārata, began to blow on that spot in consequence of the presence of the gods.6 The Maruts, with Indra, the Vasus with the twin Açwins, the Sādhyas, the Rudras, the Ādityas, and the other denizens of Heaven,7 as also the Siddhas and the great Rishis, all came there where Dharma's royal son of great energy was.8 Then Cakra, the lord of the deities, endued with blazing prosperity, addressed Yudhishthira and comforting him, said,9—'O Yudhishthira of
