Yudhishthira Orders Preparations and Priests are Appointed
With the blessing secured, the work begins. Yudhishthira orders the collection of every ritual article and ingredient. As soon as he speaks, it is done. Then the great sage appoints the officiating priests, each a master of sacred knowledge, and artisans build shelters fit for gods.
Yudhishthira, destroyer of his enemies, turned to the practicalities. He instructed his brother Sahadeva, supreme among warriors, and all his advisers. "The brahmanas have prescribed the articles for this ceremony. Let them be collected, along with all the utensils and auspicious objects. Let the ingredients Dhoumya mentions be brought swiftly. In their desire to please me, let my officers be employed to acquire all the required food." He wanted every object of desire brought — fragrant, succulent — anything that would delight and please the minds of the brahmanas.
The moment the great-souled Dharmaraja finished speaking, Sahadeva announced it had all been done.
Then Dvaipayana — the sage Vyasa himself — appointed the officiating priests. They were immensely illustrious brahmanas who seemed to be personifications of the Vedas. Vyasa, who was Satyavati's son, would himself act as the brahman priest, the supreme supervisor of the ritual. Susama, a bull among the Dhananjayas, became the chanter of the Sama Veda. Yajnavalka, supreme among those established in the brahman (the ultimate reality), became the chief adhvaryu, responsible for the manual acts of the sacrifice. Paila, son of Vasu, aided by Dhoumya, became the hotar, the reciter of the Rig Veda. The sons and disciples of these masters, all learned in the Vedas and their auxiliary sciences, became their assistants.
Having invoked the auspicious day and arranged everything according to the rites, they organized the great sacrifice for the gods, following precisely what was laid down in the sacred texts. Artisans, given their instructions, built large shelters filled with jewels, structures that looked like the mansions of the gods. The ground was ready.