Afraid of your ascetic powers, he hath made himself scarce ere
this. Virtuous men never suffer. I now ask your permission to let me
return home. May you always be prosperous!'"
Vaisampayana continued, "Hearing Kesava's words, the sons of Pritha,
with Draupadi, became easy in mind. And cured of their fever (of
anxiety), they said unto him, 'As persons drowning in the wide ocean
safely reach the shore by means of a boat, so have we, by thy aid, O
lord Govinda, escaped from this inextricable difficulty. Do thou now
depart in peace, and may prosperity be thine.' Thus dismissed, he
repaired to his capital and the Pandavas too, O blessed lord, wandering
from forest to forest passed their days merrily with Draupadi. Thus, O
king, have I related to thee the story which thou askedest me to repeat.
And it was thus that the machinations of the wicked sons of
Dhritarashtra about the Pandavas in the forest, were frustrated."
SECTION CCLXII
Vaisampayana said, "These great warriors of the race of Bharata
sojourned like immortals in the great forest of Kamyaka, employed in
hunting and pleased with the sight of numerous wild tracts of country
and wide reaches of woodland, gorgeous with flowers blossoming in
season. And the sons of Pandu, each like unto Indra and the terror of
his enemies, dwelt there for some time. And one day those valiant men,
the conquerors of their foes, went about in all directions in search of
game for feeding the Brahmanas in their company, leaving Draupadi alone
at the hermitage, with the permission of the great ascetic Trinavindu,
resplendent with ascetic grandeur, and of their spiritual guide Dhaumya.
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