We highly appreciate the efforts of all

School Principals and teachers who

have made this Ramayan Yojana

successful, Thanks to one and all.

* Writer : Kalyaniraman Bennurwar* Publisher : Shri. Mohan Salekar

Sanskruti Samvardhan Pratishthan, Mumbai& : 2309 4306 / 6027, 2305 0393.

* All rights with the Publisher* Published on :

1st Edition Guru Poornima Yugabdh 5107( 21st July 2005 )2 nd Edition Guru Poornima Yugabdh 5108( 11th July 2006 )

* Sahayogi Mulya Rs. 20/-* Cover Design & Layouts : Kishore Patil* Printed by :

* Editorial Board :Dr. Manohar PingaleDr. Mrs. Kirtida MehtaShri. Jaganniwas IyyerShri. R. S. Pingale

KatharupKatharupKatharupKatharupKatharupMahabharatahabharatahabharatahabharatahabharat

P R E F A C ESince time immemorial THE RAMAYAN has been accorded

“the undisputed status of the greatest ever epic” alongwith THEMAHABHARAT It’s our proud heritage and national pride. Itsacceptance is of such a degree that the ideal Governance is termedas THE RAMA RAJYA. People even greet one another in the nameof SHREE RAM, JAI SHREE RAM

Our history, culture, society and people’s lives have beenshaped by the ideals of the Ramayan. Even the most ignorant andilliterate of our crores of villagers know the story of Shree Ram. Achild gets the first lesson of the Ramayan in the mother’s lap duringthe infancy. While growing older, the knowledge expands. With eachreading of The Ramayan, understanding about life broadens,becoming a better person and in the process, a better son, father,husband, brother, citizen and so on.

Of Late, however, our educational system is getting more andmore away from our fundamental base of the ages. Added to that,the electronic media, the print media and ever-increasing influenceand pressure of the western and outside world has slowly but surelynot only invaded our drawing room but pollutted and corrupted theentire culture canvas. Leela, Jatras, Kathakali and other culturalevents do not find audiences. In the nuclear family set-up of todaythe mother has to play the role of an economic earner also, affectingchild-rearing. The all important Grand-mother has also no place intoday’s nuclear family.

A child is brought up on the trash purveyed by the idiot box,cheap paper-back novels and comic books. The child is moreconversant with Spiderman, The Popeye Cartoon Character thanwith Shree Ram, or Mata Seeta, Shree Hanuman or Shree Krishna.Thus, the child’s value systems, character and personality areshaped by the character he sees on the televisions than by thenoble traits of our real ideal Indian characters.

The English, the child picks up, lacks much in grammer, dictionand usage. It jeopardizes the future of our children. What kind ofcitizens will they grow up to be ? What will be their value systems ?Will their sense of identification and belonging to their motherland-The Bharath Mata-be affected ? Will they have the knowledge ofand admiration for and committment to our ages-old culture and

traditions ? These and several other such questions loom largebefore us.

But we do not wish to be pessimistic. All is not lost. We muststart in right earnest and work for a social cultural and intellectualrenaissance. Our efforts in this direction must start with our children.Simply put, our motto should be, “Catch them Young” And whatbetter way to do this than by introducing to our young children THEWORLD’S GREATEST EVER EPIC “ THE RAMAYAN & THEMAHABHARAT” The epic is the virtual encyclopaedia holding withinits pages our Ancient History, Culture, Geography and thePhilosophy. Above all, it contains examples of filial and fraternallove and affection, love and affection, love of one’s Family, love ofone’s people, love of a ruler for his subjects and the subject’sreciprocal love for their ruler, Tips on state-craft, Adherence to Truth,Equality and Justice. In short, the Ramayan reflects all the variousaspects of life in its many splendoured facets.

We have presented “KATHARUP MAHABHARAT” in storybooks form Illustrations have been put at appropriate places. Thebook has been specially written for the nine - to twelve age groupand the 7th class in particular. The language has been kept simple,sentences are short. Where ever necessary English meanings ofSanskrit or use words have been given.

The children reading this “KATHARUP MAHABHARAT” willneed hand-holding to begin with. Parents and teachers may haveto sit down with children and explain certain situations and contextsof that historical period. We do request you to encourage thechildren to read the book aloud. This will help them in developingfeel for words and phrases. It will also enable them to dramatize thenarration.

Finally, we may add that, we are only a narrator of a greatepic written by the world’s greatest learned and eminent poet. It is,therefore, natural that our narration may have several flaws whichwe would like you to bring to our notice, We do certainly welcomesuggestions and comments for improvement.

Our heartfelt thanks to Shantilal Shanghavi Foundation.Sanskriti Samvardhan Pratishthan, Mumbai

Shreemad Ramayan Parichay Yojana

I N D E X

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1. PrefaceOur land of Bharat is timeless with a history whose antiquity

cannot be dated. Bharat is not only more ancient than any otherland but is also very holy, with innumerable illustrious sages, spiri-tual leaders, learned souls and great kings and rulers having takenbirth in this nation of ours. There have been countless ruling dy-nasties in this country. Of these, the great Kuru Dynasty ruled fora few thousand years and established its centralized rule over In-dia. It was a very powerful and prosperous empire. The Kuru Dy-nasty is also known as the Bharat Dynasty and later came to beknown as the Pandav Dynasty It naturally occupies a central placein the study of India’s timeless history.

More than 5,000 years ago, many emperors belonging to theKuru Dynasty ruled a vast mass of land that stretched from present-day Tibet across of the Himalayas to the Indian Ocean in the southand from Central and West Asia in the west/north-west fromTurkasthan to Java and Sumatra (present-day Indonesia) in the east.Emperor Yudhishtir of the Kurus occupies a significant positionamong such rulers. Our motherland was thus a mighty and unifiedsmoothly organized nation right from ancient times ruled by a unifaryempires.

The Mahabharat, which is the world’s longest and greatestepic, contains the chronology of about fifty-five prominent kings fromDaksh Prajapati up to Janamejay the grandson of the Pandavas.However, in this brief work we shall chiefly examine the events in thelives of the Kauravs and the Pandavs as well as the greatKurukshetra War that turned Indian society topsy-turvy like noother event had done before.

This Great War was not just a quarrel between brothers formere kingdom or property. Many eternal values and questions wereinvolved in it. Rare was the kingdom or royal dynasty that was ableto escape this great holocaust. It was just before the KurukshetraWar that Bhagwan Shree Krishna imparted the divine wisdom of

the Geeta to Arjun. Thousands of years later, the philosophy ofthe Bhagwad Geeta has proved immortal and timeless and contin-ues to guide all humanity.

It is our pristine duty to study and thoroughly understand ourtrue history. It is for this reason that we shall try to understand thisgreat history of the Mahabharat.

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2. ShantanuIn the Ikshwaaku, the most

ancient and powerful dynastiesthere once ruled a king by thename of Mahaabhish. Becauseof his virtue and merit, he wasaccorded a very high place inheaven. and given the rare privi-lege of being a member of thedivine assembly of Brahma, theCreator.

Once, all the divine riversincluding Ganga came toBrahma’s assembly in the formof goddesses. Mahaabhish andGanga were smitten by eachother. Seeing this Brahma was

angered and cursed Mahaabhish to be reborn on earth, but alsosaid that Ganga would be his wife and he would be born in theglorious Kuru Dynasty.

The great and valourous king Hastin had built Hastinapur thecapital of the Kuru Dynasty. It was in this dynasty that Mahaabhishwas born. He was born as Shantanu. In due course of time, hisfather king Prateep crowned him king and retired to the forests.

Once Shantanu was out hunting in the forests along the banks

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Lotia Nathalal Amritlal, VileParle

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Sri. Gunhari, Kurla

--c=_

of the Ganga. He happened to see a stunningly beautiful womanand was smitten by her. When he expressed his desire to marry her,the beautiful damsel put forth a condition: “O king! I shall becomeyour wife only on the condition that you will allow me to do whateverI please without any question. If you break this condition, I shallforsake you then and there.”

King Shantanu immediately agreed to her condition. They wereduly married and had a son in due time. Shantanu was extremelyhappy, but his happiness was short lived. One midnight, Shantanuwas woken from his sleep when he saw his queen carrying the new-born baby towards the river. Tiptoeing, Shantanu followed her. Thequeen stood with the baby in her arms on the banks of the gushingriver for a while and saying, “I am only doing what you desire,” hurledthe infant right into the water. Seeing this Shantanu shook with hor-ror and wanted to pounce on his wife. But in the nick of time, heremembered her strange condition and stood stupefied. The queenreturned as if nothing had happened.

This bizarre episode was repeated seven times withShantanu’s queen throwing seven newborn babies into the Ganga.Shantanu’s grief and horror only increased and when his wife wasabout to throw the eighth child, he could tolerate it no longer andstopped her. Upon this his wife calmly replied: “O king! I am god-dess Ganga. I became your wife owing to Brahma’s curse and hadto relieve these Vasus of their curse. This eighth child of yours shalllive long and be renowned throughout humanity. But lord, you havebroken your promise and I shall now leave you.” Saying this, Gangavanished along with the eighth child.

Shantanu was heart-broken. He found his life totally empty ofany joy after Ganga left him, but continued to rule Hastinapur in avirtuous and wise manner. Once, he ventured into the forest to thevery spot where he had first met Ganga and stood there for a while.Shantanu then noticed that the river’s flow kept decreasing. Intriguedby this, Shantanu went in the upward direction of the flow and saw a

young strong lad, displaying stupendous skill by showering the ar-rows obstructing the river’s flow. The boy vanished upon seeing theking, leaving Shantanu speechless with astonishment. He called outaloud, “Jaahnavi, where are you? Who is this illustrious boy andhow did he become so powerful?” Ganga soon appeared beforehim holding the boy by hand. She then addressed Shantanu say-ing, “Lord, this is your eighth son. His name is Devavrat. I haveensured that he has learnt all that a kshatriya must learn. This boyis well versed in all branches of knowledge including the Vedas andthe Vedangas, all the Shastras and the science of warfare. He issupreme in the science of archery and is invincible in war. He shallbring everlasting renown to your dynasty. Do take charge of yourgreat son, O king.” Handing over Devavrat to Shantanu, Gangathen disappeared.

Shantanu was overjoyed upon receiving his son and took himto Hastinapur. He then entrusted the responsibilities of the kingdom’sadministration to his son. Devavrat proved himself a worthy leaderand came to be loved and respected by the people of Hastinapur.

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3. Bheeshma’s vowOn the banks of the river Yamuna lived the community of fisher

folk. Their ruler was known as Dheevarraj. Once, he found a girlchild in the river and took her home to raise her as her own daugh-ter. He named her Satyavati, but the strong odour of fish emanatingfrom her body led her to be called Matsyagandha (smelling of fish).When Satyavati reached teen age, she used to ferry people acrossthe Yamuna in a boat free of charge.

On one particular day, the stars foretold a different fortunefor the young girl. The great sage Maharshi Parashar boardedSatyavati’s boat one afternoon. The rishi saw that the girl bore signsof becoming the mother of a very great soul. He told Satyavati whatthe gods had ordained and gave birth to a divine son through her.

Offset Printers, Sewree (w) Sri. Rajendra R. Hedaoo, Mulund

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This boy later became the great Bhagwan Ved Vyas and was re-nowned throughout the three worlds for his austerity, penance andsupreme knowledge of all things material and spiritual.

Shantanu meanwhile, had still not gotten over his yearningfor Ganga and used to wander the forest indulging in his favouritepastime of hunting. On one such occasion, he glimpsed Satyavatiand was smitten by her. He approached her saying, “O beautifulone, you seem to be a damsel of divine birth. Will you marry me?”

“O king, I am the daughter of Dheevarraj, ruler of the fisherfolk. You must approach my father in this regard.”

Shantanu approached Dheevarraj asking for Satyavati’s handbut he put forth one condition, Dheevarraj said, “Only if you agreeto make Satyavati’s son the king of Hastinapur after you, will I agreeto fulfil your demand.” Shantanu was stunned into silence.

How could Shantanu even think of depriving his son Devavratof his natural right? The king returned dejected but could not ban-ish Satyavati from his heart. Devavrat did not fail to notice his father’smental condition and asked him the reason, but Shantanu avoidedgiving a straight answer. Devavrat, extremely attached to his father,found out the real reason after enquiries with the ministers, atten-dants and the king’s charioteer. He came to know of the entire epi-sode.

Devavrat then took a few ministers and a small retinue andset out from Hastinapur to the banks of the Yamuna and metDheevarraj. With due respect the prince said, “On behalf of my fa-ther, I have come to ask your daughter’s hand.”

“O prince, I have no objection whatsoever. But my conditionstands that my grandson alone must become the king.”

Devavrat replied calmly but firmly, “Rest assured. In the pres-ence of all these Kaurav elders, I promise that I have forsaken myright to the throne of Hastinapur from this very instant. Yourdaughter’s son alone will be the future king.” Everyone was shockedinto silence when they heard Prince Devavrat’s promise.

But Satyavati’s father was not easily convinced. He said, “Oprince, you are truly a great soul to forsake such power without asecond thought. I have no doubt that you shall live up to your prom-ise. But if your sons refuse to respect your promise, this will lead toconflict in the family. What is the guarantee that this shall not hap-pen?”

When Devavrat heard these words, he stood up and ad-dressed Satyavati’s father and everyone else: “Listen Dheevarraj, Ishall set at rest all your doubts and anxieties once and for all. I shallalso fulfil my father’s wishes. Holding my mother the divine Jaahnavi(Ganga) who flows through the three worlds as witness, holding allthe Devas (the gods), goddesses, the five elements, Gandharvas,Apsaras, the Mother Earth, the rivers and the mountains, the sun,moon and the stars, all these venerable elders worthy of worship,as witnesses, I, Devavrat, the son of King Shantanu and Ganga dosolemnly swear that I shall be a celibate as long as I live on thisearth. The mountains may leave their place and the oceans maydry up but I shall never swerve from my oath.”

