ráshtra was led to his seat, and foremost among the ladies were his queen and the widow of Pándu, and the population of Kuru-land flocked around to see and admire the skill of their beloved princes.

There were fights with swords and clubs, and skill in archery was tried by severe tests. · Arjuna distinguished himself above all the rest, and, amidst the ringing cheers of the assembled multitude, concluded his wonderful feats by doing obeisance to the venerable preceptor, Drona.

The dark cloud of jealousy lowered on the brow of the sons of Dhritarashtra, and when the time came for the election of a king, they rebelled against Pándu's eldest son ascending his father's throne. The just and aged Dhritarashtra had to yield; his sons obtained the royal power, and the five Pándavas were sent into exile.

Heralds now went through the different Hindu states, announcing that the daughter of the king of the Panchálas would select a husband by the ancient Swayamvara rite; in other words, she would herself choose her lord from among the most skilful warriors of the time. A heavy bow of great size was to be wielded, and an arrow was to be sent through a whirling chakra or quoit into the eye of a golden fish set high on a pole. The happy warrior who did this would win the princess.

Princes and warriors flocked to Kámpilya, the capital of the Panchálas. The princess appeared with her brother among the assembled nobles, with the garland which she was to bestow on the victor of the day. Many tried to wield the bow, but in vain. An unknown warrior then stepped forward, drew the bow, and shot the arrow into the eye of the golden fish. Murmurs of discontent arose, like the sound of troubled waters, from the ranks of the warriors at the success of this unknown archer; but the latter threw off his disguise, and proclaimed himself the proud, the exiled Arjuna.

Then follows the strange myth that the five brothers went to their mother and said that a great prize had been won. Their mother, not knowing what the prize was, told her sons to share it among them; and as a mother's mandate cannot be disregarded, the five Pándavas wedded the princess as their common wife. The Pándavas were now allied with the Panchálas, and their claim to their father's throne could no longer be gainsaid. A division was therefore made of the kingdom to prevent a war. The division was, however, unequal. Hastinápura and the best portion of Kuru-land fell to the share of the sons of Dhritarashtra. Forest lands on the Jumna were given to the Pándavas, where they cleared the woods, and built their new capital of Indraprastha, on the site of modern Delhi.

From this new capital the Pándavas spread their conquests far and wide, and Yudhishthira invited the princes of all neighbouring countries, including his kinsmen of Hastinapura, to attend the great coronation ceremony. A quarrel arose in the assembly between Sisupála, king of the Chedis, and Krishna of the Yadava race, and the latter killed Sisupála on the spot. Thenceforward Krishna remained a staunch ally of the Pándavas; and in the epic in its present form he is represented as a deity who had assumed human form in order to help the Pándavas to their rights.

But the newly crowned king was not long to enjoy his kingdom. With all his righteousness, Yudhishthira had a weakness for gambling, and the eldest son of Dhritarashtra challenged him to a game. Kingdom, wealth, himself and his brothers, and even his wife, were staked by Yudhishthira and lost, and behold now the five brothers and their wife the slaves of their rivals! That proud princess was dragged by the hair to the assembly and insulted, and bloodshed was imminent,

[EPOCH II. when the old Dhritaráshtra was led into the room and stopped the tumult. It was decided that the Pándavas had lost their kingdom, but should not be slaves. They agreed to go into exile for twelve years, after which they should remain concealed for a year. If the sons of Dhritarashtra failed to discover them within this last year, they would get their kingdom back.

Thus the Pándavas went again into exile, and, after twelve years of wandering, took service in disguise in the thirteenth year under the king of Viráta. Their wife also took service in the same court as the queen's handmaid. A difficulty arose. The queen's brother became enamoured of the handmaid and insulted her. Bhíma interfered and killed the lover in secret.

Cattle-lifting was not uncommon among the princes of those days, and the princes of Hastinapura carried away some cattle from Viráta. Arjuna, then in the service of Viráta, could not stand this; he put on his armour and recovered the cattle, but was discovered. The point whether the year of secret exile had quite expired was never settled, and thus the poet leaves undecided the question of the justice of the war which followed.

The Pándavas now made themselves known and claimed back their kingdom. The claim was refused, and both parties prepared for a war, the like of which had not been witnessed in India. All the Hindu nations joined one side or the other, and a great battle was fought in the plains of Kurukshetra, north of Delhi, which lasted for eighteen days. The story of this battle, with its endless episodes, need not detain us. All the great Kuru warriors and princes were killed, and Yudhishthira waded through blood to the ancient throne of Kuruland.

Such is the main outline of the plot of the Mahábhárata,

and the story throws much light on the manners of the Hindus of the Epic Age. We find how young princes were early trained in arms, how they rejoiced in tilts and tournaments in their own fashion, how ladies came out in public and witnessed the prowess of their sons, brothers, or husbands. Girls were married at a proper age, and youthful princesses, famed for their beauty, often selected their lords from the assembled warriors; and jealousies among kings and nations broke out into sanguinary wars, but the bitterness of feuds was restrained by strict laws of chivalry.

We also learn from the epic that the Gangetic Hindus were more civilized than their sturdy forefathers of the Punjab. Kings ruled over larger countries, manners were more polished, the sphere of knowledge was more extended. Religious rites were also more elaborate, social rules were more highly developed, and the science of war itself was more fully organized. But nevertheless, the stubborn valour and determination of Vedic warriors break through the more polished manners of the Epic Age, and the proud colonist races who founded the great and civilized kingdoms on the banks of the Ganges had not yet lost the vigour of national life which had animated their ruder forefathers in the Punjab.

CHAPTER II.

KOSALAS, VIDEHAS, AND KÁSÍS.

WHILE the Kurus and the Panchálas, and other less known races, remained in lands adjoining the upper course of the Ganges, other Aryan tribes penetrated farther eastwards, and settled lower down the same river. The Kosalas were among the most distinguished of these colonists. Their ancestors are said to have fought in the wars of Sudas in the Punjab, and they now marched eastwards with their priests, the Tritsus or Vasishthas, and founded a powerful and extensive kingdom, stretching from the Ganges as far east as the Gandak river; and they brought with them the same religion and institutions, the language, learning, and arts, which were the common heritage of all Aryan Hindus. Ayodhya or Oudh was their capital town.

A still more celebrated tribe, the Videhas, marched farther eastwards, crossed the Gandak river, and settled in the country now known as Tirhút, to the north of the Ganges. Their earliest traditions narrate that their ancestor, Madhava Videha, came from the banks of the Sarasvatí in the Punjab, with his priest Gautama, and, after travelling through various lands and crossing many rivers, came to the country of Tirhút. The hero then inquired, "Where am I to abide?" "To the east of this (Gandak river) be thy abode," replied the god Agni, and the Videha thereupon settled in Tirhút. The country was marshy and uncultivated at that time, but the indus