Story Of Yayati

This story, from the Mahabharata, conveys the timeless message of self control and restraint.

Sukracharya was the preceptor of Asuras (demons). The Asura king Vrishaparva greatly respected Sukracharya as he knew the secret of Mritasanjibani, a drug that brings the dead back to life. Devayani was Sukracharya's only daughter and spoiled by her father's indulgence.

One morning, Sharmishtha, the Asura princess, daughter of Vrishaparva, came to Sukracharya's hermitage with her friends. She asked Sukracharya to allow Devayani to accompany them for a bath in a nearby lake. Sukracharya agreed. They soon reached the lake and left their clothes on the bank to go into the water. Suddenly a storm blew up and scattered their clothes.

The girls hurriedly came out of the lake and got dressed. It so happened that the princess Sharmishtha, by mistake, clad herself in Devayani's clothes. Angered by this, Devayani insulted Sharmishtha, the Asura princess. Argument began and Sharmishtha pushed Devayani into a dry well and left Devayani in the well.

It so happened that Yayati, the king of a nearby state, came hunting in the forest and was looking for water to drink. When he came near the well he was surprised to find Devayani lying at the bottom. 

Devayani introduced herself and said that she fell into the well. She then requested the king to pull her out. Yayati helped her out. Devayani demanded that Yayati marry her as he has held her by the right hand. 

Yayati was alarmed and turned down her request on the ground that he belonged to lower Khatriya (or warrior) caste, and Devayani was a Brahmin (priestly) maid. Yayati then left and Devayani continued to sit under a tree.

When she did not return, Sukracharya set out in search of her. He found Devayani under a tree, her eyes filled with tears of anger and grief. When Sukracharya inquired, Devayani told her father every thing, carefully hiding her own faults. She refused to return to the kingdom of Vrishaparva as she was badly insulted by the Asura princess, Sharmishtha. 

Failing to change her mind, Sukracharya returned to Vrishaparva and announced that he was leaving the Asura kingdom because of his daughter Devayani's unhappy conflict with princess Sharmishtha. Vrishaparva begged Sukracharya to stay. Sukracharya left the decision with his daughter Devayani.

Vrishaparva wasted no time and went to Devayani taking his daughter Sharmishtha along. He begged forgiveness for his daughter. Devayani agreed to return on one condition that Sharmishtha be her handmaiden for the rest of her life. Sharmishtha agreed for the sake of her father, the king. Devayani was pacified and returned to her father's hermitage. But Devayani was vindictive and humiliated Sharmishtha by asking to massage her legs and run errands.

One day, king Yayati passed that way. Devayani introduced Sharmishtha as her maid and reminded Yayati that he should marry her. Yayati repeated that he could not marry a Brahmin maid. Devayani then took Yayati to her father. Sukrachaya gave his blessing on their marriage. They were soon married and led a happy life. Devayani had two sons.

Sharmishtha continued to stay as Devayani's handmaid. Yayati made a palace for Shramishtha at the request of Devayani.

One day Sharmishtha secretly met Yayati and told him what happened between her and Devayani. Yayati was sympathetic. Sharmishtha begged Yayati to take her as the second wife. Yayati agreed and married her but without the knowledge of Devayani. Sharmishtha had three sons.

One day, Devayani met the three sons of Sharmishtha. She asked the boys the name of their father. They pointed to Yayati. Devayani was shocked. She felt deceived and ran to her father's hermitage. Sukracharya was enraged and cursed Yayati with premature old age. Yayati begged for forgiveness. Sukracharya and Devayani felt sorry for him. Sukracharya then said, "I cannot take back my curse, but if any of your sons is ready to exchange his youth for your old age, you will be young again as long as you wish."

Yayati, now an old man, quickly returned to his kingdom and called for his eldest son. "My dutiful son, take my old age and give me your youth, at least for a while, until I am ready to embrace my old age." The eldest son turned down his father's request and so also the next three older brothers. 

Then came the youngest, Puru. He agreed and immediately turned old. Yayati rushed out as a young man to enjoy his life. After years spent in vain effort to quench his desires by indulgence, Yayati finally came into senses. He returned to Puru and said, "Dear son, sensual desire is never quenched by indulgence any more than fire is extinguished by pouring oil on it. Take back your youth and rule the kingdom wisely and well."

Yayati then returned to the forest and spent the rest of his days in austerities, meditating upon Brahman, the ultimate reality. In due course, he attained heaven.

Story Of Ashtavakra

The story of Ashtavakra is taken from the great ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata. It is the story of a deformed young boy whose intelligence surpassed many old sages of his time.

 

Sage Uddalaka ran a school (Ashram) teaching Vedic knowledge. Kahoda was one of his best disciples. Uddalaka was so pleased with him that he got his daughter Sujata married to him. Sujata, eventually got pregnant and wanted her child to surpass all the sages of his time. So, she began to sit in the classes taught by Uddalaka and Kahoda, listening to their chanting with the unborn baby.

It was one day, in a class taught by Kahoda, the unborn baby spoke up from inside the womb, "This is not the way to chant the verse, father." Kahoda felt insulted in front of the class and cursed, "You will be born deformed."

 

Sujata did not take the instance too seriously and was ambitious. She wanted more money to raise her child the best. So she asked her husband to go to king Janak who was then preparing for a fire worship ceremony (Yagna) hoping that the ceremony will bring money to the family.

 

When Kahoda approached Janak, the king received him respectfully but said with regret "Kahoda, I am unable to perform the Yagna which I decided to perform several years back. Sage, Bandhi arrived from no where and asked me to start the Yagna only after he is defeated in an academic discussion with the sages participating in the Yagna.

His condition further includes that the sages who come forth for the debate, if defeated, will be drowned. So far he has killed many learned sages. Now it is up to you to take the challenge." Kahoda agreed to debate with Bandhi. He was defeated and drowned in the nearby river. The widowed Sujata heard the news and repented her actions. A few months later she gave birth to a boy who was deformed at eight joints and so named Ashtavakra. 

He got his education from his grandfather Uddalaka. Ashtavakra was extremely intelligent and his grandfather loved him dearly and was very proud of him. When Ashtavakra was only twelve, he finished all that he needed to know from his grandfather. He also heard the fate of his father and the Yagna of king Janak which still remained unfinished as no one could defeat Bandhi.

 

One night Ashtavakra ran away from the hermitage and came to king Janak. Looking to his deformed body, the guards were amused. Ashtavakra retorted, "Do not judge a person by his appearance and age, judge him by what he knows. Inform your king that there is a person ready to challenge Bandhi." The king came and was surprised to see a small deformed boy. He asked a few questions and was greatly impressed by his knowledge. King Janak soon arranged for the debate with Bandhi. When the spectators laughed on seeing the deformed Ashtavakra, Ashtavakra said with anger, "I did not know that the so called learned gathering is no better than a bunch of cobblers who judge a person by the skin and not by the knowledge he has."

 

To everyone's surprise Ashtavakara defeated Bandhi in no time. With vengeance he then requested the king to drown his father's killer. Bandhi then disclosed his identity. He said, "I am the son of Varuna, the god of water. I came to earth on the request of my father to get the best sages from here to perform his twelve years of Yagna. The only way I could get them to my father was to challenge them in a debate and throw them into water. Now that my father has completed the Yagna, let us go to the river band and watch the sages walk out of the river."

 

People rushed to the river bank and watched the sages return from the river. Kahoda came and embraced his learned son Ashtavakra. He then openly admitted that his son Ashtavakra was a lot more intelligent than he. Bandhi then asked Ashtavakra to take a dip in the river, with the blessings of his father, Varuna, which would make him normal. Ashtavakra did as he was told and came out of the river as a handsome young man. Janak rewarded Ashtavakra and Kahoda. They went back to their hermitage to be united with the family. 