Terrifying thunder and lightning erupted as soon as PrinceDevavrat uttered these words. The earth shook and the heavensgasped. The gods from the heavens showered flowers on Devavratand spoke in one voice: “Bheeshma! Bheeshma! This one isBheeshma.” (Bheeshma means one who adopts a terrible vow andlives up to it).

Bheeshma turned to Satyavati and said, “Mother, let’s pro-ceed to our home.”

Hastinapur gave Satyavati a grand welcome. Shantanu wasproud when he heard of his son’s great deed and blessed him say-ing, “Son, what you have done for me today has never been doneby any son for his father before. I give you a boon whereby you willdie as per your wish only.”

“Father, I consider it my supreme duty to be the guardian andprotector of our Kuru Dynasty and Hastinapur. I shall leave no stone

Ankit Prajapati, Kurla Gupta Chay Bhandar, Kurla

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unturned to ensure that Hastinapur is not only safe and secure butalso becomes the most powerful empire. Till such time, I shall noteven think of departing from this world.”

Thus, Devavrat came to be known in this world as Bheeshma.Vedic Brahmins and learned persons also referred to him asBheeshmacharya.

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4. Dhritrashtra and PanduShantanu and Satyavati spent their days happily. In due course

of time, they had two children, Chitrangad and Vichitraveerya.Shantanu, returned to heaven as ordained by Brahma. Bheeshmacrowned the young Chitrangad as the king of Hastinapur. Chitrangad,aggressive and violent by nature, was extremely proud of his abilityas a warrior and began challenging anyone and everyone. In onesuch duet he was slain by his namesake Gandharva.

Chitrangad was not married and had died without leaving anyheir to the throne. Bheeshma was forced to make Vichitraveeryathe king after consulting Satyavati and the ministers. Vichitraveeryawas too young so Bheeshma assisted him at every step.

As the new king came of age, the question of his marriagecame to the fore. Word went around that the king of Kashi hadarranged the Swayamvar of his three daughters. There was no con-dition to be fulfilled. The three princesses were free to choose thehusbands of their choice. After consulting Satyavati, Bheeshma pro-ceeded to Kashi with an army.

Bheeshma forced the three princesses of Kashi to board hischariot and then made off, announcing that he was abducting themfor the king of Hastinapur. This enraged the assembled kings, whopursued Bheeshma and fought. But none could withstand the mightyBheeshma’s prowess.

Bheeshma had to send Amba back to Shalva when she toldhim that she had already given her heart to Shalva and was to choose

him as her husband.The two younger princesses, Ambika and Ambalika were

married to Vichitraveerya. Upon obtaining such beautiful wives,Vichitraveerya’s self-control gave away. He indulged in unrestrainedself-gratification, which led to a breakdown of his physical health.Very soon, without leaving behind any progeny, Vichitraveeryapassed away.

The Kuru Dynasty was well and truly in a deep crisis. BothSatyavati’s sons had died without leaving behind any heir to theKuru throne. The queen was sunk in grief. She turned to her eldestfoster son Bheeshma and said, “A throne without a king invites an-archy. Therefore, you must crown yourself the king and marry inorder to beget progeny. The reason for which you gave my father apromise years ago has ceased to exist. I therefore free you fromthat promise.”

Bheeshma was steadfast in his refusal. He said, “Mother, Ihave willingly forsaken my right to the throne and have also vowedto remain unmarried throughout my life. I shall never forsake myvow, truth and dharma. We must therefore try and ascertain anyother means to overcome this crisis.”

Seeing Bheeshma’s resolve Satyavati was quiet for a while.Then she slowly confided, “Son, before my marriage to your father,I happened to be blessed by the great sage Maharshi Parasharwhose grace bestowed upon me a divine son called Vyas. Vyas’spower of tapasya can certainly beget progeny for our daughters-in-law. But do you consent to this?”

“Mother, I can think of no one more suitable throughout thethree worlds for this noble task.”

Bhagwan Ved Vyas appeared before Satyavati as soon asshe remembered him. She told him about the grave crisis confront-ing the royal family. Although not completely willing, Vyas agreed tohelp considering the fact that this was an emergency. Satyavati firstsent her elder daughter-in-law to the sage to obtain his grace. Ambikawas frightened out of her wits when she saw Bhagwan Vyas, whose

Sachin More, LIC Agent, Kurla Chandrakant Belapurkar, Kurla

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physical appearance was indeed terrible to behold. She shut hereyes in sheer fright unable to bear the illustrious form of Vyas. As aresult, the son born to her was blind from birth. Satyavati then forcedAmbalika, the younger one to approach Vyas for his blessings. WhenAmbalika saw the huge rishi, with hair tied in matted locks, a hugeflowing beard and eyes that shone like the sun, she went pale withterror. Thus the son born to Ambalika was also pale and afflicted.

Satyavati was angry and vexed upon learning of this. Sheonce again forced Ambika to approach Vyas. Ambika was too ter-ror-stricken to do so but did not dare disobey her mother-in-law.She however, employed a trick; she sent her maidservant in herplace to Bhagwan Vyas. The maid approached Maharshi Vyas calmlyand without fear and was blessed with a normal, intelligent and pi-ous son.

Ambika’s blind son was named Dhritarashtra. Ambalika gavebirth to a son called Pandu while Ambika’s maidservant begot a soncalled Vidur. Bheeshma personally looked after these kids like afather and arranged for their education in the Vedas, the science ofwarfare and statecraft, befitting Kshatriya princes. Although blind,Dhritarashtra possessed an extremely powerful physique. Panduwas incomparable in statecraft as well as archery. Vidur’s naturelent him to study all the shastras and sacred texts. He became wise,god-fearing and a steady follower of Dharma.

Though he was the eldest of the brothers, Dhritarashtra couldnot be crowned king because of his blindness. Vidur too could notbe made king on account of his being the son of a maidservant.Bheeshma therefore crowned Pandu the king of Hastinapur as soonas he came of age. Pandu was unmatched in valour and also verypopular among the citizens. He conquered kings and territories forHastinapur and his sound and just administration made the peopleof Hastinapur look up to him with respect and affection. Under Pandu’srule Hastinapur became a prosperous and happy empire.

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5. Dhritarashtra, Pandu and Vidur are marriedBhishma was now thinking of getting Dhritarashtra, Pandu and

Vidhur married. The kingdom of Gandhar was ruled by king Subal.His daughter Gandhari worshipped Lord Shiva. Pleased with herdevotion, Shiva granted her the boon of having a hundred sons.

He first proceeded to Gandhar and made a formal demand ofGandhari’s hand for Dhritarashtra. King Subal was reluctant to givehis daughter in marriage to a blind person? But the Gandhar king-dom was too small and weak to stand up to the Kurus. Keeping theinterests and security of his small kingdom in mind, Subal finallysubmitted to Bheeshma’s demand.

When Gandhari learnt that she was to be married toDhritarashtra who was blind from birth, she did not say a word inopposition. In fact, she accepted her father’s decision calmly. Notonly that, Gandhari also blindfolded her eyes with a piece of clothand thereby shut out vision from her own eyes as a mark of solidar-ity with her future husband. King Subal gave her away as brideaccompanied by many gifts. Subal’s son and Gandhari’s brother,Shakuni, loved his sister and doted on her. It was Shakuni who ac-companied her all the way to Hastinapur, staying there for the restof his life. Dhritarashtra was duly married to Gandhari. Pandu at-tended the Swayamvar of Princess Kunti, daughter of King Kuntibhoj.Many kings and princes attended this event to try and win Kunti’shand. But it was Pandu’s personality that drew Kunti like a magnet.Before she realized it, she had placed her garland around Pandu’sneck.

But Bheeshma was not satisfied with Pandu having only onewife. He had decided on yet another alliance for him. Princess Madri,the younger sister of King Shalya of the kingdom of Madra wasfamed for her extraordinary beauty. Bheeshma traveled to Madraand met Shalya to ask Madri’s hand for Pandu. Shalya was pleasedand Madri became Pandu’s second wife. Bheeshma approachedone of the vassal kings of the Kuru Empire for his daughter’s handfor Vidur. This virtuous lady called Paaransawi became Vidur’s wife.

Kumar Atharva Seshnath Prabhu, Kurla Smt. Malan J. Shinde, Navi Mumbai

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6. The birth of KarnaKing Shoorsen of Yadavas was a just and god-fearing ruler.

His first cousin King Kuntibhoj was childless. Shoorsen promised togrant him his first-born child and in keeping with his promise gavehis daughter Pritha, when she was five years of age to Raja Kuntibhoj.The latter showered all his affection on Pritha, bringing her up ashis own daughter. In course of time, her original name was forgottenand she came to be known as Kunti.

Kunti grew up in her foster father’s kingdom in great care andaffection. When she had barely attained adolescence, her fatherentrusted her the responsibility of welcoming royal guests and look-ing after their needs. The soft spoken and kind natured Kunti wasable to win the approval and good will of all those who visited herfather’s kingdom. Once, Maharshi Durvasa happened to visitKuntibhoj’s capital. He wished to stay there for a few days to per-form some esoteric yadnya. The rishi was feared throughout thethree worlds for his fiery temper and awesome power. Raja Kuntibhojtherefore entrusted the difficult and delicate task of keeping Durvasahappy to his daughter. But Kunti was able to win the quick-tem-pered rishi’s approval with ease.

After Durvasa’s yadnya was over, he told Kunti, “Dear child, Iam extremely pleased with you and wish to bless you with a divineboon. I am giving you a secret mantra whereby you can summonany Deva (celestial). This mantra will make them bless you with ason. You may use this when you need it.” So saying, Durvasa left.

Kunti had hardly stepped into adolescence. Naturally she wascurious to ascertain the power of this divine mantra. In her child-likecuriosity one early morning, she stood near the window of her pal-ace, watching the early morning sun rising, invoking the secret mantraDurvasa had given her. Lo and behold! The sun-deity Soorya ap-peared before her in a resplendent form.

Kunti was frightened. She prostrated to Soorya with foldedhands and said, “Lord, forgive me. I remembered you only out of my

child-like curiosity to test the mantra’s power. I am an unmarriedmaiden and cannot accept the progeny you may give me.”

Soorya said, “Kunti, the power of your mantra will force me tobestow a son upon you who will be very valourous, chivalrous andrenowned. He shall have divine earrings and armour. But he shallalso be of a conceited and spiteful nature and shall fall into thecompany of the wicked, doing misdeeds and courting adharma. Thisshall lead to his downfall.

In due time, Kunti gave birth to a boy whose body had armourand sparkling earrings. But Kunti had to conceal this fact out of fearof social disapproval. With her heart heavy with grief, she placedher new born infant in a box and dispatched in the river. The boxflowing through many rivers ultimately reached the Ganga and wasfound by Dhritarashtra’s charioteer Adhirath. Adhirath had no chil-dren of his own and was overjoyed to find this infant. He took thebaby home to his wife Radha and the couple raised this child astheir own, naming him Vasusen. However, he was known more asKarna or Radheya.

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7. The Birth of the Kauravs and PandavsKing Pandu wished to set out to conquer new territories for

the Kuru Empire and thereby establish his valour and prowess. Heexpressed his desire to his uncle Bheeshma who readily agreed.Pandu then set out with Hastinapur’s vast army, complete with in-fantry, cavalry, chariots, elephants and supplies.

In the course of his victorious campaign, Pandu defeated manykings and conquered them. He brought unprecedented wealth toHastinapur. After returning to his capital, he performed a grandAshwamedh yadnya.

A few years passed after the completion of Pandu’s yadnya.He grew bored of his daily administrative routine and decided toescape to the forests along with his two queens and indulge in his

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favourite pastime of hunting. Accordingly, Pandu, Kunti and Madriset out accompanied by a small retinue.

One day, having ventured deep into the forests, Pandu spot-ted a pair of deer indulging in lovemaking. Without a second thought,Pandu dispatched from his bow two arrows that hit both the deerssimultaneously. Alas! They turned out to be rishis, both husbandand wife who had assumed the form of deer for gratifying their de-sire. While the female succumbed instantly, the dying rishi cursedPandu in a human voice. I am Rishi Kindam. You have killed myconsort and me while we were enjoying privacy. You shall suffer forthis act of yours. You shall die the moment you touch your wife.”Cursing Pandu thus, the rishi expired.

The powerful kindam rishi’s curse was bound to take effect.Pandu lost his desire to go back to Hastinapur and donned anascetic’s robe, shedding his royal insignia. Kunti and Madri too werefirm in their resolve to stay back with their husband. Pandu haddecided to do penance in the forest. The kings’ ministers and atten-dants went back to Hastinapur with this sad news. Bheeshma wasthus forced to put Dhritarashra on the throne. Vidur was madeDhritarashtra’s minister to assist him.

In the forest, Pandu, Kunti and Madri started living a life ofpenance. Both the queens were extremely devoted to their hus-band. Pandu too was affectionate towards them but was sad that hehad no progeny. He expressed his grief repeatedly to Kunti.

One day, when Pandu and Kunti were alone, Kunti revealedto her husband about rishi Durvasa’s blessings and the secret man-tra for progeny. Pandu was overjoyed when he heard this. He com-manded Kunti to ascertain the auspicious dates and time and ap-pease the Devas (celestials) for obtaining progeny. Kunti then wor-shipped God Yama, God Yayu and God Indra with the AbhisaarMantra and she was blessed with Yudhisthir, Bheema and Arjunrespectively. All three babies were very handsome, healthy and en-dowed with signs of greatness and virtue. Good omens and heav-enly voices of blessings manifested themselves on their birth.

Upon seeing Kunti’s good fortune, Madri too, wished to be amother. She asked Pandu to convince Kunti to give her also, thesecret mantra to fulfil her desire for children. Kunti agreed on thecondition that Madri should use the mantra only once. Madri wor-shipped the Ashwini Kumars (twin celestials who were the divinephysicians of the Devas) and thus two very handsome children Nakuland Sahadev were born to her.

