and powerful lions in the harem for the pleasure of the ladies. And
Arjuna, too, pleased the king and all the ladies of the inner apartments
by singing and dancing. And Nakula pleased Virata, that best of kings,
by showing him fleet and well-trained steeds that followed him wherever
he went. And the king, gratified with him, rewarded him with ample
presents. And beholding around Sahadeva a herd of well-trained bullocks,
Virata that bull among men, bestowed upon him also wealth of diverse
kinds. And, O king, Draupadi distressed to see all those warriors suffer
pain, sighed incessantly. And it was in this way that those eminent
persons lived there in disguise, rendering services unto king Virata."

[12] _Krita_--attack; _Pratikrita_--warding it off;
_Sankata_--clenched. _Some_ texts read _Sankatakais_. The
meaning then would be 'cased in gauntlets.'


SECTION XIV

(_Kichaka-badha Parva_)

Vaisampayana said, "Living in such disguise, those mighty warriors, the
sons of Pritha, passed ten months in Matsya's city. And, O monarch,
although herself deserving to be waited upon by others, the daughter of
Yajnasena, O Janamejaya, passed her days in extreme misery, waiting upon
Sudeshna. And residing thus in Sudeshna's apartments, the princess of
Panchala pleased that lady as also the other females of the inner
apartments. And it came to pass that as the year was about to expire,
the redoubtable Kichaka, the Commander of Virata's forces, chanced to
behold the daughter of Drupada. And beholding that lady endued with the
splendour of a daughter of the celestials, treading the earth like a