the foremost of those versed in arms!'—'This is the foremost of all cherishers of virtue!'—'This is the foremost of all well-conducted persons, the great repository of the knowledge of manners!' At those exclamations, the tears of Kunti, mixing with the milk of her breast, drenched her bosom. And having his ears filled with that uproar, that first of men, Dhrita-rashtra, asked Vidura with delight, 'O Kshatta, what is this great uproar, like unto that of the troubled deep, arising all of a sudden, and rending the very heavens? Vidura replied 'O mighty monarch, the son of Panda and Pritha, Falguna, clad in mail hath entered the lists. And hence this uproar!' Dhrita-rashtra said, 'O thou of soul so great, by the three fires sprung from Pritha who is even like the sacred fuel, I have, indeed, been blessed, favored and protected!'"
Vaisampayana continued, "And when the spectators excited with delight, had somewhat regained their equanimity, Vivatshu began to display before his preceptor his lightness in the use of weapons. By the Agneya weapon he created fire, and by the Varuna weapon, he created water. And by the Vayavya weapon, he created air, and by the Paryanya weapon, he created clouds. And by the Bhauma weapon, he created land, and by the Parvatya weapon mountains came into being. And by the Antar-dhana weapon these all were made to disappear. Now the beloved of his preceptor (Arjuna) appeared tall, and now short; now he was seen on the yoke of his car, and now on the car itself; and the next, moment he was on the ground. And the hero favored by his practised dexterity, hit by his arrows various butts, some tender, some fine, and some of thick composition. And like one shaft, he let fly at one time into the mouth of a moving iron boar five shafts together from his bow-string. And that hero of mighty energy discharged one and twenty arrows into the hollow of a cow's horn hung up on a rope and swaying to and fro. In this manner, O sinless one, Arjuna showed his profound skill in the use of the sword, the bow, and the mace, walking over the lists in circles.
"And, O Bharata, when the exhibition had well nigh ended, the excitement of the spectators cooled, and the sound of the
