Chapter 192

“Bhishma said, ‘Drupada, O chastiser of foes, bestowed great attention oneverything in connection with that daughter of his, teaching her writingand painting and all the arts. And in arrows and weapons that childbecame a disciple of Drona. And the child’s mother, of superiorcomplexion, then urged the king (her husband) to find, O monarch, a wifefor her, as if she were a son. Then Prishata, beholding that daughter ofhis to have attained the full development of youth and assured of her sexbegan to consult with his queen. And Drupada said, ‘This daughter of minethat so enhanceth my woe, hath attained her youth. Concealed, however,she hath hitherto been by me at the words of the trident-bearing deity!’The queen replied, ‘That, O great king, can never be untrue! Why, indeed,would the Lord of the three worlds say that would not occur? If itpleases thee, O king, I will speak, and listen to my words, and, O son ofPrishata’s race, having listened to me, follow thy own inclination! Letthe wedding of this child with a wife be caused to be performedcarefully. The words of that god will be true. This is my certainbelief!’ Then that royal couple, having settled their resolution of thataffair, chose the daughter of the king of the Dasarnakas as their son’swife. After this, the royal Drupada, that lion among kings, havingenquired about the purity of descent, of all the rulers of the earth,selected the daughter of the king of Dasarnakas for wife to Sikhandin.He, who was called the king of the Dasarnakas was named Hiranyavarman;and he gave away his daughter to Sikhandin. And Hiranyavarman, the kingof the Dasarnakas, was a powerful monarch, incapable of being easilyvanquished. Incapable of being resisted, that high-souled monarchpossessed a large army. And sometimes after the wedding, the daughter ofHiranyavarman, O best of monarchs, attained her youth while the daughterof Drupada also had attained hers. And Sikhandin, after marriage, cameback to Kampilya. And the former soon came to know that the latter was awoman like herself. And the daughter of Hiranyavarman, having ascertainedthat Sikhandin was really a woman, bashfully represented unto her nursesand companions everything about the so-called son of the king of thePanchalas. Then, O tiger among kings, those nurses of the Dasarnakascountry were filled with great grief and sent emissaries unto their king.And those emissaries represented unto the king of the Dasarnakaseverything about the imposture that had taken place. And, thereupon, theking of the Dasarnakas was filled with wrath. Indeed, O bull of theBharata race, Hiranyavarman, hearing the news after the expiry of a fewdays was much afflicted with wrath. The ruler of the Dasarnakas then,filled with fierce wrath, sent a messenger to Drupada’s abode. And themessenger of king Hiranyavarman, having alone approached Drupada, tookhim aside and said unto him in private, ‘The king of the Dasarnakas, Omonarch, deceived by thee and enraged, O sinless one, at the insult thouhast offered him, hath said these words unto thee,–Thou hast humiliatedme! Without doubt it was not wisely done by thee! Thou hadst, from folly,solicited my daughter for thy daughter! O wicked one, reap now theconsequence of that act of deception’ I will now slay thee with all thyrelatives and advisers! Wait a little!'”