Uddalaka, was so happy to see his worthy grandson surpassing in knowledge to all the great sages of his time. Sujata rejoiced at seeing her handsome son and the husband.

After The War - The END(15)

Pandavas then started for Hastinapur to meet Dhritarashtra. Dhritarashtra was fully aware of the happenings of the war through Sanjay, the priest of Drupada. Sanjay was blessed with the power of watching the war from a distance and narrated it to blind Dhritarashtra as it happened. Gandhari and Dhritarashtra were mad at Bheema for killing their sons, Duryodhana and Dushashana.
 
Krishna accompanied the Pandavas to meet Dhritarashtra and Gandhari. Vidur joined them to help console his brother, Dhritarashtra.
 
Krishna spoke, “King Dhritarashtra, the war was inevitable. The war has hurt everyone. The Pandavas were left with no heir. The heat of the war forced both the parties, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, to perform many inhuman acts. Now is the time to open your heart and accept Yudhishthira as your son and bless the Pandavas.”
 
Krishna’s words touched Dhritarashtra and he broke down on Vidur. Yudhishthira touched the feet of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari, they blessed the Pandavas. Yudhishthira was accepted as the king of Hastinapur.


 
Gandhari, however, was unable to excuse Krishna whom she blamed to be the root of exterminating her children. She cursed Krishna, “Let your family face the same as the Kauravas and be wiped out from the face of the earth.” Krishna knew that this was going to come sooner or later.
 
The party then arrived to the place where Bheeshma was still resting, waiting for his departure from the earth. Bheeshma blessed the Pandavas and his soul left for the heaven. Dhritarashtra, Gandhari, Kunti and Vidur left for the forest to pass their time in meditation and prayers. Sanjay went along with them to take care of their needs. Unfortunately they all died in a forest fire and Sanjay came back to give this heart breaking news to the Pandavas.
 
Yudhishthira declared to perform the Aswamedha Yajna to establish the supremacy of the Pandavas over other rulers of the area. The people were pleased to see justice coming back and peace prevailed. As time rolled on, Uttara, wife of Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna and Subhadra, gave birth to Parikshit. He was the only heir left of Pandavas and was not killed by Ashwathama as he was in his mother’s womb.
 
In few years Gandhari’s curse on Krishna began to work. The Yadav clan began to fight among themselves. Krishna and Balaram also died leaving none to succeed the throne.

When Pandavas heard the news of destruction of the Yadavas and Krishna’s demise, they decided to crown the young prince Parikshit and retire to Himalayas. They threw their weapons into the river and started for their endless journey to the top of the Himalayas along with Draupadi. To their surprise, a dog accompanied them.
 
As they climbed up the mountain, four Pandavas brothers and Draupadi fell dead. The only ones survived were Yudhishthira and the dog who was following at the heels of the party. When they reached the top of the Himalaya mountain, Indra came on his chariot to get pious and truthful Yudhishthira to heaven. Yudhishthira paid his respect to Lord Indra and asked his companion dog to get into the chariot. Indra was shocked, “A dog to heaven?” When Yudhishthira refused to go to heaven without the dog, the God of Death, Dharmaraj Yama emerged out of the dog and blessed Yudhishthira. Yama was testing the steadfastness of Yudhishthira.
 
After reaching heaven Yudhishthira joined his family but was surprised to see his cousin brothers settled in the heaven. When asked as what happened to the sins they committed on earth, Narada replied, “In heaven all are equal, the sinner or the pious ones. The happenings on the earth are nothing but the illusion created by our creator.”

Thus ended the great story of Mahabharata the epic that the future generations of Indian will enjoy for ever.

War Continues(14)

When Yudhishthira got the news, he felt responsible for the death of Abhimanyu.. Arjuna had not heard as yet of his valiant son’s death until the end of the day. He immediately broke down and fell senseless on the ground. It was an unjust fight. The code of the war called for a fair fight between two soldiers and not a ganging up against a single soldier. Arjuna vowed to kill Jaidratha, the person who had plotted the Chakra Beuha. He swore he would either kill Jaidrata the next day before the sunset, or else, he would kill himself.

When Jaidratha heard of Arjuna’s vow, he wanted to run away from the battlefield. Drona assured him that he would make such a Byuha next day, keeping him in the center of the Byuha that Arjuna would not able to get to him. All the warriors of the Kauravas were also alerted that the following day might prove to be the decisive battle. If Arjuna could not kill Jayadratha, he would kill himself and thus the Kauravas would be able to get rid of one of the most powerful warriors of the Pandavas.

The fighting resumed the next day. Arjuna penetrated into the Byuha but was unable to reach Jaidratha until close to sunset. Krishna was alarmed.

“Arjuna it seems that you will not be able to get to Jayadratha before sunset.” Krishna said, “Let us work jointly and when I will give you the cue, you will get your last chance to kill Jayadratha.”

Soon Krishna created an illusion by which the sun set on the west and the Kaurava army began to rejoice, relaxed in their effort to resist Arjuna any longer. Krishna asked Arjuna not to loose his only opportunity to kill Jayadratha. Arjuna lost no time and Jayadratha was beheaded. Soon Krishna removed his illusion and the Kaurava army was surprised to see that the sun was still up. They realized that Krishna had tricked them and the Pandava army rejoiced.

Duryodhana was furious and blamed Drona for not being able to keep his promise and, therefore, he should now step down. Drona promised to end the war the next day by killing Arjuna. Krishna was alerted. He conferred with the Pandavas and revealed a secret that would allow Arjuna to win against Drona.

“Drona once promised to himself that he would stop fighting if his only son Aswathama was killed in the battle field. As Aswathama was practically invincible, Krishna would have to trick him in to believing this. Yudhishthira would have to tell a lie that Ashwathama was dead. As Yudhishthira never told a lie, Drona would believe him. Drona would stop fighting and Drithadyumna would get the chance to behead Drona..”

On the following day, Drona attacked Arjuna, his former student. Arjuna successfully defied his attack and fought with equal strength. When the time came to act on Krishna’s plan Yudhishthira was hesitant to lie to Drona. Bheema acted promptly. He killed an elephant with the same name Ashwathama and Yudhishthira informed Drona that Aswathama is dead without clarifying that it was not his son but an elephant. As soon as Drona dropped his arms, Dhrishthadyumna beheaded him and Drona was dead. On the other side of the battlefield Bheema killed Dushashana to fulfill his vow for insulting Draupadi.

Ashwathama hearing of his father’s death at the end of the day was furious and promised to kill Drishthadyumna the next day to avenge his father's death.

Karna was chosen as the next commander in chief of the Kaurava army and he took over the command with great zeal. His superior fighting skills completely baffled the Pandava army and this ended with great losses for the Pandavas. Bheema called his son Ghatotkacha to fight for the Pandavas. Ghatotkacha attacked the Kauravas at night creating an illusionary air. Duryodhana asked his army to put on the light and continue to fight through the night. The code of war, as agreed upon, was broken. The weapons from Gatotkacha were coming from the sky but no one could locate Gototkacha. The army fled in panic and Karna could not get them back to fight. Finally, Duryodhana used up his most powerful weapon, Brahmastra, which he was holding to kill Arjuna.

When Bheema heard of his son’s valiant death, he broke down. Krishna said in consolation, “Bheema, you should be proud of your son’s valiant death. Single handedly, he pushed back the Kaurava army. He has also sacrificed his life to save Arjuna otherwise Brahmashtra would have surely have killed him.”

