Vaishampayana said: "Yudhishthira was the first to approach Virata, the king, who sat in the assembly hall. He had tucked golden dice, resembling beryl, into his garment at his side. The king, great in glory, augmenter of the Kaurava line, presented himself to the renowned lord of the realm: magnanimous, honored by kings, hard to approach, like a serpent with sharp venom. This great bull among men came in the guise of youth, yet he shone as though immortal -- like the sun veiled by a mass of great clouds, or like mighty fire covered in ash. Seeing the Pandava approaching, like the moon behind clouds, King Virata asked his ministers, the brahmins, the bards, the townsfolk, and all who sat in the assembly: 'Who is this man, arriving here for the first time, surveying the hall in this manner? I do not think he is a brahmin -- best of men though he is; in my mind, he is a lord of the earth. He has no servant, no chariot, no earrings, yet beside him he shines like Indra. By the marks upon his body it is clear: this is one anointed to kingship, so my mind tells me. He approaches me without hesitation, as a mighty, rutting elephant approaches a lotus pond.'"