with great strength and Arjuna accomplished in all arms, became very jealous of them.
"O thou bull among men, one day Drona desirous of testing the comparative excellence of all his pupils in the use of arms, collected them all together after their education had been completed. And before assembling them together, he had caused an artificial bird, as the would-be aim, to be placed on the top of a neighbouring tree. And when they were all together, Drona said unto them, 'Take up your bows quickly and stand here aiming at that bird on the tree, with arrows fixed on your bow-strings; shoot and cut off the bird's head, as soon as I give the order. I shall give each of yea turn, one by one, my children."
Vaisampayana continued, "Then Drona, that foremost of all Angira's sons, first addressed Yudhish-thira saying, 'O irrepressible one, aim with thy arrow and let it off as soon as I give the order. Yudishthira took up the bow first, as desired, O king, by his preceptor, and stood aiming at the bird. But, O thou bull of the Bharata race, Drona in an instant, addressing the Kuru prince standing with bow in hand, said, 'Behold, O prince, that bird on the top of the tree.' Yudhish-thira replied unto his preceptor, saying, 'I do.' But the instant after, Drona again asked him, 'What dost thou now see, O prince? Seest thou the tree, myself, or thy brothers?' Yudhish-thira answered, 'I see the tree, thyself, my brothers, and the bird.' Drona repeated his question, but was answered as often in the same words. Drona then, vexed with Yudhish-thira, reproachingly told him, 'Stand thou apart. It is not for thee to strike the aim.' Then Drona repeated the experiment with Duryo-dhana and the other sons of Dhrita-rashtra one after another, as also with his other pupils, Bhima and the rest, including the princes who had come unto him from other lands. But the answer in every case was the same as Yudhish-thira's, viz, ('We behold the tree, thyself, our fellow-pupils, and the bird).' And reproached by their preceptor, they were all ordered, one after another, to stand apart."
Thus ends the hundred and thirty-fourth Section in the Sambhava of the Adi Parva.
