They found the city full of princes and kings who had come
to take part in the contest for the most beautiful woman in
the world. The great amphitheatre in which the games were
to take place was surrounded by gold and jewelled palaces
for the accommodation of the princes, and with platforms for
the convenience of the spectators.
After music, dancing, and various entertainments, which
occupied sixteen days, the contest of skill began. On the
top of a tall pole, erected in the plain, was placed a golden
fish, below which revolved a large wheel. He who sent his
arrow through the spokes of the wheel and pierced the eye
of the golden fish was to be the accepted suitor of Draupadi.
When the princes saw the difficulty of the contest, many
of them refused to enter it ; as many tried it only to fail,
among them, the Kaurava Duryodhana. At last Arjuna,
still in his disguise, stepped forward, drew his bow, and sent
his arrow through the wheel into the eye of the golden fish.
Immediately a great uproar arose among the spectators
because a Brahman had entered a contest limited to members
of the Kshatriya, or warrior class. In the struggle which
ensued, however, Arjuna, assisted by his brothers, especially
Bhima, succeeded in carrying off the princess, whose father
did not demur.
3



34 NATIONAL EPICS.
