spirits; therefore should my body be burnt with his. O revered sister, refuse not thy sanction to this which is agreeable to me! Thou wilt certainly bring up the children carefully. That, indeed, would be very agreeable to me. I have no other direction to give.'"
Vaisampayana continued, "Having said this, the daughter of the king of Madra—the wedded wife of Pandu—ascended the funeral pyre of her lord—that bull among men."
Thus ends the hundred and twenty fifth Section in the Sambhava of the Adi Parva.
Section CXXVI.
( Sambhava Parva continued. )
Vaisampayana said, "The god-like Rishis wise in counsels, beholding the death of Pandu, consulted with each other. And they said, 'The virtuous and renowned king Pandu, abandoning both sovereignty and kingdom, had come hither for practising ascetic austerities and resigned himself to the ascetics dwelling on this mountain. He hath hence ascended to heaven leaving his wife and infant sons as a trust in our hands. Our duty now is to repair to his kingdom with these his offspring, his body, and his wife!"
Vaisampayana continued, "Then those god-like Rishis of magnanimous hearts and crowned with ascetic success, summoning one another, resolved to go to Hastinapore with Pandu's children in the van, desiring to place them in the hands of Bhisma and Dhrita-rashtra. The ascetics set out that very moment, taking with them those children and Kunti and the two dead bodies. And though unused to toil all her life, the affectionate Kunti now regarded as very short the really long journey she had to perform. Arrived at Kuru-jangala within a short time, the illustrious Kunti presented herself at the principal gate. The ascetics then charged the porters to inform the king of their arrival. The men carried the message within a trice to the court. And the citizens of Hastinapore, hearing of the arrival of thousands of Charanas and Munis, were filled with wonder. And it was soon after sun-
47