The army mourned the death of Gatotkacha and prepared themselves to fight again on the following day. It was the day when Karna was in command of the Kaurava army. He decided to have his final battle with Arjuna that day. Arjuna was also ready for him. The armies of the Kaurava and Pandava were skeptical of the outcome as both were equally powerful. When Karna proceeded towards Arjuna on the battlefield, Yudhishthira came in between and Karna cut his weapons in pieces.

He spared Yudhishthira’s life as he had promised to Kunti. Karna soon stood face to face with Arjuna. Suddenly Karna’s charioteer was killed and one of the chariot’s wheels broke down. Karna requested Arjuna to stop fighting while his wheel was fixed. Karna was unarmed and it was unethical for Arjuna to attack Karna in that situation. But Krishna spoke otherwise, “Karna, this war itself is unethical. It will be foolish of Arjuna not to take this opportunity to kill you.”

Krishna encouraged Arjuna to kill Karna instantly. Thus Karna was killed mercilessly in the hands of his brother Arjuna. The Kaurava army began to flee away from the battlefield.

Duryodhana was shocked to hear of Karna’s death. He felt helpless. He could not find anyone to replace Karna or get his army organized. His vanity did not prompt him to accept defeat . So he chose to run away from the battlefield along with his maternal uncle Shakuni. Sahadeva located Shakuni and killed him but Duryodhana escaped. It was the sixteenth day of war. The battlefield was nothing but heaps of corpses.

On the eighteenth day of the Mahabharata war, Duryodhana was missing and the Kaurava army chose to surrender. Duryodhana was finally located inside a tank from where he was pulled out. Bheema challenged Duryodhana to a mace fight. Duryodhana was noted for his mace fights. Everyone witnessed the great fight between Bheema and Duryodhana, which went on for many hours until Krishna convinced Bheema to hit Duryodhana on his thigh in order to win. Hitting an enemy below the navel was not allowed in a fair mace fight. But 

Bheema took Krishna’s advice thus he kept his vow of breaking Duryodhana's thigh to punish him for insulting Draupadi by asking her to sit on his lap after that ill-fated dice game.

The Pandavas then left Duryodhana in the battlefield and started to return to their camp. Before their departure, the Pandavas thanked Krishna for bringing victory to them through his valuable advice.

Although the war was over on the eighteenth day, three warriors of the Kauravas were still missing at large – Aswathama, Kripacharya and Kritaverma. Kripacharya and Kritaverma accepted their defeat and went to the forest to spend their time in prayers. Ashwathama, however, desired revenge. He planned to wipe out the Pandava family. The Pandavas were on their way home after the war. Ashwathama stealthily entered the camp at night, killed the guard and then killed all of Draupadi’s sons , one by one, in cold blood. Then he came to Duryodhana before the daybreak where he was lying in pain. He described the heinous crime that he had just committed . Duryodhana breathed his last breath and Aswathama fled into the forest.

When the Pandavas returned to camp, they witnessed the crime incurred by Aswathama. Draupadi was lost in grief and bewailed loudly. Consoling her to be pacified, the five Pandavas set out in search of Ashwathama. He was soon located but Draupadi asked the Pandavas to release him as he was the son of their guru Drona.

Thus at the end of the war, there was no one left to claim the throne of Hastinapur after the Pandavas, except the unborn baby of Uttara, the son of Abhimanyu.

War Begin(13)

The Kauravas and the Pandavas began to prepare for the battle. Drishtadyumna was chosen as the chief of the Pandava army. No one could match the valor of Bheeshma who was rightfully chosen to be the commander of the Kaurava army. But for Bheeshma, there was no difference between the Kauravas and Pandavas. It was not the righteous war and yet he was bound by duty to serve the king of Hastinapur.

 

As Duryodhana approached grandfather Bheeshma to take over the command, Bheeshma laid down two conditions, “Firstly, I will not personally hurt the Pandavas but will kill only their soldiers. Secondly, I would not like Karna to come to the battlefield as long as I am the commander.” Karna and Bheeshma held each other in contempt.

Krishna was also in a similar dilemma. Which side should he join when both the Kauravas and Pandavas were equally dear to him? So when Duryodhana and Arjuna both approached Krishna to join their side, Krishna gave them the choice. He would offer his army to the one and himself to the other side. Arjuna was younger and Krishna gave him the first chance to choose. Arjuna chose Krishna while the army went to Duryodhana. 

Duryodhana was happy to have Krishna’s huge army of brave Yadavas on his side.

When Krishna asked Arjuna, why he chose him over his army, Arjuna explained. “Your counsel is more valuable to me than an entire army.” Krishna was pleased, as he loved Arjuna so dearly.

 

Kurukshetra was chosen as the battleground. Both armies marched towards Kurukshetra. Undoubtedly the Kaurava army was a lot larger than the Pandavas.

 

On the chosen day, the Kaurava and Pandava armies stood face to face. Karna stayed away from the battlefield as mandated by Bheeshma. Yudhishthira, the representative of the Pandava army, came forward and paid respect to his elders, Bheeshma, Drona, Ashwathama and the other great warriors. The codes for the war were finalized and warriors from both the camps took their pledges to abide by the code.

 

Krishna became Arjuna’s charioteer and counselor. Krishna brought Arjuna’s chariot to the front line for an overview. Seeing all his beloved relatives, including his grandfather, and his teacher Drona on the other side, Arjuna was overwhelmed with grief. He could not justify killing them in order to win the war. He dropped his weapons and refused to fight.

Krishna came forward and taught him how the righteous path was not always an easy one. 

One had to be willing to fight for what one believed to be right even if it meant sacrificing one's own life. This sermon later came to be known as Bhagvata Geeta.

Krishna said, “Arjuna, may it be known to you that man’s duty lies in performing the duty while the results should be left to God. To oppress others is a sin but to tolerate oppression is a far bigger sin. All those, whom you claim to be your relatives are none but individual souls, unrelated to you, on way to their ultimate destination of uniting with the supreme Lord, the Brahman. Pick up your weapon and fight that is what is ordained to you. Do not think of the consequences.”

 

With Krishna’s motivation, Arjuna picked up his weapon and got ready to fight. Amidst the sound of the conch, the neighing of war-horses, the trumpeting of war elephants, and the war cries raised by the soldiers, Arjuna stepped forward to in the name of Justice.

 

Bheeshma moved with tremendous force killing the Pandava soldiers by the thousands. In spite of all their efforts, the day ended with heavy losses for the Pandavas. This was eye opening for the Pandavas. At night Yudhishthira called a meeting of the army commander 

Dhrishtadyumna along with his brothers. They planned a new strategy and on the following day Bheeshma could not make as much progress. Duryodhana expected Bheeshma to win the war within a few days. Instead the Kaurava army was losing ground, as Bheeshma was totally engaged with Arjuna. It went on like this for several days and, finally, Duryodhana lost his patience. He taunted Bheeshma as being too old to fight a war. Bheeshma admitted that the Pandavas were blessed with divine powers and that, under the circumstances, he was doing his best. He promised to conclude the war in the next few days or to leave the battlefield. On the tenth day of battle their seemed no end in sight.

 

The Pandavas were worried. At the rate that they were loosing soldiers, they would not be able to hold out too long against Bheeshma. Bheeshma was blessed with the power to choose his time of death. So, he was practically invincible. When the Pandavas were about to give up, Krishna came up with a plan. Krishna knew that Bheeshma would not fight the eunuch, Srikhandi. To Bheeshma, a noble warrior like him would consider it a disgrace to fight with a eunuch. At one point he had even proudly promised to drop his arms if such a situation ever arose. Krishna knew Bheeshma’s weakness and wanted to take advantage of this. So he asked Arjuna to keep Shrikhandi, a eunuch, in front of the chariot while fighting with Bheeshma. This would stop Bheeshma, and Arjuna could take this opportunity to immobilize him with a volley of arrows.

