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266 Madri celebrated for her beauty and endued with every virtue: 1 would choose her for Pandu. Thou art, 'O king, in every respect worthy of an alliance with us, and we also are worthy of thee! Reflecting upon all this, o king of Madra, accept us duly. The ruler of Madra, thus addressed by Bhishma, replied,-'To my mind, there is none else than one of thy family with whom I can enter into an alliance. But there is a custom in our family acted upon by our ancestors, which, be it good or bad, I am incapable of transgressing. It is wellknown, and therefore is known to thee as well. I doubt not. There. fore, it is not proper for thee to tell me Beslow thy sister. The custom to which I allude is our family custom. With us that is a virtue and worthy of observance. It is for this only, slayer of foes, I cannot give thee any assurance in the matter of thy request. On hearing this, Bhishma answered the king of Madra, saying.-'O king, this, no doubt, is a virtue. The self.create himself bath said it. Thy ancestors were observant of custom. There is no fault to find with it. It is also well-known, O Salya, that this custom in respect of family dignity hath the approval of the wise and the good.' Saying this Bhishma of great energy, gave unto Salya much gold both coined and uncoined, and precious stones of various colours by thousands, and elephants and horses and cars, and much cloth and many ornaments, and gems and pearls and corals. And Salya accepting with a cheerful heart those precious gifts then gave away his sister decked in ornaments unto that bull of the Kuru race. Then the wise Bhishma, the son of the ocean-going Ganga, rejoiced at the issue of his mission took Madri with him. and returned to the Kuru capital named after the elephant.

"Then selecting on auspicious day and moment as indicated by the wise for the ceremony, King Pandu was duly united with Madri. And after the nuptials were over, the Kuru king established his beautiful bride in handsome apartments. And, O king of Kings, that best of monarchs then gave himself up to enjoyment in the company of his two wives as best he liked and to the limit of his desires. And after thirty days had elapsed, the Kuru king. O monarch, started from his capital for the conquest of the world. And after reverentially saluting and bowing to Bhishma and the other elders of the Kuru race. And with adieus to Dhritarashtra and others of the family, and obtaining their leave, he set out on his grand campaign, accompanied by a large force of elephants, horses, and cars, and well-pleased with the blessings uttered by all around and the auspicious rites performed by the citizens for his success. And Pandu, accompanied by such a strong force marched against various foes. And that tiger among men-that spreader of the