If in protecting his
subjects a king falls into danger, he earns great merit. Even such should
be the conduct of kings. I have now told thee a portion only of the
duties of kings. Tell me, O best of the Kurus, what more you wish to
know."
Vaisampayana continued, "The illustrious Vyasa and Devasthana and Aswa,
and Vasudeva and Kripa and Satyaki and Sanjaya, filled with joy, and with
faces resembling full-blown flowers, said, 'Excellent! Excellent!' and
hymned the praises of that tiger among men, viz., Bhishma, that foremost
of virtuous persons. Then Yudhishthira, that chief of Kuru's race, with a
cheerless heart and eyes bathed in tears, gently touched Bhishma's feet
and said, 'O grandsire, I shall to-morrow enquire after those points
about which I have my doubts, for today, the sun, having sucked the
moisture of all terrestrial objects, is about to set.' Then Kesava and
Kripa and Yudhishthira and others, saluting the Brahmanas (assembled
there) and circumambulating the son of the great river, cheerfully
ascended their cars. All of them observant of excellent vows then bathed
in the current of the Drishadwati. Having offered oblations of water unto
their ancestors and silently recited the sacred mantras and done other
auspicious acts, and having performed the evening prayer with due rites,
those scorchers of foes entered the city called after the elephant."
SECTION LIX
Vaisampayana said, "Rising from their beds the next day and performing
the morning rites laid down in the scriptures, the Pandavas and the
Yadavas set out (for the spot where Bhishma lay) on their cars resembling
fortified towns.
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