' And saying
this, the king speedily despatched, for the sake of his son, horses and
elephants and cars and a large number of foot-soldiers, equipped and
decked with various kinds of weapons and ornaments. And it was thus that
Virata, the king of the Matsyas, owning a large army, quickly ordered out
a large division consisting of four kinds of troops. And having done
this, he said, 'Learn ye, without loss of time whether the prince liveth
still or not! I myself think that he who hath got a person of the neuter
sex for his car-driver is not alive.'
"Vaisampayana continued, 'Then king Yudhishthira the just, smilingly said
unto the afflicted king Virata, 'If, O monarch, Vrihannala hath been his
charioteer, the foe will never be able to take away thy kine today.
Protected by that charioteer, thy son will be able to vanquish in battle
all the lords of earth allied with the Kurus, indeed, even the gods and
the Asuras and the Siddhas and the Yakshas together.'
"Vaisampayana continued, 'Meanwhile, the swift-footed messengers
despatched by Uttara, having reached Virata's city, gave tidings of the
victory. And the minister-in-chief then informed the king of everything,
viz.
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