 

The plan worked and Bheeshma fell down on a bed of arrows. That was the tenth day of war. The fighting stopped so that all could pay respects to a hero of all times.

 

As he fell to the ground, Bheeshma requested Arjuna to raise his head. Arjuna shot an arrow to give him the headrest. When Bheeshma asked for water to drink. Arjuna shot an arrow into the ground and water gushed out to quench Bheeshma’s thirst. Even Karna came to pay respect to the hero of heroes, grandfather Bheeshma, and sought his blessing. Bheeshma declared his time of death to be when the sun returns towards north or the advent of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. This falls in the middle of January.

 

After visiting Bheeshma, Duryodhana returned to his camp and was anxious to appoint the next commander-in-chief. Karna suggested the name of Drona and all agreed. Drone had a soft corner for the Pandavas. He knew that the war was due to the ill advice that Duryodhana got from his maternal uncle Shakuni and friend Karna. But he was committed to serve the crown. After taking the command, Drona changed Bheeshma’s tactic and made a special war formation with the intention of capturing Yudhishthira. Drona underestimated the strength and cleverness of Krishna. He failed to capture Yudhishthira. During the scuffle, however, he killed Drupada, the father of Dhrithadyumna, the commander in chief. Dhrithadyumna vowed to kill Drona.

 

The following day, Drona began to kill the Pandavas with a vengeance and yet victory was not in sight. Upon his return at the end of the day , Duryodhana charged Drona as failing in his duties to capture Yudhishthira. Drona was infuriated and promised to kill one of the great Pandava warriors on the following day or else he would give up his life.

 

With the day break, he called for a special meeting asking his best commanders to keep Arjuna busy as he was the only one who knew how to break through his special circular array, called Chakra Beuha. Jaidratha was given the task of organizing the movement of the Beuha. Drona was confident of his victory as no one knew how to break through the Chakra Beuha, except Arjuna. Hence Drona asked all his commanders to prevent Arjuna from coming near the Beuha. It seemed the perfect plan.

 

The Kaurva army began to march across the Pandava army with the advance of the circular array. It was like a giant wall advancing and crushing the Pandava soldiers. Yudhishthira finally asked his brothers and Abimanyu for advice. Abhimanyu said, “I only know how to enter the Byuha but I do not know how to get out.” Yudhishthira asked his brothers, Bheema, Nakul and Sahadeva to follow Abhimanyu and fight their way out.

 

When Abhimanyu started to break through the Chakra Byuha, Jaidratha ordered to quickly close the Byuha entrapping Abhimanyu solitarily inside. His uncles could not get into the Beuha. Abhimanyu single-handed fought all the warriors. Duryodhana, Karna, Drona, Aswathama mercilessly killed the brave son of Arjuna. Abhimanyu’s death sent a current of joy in the Kaurava camp.

War Declared(12)

When Abhimanyu and Uttara’s wedding was over, Krishna requested Virata and Drupada to approach Dhritarashtra with the request to return the kingdom of the Pandavas. The Pandavas had, after all, gone through the penalties imposed on them by Duryodhana. 

Everyone agreed and Sanjaya, the royal priest of king Drupad, was sent as a messenger to visit Dhritarashtra. Dhritarashtra called Bheeshma, Vidur, and the other elders, to a meeting with Duryodhana, and his supporters.
 
Duryodhana flatly refused to give even a pinch of land to the Pandavas. His close friends, like Karna. overwhelmingly supported him. They declared that they would be willing to go to war against the Pandavas in order to keep the kingdom. Grandfather Bheeshma was sorry to witness such hatred between the cousins, his grandchildren. He could sense the oncoming peril for the Kauravas.

Dhritarashtra could not help. He was blind and his eldest son Duryodhana ruled the kingdom. Duryodhana was adamant to be the sole ruler of the Kaurava Empire and did not want to share the kingdom with the Pandavas.
 
Sanjay witnessed the arguments in the court of Dhritarashtra. Dhritarashtra finally gave in and regretfully informed Sanjay that his son Duryodhan was unwilling to share the kingdom with the Pandavas.
 
Yudhishthira was a righteous person. He wished to avoid a war, especially against his own relatives. He was willing to give up some of the kingdom that originally belonged to him. He requested Krishna to convey his feelings to the Kauravas as the last resort. Krishna knew that war was inevitable yet he went to Duryodhana to persuade.
 
Reaching Hastinapur, Krishna stayed with Vidur. Kunti, mother of the Pandavas, then staying with Vidur, expressed her concern that the war may kill the Pandavas, Krishna consoled her.
 
“Mother Kunti, your sons are invincible. Whatever may be the strength of the Kauravas, the Pandavas will finally come out victorious. I am here to make every attempt to avoid the blood shed which will destroy the entire Kaurava dynasty.”
 
Next day Krishna was given a rousing welcome in the court of Dhritarashtra. All the elders were on Krishna's side and requested Duryodhana to reconsider his decision and share the kingdom with the Pandavas in a peaceful manner. Duryodhana was unwilling to listen to logic. He sternly replied, “ Krishna! You are unduly partial to the Pandavas. Be it known once and for all that the only way for the Pandavas to win back their kingdom is through war.”
 
Then in disgust Duryodhana left the court with Karna. People present in the court were gravely concerned about the consequences.
Krishna returned from Hastinapur disappointed and delivered the message of war to Yudhishthira and Kunti’s blessing for the Pandavas. All hopes for a peaceful settlement were over and the Pandavas had no other resort than to declare war against the Kauravas.
Krishna asked Yudishthira to remain on the path of justice, yet not to forego his rights, even if this may result in a war with the Kauravas.
 
When Kunti saw that war was imminent, one day she approached Karna when he finished worshipping the sun god after his bath. Karna was the son of the sun god, Surya, born of Kunti, out of wed lock. This happened when Kunti tried out the mantra given by Durbasha before she was married to Pandu. As Kunti was unmarried, she had no choice but to discard Karna in the river. A charioteer picked him up and raised him to adulthood. This was a well kept secret. Karna was truly one of the Pandavas. Kunti finally told Karna the true story of his life.
 
Kunti requested Karna not to kill any of his brothers. Karna promised to spare all, except Arjuna. Before Kunti's departure, Karna broke down in his mother’s arm and sobbed with grief, “Mother, I have to fight Arjuna until death. This is my promise to get even with him for insulting me in public at the time when I challenged him to compete in archery. You will still have five sons, whosoever survives.”
 
Kunti blessed Karna and left with fear and grief.

Pandava's thirteenth year of exile incognito(11)

The Pandavas were worried about the successful ending of their thirteenth year of exile, the period which they had to pass unrecognized. Duryodhana has mandated that if the Pandavas were recognized during the thirteenth year of their exile, they would have to remain in exile for another thirteen years.

 

According to Veda Vyas’ advice the Pandavas went to the kingdom of Virata in disguise. In the mean time Duryodhana sent his spies to discover Pandavas’ hideout.

Hiding their weapons, the Pandavas entered the kingdom of Virata. They were not recognized by king Virata and he welcomed them. The Pandava brothers and princess Draupadi requested King Virata to give them some jobs. Virata willingly agreed.

 

Yudhisthira, disguised as a Brahmin, became one of king’s trusted advisors. Bheema became the chief cook. Arjuna who had learnt the art of dance and music from Chirtrasen at Indraloke, was cursed by Urbashi, a beautiful dancer of heaven, to remain a eunuch for a year. So Arjuna found it convenient to become a dance and music teacher for princess Uttara. Nakula became the royal groom and Sahadeva, the royal cowherd. As for Draupadi, she became Queen Sudeshana’s maid.

