Vaisampayana continued, “O best of Bharata’s race, the king, that best of righteous men, thus encouraged by Salya, honoured him in proper form. And Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti, of powerful arms, having heard the words of Salya, spoke to the king of the Madras the following words, ‘There is no doubt that thou wilt act as the charioteer of Karna. Thou must damp the spirits of Karna then by recounting the praises of Arjuna.’ “Salya said, ‘Let it be so. I shall do just as thou tellest me. And I shall do for thee anything else that I may be able to do.’” Vaisampayana continued, “Then Salya, the king of the Madras, bade farewell to the sons of Kunti. And that handsome man then went with his army to Duryodhana, O repressor of foes.” SECTION XIX Vaisampayana said, “Then Yuyudhana, the great hero of the Satwata race, came to Yudhishthira with a large army of foot, and horses and cars and elephants. And his soldiers of great valour come from various lands, bore various weapons of war, and heroic in look they beautified the Pandava army. And that army looked splendid by reason of battleaxes, and missiles and spears, and lances, and mallets, and clubs, and staves, and cords, and stainless swords, and daggers, and arrows of various kinds, all of the best temper. And the army, beautified by those weapons, and resembling in colour the cloudy sky, assumed an appearance like to amass of clouds with lightning-flashes in its midst. And the army counted an Akshauhini of troops. And when absorbed in the troops of Yudhishthira it entirely disappeared, as doth a small river when it enters the sea. And similarly, the powerful chief of the Chedis, Dhrishtaketu, accompanied by an Akshauhini, came to the sons of Pandu of immeasurable strength. And the king of Magadha, Jayatsena of great strength, brought with him for Yudhishthira an Akshauhini of troops. And similarly, Pandya, who dwelt on the coast-land near the sea, came accompanied by troops of various kinds to Yudhishthira, the king of kings. And, O king, when all these troops had assembled, his army, finely dressed and exceedingly strong, assumed an appearance pleasant to the eye. And the army of Drupada, also was beautified by valiant soldiers who had come from various lands, and also by his mighty sons. And similarly, Virata, the king of the Matsyas, a leader of troops, accompanied by the king of the hilly regions, came to Pandu’s sons. And for the high-souled sons of Pandu there were thus assembled from various directions, seven Akshauhini of troops, bristling with banners of various forms. And eager to fight with the Kurus, they gladdened the hearts of the Pandavas. And in the same way king Bhagadatta, gladdening the heart of Dhritarashtra’s son, gave an Akshauhini of troops to him. And the unassailable mass of his troops, crowded with Chins and Kiratas, all looking like figures of gold, assumed a beauty like to that of a forest of Karnikara trees. And so the valiant