Meanwhile, Gandhari had not begotten any children for twoyears. News then reached Hastinapur that Kunti had given birth tochildren. Gandhari burned with jealousy and anger.

During this time, Maharshi Vyas happened to visit Hastinapur.Gandhari vented her grief to the sage who said that she would be-get a hundred sons. and what he has said will come true.

Gandhari was pregnant afterwards. But even after nine monthshad passed, she did not conceive. She started experiencing severepains and had great difficulty in breathing. Her condition worsened,causing great tension to the royal family. Luckily, Bhagwan Ved Vyasarrived at Hastinapur in the nick of time. With the sage’s mantrasand Ayurvedic knowledge and assistance Gandhari gave birth to ahundred sons, one after another. The eldest son was Duryodhanfollowed by Dushashan, Dussaha, Vikarna and others. A daughtercalled Dushshala was also born.

Upon Duryodhan’s birth, metors burned and fell from the skiesand many bad omens presented themselves. The newborn babyitself brayed like a donkey and gave out shrill cries. The worriedDhritarashtra consulted astrologers who after studying the time ofDuryodhan’s birth bluntly told the king: “Maharaj, these are evil signs.This boy will one day bring about the destruction of the Kuru Dy-nasty. You must forsake him at once. After all, you still have ninety-nine sons left.”

But Dhritarashtra was blind not only in sight but also in hisattachment to his first-born child. He refused to heed their soundadvice. On the contrary, he began to dote on his first son. Thesewere but the earliest signs of the events to follow.

Mrs. Reshma R. Chemburkar, Chembur Sau. Vaishali Prakash Ketkar, Opera house

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Dhritarashtra had another son from one of his other wives.This boy was named Yuyutsu. Thus the Kuru Dynasty had grown.Dhritarashtra’s sons came to be called the Kauravs while Pandu’ssons as the Pandavs.

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8. The birth of Shree KrishnaKans, the prince of Mathura had imprisoned his father King

Ugrasen and had usurped the throne of Mathura. Kans was an evilman and a tyrant. The people of Mathura suffered under his tyran-nical rule. The god-fearing citizens, rishis and munis lived in fearand prayed to God for a saviour.

The tyrant Kans however dearly loved his sister Devaki. Hearranged her marriage to Vasudev, a wise and virtuous noblemanof the Vrishni community. Following Vasudev’s and Devaki’s mar-riage ceremony, Kans himself took the reins of the chariot to drivethe newly-wed couple to their new home. Barely after the deckedchariot had proceeded a few yards, there was sound of thunder inthe skies. An oracle from the heavens spoke: “O foolish Kans! Theeighth child of this very sister of yours, whose chariot you are driv-ing with such affection, shall slay you.”

Kans was numb with shock on hearing this. Immediately, hejumped out of the driver’s seat and whipped out his sword to slayhis very sister whom he loved so much. But the gentle Vasudevgrabbed his hand firmly and said: “O mighty Kans. It does not befita warrior like you to kill a woman. It’s our eight child from whom youhave danger to your Life not Devaki herself. I promise to hand overour eight child to you as soon as it is born.” He immediately placedhis sister Devaki and brother-in-law Vasudev into prison under heavyguard. Kans’ armed soldiers guarded them day and night.

Kans thought, “Although it is foretold that Devaki’s eighth sonwill be my enemy, it is difficult to ascertain which of Devaki’s sons willbe her first or eighth. I shall spare none of them.”

As soon as Devaki gave birth to her first son, Kans stormedinto the prison when his henchmen brought him this news. Devakiwas busy breast-feeding the newborn infant when Kans rushed intotheir cell and tore the infant from her bosom and dashed it upon thewalls, killing the child instantaneously. Devaki shrieked with painand horror and fell unconscious. Vasudev collapsed on the floorwith shock. But the evil Kans left the cell as if nothing had hap-pened.

Kans thus killed six of Devaki’s children in this cruel manneras soon as they were born. Vasudev’s and Devaki’s grief was be-yond words; they prayed to the Almighty to relieve them from thisgreat sorrow. For the seventh time, Devaki became pregnant. Butthis time a miracle happened. The foetus in her womb was some-how transplanted to the womb of Rohini, Vasudev’s elder wife, whostayed in Gokul and was safe from Kans. Devaki’s seventh childwas thus born outside prison to Rohini. He was the mighty Balaram.

Devaki was about to conceive again. Kans was keeping countand was extra alert this time. As the days neared, Devaki pleadedwith her husband with tears in her eyes, “Lord, please do some-thing to save this eighth child of ours. I do not wish to live childlessafter giving birth to eight children.” Both husband and wife earnestlyprayed to Bhagwan Vishnu to rescue them.

Their prayers were answered. It was Ashtami, the eighth dayof the dark half of the month of Shravan. It was dark and cloudy andthen skies erupted with thunder and lightning. Rain began in a furi-ous downpour, Cold and icy winds swept the city.

Inside the prison cell at midnight, a divine light filled Vasudev’schamber. Devaki gave birth to a very healthy child of bluish com-plexion and a captivating smile that The infant did not cry even a bit.The mother overcome by fatigue, dropped off to sleep.

Vasudev was now desparate. Miracle after miracle now startedtaking place. All of a sudden, Vasudev’s chains dropped off. Thedoor of his cell opened without a sound. The guards were lost in

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deep sleep.Vasudev put his newborn baby in a basket. He tiptoed out of

the cell and was able to leave without anyone noticing him escape.He went in the direction of the river Yamuna. The rain and stormhad turned the Yamuna into a raging torrent. Vasudev stepped intothe river as if in a daze. The waters rushed up to his head andlooked like drowning him. But lo and behold! As soon as the waterstouched the feet of the newborn baby they began subsiding. Mi-raculously, a thin path right in the middle of the river became visibleeven in that dark and stormy night. Vasudev stumbled along thegushing river. Huge walls of water rose on both his sides, roaringand gushing in the rain and wind. But the thin path miraculouslycreated guided him on his onward journey. Vasudev was barely con-scious of anything as he went on. Neither could he see a huge five-headed serpent Shielding the baby from the fierce downpour.

Vasudev managed to reach Gokul, across the banks of theYamuna. He proceeded straight to the house of his friend Nand, thechieftain of the Gop community. Gokul was silent and still. Vasudeventered Nand’s house and very quickly told him everything. Nand’swife Yashoda was asleep, having just given birth to a baby girl. Nandplaced Devaki’s newborn baby in the cradle beside Yashoda andgave him the baby girl. Vasudev placed her in his basket and hur-ried back to Mathura, crossing the flooded Yamuna once again. Hehad to get back before dawn and before Kans would reach the cell.No sooner Vasudev reached his prison chamber than the chainsfastened themselves to his feet. The prison doors closed automati-cally. As soon as the baby girl was placed beside Devaki, she be-gan crying loudly. The guards were awoken; their master had to bealerted at once.

In a short while, Kans stormed into the prison chamber. Ignor-ing Devaki’s cries for mercy, he snatched her baby girl and wasabout to dash it against a wall. But in a flash, the infant slipped outof his hands and assumed her original form of a goddess. Shelaughed in scorn at Kans and said: “Vile rascal! Your sins are now

going to bear fruit. Your destroyer has been born and is alive.” Sosaying the goddess vanished in a flash of blinding light.

The fierce rains and storm came to halt in the morning. Gokulwoke up to the cries of a newly born baby. The entire village cameto Nand’s house to have a look at his just-born child. His radiantform and enchanting smile captivated one and all. Priests namedhim Krishna after consulting the horoscope.

Kans learnt that his enemy was in Gokul after a frantic searchto find out his destroyer. He then sent many demons to kill ShreeKrishna. But Krishna and Balaram slew them all. Kans’ panic andanxiety grew with each passing day. When the boys reached ado-lescence, Kans employed a different strategy. He organized a grandfestival at Mathura. He sent a special emissary to invite Krishna andBalaram to Mathura with the intent of treacherously killing them.Shree Krishna and Balaram reached Mathura for this festival. Kansordered them to wrestle with his giant wrestlers, Chaanoor andMushtik. Balaram killed Mushtik while Shree Krishna took onChaanoor and slew him. After finishing Chaanoor, Krishna leapt uponKans and threw him down. He then sat on the tyrant’s chest andcrushed his chest, thus slaying Kans and fulfilling the divine proph-ecy. Mathura, freed from the tyranny of the evil Kans, resoundedwith praises of Shree Krishna and Balaram.

Shree Krishna then freed his parents Vasudev and Devakifrom prison.

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9. The childhood of the Kauravs and Pandavs

King Pandu of Hastinapur was forced to spend his days in theHimalayan forests doing penance following Rishi Kindam’s curse.But due to Kunti’s mantra obtained from sage Durvasa years ago,he was able to obtain five divine children. His two wives and theirchildren gave Pandu more contentment than he could ever wish for.He now became a full-fledged ascetic. Pandu, Kunti and Madri spent

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their forest life in happiness, content to watch their five childrengrow up. But it was not to last.

One afternoon, Madri was busy drawing water from the riverin the forest. While trying to help her, Pandu accidentally touchedher. The rishi’s curse took immediate effect and Pandu collapsedupon the ground in great agony. Madri cried out in fright. Kunti rushedto the spot on hearing her cries. But it was too late. Pandu hadbreathed his last. Both Kunti and Madri began weeping over thebody of their husband.

The rishis and ascetics of the ashram reached the spot. Theyduly performed the last rites of the departed king of Hastinapur.When the funeral pyre was lit, Madri, resolving to join her husband,jumped into the fire and became a sati. Kunti’s grief was tremen-dous but she had to get a hold on herself for the sake of her veryyoung children.

After three days, the sages of the ashram put the ashes ofPandu and Madri in two earthen pots. An old sage then addressedKunti: “Dear child. You must now look to the future of your five chil-dren. Take them to your home. The wise Bheeshma will see thatthese children inherit their father’s kingdom that is theirs by right.We shall accompany you and the children to Hastinapur and shallexplain the identity of these children to Bheeshma and Dhritrashtra.”

The rishis and munis of the Himalayan forests then set outwith Kunti and her young children, carrying the urns that containedthe ashes of the late Pandu and Madri. They reached Hastinapurand met Dhritarashtra, Gandhari and Vidur along with their minis-ters and attendants. The rishis submitted the ashes of the late kingof Hastinapur to Bheeshma and also briefly narrated to him the storyof the Pandavs’ birth. Thereafter, Kunti stepped forward along withher five sons and touched the feet of the grandsire. Bheeshma tookher and the five kids to Pandu’s palace.

Bheeshma then duly arranged for the Vedic sanskars of thefive Pandavs that included their Upanayan (thread ceremony) and

their education in statecraft and warfare. The Pandavs now beganto grow up in Hastinapur. They soon earned the affection and re-spect of all. Their truthful and sincere speech, humble and courte-ous behaviour towards one and all made them popular. But thesevery qualities of theirs also aroused the anxiety of Dhritarashtraand the envy and hatred of his eldest son, Duryodhan. Dhritarashtrawas worried for good reason. His younger brother Pandu after allhad been the legitimate king of Hastinapur. It was only due to Pandu’suntimely departure that Dhritarashtra was made the interim ruler ofthe Kurus. Pandu as king had been loved and respected by all thepeople and it was natural that people would consider only Pandu’seldest son as their next king. Duryodhan, for his part, never likedthe Pandavs coming to Hastinapur and residing in Pandu’s palaceright from day one. He made no efforts to conceal his jealousy andhatred towards his cousins. His younger brother Dushasan, his fastfriend and the son of the charioteer Adhirath, i.e. Karna only addedfuel to this fire. Duryodhan’s maternal uncle Shakuni not only en-couraged him in his enmity with the Pandavs but was also the mas-termind of many evil plots against them.

The Kauravs and the Pandavs started growing up togetherand undergoing their learning. But the five Pandavs soon excelledthe rest of their hundred cousins in every branch of learning. Theirprogress in the science of warfare only made Duryodhan’s heartburn even more with jealousy and anger. Adding to his envy andhatred was the fact that Bheem, the second among the Pandavswas growing into a superhuman with each passing day. Bheem’sphysical strength was simply incomparable. In his playfulness, Bheemused to wrestle with the Kaurav brothers, drag them by their hair,swim underwater for long holding many of them under his arms,shake trees on whose branches Duryodhan’s brothers sat, causingthem to fall down and indulged in many such other childlike pranks.Although Bheem really meant no harm to anyone, his huge size andamazing strength soon made him a terror for Duryodhan and hisbrothers. Duryodhan clearly saw that the strength and the ability of

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the Pandavs, especially Bheem was going to become a threat to hisplans one day. Arjun was proving superior in archery, while Yudhishtir,Nakul and Sahadev too stood out in all aspects. Duryodhan nowbegan to plot to somehow remove the Pandavs from his path. Hewanted to finish Bheem.

One day Duryodhan approached his father Dhritarashtra andobtained permission to go on a picnic. All princes went to a nearbyresort situated alongside the banks of the Ganga. They indulged ingames and fun throughout the day and were very tired towards thelater part of the afternoon. Bheem in particular was dying of hunger.The princes sat down to eat and after their meals, Duryodhan re-quested everyone to have a swim in the Ganga to get refreshed.

All the princes ate to their stomach’s content. To everyone’ssurprise, Duryodhan had arranged special dishes for Bheem, whowas more than pleased to find his favourite dishes and sweetmeatsready for him. As usual, Bheem was the last to get up after finishinghis food. Strangely, when he got up, he started feeling drowsy.Duryodhan had mixed deadly poison in his food. Yudhishtir and hisbrothers were kept busy in games by the other Kauravs and wereunaware of the evil play that was in progress. Seizing this opportu-nity Duryodhan, Dushasan and their brothers tied the sleepingBheem tightly with ropes and dragged him to the banks of the riverand threw him into the water. They then cited the pretext of ap-proaching darkness and asked everyone to return to the capital.Yudhishtir, Arjun, Nakul and Sahadev, not finding Bheem anywhere,started looking for him. Duryodhan lied to them that Bheem, havingeaten more than others was feeling sleepy and hence returnedbefore others. But when the four Pandavs returned to their dwellingat Hastinapur, they could not find Bheem at home. Kunti, upon see-ing them return without Bheem, was seized with worry and fear. Sheblamed Yudhishtir for having left Bheem alone. The Pandavs andtheir mother called Vidur and narrated the incident to him. It wasbecoming clear that there was some foul play.