 

Things were going well until the queen’s evil brother, Keechak, the commander of Virata’s armies, became interested in Draupadi. Keechak asked for Draupadi’s hand in marriage. Draupadi, being happily married to the Pandava brothers, refused. Keechak, thinking her to be only a maid, felt insulted to have been turned down. He decided to force himself into Draupadi’s chamber one night. 

As soon as Draupadi heard of this plan, she begged Bheema to rescue her. Bheema, disguised as Draupadi, lay on the bed. When Keechak stealthily entered Draupadi’s room, Bheema sprung out of the bed and killed him.

 

The next day Keechak’s corpse was discovered in Draupadi’s room, with no clue as to who was the assailant. To save Bheema from the Queen’s wrath, Draupadi told her that Keechak had entered her room, without her permission. When she had screamed, someone had come in and killed Keechak and she had no idea of his identity. The queen apologized for her brother’s misdeeds, but never learnt the truth about Bheema’s action.

 

In the mean time, Duryodhana had sent his men to every corner of the earth to discover the Pandavas’ hideout. He knew that if he could locate the Pandavas, who were men of honor, they would never go back on their words and would start their exile all over. He was happy to hear of Keechak’s death, as he had been a great threat to his kingdom. But he knew no ordinary man could kill the mighty Keechak and so he suspected that Bheema could be the assailant. He decided to invade the kingdom of Virata. In no time Duryodhana’s army attacked Virata while Duryodhana planned to personally attack Virata’s palace from the rear.

 

As the war approached, Yudhishthira offered the services of himself and his family to Virata. This was an expression of his gratitude towards Virata for providing them shelter. All his brothers, except Arjuna, joined the army and in no time captured Susharma.

 

Duryodhana, unaware of Susharma’s captivity, attacked Virata’s palace from the rear. The young prince Uttar was the only man left in the palace as all the others had already left for the war. When the women teased Uttar for hiding in the palace, he came up with the plea that he did not have a charioteer and hence could not go war.

 

When Arjuna heard of this, he promptly offered his services. He first took the chariot to the tree where he had hid his weapons almost a year ago. Uttar was puzzled but kept quiet, as he was afraid to face the Kaurava army. Arjuna guessed the situation and asked Uttar to take his place as a charioteer while he does the fighting. Uttar agreed.

When Arjuna blew his conch the Kaurava army immediately recognized Arjuna. Duryodhana was happy to locate the Pandavas. But to his utter disappointment Duryodhana soon learned that the thirteenth year had just been completed. Arjuna single handedly defeated the army and Duryodhana fled from the battlefield.

 

During the victory celebration Yudhishthira explained to Virata the details of their thirteenth year of exile under his protection. All the Pandavas expressed their gratitude to Virata. Virata was overwhelmingly happy and agreed to give his daughter Uttara in marriage to Arjuna’s son Abimanyu.

 

Subhadra and Abhimanyu were called and they came with Krishna and Balarama. The marriage celebration went on for several days uniting the Pandavas with their friends and relatives.

Duryodhana humbled(10)

At the conclusion of his stay in Amravati Arjuna prepared to return to his brothers. Indra gave him the weapon of Bajra, and taught him how to use it. Arjuna came back to his family on Indra's chariot and all Pandava brothers were happy to see him back.
 
Through a messenger Duryodhana learnt that the Pandavas were staying in the Dwitavana forest as ascetics. They decided to go there for a hunting game along with Shakuni and Karna. The idea was to start a quarrel with the Pandavas and then kill them.
 
Indra heard about this and sent the chief of the Gandharvas, Chitrasen. in order to give a lesson to Duryodhana so that he stayed humble in the future and stopped bothering the Pandavas. The Gandharvas were good not only in music but also in war games.

 
Chitrasen came to Dwitavana along with his army and confronted Duryodhana. In the following skirmish, Duryodhana and his party were taken captive. Duryodhana was brought before Yudhishthira. 

Yudhishthira asked Chitrasen to free his cousin brother but Chitrasen insisted that Duryodhana must apologize for his heinous plan. Duryodhana had no choice. He apologized and the Kauravas returned to Hastinapur.
 
Dhritarashtra and Bheeshma heard about the encounter with the Pandavas, and they too asked Duryodhana to make peace with the Pandavas and share the kingdom with them. Duryodhana refused.
 
As for the Pandavas, they continued their exile in Dwitavana. At one point, Yama, the god of death, appeared to test Yudhishthira for his steadfast faith in truth. Yudhishthira surpassed his evaluation. Yama was pleased and asked Yudhishthira to request a boon. 

Yudhishthira requested that Yama protect them through the thirteenth year of exile, because they need to stay undetected according to the condition of the exile. Yamaraj blessed Yudhishthira and asked him to go to king Virata and stay there during the thirteenth year. The Pandavas started to make preparations to move to the kingdom of Virata.

Arjuna's Quest for Weapons(9)

Following Vyas's advice Arjuna started for Mount Kailash. Reaching Indrakeel, a site inhabitated by sages on Mount Kailash, he chose a spot to meditate. He soon went into deep meditation to invoke Shiva. After a long time, Shiva was pleased and decided to fulfill his wishes. 

Lord Shiva knew what Arjuna will ask but he did not want to give away his divine weapon, Pashupat, without testing Arjuna's readiness to receive it. So Lord Shiva disguised himself as a hunter and started for Indrakeel. Parvati also accompanied him as his wife. The disciples of Shiva (the ganas) were curious and came along in the disguise of women hunters.
 
When they reached the spot where Arjuna was meditating, they saw a wild boar attacking Arjuna. Arjuna was alerted and aimed at the boar with his bow and arrow. Lord Shiva simultaneously aimed at the wild boar. Soon the arrows, from Lord Shiva and Arjuna, struck the boar and it instantly died.
 
Arjuna was disturbed by seeing that his prey was shot at by another person. He challenged the hunter without knowing his identity. This resulted in a big fight between the hunter and Arjuna. Finally Arjuna was exhausted. He requested the hunter to give him time to pray to Lord Shiva to regain strength. The hunter smiled and allowed him the time.
 
Arjuna made an image of Lord Shiva and prayed to him to revive his strength. When he put the garland on the image, to his surprise, he saw the garland on the neck of the hunter. He realized that the hunter was none else but Lord Shiva. He fell at Lord Shiva's feet and offered his sincere reverence.

 
Having been highly pleased at Arjuna's devotion, Lord Shiva asked him to demand whatever he wanted as a boon. Arjuna requested for the Pashupat weapon from Shiva to be used during the war against the Kauravas. Lord Shiva handed over the Pashupat weapon to Arjuna with the blessing to acquire the capacity to use it at will. Then he disappeared with Parvati and his ganas.
 
When Shiva disappeared, all the other gods and goddesses appeared to congratulate Arjuna and offered their divine weapons in order to fight for the right cause against the Kauravas. Arjuna expressed his sincere gratitude to all of them for helping him.
 
Lord Indra invited Arjuna to visit Indralok, his abode. Soon a chariot arrived and Arjuna left for Indralok.
 
Arjuna arrived at Indra's palace at Amravati in no time and was amazed by its matchless beauty. He was received with due honor as he was the son of Indra. While at Indra's court, Arjuna learned music and dance from Chitrasen, chief of Gandharvas,
 
When Arjuna met Urbashi, he addressed her as "Mother." Urbashi was a heavenly nymph and Indra's court dancer. She was exquisitely beautiful and young for ever. Urbashi tried to make love with Arjuna but Arjuna insisted that he stays as her son. Urbashi was hurt and cursed Arjuna to become a eunuch among charming ladies during his last year of exile. 

