Then Arjuna and Vrikodara, securing
him with chains, thrust him into a chariot. And Bhima, himself mounting
that chariot, and accompanied by Arjuna, drove towards the hermitage.
And approaching Yudhishthira seated there, he placed Jayadratha in that
condition before the king. And the king, smiling, told him to set the
Sindhu prince at liberty. Then Bhima said unto the king, 'Do thou tell
Draupadi that this wretch hath become the slave of the Pandavas.' Then
his eldest brother said unto him affectionately, 'If thou hast any
regard for us, do thou set this wretch at liberty!' And Draupadi too,
reading the king's mind, said, 'Let him off! He hath become a slave of
the king's and thou, too, hast disfigured him by leaving five tufts of
hair on his head.' Then that crest-fallen prince, having obtained his
liberty, approached king Yudhishthira and bowed down unto him. And
seeing those _Munis_ there, he saluted them also. Then the kind-hearted
king Yudhishthira, the son of Dharma, beholding Jayadratha in that
condition, almost supported by Arjuna, said unto him, 'Thou art a free
man now; I emancipate thee! Now go away and be careful not to do such
thing again; shame to thee! Thou hadst intended to take away a lady by
violence, even though thou art so mean and powerless! What other wretch
save thee would think of acting thus?' Then that foremost king of
Bharata's race eyed with pity that perpetrator of wicked deeds, and
believing that he had lost his senses, said, 'Mayst thy heart grow in
virtue! Never set thy heart again on immoral deeds! Thou mayst depart in
peace now with thy charioteers, cavalry and infantry.
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