Meanwhile, Bheem, who was poisoned through food andbound by ropes to be thrown into the Ganga, landed in the world ofthe Nagas (serpents). On his way down, venomous serpents in thewater attacked and bit him. But this proved to be a blessing in dis-guise for Bheem, because the venom of the snakes was the perfectantidote for the poison that had entered his body. Bheem regainedconsciousness even as he fell deeper and deeper. Using his super-human strength, he easily broke the bonds that Duryodhan and hisevil brothers had tied him with. Vasuki, the king of serpents, accom-panied by a very old Naga named Aryak reached there. Aryak rec-ognized Bheem and told him that he was his great-great maternalgrandfather.” He was overjoyed at seeing his descendant. He thentold Vasuki: “O king of Nagas. Give our divine nectar to Bheem.”

Accordingly, Vasuki ordered for the serpents’ divine nectar,which was brought forth in huge drums. Bheem gulped down eightof these very big drums. He then slept soundly for eight days. Afterhe awoke, Vasuki told him, “Bheem, you are indeed fortunate tohave consumed divine nectar that is not available for the humans.You now possess the strength of ten thousand elephants. No onecan ever equal you in physical might.” Duryodhan’s evil plot againstBheem thus proved a boon for the latter. The serpent poison wipedout the food poison in Bheem’s internal organs and made him stron-ger than before. The divine nectar consumed by him made Bheempowerful beyond imagination.

Vasuki arranged for Bheem to be taken to the very spot fromwhere Bheem was thrown into the Ganga. Bheem then found hisway back to Hastinapur, meeting his mother and brothers, who werefearing the worst. Their joy knew no bounds when they saw Bheemreturn alive. Kunti clasped him tightly to her bosom and shed tearsof relief and joy. Bheem too embraced his brothers and told them allthat had happened. Vidur also had reached the Pandavs’ palace,Yudhshtir said, “This is just the beginning. There will be many moresuch attempts. We must remain ever cautious, alert and united inall circumstances.”

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Thus, the struggle of the Pandavs for survival and honourbegan right from their childhood.

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10. The princes’ student lifeBheeshma, the grandfather wanted to make the Kaurav and

Pandav princes incomparable warriors. He therefore wished thatthey should undergo such education and training that would sharpentheir skills. The guru best suited for this purpose was Dronacharya.Bheeshma went to meet him. The eldest among the Kurus thenformally requested him to take over the education and training ofthe princes of the Kuru Dynasty. Dronacharya accepted this offerwith delight.

The student life of the Kauravs and the Pandavs now beganin earnest under the watchful eye of Guru Dronacharya. They usedto wake two hours before sunrise to begin their daily routine of learn-ing the Vedas, saying their morning prayers, physical exercise, les-sons in the use of various shastras and astras, mounting elephants,horses and chariots. The life was indeed intense, disciplined andstrenuous.

One night at mealtime, a strong gust of wind blew out thelamps. It became pitch dark. Arjun was sitting alone in a corner ofthe ashram, eating in silence. He suddenly realized that the morselin his hands went automatically to his mouth even though it wasdark and he could not see his hands or the food. All of a sudden, anidea flashed in his mind. He left his food, washed his hands andpicked up his bow and arrows to practice even in the dark hour.Arjun made this a part of his daily routine and soon became anarcher who could hit his target accurately by mere sound.

After a period of time had passed, Guru Dronacharya wishedto test all his disciples. He got an image of vulture in wood placedupon the branch of a very tall tree. He then summoned all his stu-dents to that spot and made them stand in a row. The students had

to hit the eye of the bird with their arrow. Dronacharya then orderedall his disciples to be ready with their bow and arrow. Beginning withYudhishtir, each disciple was summoned one by one. Dronacharyaasked each one of them: “Look carefully and tell me what you see.”

“Gurudev, I can see the tree, the attendant standing below,the river flowing behind him, the hills beyond and also the bird in thebranches.” All students answered likewise.

Dronacharya was disappointed and said to each of them. “Donot discharge your arrow. Goback to your place.”

All the princes wereasked the same question andeveryone’s answer disap-pointed the guru. Finally, Arjunstepped ahead. Dronacharyaasked him to be ready with hisbow and arrow and then askedhim, “What do you see?”

“Gurudev, I can see onlythe bird swaying among thebranches.”

“Arjun, look carefully andthen tell me.”

“Gurudev, I can now seeonly the head of that bird.”

“Look carefully, verycarefully.”

“Gurudev, I now see only the eye of the bird.”“Shoot!”In an instant, the arrow flew from Arjun’s bow and pierced the

eye of the wooden vulture. Dronacharya’s joy was boundless. Heembraced Arjun and said, “Arjun, I consider myself fortunate that Ihave a disciple like you. You are my best and most beloved disciple.

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I shall impart you such knowledge that there will be no bowman likeyou throughout the three worlds.”

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11. The arena of competitionThe matchless knowledge and training imparted by Guru

Dronacharya to the Kuru princes turned them into warriors of re-pute. They had grown up into adolscence and their period of edu-cation was now coming to a close. Dronacharya decided to displayto Dhritarashtra how much his and Pandu’s sons had learnt underhis care, supervision and watchful eye. He issued orders for anarena to be constructed which would be well equipped in all re-spects for a display of the martial skills. This huge arena was similarin facilities and equipment even when compared to the mega sportsstadiums of today’s modern age which host world events. The dayand purpose of event was announced throughout Hastinapur.

The much-awaited day arrived. The sporting arena was packedto capacity. The citizens of Hastinapur had begun arriving early tooccupy seats before they were filled up. The royalty, i.e. Bheeshma,Vidur, Dhritrashtra and other members of the royal family arrivedlater in their chariots. Kunti and Gandhari occupied separate boxesfor royal ladies.

The display of the princes’ skills in warfare and the use ofweapons began. In the beginning, there was a general display ofskills. After that, the princes showed their hand in the use of thebow, sword, spear and other weapons. They also displayed theirskills in riding horses elephants, chariots fighting atop an elephant,etc. Some entertained the crowd by engaging in wrestling, whileothers staged mock fights in attacking and warding off attacks. Thecontest was getting more and more interesting. Bheem andDuryodhan engaged each other in a display of the gada (mace).Although this was meant to be only a contest, seeing the mutualhatred these two had for each other, Guru Dronacharya stopped

them before things got out of hand.Arjun was the last to enter the arena. He gave a stunning

display of both weapons and warfare. He rode an elephant, sliddown its trunk onto the back of a horse in motion, jumped from itsback safely to the ground and yet used his weapons flawlessly whilein motion. Arjun’s expertise in hitting moving targets while seated onmoving horses, elephants or a chariot was simply awesome. He couldhit the most difficult of targets at first attempt. His capability to hittargets by mere sound had the crowd roaring in approval. AllHastinapur was lost in admiration upon seeing this heroic display bytheir prince and Kunti’s son. It was becoming clear that Arjun’s ca-pability as a warrior was indeed unmatchable.

However, even before the cheers had died down, a youngman arose and stood before Dhritrashtra, slapping his arms. In aloud voice, he asked for consent to display his skills in the arena.On behalf of Dhritrashtra, Vidur nodded in consent. The young man,whose complexion was very fair, then proceeded to display almostall the feats that Arjun had performed. But his behaviour clearlycarried the stamp of arrogance and disrespect for elders. He barelyglanced at Dronacharya and just gave him a formal salute. He thenannounced in an arrogant tone, “O people of Hastinapur! My nameis Karna. I wish to now challenge Arjun to a duel.”

Guru Kripacharya, explaining the rules said, “Only princes ofroyal lineage can engage in duels. This young man is Arjun, son ofthe Hastinapur’s late King Pandu and Queen Kunti. Now pleasereveal your identity.” When Karna heard these words of Kripacharya,he had to hang his head.

But Duryodhan stepped forward and announced, “Birth aloneis not enough for greatness, Gurudev. A man’s worth is decided byhis capability. I hereby crown Karna the king of Anga, which is partof the Kuru Empire. I am also going to perform his coronation rightnow.” Priests were then summoned to chant mantras to completeKarna’s coronation. Karna was extremely touched by Duryodhan’s

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gesture and became grateful to him. In fact, he became Duryodhan’slifelong friend.

Karna, completely won over Duryodhan’s friendship, prom-ised him, “Dear friend, from this moment, my life is in your hands.Till I live, I shall be loyal to you alone.”

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12. Arjun gives his GurudakshinaThe formal training of the Kuru princes was now over. Guru

Dronacharya was satisfied after seeing their display of martial skills.One morning, after their prayers were over, he summoned theprinces together and announced: “The debt that any student owesto a guru cannot be discharged without the payment of gurudakshinaToday, you all are grown up and quite capable. I can now demandmy fee from you without hesitation.”

Dronacharya then proceeded to narrate his life-story in brief.“I lack nothing today. But in our earlier days, we were very poor.Yagyasen Drupad, the king of the Panchal kingdom was my child-hood friend, we being classmates at my father’s ashram. Once inour childhood days, he had promised me that half of whatever hepossessed would be mine. After becoming a householder, I remindedDrupad of his promise made during childhood. But Drupad was nowa king. Far from honouring his words, he replied arrogantly, ‘O Drona!What one says during childhood does not necessarily become apromise. It is true that we were classmates once upon a time, butlasting friendship can only be between equals. Everyday, I distrib-ute considerable wealth to the needy. You too may state your needand I shall only be too happy to fulfil your wish.’ These words ofDrupad caused me humiliation in public. I then resolved that I wouldprepare such pupils who would demolish Drupad’s pride. You allmust therefore defeat Drupad in battle and produce him before me.This is the gurudakshina I expect from you.”

According to their guru’s wishes, the Kuru princes set out from

Hastinapur towards the kingdom of Panchal. But here, there weretwo distinct groups. Duryodhan, his brothers and Karna formed onegroup. Duryodhan wanted to corner the entire glory of capturingDrupad and fulfilling the gurudakshina all for himself. He was surethat defeating Drupad would be an easy job. For their part, the fivePandav brothers under the leadership of Yudhishtir rode separatelyin their chariots. The Kaurav army marched behind, accompaniedby Drona.

As they neared the borders of the Panchal kingdom, Arjunslowed down and said to Yudhishtir, “It will be impossible for theDuryodhan and his brothers to defeat the mighty Panchal king andhis army. They will certainly fail. Let them march ahead and do whatthey want first. When they get a beating, we shall then enter thefray and take care of Drupad.” This advice appealed to Yudhishtir.He instructed his battalion to stay away form the initial conflict.

Duryodhan’s group rushed at and fell upon the Panchal army.There was little discipline or plan in their attack. The response ofthe Panchals was so severe that the Kaurav army was badly beatenback and began to flee. Then the mighty warrior Drupad himselfentered the fray. The Kaurav princes could only retreat; Duryodhanwas beaten while Karna was badly defeated. Panchal soldiers soonsurrounded both of them. The attack thus ended in a complete di-saster for the Kauravs.

Arjun had clearly anticipated all this. Under his instructions,the five Pandav brothers now moved ahead. They ordered the flee-ing Kaurav soldiers to regroup and come back into the fray. Bheemwith his gada, and Arjun with his mighty bow now proved unstop-pable. Nakul and Sahadev also moved ahead protecting Yudhishtir.Very soon, Arjun demolished Drupad’s bow, shot down his flag, killedhis horses and smashed his chariot. He then leapt forward and tookDrupad captive, bringing him to his Guru Dronacharya.

Drona ordered Drupad’s release and spoke to him: “ Dearfriend Yagyasen, today my disciples have defeated you in battle.

A. S. Prabhu, Vile Parle

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Smt. Suman S. Gulvady, Mahim

not openly voice his intent. Duryodhan took his father’s silence tobe his consent and began implementing his foul plan. He summonedhis trusted minister, Purochan and asked him to construct a grandpalace in a town called Varnavat, which was some distance awayfrom Hastinapur. This palace was to have only one door for entry.Purochan implemented his master’s order to the letter. A grandpalace soon came into being at Varnavat. But it was constructed oflac, wax, wood, oil, ghee, fat and other highly combustible materi-als. Duryodhan then ordered Purochan to proceed to Varnavat andawait the arrival of the Pandavs. He told Purochan, “Win the trust ofthe Pandavs and at the opportune moment set fire to the palacewhile they are asleep in it.”

Meanwhile, Dhritarashtra’s ministers had started praisingVarnavat’s beauty and its festivals in Yudhishtir’s presence.Dhritarashtra too suggested that the Pandavs along with their motherKunti should visit Varnavat for “a change of atmosphere.” Yudhishtirand his brothers immediately understood that the Kauravs wantedthem out of the way. But they decided to go along with the plan touncover the real intentions of the Kauravs. Vidur too, sensed thatanother sinister plot was afoot. When the Pandavs set out fromHastinapur, Vidur warned Yudhishtir in coded language to be care-ful. Vidur also sent his own spies to Varnavat and came to knowwhat was being plotted.

The Pandavs reached Varnavat and met all the citizens ofthat town. They then closely inspected the palace of wax that hadbeen specially built for them. It was apparent to Yudhishtir and hisbrothers that this was Duryodhan’s trap to murder them all. ThePandavs decided to implement their own strategy. Under the pre-text of hunting, they ventured deep inside the forest and secretlymemorized all the paths. Bheem in particular, was extra vigilant.Purochan was pleased that his plan was working.

