Chapter 50

Duryodhana said,–‘Listen now, O Bharata, about all the most costlyarticles I saw, belonging unto the sons of Pandu, and brought one afteranother by the kings of the earth.

Beholding that wealth of the foe, Ilost my reason and scarcely knew myself. And, O Bharata, listen as Idescribe that wealth consisting of both manufactures and the produce ofthe land. The king of Kamboja gave innumerable skins of the best king,and blankets made of wool, of the soft fur of rodents and otherburroughers, and of the hair of cats,–all inlaid with threads of gold.And he also gave three hundred horses of the Titteti and the Kalmashaspecies possessing noses like parrots. And he also gave three hundredcamels and an equal number of she-asses, all fattened with the olives andthe Pilusha. And innumerable Brahmanas engaged in rearing cattle andoccupied in low offices for the gratification of the illustrious kingYudhishthira the just waited at the gate with three hundred millions oftribute but they were denied admission into the palace. And hundred uponhundreds of Brahmanas possessing wealth of kine and living upon the landsthat Yudhishthira had given them, came there with their handsome goldenKamandalus filled with clarified butter. And though they had brought suchtribute, they were refused admission into the palace. And the Sudra kingsthat dwelt in the regions on the seacoast, brought with them, O king,hundred thousands of serving girls of the Karpasika country, all ofbeautiful features and slender waist and luxuriant hair and decked ingolden ornaments; and also many skins of the Ranku deer worthy even ofBrahmanas as tribute unto king Yudhishthira. And the tribes Vairamas,Paradas, Tungas, with the Kitavas who lived upon crops that depended onwater from the sky or of the river and also they who were born in regionson the sea-shore, in woodlands, or countries on the other side of theocean waited at the gate, being refused permission to enter, with goatsand kine and asses and camels and vegetable, honey and blankets andjewels and gems of various kinds. And that great warrior king Bhagadatta,the brave ruler of Pragjyotisha and the mighty sovereign of themlechchas, at the head of a large number of Yavanas waited at the gateunable to enter, with a considerable tribute comprising of horses of thebest breed and possessing the speed of the wind. And king Bhagadatta(beholding the concourse) had to go away from the gate, making over anumber of swords with handles made of the purest ivory and well-adornedwith diamonds and every kind of gems. And many tribes coming fromdifferent regions, of whom some possess two eyes, some three and some hadeyes on their foreheads, and those also called Aushmikas, and Nishadas,and Romakas, some cannibals and many possessing only one leg. I say, Oking, standing at the gate, being refused permission to enter. And thesediverse rulers brought as tribute ten thousand asses of diverse hues andblack necks and huge bodies and great speed and much docility andcelebrated all over the world. And these asses were all of goodly sizeand delightful colour. And they were all bred on the coast of Vankhu. Andthere were many kings that gave unto Yudhishthira much gold and silver.And having given much tribute they obtained admission into the palace ofYudhishthira. The people that came there possessing only one leg gaveunto Yudhishthira many wild horses, some of which were as red as thecochineal, and some white, and some possessing the hues of the rainbowand some looking like evening clouds, and some that were of variegatedcolour. And they were all endued with the speed of the mind. And theyalso gave unto the king enough gold of superior quality. I also sawnumberless Chins and Sakas and Uddras and many barbarous tribes living inthe woods, and many Vrishnis and Harahunas, and dusky tribes of theHimavat, and many Nipas and people residing in regions on the sea-coast,waiting at the gate being refused permission to enter. And the people ofValhika gave unto him as tribute ten thousand asses, of goodly size andblack necks and daily running two hundred miles, And those asses were ofmany shapes. And they were well-trained and celebrated all over theworld. And possessed of symmetrical proportion and excellent colour,their skins were pleasant to the touch. And the Valhikas also presentednumerous blankets of woollen texture manufactured in Chin and numerousskins of the Ranku deer, and clothes manufactured from jute, and otherswoven with the threads spun by insects. And they also gave thousands ofother clothes not made of cotton, possessing the colour of the lotus. Andthese were all of smooth texture. And they also gave soft sheep-skins bythousands. And they also gave many sharp and long swords and scimitars,and hatchets and fine-edged battle-axes manufactured in the westerncountries. And having presented perfumes and jewels and gems of variouskinds by thousands as tribute, they waited at the gate, being refusedadmission into the palace. And the Sakas and Tukhatas and Tukharas andKankas and Romakas and men with horns bringing with them as tributenumerous large elephants and ten thousand horses, and hundreds andhundreds of millions of gold waited at the gate, being refused permissionto enter. And the kings of the eastern countries having presentednumerous valuable articles including many costly carpets and vehicles andbeds, and armours of diverse hues decked with jewels and gold and ivory,and weapons of various kinds, and cars of various shapes and handsomemake and adorned with gold, with well-trained horses trimmed with tigerskins, and rich and variegated blankets for caprisoning elephants, andvarious kinds of jewels and gems, arrows long and short and various otherkinds of weapons, obtained permission to enter the sacrificial palace ofthe illustrious Pandava!'”