seats, Sakuni said to Yudhishthira:--"The ground here has all
been prepared, and the dice are all ready: Come now, I pray you,
and play a game." But Yudhishthira was disinclined, and
replied:--"I will not play excepting upon fair terms; but if you
will pledge yourself to throw without artifice or deceit, I will
accept your challenge." Sakuni said,--"If you are so fearful
of losing, you had better not play at all." At these words
Yudhishthira was wroth, and replied:--"I have no fear either in
play or war; but let me know with whom I am to play, and who is
to pay me if I win." So Duryodhana came forward and said:--"I
am the man with whom you are to play, and I shall lay any stakes
against your stakes; but my uncle Sakuni will throw the dice for
me." Then Yudhishthira said,--"What manner of game is this,
where one man throws and another lays the stakes?" Nevertheless
he accepted the challenge, and he and Sakuni began to play.

`At this point in the narrative it may be desirable to pause, and
endeavour to obtain a picture of the scene. The so-called
pavilion was probably a temporary booth constructed of bamboos
and interlaced with basket-work; and very likely it was
decorated with flowers and leaves after the Hindoo fashion,
and hung with fruits, such as cocoa-nuts, mangoes, plantains, and
maize. The Chieftains present seem to have sat upon the ground,
and watched the game. The stakes may have been pieces of gold or
silver, or cattle, or lands; although, according to the legendary
account which follows, they included articles of a far more
extravagant and imaginative character. With these passing
remarks, the tradition of the memorable game may be resumed as
follows:--