One evening, Kunti and her sons were engaged in privateconversation when an unknown person approached Yudhishtir andsaid, “Mahatma Vidur has sent me. His suspicions about the plot

Your kingdom, army, wealth and prosperity are all mine now. I hopethat you shall have no objection to having me as your friend sinceaccording to you; only a king can be a friend of another king. How-ever, I shall return half your kingdom to you and keep the other halfwith me. The areas to the north of the Ganga will be mine while youcan rule over the remaining southern part. My foremost pupil Arjunhas today fulfilled his gurudakshina and I now release all my dis-ciples from Guru’s debt.” Drupad hung his head and was forced toaccept this humiliation.

Thus, barely into their adolescence, the Pandavs won a ma-jor military victory against a powerful kingdom like Panchal. Theyalso proved their clear ascendancy over their cousins, i.e. the sonsof Dhritarashtra.

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13. The Varnavat ConspiracyThe power of the Pandavs as well as their popularity among

the people of Hastinapur was increasing with each passing day.Dhritrashtra was forced to make Yudhishtir the crown prince. Afterall, he was the late King Pandu’s eldest son and had the legitimateright to sit on the throne after his father. While this made Duryodhanburn with jealousy and hatred, Dhritarashtra too worried about hissons’ future. Already blind with attachment for his wicked son,Dhritarashtra made no attempt to stop Duryodhan from doing evil.

None of Duryodhan’s plots to get rid of the Pandavs hadworked. Repeated failures only made him more frustrated. The evilfoursome i.e. Duryodhan, Dushasan, Karna and Shakuni now de-cided that the Pandavs had to be finished for good, somehow, any-how. They also wanted to ensure that the Pandavs should be sentaway from the capital so that their uncle Vidur would not be able tocome to their aid.

Duryodhan guardedly revealed his intentions to his father.Dhritarashtra too desired the exit of his late brother’s sons, but dared

Smt. Kanchan Mohan Honawar, Mahim Shri. Satyaprakash Gupta, Dadar

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being hatched by Duryodhan are true. Purochan plans to set fire tothis palace after a grand ceremony on the Trayodashi (thirteenthday) of the dark half of this month. I am an expert in digging tunnels.I shall dig a secret tunnel in the jungle and connect it to one of yourinner rooms in this palace through which you all must make goodyour escape. Mahatma Vidur has asked you all to be very alert andvigilant now as the time approaches. At the appointed hour, youshall also find a boat waiting for you on the banks of the Ganga.”

Vidur’s secret emissary left hurriedly to begin his work. ThePandav brothers immediately decided, “We will set fire to this housea few days before Purochan’s planned day and escape through theunderground tunnel. The problem is to arrange for six burnt humanbodies to convince Duryodhan of our death, but we shall leave thisto fate.”

Vidur’s agent did his job expertly and at a fast pace. Thesecret tunnel opened beneath the floor of one of the inner rooms ofthe palace in such a way that it was not visible. Purochan could notsuspect anything. Bheem was supervising their escape plan andonce again made sure of the paths in the jungle.

The Pandavs organized a feast three days before Trayodashi,the night Purochan intended to carry out his evil plot. All Varnavatwas invited and thousands of citizens arrived at the wax palace topartake in sumptuous food being served by Kunti and her sons. Asluck would have it, a Shabar (a forest tribal community) woman andher five sons also arrived to have a free meal. Not only did they stuffthemselves to their stomach’s content, but they also had broughttheir own wine with them, which they gulped down after the feast.The Shabar woman and her five sons had drunk so much that theycould not get up from their seats. They soon fell unconscious wherethey were seated. Purochan too, was completely drunk and wasfast asleep in another room.

The sun had now set and it was night. The last guests hadleft. There was an eerie silence. Purochan was snoring aloud. ThePandavs and their mother had to move fast. Kunti, followed by

Sahadev, Nakul, Arjun and Yudhishtir opened the door of the secrettunnel and stepped down. Bheem stayed back. As soon as his motherand brothers had reached the other end of the tunnel, he first setfire to the room where Purochan was asleep. Bheem lit the roomfrom all four sides. The mighty son of Vaayu then proceeded to setfire to the entire palace, which burst into flames immediately. Be-cause of the combustible materials. In no time at all, the palacebecame a raging inferno. Then Bheem hurriedly entered the secrettunnel, shut the door firmly and raced away to join his brothers andmother. Above, the palace burnt ferociously. There was no escapefor Purochan. He had planned to kill the Pandavs and make it looklike an accident, but was trapped in his own plot and died a horrify-ing death.

The Pandavs emerged deep inside the forest. All their effortsat familiarizing themselves with the forest and its ways now paid off.Vidur had arranged for another of his agents to ferry them acrossthe Ganga by a powerful boat. This agent took Kunti and her sonsacross the river and returned to Hastinapur secretly. The Pandavsthen went into a much deeper and more dangerous forest. Theywere walking very fast. They wanted to be completely safe fromDuryodhan or his spies.

Meanwhile, all of Varnavat suddenly awoke at midnight to seethe Pandav dwelling on fire. The citizens rushed to spot wailing andscreaming. Many tried to put out the fire by trying to pour water intothe flames, but it was to no avail. The flames were so huge andspread such tremendous heat that no one could even venture near.The fire raged all night and reduced the Lakshagriha (wax palace)to a heap of ashes. It was only at dawn that the last of the flamesslowly died out, leaving behind a mountain of red-hot ashes andcharred remains.

After the fire died out, people started searching for thePandavs. Vidur’s agent, the tunnel digger too joined in the searchand very cleverly, blocked the tunnel entrance with mud and ashesso that no one could even guess what might have taken place. The

Shri. Kolhatkar, Dadar Daksha Narendra Chitroda, VileParle

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people saw that the fire had destroyed everything. All that remainedwere seven burnt bodies. One was Purochan’s and as for the oth-ers, people could only identify them as a lady and five males. Kuntiand her sons were thus assumed to have perished in the fire. Thegrieving citizens openly accused Duryodhan and Dhritrashtra formurdering the Pandavs and their mother.

Hastinapur reacted as if struck by lightning when this griev-ous news reached the capital. Hastinapur loved the Pandavs dearly;people openly accused Duryodhan of conspiring to kill his cousins.The entire kingdom wept for Kunti and her sons. Bheeshma’s griefwas beyond bounds. Dhritrashtra was secretly relieved that the chiefobstacle to his own son’s ambitions had perished. But he made abig drama of being sad at the demise of the Pandavs. Duryodhan,Dushasan, Karna and Shakuni were of course, simply overjoyed.They could not even hide their elation. Dhritrashtra carried out allthe traditional rituals for the Pandavs and gave away alms on thisoccasion. Only Vidur knew the truth. But he too joined in all therituals and show of grief so as not to arouse anyone’s suspicions.

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14. Ghatotkach is bornThe Pandavs meanwhile had penetrated deep into the for-

ests. This was an area where no human being dared venture. Thesejungles were the homes of ferocious beasts and Rakshasas (de-mons). Yet the Pandavs just kept going deeper and deeper into thewoods. They wanted to be as far away as possible from Hastinapur.Yudhishtir said to Bheem, “Bheem, you are the mightiest amongstus. Your speed rivals that of the wind. Do therefore carry us on yourshoulders.”

Bheem placed Kunti on his shoulders and clasped Nakul andSahadev to his sides. Yudhishtir and Arjun firmly clung to his mightythighs. The powerful son of Vayu now stormed ahead into the for-est. His speed was like that of the wind itself. Tree branches and

trunks collapsed at the touch of his body, making way for them.Bheem strode ahead in this manner for two full days. He strengthknew no fatigue, but his mother and brothers were now at the endof their endurance. They had not eaten or even slept for days to-gether now. Finally, they rested under a huge tree deep somewherein the forest. As soon as they set foot upon the ground, they droppedoff to sleep, unable to control their fatigue any longer.

A ferocious man-eating Rakshas called Hidimb ruled this par-ticular part of the forest. His sense of smell detected the arrival ofhumans into his domain. He ordered his sister Hidimbaa to find outwhere these human beings were, kill them and bring their flesh tohim. Hidimbaa was just like her brother and quickly reached thespot where Kunti and her sons were asleep. Bheem stood guardover them. Hidimbaa was smitten by Bheem’s personality. His talland huge frame, broad shoulders and rippling muscular structureand his handsome appearance captured her heart, She wanted tomarry Bheem. So, Hidimbaa assumed the form of a beautiful dam-sel and approached Bheem and pleaded with him in a sweet voice,“O handsome one! My brother Hidimb, who is the master of thisforest wishes to make a meal of you all. But I have surrendered myheart to you after setting eyes on you. My demonic nature has dis-appeared. Marry me and accept me as your wife. I shall guide youand your mother to safety.”

Meanwhile, Hidimb, who wanted to feast on human flesh, wasgetting irritated at his sister’s delay in returning. He decided to goand find out for himself as to what the matter was. When he sawHidimbaa in the guise of a beautiful woman engaged in sweet talkwith Bheem, he understood what the matter was. Roaring loudly, herushed at Bheem, who caught hold of the Rakshas by one handand dragged him to another spot so as not to disturb his brothersand mother as they slept.

Bheem and the Rakshas Hidimb were now locked in a deadlyduel. Their roars shook the forest and also woke up the Pandavs.They were surprised and disturbed at not finding Bheem there, but

Shri. Kamalsibhai Makwana, VileParle Mr. P. Solanki, Dahisar

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a beautiful lady instead. Hidimbaa briefly explained to them whatwas happening, and all of them rushed to the spot where Bheemand Hidimb were locked in combat.

After a while, Bheem easily lifted the huge Rakshas and whirl-ing him above his head, dashed him to the ground with great force.Bheem then twisted Hidimb’s neck. Yelling loudly and vomiting blood,the demon perished.

Seeing Hidimbaa’s affection towards Bheem, Kunti consentedto their marriage. She also imposed a condition that Bheem wouldspend half his time with her, as the Pandavs needed him. In duecourse of time, Hidimbaa and Bheem gave birth to an extremelypowerful son. His head was smooth without a single hair on it. Hewas named Ghatotkach. The Pandavs rejoiced at his birth.

After Ghatotkach’s birth, it was time for the Pandavs to moveahead. Bheem took leave of his beloved Hidimbaa with a very heavyheart, promising to meet her once again. The Pandavs and theirmother proceeded ahead on their journey to safety.

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15. Bheem slays BakasurThe five Pandavs and Mother Kunti entered a village called

Ekchakranagari and took shelter in the house of a Brahmin. ThePandavs too assumed the guise of Brahmins and wandered thevillage, begging for their daily food. While four brothers spent theday out, one bother would remain in the house to safeguard Kunti.The brothers took turns in this routine. One day, while it was Bheem’sturn to stay at home with Kunti, both heard the sound of loud wailingand sobs. It appeared that their hosts were in some deep trouble.

Kunti stood by the adjoining room’s door to try to hear whatwas being spoken. At the opportune moment, she stepped forwardto ask them what the matter was, but the hosts were reluctant toreveal anything. When Kunti persisted, the brahmin replied, sob-bing, “O virtuous lady! Ekchakranagari is a cursed place. A terrible

Rakshas called Bakasur rules this small town. Earlier, he used toenter the village anytime he pleased, raiding and plundering, carry-ing away people to eat them alive. Unable to withstand his atroci-ties, the people of this town made an agreement with this Rakshaswhereby everyday, a buffalo cart full of food driven by one humanbeing would be sent to his cave to be devoured. In return, theRakshas promised not to enter the town and cause wanton destruc-tion. Each family has to send one of its members by turn to theRakshas. According to this agreement, tomorrow is our family’s turn.One of us will have to die at the hands of Bakasur tomorrow.”

When Kunti heard this she said, “Do not worry in the least.Tomorrow, it will be my second son who will take food to the cave ofthis Rakshas. Make arrangements for the buffalo cart and the food.My mighty son is not only an expert in wrestling but has also mas-tered many divine powers. He can easily defeat any demon, howso-ever powerful he may be. He will soon free this town from its peril.”

The next day, late in the afternoon Bheem set out with thebuffalo cart full of foodstuff, with the blessings of his mother and the

Brahmin couple. After reachinga spot outside Bakasur’s hide-out, Bheem began consumingthe food himself. As usual, hisgreat appetite more than did jus-tice to the foodstuff.

Bakasur smelt the arrivalof a human being and under-stood that the day’s quota hadarrived. But when he came outand saw Bheem merrily eatingthe food meant for him, his an-ger, already inflamed because ofhis hunger became uncontrol-lable. He rushed forward and de-livered a mighty kick on Bheem’s

Shri. Anirudha Parmar, Dahisar Mrs. Nikita Parmar, Dahisar

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back. It did not have any effect on Bheem. Bakasur now startedraining blow after blow upon Bheem, who held Bakasur down firmlywith his left hand and continued eating with his right hand. Aftercompletely finishing the food, Bheem finally got up. He had decidedit was time to finish the Rakshas as well.

It was no contest at all. Bakasur, yelling and roaring, was hop-ing for an easy victim but soon found out that this newcomer was fardifferent from the helpless humans he had devoured earlier. Bheemplayed with the Rakshas for a while and finally lifted him above hishead and brought him crashing to the ground. The fight had goneout of the demon. Bheem broke his back and put an end to the lifeof the Rakshas who had terrorized the innocent for long. He thenput his corpse in the cart and reaching the village’s outskirts, placedBakasur’s body at the gates. Bheem quietly entered the house andnarrated everything to his mother and brothers and the worried Brah-min family before going off to sleep.

In the morning, all of Ekchakranagari was simply stunned tosee the dead body of Bakasur, beaten out of shape. People gath-ered in crowds to see this miracle, scarcely believing that their smalltown was at last freed from the Rakshasa’s reign of terror. Theystarted making enquiries as to who was their saviour. In order not tobecome the focus of attraction of people, Kunti and the five Pandavshurriedly quit Ekchakranagari. They could not afford to be recog-nized by anyone.

