admiration of her courage and devotion, he yielded to her her husband's
soul.

Near the close of the twelfth year of their exile, the princes, fatigued
from a hunt, sent Nakalu to get some water from a lake which one had
discovered from a tree-top. As the prince approached the lake he was
warned by a voice not to touch it, but thirst overcoming fear, he drank
and fell dead. The same penalty was paid by Sahadeva, Arjuna, and Bhima,
who in turn followed him. Yudhi-sthira, who went last, obeyed the voice,
which, assuming a terrible form, asked the king questions on many subjects
concerning the universe. These being answered satisfactorily, the being
declared himself to be Dharma, the god of justice, Yudhi-sthira's father,
and in token of his affection for his son, restored the princes to life,
and granted them the boon of being unrecognizable during the remaining
year of their exile.

The thirteenth year of their exile they spent in the city of Virata, where
they entered the service of the Raja,--Yudhi-sthira as teacher of
dice-playing, Bhima as superintendent of the cooks, Arjuna as a teacher of
music and dancing to the ladies, Nakalu as master of horse, and Sahadeva
as superintendent of the cattle. Draupadi, who entered the service of the
queen, was so attractive, even in disguise, that Bhima was forced to kill
the queen's brother, Kechaka, for insulting her. This would have caused
the Pandavas' exile from Virata had not their services been needed in a
battle between Virata and the king of the Trigartas.

The Kauravas assisted the Trigartas in this battle, and the recognition,
among the victors, of their cousins, whose thirteenth year of exile was
now ended, added to the bitterness of their defeat.