Chapter 41

“Uttara said, ‘It hath been heard by us that a corpse is tied in thistree. How can I, therefore, being a prince by birth, touch it with myhands? Born in the Kshatriya order, and the son of a great king, andalways observant of mantras and vows, it is not becoming of me to touchit. Why shouldst thou, O Vrihannala, make me a polluted and uncleanbearer of corpses, by compelling me to come in contact with a corpse?’

“Vrihannala said, ‘Thou shalt, O king of kings, remain clean andunpolluted. Do not fear, there are only bows in this tree and notcorpses. Heir to the king of the Matsyas, and born in a noble family, whyshould I, O prince, make thee do such a reproachable deed?’

“Vaisampayana said, ‘Thus addressed by Partha, Virata’s son, decked inear-rings, alighted from the car, and climbed up that Sami treereluctantly. And staying on the car, Dhananjaya, that slayer of enemies,said, unto him, ‘Speedily bring thou down those bows from the top of thetree. And cutting off their wrappings first and then the ropes with whichthey were tied, the prince beheld the Gandiva there along with four otherbows. And as they were united, the splendour of those bows radiant as thesun, began to shine with great effulgence like unto that of the planetsabout the time of their rising. And beholding the forms of those bows, solike unto sighing snakes, he become afflicted with fear and in a momentthe bristles of his body stood on their ends. And touching those largebows of great splendour, Virata’s son, O king, thus spake unto Arjuna!'”