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16. The Swayamwar of DraupadiAfter leaving Ekchakranagari following the slaying of Bakasur

by Bheemsen, the Pandavs reached Utkochak Teerth, which was amore secluded place. Very few people came there. MaharshiDhaumya, a leading disciple of Bhagwan Vyas met them there andinformed them that according to Ved Vyas’ instructions, he (Dhaumya)was to be their chief priest. Acting according to his advice, the

Pandavs proceeded to the city of Kampilya, which was the capital ofthe kingdom of Panchal, ruled by Drupad. They took shelter in apotter’s house and stayed there in the guise of Brahmins, beggingfor their food.

King Drupad of Panchal had been defeated and humiliatedby Dronacharya and deprived of half his kingdom. In order to takerevenge on Drona, Drupad had performed a powerful yadnya tobeget a mighty son who would be able to slay Drona. Out of Drupad’syadnya were born the valourous Dhrishtadyumna and the beautifulDraupadi. When the Pandavs reached Kampilya, Drupad was busyin preparations for Draupadi’s Swayamwar.

The place where the Swayamwar was to be held was splen-didly decorated. King Drupad sat on a resplendent throne, accom-panied by his ministers, courtiers and army. Separate arrangementswere made for guest kings and princes and for the citizens. ThePandavs, in the guise of Brahmins, arrived and took places wheremost priests and rishis were seated. Kshatriya kings from all overIndia had been invited for the Swayamwar and they too occupiedtheir royal seats. Hastinapur’s prineces, including Duryodhan andhis brothers plus Karna, had also arrived. Among the other guestswere Shree Krishna and his elder brother Balaram, who immedi-ately recognized the Pandavs from afar. Krishna knew that thePandavs had escaped the attempt on their lives at Varnavat andwere safe.

The Swayamwar hall had a pond placed in the middle, with apole erected in its middle. The pole had a rotating wheel on top of itand above the wheel was the image of a fish. The condition of theSwayamwar was that anyone wishing to win Princess Draupadi’shand had to hit the eye of the fish by looking at its reflection in thewater.

Crown prince Dhrishtadyumna led his beloved sister Draupadiby hand to the Swayamwar hall. She was bedecked in bridal fineryand her beauty outshone that of even apsaras (heavenly damsels).She held a fragrant garland in her hands. Dhrishtadyumna welcomed

Mrs. Prabhavati Rathod, Pune Shubhachintak, Dahisar

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the assembly of kings and princes and announced the Swayamwar’scondition.

Many kings and Kshatriya noblemen stepped forward to trytheir fortune but none could fulfil the near-impossible test. Many ofthem could not even lift the heavy bow; the few who could manageto do so could not string it. Drupad’s brow grew dark with worry;Draupadi’s brothers Shikhandi and Dhrishtadyumna grew anxiousby the hour.

Duryodhan too was among the grand failures. After his hu-miliating exit, Karna got up and went near the bow. He picked up thebow, strung it and was about to step forward to aim at his target,when Draupadi’s razor-sharp voice rang out in the hall: “I shall notmarry a sootputra (son of a charioteer).”

Draupadi’s declaration stopped Karna in his tracks. He lookedup at the sky and then with an angry stare, threw down the bow andwent back to his place.

A hushed silence descended on the hall. No Kshatriya king orprince was able to fulfil the Swayamwar’s condition. Finally, a youthfrom the ranks of the Brahmins stepped forward. It was none otherthan Arjun in Brahmin guise. He politely asked for permission to tryhis hand with the bow, which was granted by Dhrishtadyumna. Hethen picked up the mighty bow with ease and strung it without mucheffort. Arjun then concentrated all his physical and mental energieson the target looking at its reflection in the water. The next instant,the arrow flew upwards from his bow and lo and behold! It was aperfect hit! The eye of the fish above the rotating wheel was pierced.The hall resounded to deafening cheers from Kampilya’s citizens.Draupadi, blushing repeatedly, garlanded him.

The assembled Kshatriyas could not tolerate an unknown Brah-min winning a Kshatriya princess, especially when all of them hadproven miserable failures. They rushed forward with their weaponsto fight Arjun. But Arjun was more than a match for all of them. Usingthe same bow, he dispatched showers of arrows on them, forcing

them to beat a hasty retreat. The mighty Bheem also played hispart, uprooting a huge pole and scattering the attacking kings andtheir guards like flies. Nakul, Sahadev and Yudhishtir safely escortedDraupadi home. Karna, who had been rejected by Draupadi, foughtArjun most bitterly, but he too had to retire, having failed to subdueArjun. Finally, Shree Krishna’s intervention brought this encounterto an end.

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17. The Pandavs are marriedThe five Pandavs along with Draupadi reached home. Kunti

was inside. Yudhishtir called out to her, “Mother, see what we havebrought.”

“Share it equally amongst yourselves” replied Kunti still in-side.

But when Kunti stepped out, she saw Draupadi dressed inbridal attire standing beside Arjun. Kunti immediately realized themistake she had committed in uttering those words. She spoke toYudhishtir, who was the embodiment of Dharma. “Son, I have spo-ken without realising the situation. But you know the shastras aswell Dharma. Find a way out whereby my words shall not be ren-dered false, at the same time ensuring that injustice does not takeplace.”

After a lot of deliberation, debate and arguments, it was fi-nally resolved that all five brothers would marry Draupadi. Draupaditoo, agreed to this. Drupad sent a well-decorated chariot to thepotter’s dwelling where the Pandavs were residing, and summonedthem to the palace with due respect and ceremony. Dhrishtadyumnagave them a grand welcome and took them to Drupad. Shree Krishnaand Balaram too were seated beside the king.

Yudhishtir addressed the king, saying, “Maharaj! I amYudhishtir, the eldest son of the late king of Hastinapur, MaharajPandu. These are my four brothers. The one who won your daugh-

Late Karuna Luxman Vispute, Dahisar Arvinda Vinayak Belsare, Mira Road

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ter Draupadi’s hand yesterday is Arjun.” Following that, Yudhishtirbriefly narrated the events from their journey to Varnavat and theirescape, to their arrival at the Swayamvar. When the Panchal kingand his sons learnt that their beloved Draupadi was to become theempress of Hastinapur, their joy was unbounded. They expressedtheir desire to solemnize Draupadi’s marriage with Arjun that veryday. Upon this, Yudhishtir replied, “O king! We have decided that allfive of us must marry Draupadi. My mother has commanded us todo so and Draupadi too has willingly consented to this.”

When Drupad and his sons heard this, they were shocked.They objected to this condition in the strongest of terms. At thatvery moment, Maharshi Ved Vyas appeared there. He convincedKing Drupad that his daughter’s marriage with all five Pandavs wasordained by destiny. Shree Krishna too, persuaded Drupad and hissons that Draupadi’s marriage to all the Pandav brothers was in thebest interests of everybody concerned. After much argument andconvincing, Drupad agreed.

At an auspicious moment, the marriage of Yudhishtir andDraupadi was solemnized. Bheem, Arjun, Nakul and Sahadev toowere married to Draupadi in the following four days.

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18. The division of the Kuru EmpireThe evil foursome of Duryodhan, Dushasan, Karna and

Shakuni were gathered in Duryodhan’s palace chamber.Duryodhan’s carefully laid plans had gone up in smoke. The Pandvashad escaped unhurt. By winning the goddess-like Draupadi as theirwife the very powerful Panchal king Drupad had become their fa-ther-in-law and warriors like Dhrishtadyumna and Shikhandi weretheir brothers-in-laws. The Pandavs were now supported strong byrelatives and allies. Very soon they would return to Hastinapur andexpose Duryodhan’s plots and conspiracies. What could be doneabout the Pandavs? The four were discussing exactly that.

Karna was of the opinion that the Kauravs should make asurprise attack on the Pandavs and finish them while they would bebusy in their marriage ceremony. Duryodhan was angry and con-fused. He desired the end of the Pandavs anyhow, but confrontingthem now in open war was not possible. This discussion soon reachedthe royal assembly, where Bheeshma and Vidur cautionedDhritarashtra against heeding the evil advice of people like Karnaand Shakuni. Bheeshma, in fact, condemned Dhritarashtra in an-gry terms: “The Pandavs have been ill-treated by us till today. Letus now take them back with honour and dignity. The kingdom mustbe divided and the Pandavs must receive their rightful share. In thisalone lies justice.”

Acharya Drona too supported Bheeshma’s counsel and saidto Dhritarashtra, “O king! Bheeshma’s counsel is wise and just. Dotherefore dispatch a responsible emissary who is well versed inspeech and diplomacy to Kunti, her sons and Drupad with gifts andcourtesy. Send precious gifts to Draupadi, your daughter-in-law aswell.”

The wise and virtuous Vidur too intervened and convincedDhritarashtra that the grandsire’s and the guru’s advice was mostsuitable and must be respected. Dhritarashtra was forced to re-spect Bheeshma’s advice, much against his own wishes.

Accordingly, Vidur was sent as an emissary of Hastinapur. Hearrived in Kampilya with many precious gifts for the Pandavs andthe royal family of Panchal. Drupad gave Vidur a grand and befit-ting welcome. Dhritarashtra’s minister then requested the Pandavsto return to Hastinapur. After consultation with Shree Krishna andconsent from their father-in-law Drupad, the Pandavs returned toHastinapur. Drupad sent them with royal honour. Hastinapur wel-comed its beloved princes with great joy. People were relieved thatthe Pandavs and their mother had escaped alive.

After a few days, Dhritarashtra called the Pandav brothersand said, “I love my younger brothers’ sons as much as I do

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Duryodhan and my other sons. Let us forget the bitter events of thedays gone by and find a solution to this problem. I have decided todivide the kingdom in two. You may take the territory ofKhandavprasth. Settle there and build a new kingdom and rule wiselyand well.”

Yudhishtir agreed to this request of Dhritarashtra. On an aus-picious date, the Pandavs, their mother and Draupadi left for theirnew abode. Khandavprasth was the ancient territory of the forefa-thers of the Kuru Dynasty but lay abandoned for centuries now. Itwas a dense forest area on the banks of the Yamuna, with no culti-vation, infested with ferocious animals and robbers. Many noblecitizens, artisans, priests, learned scholars, and people from all walksof life accompanied the Pandavs. Within a short time, the Pandavsworked tirelessly to build a new and prosperous kingdom on thedesolate wasteland of Khandavprasth. They built a new capital andrenamed it Indraprasth ( Today’s Delhi. The Pandav brothers arethe real founders of modern Delhi).

Indraprasth had huge impenetrable fortresses surrounded bydeep and wide moats with elaborate arrangements for its security. Ithad wide and well-connected roads, well-developed markets, pal-aces with towering heights, beautiful gardens, natural places of sce-nic beauty in the vicinity of the kingdoms outskirts and was sur-rounded by dense forests. This new city and kingdom founded bythe Pandavs on the banks of the Yamuna was a heavenly sight tobehold. Their sheer enterprise created a heaven out of a densejungle. The arts and sciences, industry, trade and commerce andabove all, Dharma and spirituality flourished in Indraprasth. Artistsand scholars flocked to Indraprasth to prosper under the benignrule of Yudhishtir. Learned scholars of the Vedas, rishis and muniswere pleased to live in this new kingdom. Indraprasth under Yudhishtirsoon became renowned for its prosperity, security and peace.

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19. Arjun acquires SubhadraOne fine day, Devarshi Narad arrived on a visit to and had

wide-ranging discussions with the Pandavs of the most Laying downcertain rules as to their mutual relations with their wife. According tothis, when one brother would be with Draupadi, none of the otherfour brothers would enter that room. The one who breached thiscondition would have to go on a pilgrimage for twelve years.

Once, Arjun had to break the rule set by the five brothers. Hetherefore resolved to go on a pilgrimage for twelve years as atone-ment. Yudhishtir had to agree to it, unwillingly.

Arjun set out on his pilgrimage, going to Haridwar, Kalingaand Vang. He then went and spent a couple of years at BhagwanParashuram’s ashram, Arjun completed his pilgrimage when ShreeKrishna took him to Dwarka. One day, Arjun happened to seeKrishna’s younger sister Subhadra and was smitten by her. He askedShree Krishna for Subhadra’s hand. Sensing Arjun’s steadfast feel-ings for Subhadra, Krishna replied, “The practice of a Swayamwaris risky, I feel. One cannot be sure whom the girl will choose. Ab-ducting the girl and marrying her is the best course for Kshatriya.”

Arjun grasped the hidden message in Krishna’s words. Aftera few days, there was a grand festival at the Raivatak Mountains inDwaraka. Subhadra, along with her female attendants arrived forworship of the family deity.

Shree Krishna secretly gave Arjun his divine chariot completewith sophisticated weaponry for use. Arjun too arrived at the templeat Raivatak Mountains in full battle gear. Before anyone could evenunderstand what was happening, he grabbed Subhadra, placed herin his chariot and sped off.

News of Subhadra’s forcible abduction caused a great up-roar in the Yadav assembly. While Balaram was highly enragedShree Krishna was quiet. Balaram condemned Krishna but Krishnasmilingly replied, “Arjun has not only abducted our dear sister, butalso my very special chariot with its mighty bows and advanced weap-

The Memory Of Late Kamlabai Joshi, Sangamner Anand Tiwari, Santacruz

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ons. He is great warrior and also the son of our own Aunt Kunti andis entirely worthy of Subhadra. It is better that we bring both Arjunand Subhadra back with dignity and honour and conduct their mar-riage with proper rites.”

All agreed with Shree Krishna’s advice. Yadav elders broughtArjun back to Dwaraka with great honour and his wedding toSubhadra took place in a grand manner. Arjun stayed for a year inDwaraka and then returned to Indraprasth after having completedhis twelve-year pilgrimage.