Urbashi was charmed by Arjuna's self control and blessed him by saying, "My curse will prove to be a boon during the last year of your exile in order to conceal your identity."

Indraprastha Lost (8)

On the way to Hastinapur, Shakuni revealed his evil plan to Duryodhana. He said, " Yudhishthira is fond of the game of dice, and none can beat me in this game because I use charmed dice. Your job is to persuade your father, Dhritarashtra, to invite Yudhishthira to play dice with me in the presence of all the dignitaries in the court. Leave the rest to me."

 

When Duryodhana reached Hastinapur, he went straight to Dhritarashtra and narrated the prosperous condition of the Pandavas. Dhritarashtra was a nice man and was pleased to hear that his brother's sons, the Pandavas, were doing well.

 

Finding an appropriate moment, Duryodhana asked "Father, let us have a special celebration to exemplify our friendliness with the Pandavas by inviting them to Hastinapur. We will also invite other dignitaries to this occasion where the top attraction and excitement will be the dice game between Yudhishthira and our maternal uncle Shakuni."

 

Dhritarashtra did not comprehend the evil plan of Duryodhana and Shakuni. He was blind and had been indulgent towards his eldest son, Duryodhana. So, he permitted Duryodhana to have his way.

 

The invitation of the dice game went to Yudhishthira and he accepted. The Pandavas arrived on the previous day along with Draupadi leaving behind their mother Kunti and their children with Subhadra. The Pandavas rested for the night in the guesthouse and reached the gambling hall on the following day, the day of the royal dice game. Other royal dignitaries also arrived and Dhritarashtra and his courtiers welcomed them.

 

Before the starting of the game Shakuni wished Yudhishthira good luck and said, "Your majesty! Let us decide about the stakes."

Yudhishthira remarked, "Uncle, let us keep the game fair."

 

Shakuni was a professional gambler and he knew the weakness of his challenger. He retorted, "Yudhishthira, let the dice decide our luck. Play fearlessly if you have the courage and accept whatever comes out of it. If you are afraid, you can refuse and quit now. There is no quitting after this."

 

Yudhishthira's pride was hurt. He did not want to withdraw in front of the dignitaries who came there to witness the game. He proudly said, "You may call for the stake and I will agree to that."

 

Duryodhana was waiting for the opportunity, he spoke at once, "I shall put the stakes and uncle Shakuni shall throw the dice for me. Is it acceptable to you?"

Yudhishthira agreed.

Yudhishthir was no match for Shakuni. Using his charmed dice Shakuni won every game. Eventually, Yudhishthir lost everything, his riches, his kingdom, his brothers and finally even himself. Last of all, he staked his wife Draupadi and lost her too.

 

Duryodhana asked his brother Dushashana to bring Draupadi to the court. When Dushashana reached the guesthouse, Draupadi was unaware of the calamity that had befallen on her family. She was amazed to hear that Yudhishthira gambled away every thing that the Pandavas owned. Draupadi refused to go to the court. Dushashana, in the pretext of carrying out the orders of his elder brother dragged her into the court by her hair.

 

Karna got this chance to humiliate the Pandavas in public and got even with the insults that the Pandavas showered on him in the past. He asked Duryodhana to order to remove off the royal garments that the Pandavas and their wife Draupadi were wearing. Dushashana could not find a better way to insult Draupadi in public.

 

Draupadi looked around but there was no one who could rescue her. She finally called for Krishna to save her honor. As Dushashana pulled her saree to disgrace her, Krishna invisibly supplied the sarees one after another and Draupadi could not be undressed.

When Dushashana got tired of pulling the saree, Duryodhana ordered Draupadi, "You are now my maid, sit on my thigh."

 

Bheema could not tolerate the insults any longer and shouted, "I am taking this vow that one day I will drink blood from Dushashana's heart and break the thigh of Duryodhana for insulting a chaste woman in public."

 

Draupadi charged the elders with anger, "It is a shame for the race of Kshatriyas, the descendants of Bharata, to allow a chaste woman of their own family to be disgraced before their very eyes. I condemn the elders, the so called warriors, sitting here and watching me disgraced."

 

Dhritarashtra was shaken up. He asked his sons to stop and he apologized to Draupadi for fear of the curse that may befall on the Kauravas.

Then he asked Duryodhana to accept an alternative to release the Pandavas from the slavery. Duryodhana agreed to banish them for thirteen years before they return to 

Hastinapur along with the condition that they should be incognito during the thirteenth year. If their identity is disclosed on the thirteenth year, they would have to go for an exile of another thirteen years.

 

Upon Draupadi's request Dhritarashtra returned all the weapons to the Pandavas and bade good bye, wishing them well. The Pandavas returned to Indraprastha for the last time to make arrangements for their mother to stay with their uncle, Vidur and Subhadra, Arjuna's wife, with her brother, Krishna, along with the children.

 

The Pandavas faced hard times as they started their exile. It was difficult for the Pandava brothers to get enough food to satisfy their hunger. Yudhishthira prayed for the sun god, Surya, with his utmost sincerity. The Sun god came and presented Yudhishthira with a miraculous copper plate.

 

"Give this plate to Draupadi. It will go on giving you whatever dishes you want every day till Draupadi finishes her meal."

After returning home from his daily worship, Yudhishthira gave the copper bowl to Draupadi and told her everything that sun god had said. Draupadi was very pleased to hear of the boon and took the bowl to her kitchen with great reverence. The Pandavas soon invited all sages and saints to share food with them.

 

One day Vyasa arrived to pay his sympathy for the Pandavas. He predicted, "After thirteen years, following your period of exile, there will be a fearful war with the Kauravas when you return to Hastinapur. Finally you will come out victorious. The war will leave only a few survivors of the descendants of Bharata. It will be wise if you start preparing yourself for the oncoming battle. Hence start to acquire as many divine weapons as you can during your exile."

Rajasuya Yajna of Yudhishthira(7)

One day, while Krishna and Arjuna were talking under a tree during Krishna's visit with the Pandavas, a Brahmin approached and requested for their help.

"How can we help you?" asked Krishna.

 

The Brahmin replied, "I am Agni, the fire-god. I am very hungry to eat meat. I am tired of eating only ghee, that is concentrated butter, offered to me by the sages. Help me to eat the animals of the Khandava forest. I tried to accomplish this task by myself several times, but unfortunately, Indra, the god of weather, protects the Khandava forest. As soon as I try to burn the forest, Indra pours rain and I am extinguished. I need your help to stall Indra until I am done consuming the Khandava forest."

 

Krishna and Arjuna agreed to help Agni. However, they did not have any celestial weapon to fight Indra. They told Agni of their limitations. Then Agni, through his divine powers, produced the celestial weapons that Krishna and Arjuna needed.

 

When everything was ready, Agni ignited the forest and in no time the entire forest was in flame. Indra was promptly informed and he rushed with his army to protect the Khandava forest. Krishna and Arjuna successfully kept Indra’s army at bay. Suddenly Krishna saw a demon running out of the forest and Agni was chasing him. The demon sought Arjuna's asylum. The fire-god turned back and left him with Arjuna. Finally, Agni was satisfied and thanked Krishna and Arjuna.

 

When Agni left, the demon introduced himself to Krishna and Arjuna. "I am Maya (illusion), the architect of Vishwakarma. I possess a miraculous skill in architecture. Allow me to do something for you in return for saving my life", he said.

 

Krishna asked Maya to build a palace for King Yudhishthira, which would be the best on the earth. Maya gladly agreed.

