Mahābhārata The History of the Great India

<< 136 Residences for Royalty >>

O king, at Yudhisthira's order his men gave all the visiting royalty dwellings furnished with many chambers and inner apartments and landscaped with trees and oblong lakes. Yudhisthira offered unparalleled honor to those kings, and after being so respectfully welcomed, the kings went to their assigned residences. Each of these resembled the peak of Mount Kailasa, being delightful to the mind, well furnished, and encircled by towering white walls of expert construction. The residences were also draped with gold lattice, and the floors shone with inlaid jewels. The stairways rose with gradual, easy steps, and the rooms boasted magnificent seats and furnishings. The homes were covered with wreaths and garlands and perfumed by the finest aloe. As white as a shining swan, those abodes could be clearly seen for eight miles.

The residences were not crowded together, their gates and doors were of a pleasing symmetry, and they were endowed with all sorts of artistry and craftsmanship. Decorated with varieties of colorful minerals, the dwellings shone like the Himalayan peaks.

When the earthly rulers had rested and refreshed themselves, they looked at Yudhisthira, the king of virtue, encircled by many members of his sacrificial assembly. They saw that he was inclined to generously reward the participants in his sacrifice. Now, O king, that sacred assembly, filled with kings and great-souled brahmanas, truly shone forth like the very vault of heaven, filled with the immortal gods.

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