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20. The slaying of JarasandhYudhishtir learnt of the Ashwamedh and Rajasooya yadnyas

conducted by great victorious emperors of yore and decided that inorder to formalize his status as an Emperor, a Rajasooya yadnyamust be performed. He put forth this proposal before the assembly.His priests and advisors declared, “Maharaj! No other ruler apartfrom yourself is more qualified to perform the Rajasooya yadnya ason today. Therefore, you may go ahead and perform this yadnyawithout hesitation. But it would also be best to consult Shree Krishnaand obtain his advice and guidance before undertaking this yadnya.”

Upon receiving Yudhishtir’s message, Shree Krishna arrivedat Indraprasth. He wholeheartedly agreed with this idea but alsocautioned Yudhishtir saying: “Although I don’t foresee any opposi-tion from the Kauravs or their allies, Jarasandh, the mighty emperorof Magadh will certainly oppose our Rajasooya fiercely. Magadh’sstrong and capable king, Brihadrath had no son. Once, a great rishiChandakaushik visited Magadh and blessed him by giving him amango that would yield an extremely powerful and valourous sonBrihadrath gave the mango to his two queens who shared one halfof the fruit each and later became pregnant. But alas! Each gavebirth to only half a male infant with one eye, one hand, half a trunkand half a head, with both halves being born lifeless. Terrified, KingBrihadrath asked their attendants to throw the two human halves

outside the palace A Rakshasi called Jara smelt human flesh andchanced upon the two halves of the infant. Curious, she joined bothhalves and the infant boy came to life and started crying. TheRakshasi took the baby boy and presented it to Maharaj Brihadrathwarded. Because Jara put him together, Brihadrath’s son came tobe named Jarasandh. He grew up to become a very huge, powerfulman. with awesome. Strenghth he is unconquerable by any weapon.”

“Jarasandh became the emperor of Magadh. To become im-mortal he is going to sacrifice a hundred kings. He has imprisonedeighty-six kings till now. We have to defeat and slay Jarasandh. Theeighty-six kings imprisoned by him will be our permanent allies.Jarasandh can be slain only in physical combat and only Bheemhas the strength to accomplish this. Therefore, myself, Bheem andArjun shall go and put and end to the evil Jarasandh.”

Accordingly, Shree Krishna, Arjun and Bheem reachedMagadh in disguise and sought an audience with Emperor Jarasandhand then revealed themselves to him. Shree Krishna spoke, “O rulerof Magadh! I am Krishna, son of Vasudev. These are Bheem andArjun, the sons of Pandu. We challenge you to a duel. Choose anyone of us. But it shall be aphysical combat of wrestlingand will end only with thedeath of one of the contes-tants.”

Jarasandh Said,“Krishna, you are not fit tofight me. Neither Arjun is.” Hechose Bheem. Jarasandhthen crowned his sonSahadev as Magadh’s kingand entered the arena. Bothwere supreme experts in thescience of wrestling andtested their superhuman

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strength against each other. Their combat went on for thirteen days.On the fourteenth day, Jarasandh showed signs of tiring. Sensingthat his end was near, Krishna picked up a blade of grass and splitit into two and threw them in the oposite directions. Bheem under-stood the signal, and picked up the tiring Jarsandh, whirled himover his head many times and then dashed him to the ground. Theson of Vaayu then broke Jarasandh’s back placed his foot on hisadversary’s left foot and catching hold of his right foot, tore his bodyin half and flung both pieces far apart in opposite directions. Thesaga of the evil Jarsandh was over. Bheem emerged victorious.

Krishna immediately ordered the release of the eighty-sixkings imprisoned in Jarasandh’s dungeon. They promised to ren-der all assistance to make Yudhishtir’s Rajasooya yadnya a suc-cess. Jarasandh’s son Sahadev, formally coronated as Magadh’snext ruler.

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21. The Rajasooya YadnyaPreparations were complete for Yudhishtir’s Rajasooya

yadnya. Yudhishtir undertook the vow of the yadnya. Each Pandavbrother chose one direction to carry out a victorious campaign tocompel other kings to accept the suzerainty of Yudhsihtir. Arjun wentnorthwards, Bheem eastwards, Sahadev set out in the southerndirection, while Nakul took care of the western direction. The fourPandav brothers were victorious in their campaigns and subduedkings and rulers who did not accept Yudhishtir as their emperor.They also won great wealth for Indraprasth. The victory of thePandavs made them rulers of practically the entire world. Yudhishtir’sRajasooya yadnya was now ready to be performed. Shree Krishnacame to Indraprasth for this yadnya. Kings and rulers who wereinvited to this Rajasooya yadnya brought innumerable precious giftsand limitless wealth with them as their mark of respect for Yudhishtir.Bheeshma, Drona, Kripacharya, Vidur, Ashwatthama (Dronacharya’sson), Dhritarashtra, Gandhari, Duryodhan and his brothers, etc.

were also invited and all were respectfully welcomed and taken careof by Nakul. Yudhishtir welcomed each of them. Bheeshma and theelders blessed him and wished his yadnya a grand success.

The Rajasooya yadnya now commenced in a serene atmo-sphere at the appointed hour.

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22. Shishupal meets his endWith great enthusiasm and jot, the citizens of Indraprasth,

sages and holy men, and the royal family members were engagedin their respective tasks. The appointed hour for the Somyaag, animportant part of the yadnya, soon arrived. In this, Yudhishtir as thehost and the performer of the Rajasooya yadnya was required tohonour the invited kings. He had to choose the person to whom theforemost worship was to be accorded. Yudhishtir turned to thegrandsire Bheeshma and asked, “Grandfather, out of all these as-sembled kings, renowned for their greatness, intelligence and valour,who is worthy of being worshipped first?”

Bheeshma replied: “Yudhishtir, I can think of none other thanShree Krishna who is more worthy to be worshipped first. His pres-ence brings divinity to this august assembly. He is your friend, phi-losopher and guide and is also the protector of this yadnya. Dotherefore accord the honour of first worship to Shree Krishna.”

Yudhishtir was filled with joy and reverence when he heardthese words of his grandfather. He then proceeded to wash ShreeKrishna’s feet with holy water and to the accompaniment of man-tras, duly performed the worship of Krishna. Yudhishtir then pre-sented Vaasudev with precious gifts as a mark of respect. ShreeKrishna accepted Yudhishtir’s worship respectfully. The yadnya ritu-als were in progress when everyone’s attention was rudely diverted.Shishupal, the king of Chedi, had risen from his seat and was in arage. The first worship of Krishna angered him beyond control.Shishupal, a cousin of Krishna was also his sworn enemy and couldnot bear to see him honoured thus. The king of Chedi in a loud and

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a raucous voice, completely forgetting the dignity of the occasionstarted hurling abuse after abuse at Shree Krishna and the Pandavs.

“Yudhishtir, you have deliberately insulted all the kings andrulers present here. This coward Krishna is not worthy of anyhonour.”

Shishupal, burning with jealousy and anger, used extremelyuncivilized and foul language while abusing Krishna. Yudhishtir,greatly disturbed at this, tried to pacify him with soft words at whichBheeshma announced: Shishupal is a cousin of both Shree Krishnaand the Pandavs as their mothers are vasudev’s sisters. But he hasalways hated the Yadu clan. He was born with four arms and threeeyes, seeing which his father was about to throw him away. But avoice from the heavens foretold that this boy would grow up to bestrong and powerful, he would be wicked. and that he in whose lapShishupal’s extra limbs and eye would fall away would also becomehis slayer. The king therefore safeguarded his deformed son, ask-ing every visitor to hold the child in his lap. When Balaram andShree Krishna went to Chedi to visit their aunt, Krishna took Shishupalin his lap affectionately. The next instant the baby’s extra limbs andeye disappeared. Shishupal’s mother knowing that Krishna wouldbe her son’s slayer prayed for a boon that krishna would not killhim. Shree Krishna promised his aunt that he would forgive onehundred crimes of Shishupal. He has crossed his limit long back.

Hearing this Shishupal turned his vile tongue againstBheeshma as well. But while all this was happening Shree Krishnahimself sat calmly in his seat. He narrated Shishupal’s wrong doingsand asked him to repent and cool down. But Shishupal, workinghimself into frenzy now began to hurl the vilest of abuses againstKrishna.

Finally, Shree Krishna stood up and announced in his deepand resonant voice: “I have pardoned Shishupal on more than ahundred occasions but he has crossed all limits of tolerance.” Im-mediately there was a flash and Shree Krishna’s forefinger shonewith the blazing light of his Sudarshan Chakra, which sped like light-

ening. Before anyone could realize what was happening, Shishupal’shead had rolled off his shoulders. His lifeless body fell to the groundwith a thud.

After Shishupal was slain by Shree Krishna, there was no fur-ther obstacle to the completion of the Rajasooya yadnya. To theaccompaniment of Vedic mantras, Yudhishtir’s coronation as theEmperor of Bharat was formalized. The yadnya was successfullycompleted. All assembled kings congratulated Emperor Yudhishtirand Empress Draupadi.

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23. Duryodhan’s EnvyBheeshma, Drona, Kripa, Dhritarashtra and Vidur blessed

Yudhishtir and wished him well while leaving for Hastinapur.Duryodhan, however, stayed back for an extra day, but was over-come by jealousy upon seeing the grandeur and prosperity ofIndraprasth. In order to forget his troubling thoughts, Duryodhanroamed the central hall of the palace, the Maya Sabha. This was abreathtaking piece of architecture. The pillars of the halls were stud-ded with precious gems and stones, the walls were set in pure gold,doors out of rare crystal. There was an artificial pond with fishesand lotuses in it. Then he across what looked like a beautiful floorwith an exquisite carpet. Duryodhan strode upon it, but the verynext moment, there was a big splash. He had fallen into a pond. Theflooring was actually a concealed pond designed to look like a floor.His clothes became wet. Duryodhan hurriedly scrambled out andtried to exit through a door in front of him, but bang! It was not adoor, but only an illusion of a door carved in wall. At this moment,Duryodhan heard the laughter of Draupadi’s maids. as also a com-ment “Sons of the blind are blind too” from Draupadi fun of him.Duryodhan’s anger was now at its peak. He left the same day forHastinapur.

Duryodhan now knew no peace of mind even in Hastinapur.The prosperity of the Pandavs, their triumphant achievements, and

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the respect that all kings and princes accorded Yudhishtir increasedhis hatred for them. He had never liked them since childhood andtoday they had become the rulers of the whole of Bharat. Hio ownfuture looked doomed. This was Duryodhan’s twisted way of think-ing. He could not tolerate his virtuous and kind cousins who meanthim no harm.

Duryodhan vented his innermost thought before the schem-ing and evil Shakuni, “Uncle, I cannot tolerate the rise of the Pandavsanymore. Let us attack and kill them and snatch their prosperity.”

“Don’t be absurd, Duryodhan. The Pandavs are invincible inwar. But I have another strategy. Let us invite Yudhishtir to a gameof dice. No one can conquer me in this art. Dharmaraj Yudhishtircannot refuse this challenge. His kingdom will soon be yours. Youonly have to arrange for permission from our king,” said Shakuni,with a vicious smile.

Duryodhan then pestered his father Dhritarashtra to invitethe Pandavs to Hastinapur. Dhritarashtra was well aware of his son’sevil intentions, but was helpless in his blind love for him and agreedto invite the Pandavs.

Vidur, the embodiment of Dharma and fair play, tried to dis-suade Dhritarashtra from going ahead with this dangerous plan,but his Vidur’s repeated pleas were in vain. Fate had somethingelse in store. Dhritarshtra yielded to his son’s evil insistence. Healso ordered Vidur to go to Indraprasth to personally invite Yudhishtirfor the game of dice. Vidur reached Indraprasth with a heavy heartand frankly told Yudhishtir what had been planned. The Pandavswere both worried and angry. Everyone knew Shakuni’s renownedcheating skills in dice as well as his capacity for foul play.

But despite the fierce opposition of his brothers and Draupadi,Yudhishtir accepted Dhritarashtra’s invitation. He said, “It is improperfor a kshatriya ruler to refuse an invitation for a game of dice. Icannot refuse to obey Dhritarashtra’s command who is in the posi-tion of a father to us. I shall do as he says. Shakuni cannot dare tocommit foul in the presence of grandfather Bheeshma, Guru Drona

and uncle Vidur.”Yudhishtir accepted the invitation. He left along with Vidur, his

brothers and Draupadi for Hastinapur.

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24. The fateful game of diceOne day after their arrival at Hastinapur, Yudhishtir, along with

his brothers, came to the hall where the game of dice was to beheld. Kings friendly to Duryodhan, his hangers-on, Shakuni andDuryodhan’s brothers too were present.

King Dhritarashtra, Bheeshma, Drona, Kripa and Vidur alongwith other Kaurav elders also arrived. Yudhishtir announced, “ I haveimmense wealth at stake and shall consent to play only against onewho also agrees to stake similar amount of wealth.”

To this Duryodhan replied, “I too am not lacking in wealth butmy uncle Shakuni shall cast the dice on my behalf.”

Yudhishtir objected to this. But Shakuni taunted him saying,“Are you afraid to play?”

Yudhishtir could not bear to back out of a challenge and thegame of dice now began. The atmosphere was heavy with tension.The first stake was Yudhishtir’s. He said, “I offer my priceless-neck-lace as stake.”

Keeping an eye on Yudhishtir and twirling the pair of dice inhis palms, the venomous Shakuni cast them on the board. He thenlaughed aloud and shouted, “I have won, I have won.”

Taken aback, Yudhishtir offered trunks filled with gold coinsas stake. The throw of dice again favoured Shakuni who shouted, “I have won again.”

Shakuni, an expert in cheating and foul play, could make thedice obey his commands. Yudhishtir went on offering all his wealth,chariots, elephants, as stake. Shakuni easily won all of them. Itseemed as if Yudhishtir’s self-restraint had deserted him. Like aman possessed by evil spirits, he went on playing and losing in this

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desperate gamble.The Kauravs were thoroughly overjoyed. The Pandavs sat

with their heads hung. The Kaurav elders like Bheeshma, Drona,and Kripa sat helpless, not knowing what to say. Dhritarashtra wassecretly very happy at his son’s success, but tried hard not to dis-play it. The wise Vidur got up and pleaded with Dhritarashtra to stopthis gambling contest from continuing further, but Dhritarashtra paidno attention to him.