 

In no time, a beautiful palace was built in Indraprastha, the kingdom of the Pandavas. The royal priest suggested that an inauguration be made for the palace before it is occupied. The Pandavas, in consultation with Krishna, decided to perform Rajasuya Yajna for its inauguration. One of the conditions of the Rajasuya Yajna is that the neighboring kingdoms must accept the supremacy of the performer, the Pandavas. The only one who objected to this was Jarasandha, the ruler of Magadh.

 

Upon Krishna's advice, Yudhishthira sent the party of Bheema, Arjuna and Krishna to Magadh to meet Jarasandha. Jarasandha had imprisoned many kings and occupied their kingdoms by defeating them on a dual. He was blessed by Shiva and was practically invincible.

 

The story says that Jarasandha's father was desperate for a son and had prayed to Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva was pleased and gave him a fruit. Shiva said, "Ask your wife to eat the fruit and she will soon have a child," But Jarasandha's father had two wives. He had to be fair to both and so he split the fruit, giving one half to each wife. As a result, each was born with one half of the child. A witch, named Jara, joined these two pieces and thus the son was named Jarasandha. Jarasandha's body had a vertical joint running from top to the lower end of the backbone. The only way he could be killed was to tear him apart and no one was strong enough to do that. However, Krishna knew the secret of killing Jarasandha. He revealed this secret to Bheema.

 

Jarasandha was informed about the arrival of the party of Krishna, Bheema and Arjuna. As expected, Jarasandha refused to accept the supremacy of the Pandavas. Thus, Krishna asked him to choose one of the Pandavas to settle the matter. Jarasandha knew that he would be no match for Arjuna because of his superior skills in archery. So, he chose Bheema and was confident to defeat him in the dual. They both promised to fight each other untill death.

 

The fight continued for many hours and finally Bheema lifted him up and flung him down with a thud. Then he tore Jarasandha’s body into two halves. Jarasandha was dead. All the kings were released from prison. They thanked Krishna and Bheema for saving their lives. They became friends of the Pandavas and accepted their supremacy. Jarasandha's son, Sahadev succeeded the throne of Magadh and became one of the strong allies of the Pandavas.

 

All kings, including the Kauravas, were invited to the Rajasuya Yajna and the fire worship was completed with great enthusiasm. All the dignitaries honored Krishna. Bheeshma, the grandfather, spoke very highly of him and declared him as the Godhead in a human body.

The only one who was not happy of Krishna's presence was Sishupal, Krishna's cousin. He was jealous of Krishna. Sishupal's mother knew of her son's shortcomings and Krishna's power. So, she made Krishna promise that he will not take any action against her son until Sishupal insulted Krishna more than one hundred times. Sishupal publicly insulted Krishna at the ceremony in spite of Bheeshma's request to stop. Krishna stayed calm until the insults exceeded one hundred times. Then Krishna cut his head off with his chakra (disc).

 

Following the great ceremony, all the guests left with a great appreciation of the Pandavas. But Duryodhana and his maternal uncle Shakuni extended their stay as special royal guests in order to enjoy the grandeur of the beautiful palace of Yudhishthira. The palace was full of illusionary things. Duryodhanaa was repeatedly fooled and his appreciation soon turned into sheer jealousy. He said to Shakuni, "Uncle, I cannot bear the prosperity of the Pandavas. I feel like attacking them and take away all their wealth."

 

"I know a way they can be ripped off and sent to exile" replied Shakuni in his cunning voice.

Duryodhana was getting impatient to know of Shakuni’s trick. Shakuni however asked him to wait until they got out of the charming palace. "Who knows, the walls may have ears," Shakuni said with agitation.

Arjuna's exile for twelve years (6)

From Indraprastha, Arjuna first went to the Himalayas and passed his time in the company of sages, attending their discourses and performing the religious rituals.

 

One day Ulupi, daughter of the Naga king, who was the ruler of the serpent world under water, saw Arjuna engaged in his religious pursuits. Arjuna's handsome personality always attracted the damsels. Ulupi was no exception. She immediately fell in love and decided to abduct Arjuna and marry him. So, when Arjuna went for a bath in the river, she grabbed him and took him to her father's under water palace. Arjuna was puzzled by the abduction and asked Ulupi about her intentions.

 

Ulupi explained, "I am the princess of the Naga kingdom. I am sorry for the inconvenience caused to you. I have brought you here to make you my husband. You have no way to escape."

 

Arjuna had no choice. He accepted the proposal offered by Ulupi and stayed with her for a while. Then one day Arjuna appealed to Ulupi the reason for his inability to continue staying with her when he was expected to travel during his period of exile. Ulupi agreed and returned Arjuna to the surface. Before bidding him farewell, she gave Arjuna a boon of protection from the bite of any water creature.

 

Arjuna then went on a long journey towards the east and finally reached Manipur. Chitravahana was then the king of Manipur. He accorded him a warm welcome and Arjuna decided to stay with him for a while. Chitravahana had a beautiful daughter, Chitrangada.

 

Arjuna was fascinated by Chitrangada’s beauty and decided to marry her. So he approached Chitravahana asking for Chitrangada’s hand in marriage. Chitravahana was happy, but he put a condition for the marriage.

 

"Chitrangada is my only child and I do not have an heir to continue my dynasty. So, I have decided to adopt her son. If you plan to marry Chitrangada, you must give me her son who will be the crown prince of my kingdom."

 

Arjuna accepted the condition and married Chitrangada. Finally, a son was born after three years whom Chitravahana adopted. Then Arjuna continued his journey, as expected, leaving Chitrangada in Manipur.

 

After leaving Manipur, Arjuna moved southward reaching the seashore (close to the present pilgrimage center of Puri). There he was once again in the company of sages and saints.

 

One day, the sages complained to Arjuna that the nearby waters were infested with ferocious crocodiles. They had to go a long way to other back waters in order to take a bath. Arjuna promised to do away with the crocodiles. Mindful of Ulupi's boon, Arjuna jumped into the waters to kill the crocodiles. Soon a huge crocodile caught his leg and Arjuna promptly dragged the crocodile out of the water. To his utter surprise, the crocodile was instantaneously transformed into a heavenly nymph.

 

Arjuna asked, "Who are you?"

The nymph answered, "Long ago, my four friends and I were playing in water and offended a sage. The sage cursed us to become crocodiles and stay in water forever. We apologized and begged for mercy. The sage took pity on us and toned the curse down by saying that we would be rescued many years later when a virtuous warrior would pull us out of the water. We would then be transformed into our true self. So, please be kind to rescue my other four friends also."

 

Arjuna agreed and one by one pulled out the remaining four crocodiles. Like the previous one, they also got back into their real form of heavenly maidens. They all thanked Arjuna heartily for liberating them; they then departed to their heavenly abode.

 

After a while, Arjuna headed towards Prabhas, located on the west coast of India, to spend time in meditation. There he decided to move to Dwaraka to stay with Krishna, his best friend. Krishna's elder brother Balarama, the king, gave a warm welcome to Arjuna and Arjuna stayed in Dwaraka for few days.

 

One day Arjuna caught sight of Subhadra, Krishna's sister, and fell in love with her. Balarama, however, already chose Duryodhana as Subhadra’s future husband. When Krishna foresaw the situation, he indirectly suggested Arjuna to elope with Subhadra, saying, "A Kshatriya like you never begs to win his lady-love. He wins her hand by force."

Arjuna got the clue. He borrowed Krishna's chariot and forcibly took Subhadra away when she was returning from the temple. Balarama flew into a rage and called for Krishna before waging war against Arjuna. He had guessed that the abduction must have been committed with the connivance of Krishna.

