sequence of the nectar he had taken having been all digested. Seeing him awake, the Nagas began to console and cheer him, saying, 'O thou of mighty arms, the strength-giving liquor thou hast drunk will give thee the might of ten thousand elephants! No one now will be able to vanquish thee in fight! O thou bull of the Kuru race, do thou bathe in this holy and auspicious water and return home. Thy brothers are disconsolate because of thee.'
"Then Bhima purified himself with a bath in those waters, and decked in white robes and flowery garlands of the same hue, ate of the paramanna (rice and sugar pudding) offered to him by the Nagas. Then that oppressor of all foes, decked in celestial ornaments, received the adorations and blessings of the snakes, and saluting them in return, rose from the nether region. Bearing up the lotus-eyed Pandava from under the waters, the Nagas placed him in the self-same gardens wherein he had been sporting, and vanished in his very sight.
"The mighty Bhima-sena, arrived on the surface of the earth, ran with speed to his mother. And bowing down unto her and his eldest brother, and scenting the heads of his younger brothers, that oppressor of all foes was himself embraced by his mother and every one of those bulls among men. Affectionate unto one another, they all repeatedly exclaimed, 'What joy is ours today, O, what joy!'
"Then Bhima, endued with great strength and prowess, related to his brothers everything about the villany of Duryodhana, and the lucky and unlucky incidents that had befallen him in the world of the Serpents. Thereupon, Yudhish-thira wisely said, 'Brother, do thou observe silence on this. Do not speak of this to any one. From this day, protect ye all one another with care.' Thus cautioned by the righteous Yudhish-thira, they all, with Yudhish-thira himself, became very vigilant from that day. And inorder that no negligence might occur on the part of the sons of Kunti, Vidura continually offered them sage advice.
"Sometime after, Duryo-dhana again mixed in the food of Bhima a poison that was fresh, virulent, and very deadly. But Yuyutsu (Dhrita-rashtra's son by a Vysya wife), moved
