Vaisampayana said, "Then another endued with the dreadful strength and
blazing in beauty, approached king Virata, with the playful gait of the
lion. And holding in hand a cooking ladle and a spoon, as also an
unsheathed sword of sable hue and without a spot on the blade, he came
in the guise of a cook illumining all around him by his splendour like
the sun discovering the whole world. And attired in black and possessed
of the strength of the king of mountains, he approached the king of the
Matsyas and stood before him. And beholding that king-like person before
him, Virata addressed his assembled subjects saying, 'Who is that youth,
that bull among men, with shoulders broad like those of a lion, and so
exceedingly beautiful? That person, never seen before, is like the sun.
Revolving the matter in my mind, I cannot ascertain who he is, nor can I
with even serious thoughts guess the intention of that bull among men
(in coming here). Beholding him, it seems to me that he is either the
king of the Gandharvas, or Purandara himself. Do ye ascertain who it is
that standeth before my eyes. Let him have quickly what he seeks.' Thus
commanded by king Virata, his swift-footed messengers went up to the son
of Kunti and informed that younger brother of Yudhishthira of everything
the king had said. Then the high-souled son of Pandu, approaching
Virata, addressed him in words that were not unsuited to his object,
saying, 'O foremost of kings, I am a cook, Vallava by name. I am skilled
in dressing dishes. Do thou employ me in the kitchen!'

"Virata said, 'I do not believe, O Vallava, that cooking is thy office.
Thou resemblest the deity of a thousand eyes; and in grace and beauty
and prowess, thou shinest among these all as a king!'

"Bhima replied, 'O king of kings, I am thy cook and servant in the first
place. It is not curries only of which I have knowledge, O monarch,