"Uttara said, 'It hath been heard by us that a corpse is tied in this
tree. How can I, therefore, being a prince by birth, touch it with my
hands? Born in the _Kshatriya_ order, and the son of a great king, and
always observant of _mantras_ and vows, it is not becoming of me to
touch it. Why shouldst thou, O Vrihannala, make me a polluted and
unclean bearer of corpses, by compelling me to come in contact with a
corpse?'
"Vrihannala said, 'Thou shalt, O king of kings, remain clean and
unpolluted. Do not fear, there are only bows in this tree and not
corpses. Heir to the king of the Matsyas, and born in a noble family,
why should I, O prince, make thee do such a reproachable deed?'"
Vaisampayana said, "Thus addressed by Partha, Virata's son, decked in
ear-rings, alighted from the car, and climbed up that _Sami_ tree
reluctantly. And staying on the car, Dhananjaya, that slayer of enemies,
said unto him, 'Speedily bring thou down those bows from the top of the
tree.' And cutting off their wrappings first and then the ropes with
which they were tied, the prince beheld the _Gandiva_ there along with
four other bows. And as they were untied, the splendour of those bows
radiant as the sun, began to shine with great effulgence like unto that
of the planets about the time of their rising. And beholding the forms
of those bows, so like unto sighing snakes, he become afflicted with
fear and in a moment the bristles of his body stood on their ends. And
touching those large bows of great splendour, Virata's son, O king, thus
spake unto Arjuna!"