 

Balarama burst out at Krishna. "It is disgraceful to tolerate the misdoing of Arjuna, your best friend. I could never imagine that a royal guest like him will return our favor by this mean act. What do you have to say before we go after Arjuna?"

 

Krishna heard the allegations carefully and spoke in a pacifying mood.

"Brother Balarama, isn't it a pride for us to be related to the Pandavas? They will be our strong allies. Arjuna is invincible, and if we are defeated, it will be more disgraceful. I will suggest that we honorably call Arjuna back and arrange for a royal marriage between Subhadra and Arjuna."

 

Balarama comprehended the gravity of the situation and realized the odds of winning a fight against Arjuna. Thus, he soon arranged for their royal marriage and Arjuna moved to Pushkar, near modern Ajmer. Here he spent the rest of his period of exile.

 

After the completion of the exile period, Arjuna returned to Indraprashtha with Subhadra. As Arjuna went to see Yudhishthira to pay his respect, Subhadra went to see Kunti and touched her feet with great reverence. Draupadi was quite upset in the beginning but Subhadra's humility won her heart in no time.

 

"Sister, kindly accept me as your maid-in-attendance" said Subhadra in a humble voice.

Balarama and Krishna came to Indraprastha to join the celebration of Arjuna's return and strengthening their ties with the Pandavas as their in-laws. After few days Balarama returned to Dwaraka and Krishna chose to stay behind.

 

In due course of time, Subhadra gave birth to a lovely son who was named Abhimanyu. Draupadi gave birth to five sons - one from each of her husband. Gradually the princes of the Pandavas grew up to their manhood as strong as their parents and uncles and everyone was proud of them.

Pandvas Marry To Draupadi(5)

From Ekachakra, the Pandavas, disguised as Brahmins, arrived at Panchal to attend the swyambara ceremony of Draupadi. They already had heard of the heavenly beauty of Draupadi, the daughter of king Drupad.

 

At the swyambara assembly, the Pandavas sat next to other Brahmins, away from the royal dignitaries. No one in the assembly recognized the Pandavas. Krishna, the king of Dwarka, was present as an honored guest.

 

At the appropriate time, king Drupad greeted and honored all the participants and announced that his daughter Draupadi was going to enter the venue. Amidst the sounds of bugles, drums and melodious music, princess Draupadi, accompanied by her brother Dhrishtadyumna, entered the swyambara hall. As soon she entered, all eyes turned to her. She looked like a heavenly nymph.

 

Within a short while, Dhrishtadyumna addressing the gathering said, "Honorable princes, you can see a fish hanging from a revolving wheel fixed on the top of a pole. The reflection of the fish is seen in a wide pan full of oil, placed at the bottom of the pole. The competitor, who hits the eye of the fish while looking at the image, shall win the hands of my sister Draupadi."

 

A bow with arrows had been placed on the stage for the feat.

The event began and a number of princes came forward and tried their luck one after another. But none of them were successful. One by one, they returned to their seats with a fallen face.

 

When Karna's turn came Draupadi spoke out. She refused to marry Karna for lack of royal lineage. Karna was the son of a charioteer. Karna left the hall in resentment.

 

Drupad and Dhrishtadyumna were getting worried since all of the princes present at the function had failed. Finally, Arjuna, in the disguise of a Brahmin got up and advanced towards the stage. People were amazed to see a Brahmin challenging the valiant princes. Being a Brahmin in disguise, who belong to a superior cast than the Kshatriyas (the warrior princes), Arjuna could not be stopped.

 

"He must have gone crazy!" remarked one of the Brahmins.

Staying calm and composed, Arjuna picked up the bow and arrow. He looked down at the reflection of the fish in the oil pan and drew the cord of the bow and shot the arrow. In a flash, the arrow darted with a twang and pierced the eye of the fish. People could not believe that a Brahmin could master the skill of archery better than any prince could.

 

The princes felt insulted and came forward to kill Arjuna. Immediately the rest of the Pandavas grouped together to defend Arjuna. Soon enough, all the people realized the strength and skill of the five brothers, the Pandavas. Finally, Krishna stepped in and asked the frustrated princes to take their failure gracefully and the fighting stopped.

 

Duryodhana guessed that the winner must be Arjuna, and the four other Brahmins must be the Pandava brothers. He was amazed as to how they could escape the fire at Varnavat.

The Pandavas returned home with Draupadi as Arjuna’s wife. Kunti was waiting for them thinking that her five sons will return home soon with their daily collection of alms.

Yudhishthira spoke after reaching home, "Look mother what have we brought for you today!"

 

Kunti was inside and did not see what Yudhishthira was talking about. So she casually said without looking to them, "Divide it equally among yourselves." But soon she noticed Draupadi and felt highly embarrassed at what she had said. She repented, "My sons, I was under an impression that you had brought something special by way of alms from some charitable wealthy person. That is why I directed you to share it equally."

 

Once spoken, Kunti's words could not be taken back and her dedicated five sons took Draupadi as their common wife. Draupadi accepted. She soon knew that the five brothers were the Pandavas. She then thanked her stars for becoming a bride of the royal family of Hastinapur.

 

After the swayambara, Dhrishtadyumna, Draupadi's brother, stealthily followed the five Brahmin brothers and found out their identities. Happily he returned home and informed his father Drupada that they are none but the Pandavas. The royal family immediately decided to throw a party in celebration. During the celebration, the identities of the Pandavas were revealed and King Drupad became their close allies.

 

News reached Hastinapur. Bheeshma advised Dhritarashtra to give half of the kingdom to the Pandavas. Duryodhana did not like this idea but kept quiet and waited for the next opportunity to wipe off the Pandavas.

 

Dhritarashtra sent Vidur, the Prime Minister, to king Drupada for the return of the Pandavas to Hastinapur. Pandavas agreed and they proudly returned to Hastinapur along with Kunti and Draupadi. Upon their arrival, a grand welcome was accorded to the princes whom people believed to have died in the fair. They were delighted to see them and joined the celebration.

 

The Pandavas touched the feet of all the elders, Bheeshma, Dhritarashtra, Vidur, Dronacharya and others, and were happy to be back. Dhritarashtra, in consultation with other members of the cabinet, offered Khandavprastha to the Pandavas to settle. Yudhishthira, modest and accommodating as he was, accepted the offer and proceeded to Khandavprastha, their own kingdom.

In due course of time, the Pandavas made Indraprastha as the capital of Khandaprastha. Indraprastha took the shape of a beautiful township with an impressive palace. People were happy and loved their king, Yudhishthira.

 

In order to avoid misunderstanding, Narada advised the Pandavas to draw up a code of conduct whereby each brother was to enjoy Draupadi's company in complete privacy. If this was interrupted, the violator was to go into exile for a period of twelve years.

Everything was going smooth until one day, a Brahmin came wailing bitterly to Arjuna. Thieves had stolen his cows. Arjuna consoled and promised to go after the thieves. But he suddenly realized that his weapons were left in Draupadi's bedchamber and Yudhishthira was enjoying her company at that time. Arjuna was in a dilemma. But he chose to violate the code and go for the exile instead of falling short in his promises to the Brahmin. He knocked the door, begged excuse, picked up his bow and arrow, and went after the thieves.

Arjuna returned after restoring the cows to the Brahmin. Then he came straight to his elder brother Yudhisthira and apologized for breaking the code.

 

Arjuna said, "I am guilty of violating our mutually agreed arrangement and now I seek your permission to go into exile for twelve years."

Yudhisthira tried to persuade Arjuna to change his mind by arguing that he entered the private room in order to protect his subject and not for any personal reason. But Arjuna insisted to obey the rules laid down by sage Narada without making any exception and soon left for the forest.