Yudhishtir, meanwhile, had lost all sense of reason. He nowsaid, “I now offer my entire kingdom of Indraprasth, excepting theBrahmins living it.”

“Your kingdom is ours, Yudhishtir,” roared Shakuni. The dicehad done its trick again. Yudhishtir and his brothers were shocked.The hall was stunned.

Yudhishtir then offered his ornaments and robes and also hisbrothers one by one and lost each one of them. Finally, he offeredhimself and lost yet again.

The entire hall sat speechless. Shakuni taunted Yudhishtirand said, “O son of Kunti, although you have lost even yourself,you still possess something which you have not lost, your damsellike wife Draupadi. But Yudhishtir seemed as if he was in a trance.He wagered Draupadi too.

Shakuni’s dice obeyed him again. “I have won Draupadi too,”he shouted aloud.

The Kaurav royal assembly was shocked beyond belief. Theelders sat with their heads hung in shame. The silence was suchthat one could even hear an ant move. Fear and tension grippedthe air.

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25. Shree Krishna rescues DraupadiWhen Shakuni’s dice captured Draupadi too as the gambling

match’s prize, Duryodhan shouted to his charioteer in his loud voice,

“Pratikami, go an fetch that slave woman of ours.”Pratikami, Duryodhan’s charioteer went quietly with bowed

head and stood silently before Draupadi’s room. He could not lift hiseyes towards the queen of the Pandavs. He then narrated what-ever had happened in the hall of dice and requested Draupadi toproceed to the hall. At first, Draupadi could not follow what Pratikamiwas saying. When things came clear to her, the proud Panchaliretorted, “I shall not set foot in the hall of dice.”

Pratikami was sent again but Draupadi was firm in her refusalto obey the Kauravs. Duryodhan then commanded his villanousbrother Dushasan saying, “this weakling Pratikami seems afraid ofBheem. Go now and drag Draupadi here in whatever condition sheis.”

Dushasan was only too glad to obey this command of his el-der brother. He stormed into Draupadi’s room and addressing thePandav empress in uncivilised language, said, “Come with me,Panchali. Your husbands have become our slaves. We have wonyou too. Your master Duryodhan has summoned you to the hall. Socome with me right now,”

Draupadi retorted sharply, “stay away Dushasan and desistfrom this evil. I cannot appear before men folk like this. I have justhad my bath and will not step out of my room like this.”

Dushasan smiled in an evil manner and said, “Maids do nothave any shame or dignity. Don’t waste time and come with me,now.” Dushasan grabbed the helpless Draupadi by hair and draggedher to the hall.

Draupadi cried out for help loudly as soon as she reachedthe hall. She saw her five husbands, who were unconquerable inbattle sitting helplessly. She cried out loudly: “I see elders and gu-rus of the dynasty present in this assembly. Do they feel nothingseeing such atrocity committed upon a lone and helpless woman?Has the valour of true kshatriyas turned to dust? Have you all, de-scendants of the Bharat race, forgotten your duty of protecting wom-

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anhood? I ask all of you present in this sabha, if Yudhishtir hadwagered himself and lost, how could he possibly wage me. How cananyone therefore claim to have won me?”

Draupadi’s cries fell on deaf ears. The elders sat silent andhelpless. But Duryodhan, Dushasan and Karna and their friendswere enjoying her plight and congratulating each other.Dhritarashtra’s sons were repeatedly calling her ‘dasi, dasi’ (slave-woman). The learned and venerable elders like Bheeshma, Drona,Kripa had no answer to Draupadi’s question: “How can I be won bythe Kauravs when Yudhishtir having lost himself, head no right towage me?”

Karna, who nursed hatred against Draupadi for being rejectedby her years ago, showed his lowly nature by instigating Dushasan.“A woman who has five husbands is not worthy of any respect. Whatdoes it matter if she is clad or unclad? It’s all the same. Dushasan,remove this slave’s clothes at once.”

Dushasan, caught hold of Draupadi’s saree. Draupadi’s crieswould have shaken even a stone but not the hearts of the Kauravs.Finding no hope of any human assistance, Panchali now fixed hermind on the Supreme Almighty. She called out aloud: “Lord of thethree worlds! O refuge of the weak! O saviour of the helpless! ShreeKrishna! I pray to you in this hour of distress. Save me from dishonourand disgrace. O Lord of the entire universe! O Almighty God Him-self! I surrender myself to Thee! Protect me, O Keshav, Madhav,Govind, Gopal, Mukund, Muraarey!” Shree Krishna, hundreds ofmiles away in Dwaraka, heard Draupadi’s prayers in an instant. TheLord of all Creation, ever present by the side of his devotees andespecially so in their hour of distress, rushed to Draupadi’s rescueusing his divine power of yogamaya.

Dushasan was pulling away at Draupadi’s saree even as thepeople assembled there watched with horror. Draupadi stood in atrance, her mind completely fixed on Lord Krishna, chanting,“Krishna! Krishna! Jai Shree Krishna!” And lo and behold! A miraclebegan to unfold. Dushasan pulled and pulled, but Draupadi’s saree

was never-ending! Garment after garment appeared on Draupadi’sbody to fully cover her. Dushasan was pulling away like mad, butthe saree never ended. Not one inch of Draupadi’s body could beexposed. Bhagwan Shree Krishna, the saviour of the pious and thevirtuous had come to the rescue of his devotee Krishnaa (Draupadi).

The awesome power ofthe Lord, though unseen, couldbe felt by one and all in the as-sembly. None of the Kauravs,including Duryodhan, daredmove even a muscle. The fivePandav brothers shed quiettears of gratitude as they re-membered their SupremeFriend and Benefactor who hadrushed to their rescue. Ex-hausted, Dushasan collapsedupon the heap of sarees thatnow filled the entire hall.

Bheem, stood up like anelephant in fury, breathing fe-rocity. He proclaimed a terrible

oath: “I shall tear apart the chest of this vile wretch Dushasan withmy hands and drink his blood, failing which I shall not reach theabode of my virtuous ancestors!”

Bheem’s terrifying oath sent shivers of horror throughout theKuru assembly.

Seeing the helplessness of Draupadi, Bheeshma, Drona, Vidurand other Kaurav elders, Duryodhan taunted Draupadi, saying,“Your husbands have forsaken you. Marry one of us, Panchali andbe happy.” Saying this, Duryodhan showed her his thighs in thepresence of everyone. Seeing this, Bheem roared again, “You lowlywretch. I shall smash both your thighs to pieces in battle and slayyou.” The hall trembled at Bheem’s words. The howling of wolves

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and braying of donkeys could be heard in the distance, along withother evil omens. It was clear that what Duryodhan had done todaywas going to lead to the destruction of the Kurus one day.

Dhritarashtra reacted with some sense of reason. He wasafraid for his sons. He condemned Duryodhan and called Draupadito his side, soothing her and told her to ask for anything she wishedfor. Draupadi immediately demanded that Dharmaraj Yudhishtir andher other husbands to be freed from the result of the game of dice.Dhritarashtra agreed at once and requested her to ask for more.Draupadi demanded the kingdom of Indraprasth back, along withall the weapons of the Pandavs. Dhritarashtra ordered likewise. Thusthe Pandavs got back what they had lost to Shakuni’s treachery.

Dhritarashtra then told Draupadi, “I am pleased with you, dearchild. You are the best among my daughters-in-law.”

Yudhishtir stood up along with his brothers and asked per-mission to leave. Dhritarashtra tried to pacify him too, saying, “DearYudhishtir, forget all that has happened. I know that you will notbear any bitterness. Forgive Duryodhan, Dushasan, Shakuni andKarna as a father forgives his children. Go back to Indraprasth andrule wisely and well.”

Yudhishtir bowed to Dhritarashtra and other elders. ThePandavs and Draupadi left that shameful hall and prepared to de-part for Indraprasth.

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26. The Pandavs depart for the forestThe world, it seemed to Duryodhan, was coming crashing down

on all his sides. He had trapped the mighty Pandavs, through de-ceit. And now…now those very Pandavs were completely free. ThosePandavs would now be thirsting for revenge for humiliatlay Draupadi.Bheem would not rest until he had fulfilled his row. Something dras-tic had to be done. But what?

Duryodhan and Shakuni hurried to Dhritarashtra’s chamber.

Duryodhan came to the point straightaway: “Father, by freeing thePandavs you have endangered our lives. Earlier there was onlyjealousy between us, but after what took place today, they will beout for our blood. Call Yudhishtir back for another game of dice.The loser must agree to spend twelve years in exile in the forestand the thirteenth year in hiding without being detected. If this con-dition is successfully fulfilled, he will get his kingdom back. Yudhishtiris sure to lose this time too. I shall thus be able to grab the kingdomand wealth of the Pandavs at no cost and increase my political powerand influence. After their return thirteen years later, even if I refuseto return their kingdom, the Pandavs would have been weakenedpolitically and cannot challenge me.” Shakuni also brainwashed hisbrother-in-law with his evil advice.

Dhritarashtra was taken in by these arguments. Bheeshmaand Vidur opposed this madness but to no avail. Dhritarashtra sentPratikami to call back the Pandavs for a second game of dice.Pratikami rushed after them and met them when they had travelledsome distance from Hastinapur. He conveyed Dhritarashtra’s mes-sage to Yudhishtir. Draupadi and his brothers fiercely opposed go-ing back to Hastinapur, but Yudhishtir felt bound by Dhritarshtra’scommand and his own desire not to turn down an invitation for dicesince this did not befit a kshatriya.

The Pandavs came back to Hastinapur and sat down againfor a game of dice. The condition this time was clear: twelve yearsof exile in the forest and one year of undetected stay. If detectedduring the thirteenth year, the loser would once again have to en-dure twelve years of exile and another year of unrecognized stay.Shakuni’s command over his pieces of dice proved unbeatable again.Yudhishtir lost this time too.

The Pandavs cast off their royal dress and ornaments. Theydonned dress made of the bark of the trees and tied their hair inmatted locks. They were careful to take their divine weapons withthem as they prepared to leave for the forests.

The Pandavs met Bheeshma, Drona and Vidur to seek their

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blessings before departing. Hastinapur’s air was thick with sorrow.No one could speak or say anything at this great injustice that wastaking place before their very eyes. The elders prayed to God forthe safety of the Pandavs. Yudhishtir said: “What we earned throughour efforts has been usurped by fate. But the world knows that Iunderwent this atrocity only to respect the tradition of obeying afather’s command and to uphold kshatriya dharma. With God’s grace,we shall safely and successfully complete our period of exile andcome back to pay our respects at your feet.”

Vidur said with tears in his eyes, “Yudhishtir, I have no doubtthat you shall return after thirteen years to destroy your enemiesand establish truth and justice.” Vidur made arrangements for Kuntito stay in his dwelling while the Pandavs were in exile.

Before setting out for the forest, Bheem announced his re-solve to kill all of Dhritarashtra’s sons. Likewise, Arjun swore to killKarna and Sahadev made an oath to kill Shakuni. The citizens ofHastinapur came in huge crowds to the gates of the city, weepingand wailing, singing praises of Yudhishtir and cursing Dhritarashtraand Duryodhan. All Hastinapur grieved for the Pandavs.

Many bad omens appeared as the Pandavs left for the jungles.There was an air of fear all around. Rishis and munis visitedDhritarashtra and warned him that what had happened in Hastinapurwould bring about the destruction of not only the Kuru Dynasty butalso that of the kshatriyas. But these had no effect at all upon theblind Dhritarashtra.

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27. Arjun obtains divine weaponsWhile the Pandav brothers and Draupadi were in the Kamyak

forest, Maharshi Ved Vyas visited them. Upon his advice, Yudhishtirinstructed Arjun to go to the heavenly abode of Indra, the king ofgods in order to obtain divine astras and shastras from the Devas.

Arjun set of for the Himalayas and reached the snowy

Indrakeel Mountains. He immersed himself in severe penance, liv-ing only on fruits and leaves. One morning, an old and wrinkledman appeared before him. This was Indra himself. After testing Arjunand being pleased with his devotion and firm resolve, Indra revealedhis true form. Arjun asked his divine father for the invincible weap-ons of the Devas. Indra promised to give them to Arjun after thelatter worshipped Lord Shiva and obtained his grace.

Arjun immediately began penance unto Shiva. His tapasyawas very severe. Lord Shiva, Arjun to severe test by engaging himin combat. Thereafter, pleased with Arjun, he his supreme weapon,the Pashupatastra. also the power to achieve victory over any otherpower, human, natural or supernatural.

After Shiva disappeared, Indra, Varun, Yama, Kuber and othercelestial Devas appeared before Arjun and gave him their respec-tive weapons along with the complete knowledge of their use andrecall. Indra invited Arjun to heaven to receive other divine weap-ons. Accordingly, Arjun reached the abode of Indra.

Residing in Indra’s heaven for sometime, Arjun learnt manysecret weapons of the Devas. Indra’s Gandharv friend Chitrasentaught him the art of dance and music. Arjun mastered these artstoo.

Arjun also had the opportunity to see the divine apsaraUrvashi’s dance in Indra’s assembly. He was struck by Urvashi’sgrace and beauty and gazed at her for long. Indra therefore sentUrvashi to Arjun’s palace. The captivating Urvashi arrived in Arjun’sroom but he would not lift his eyes to meet hers. Instead Dhananjaysaid, “What can I do for you, O divine lady?”

Hearing this, Urvashi was very angry, She demanded to know,“What’s all this Parth? The king of gods has sent me to you sinceyou were longing for me during my dance in his assembly. What doyou mean by this?”

Arjun blushed when he heard this and said, “O divine lady! Irespect you in the same way as I do my mother Kunti and Indra’swife Shachi. You are worthy of respect and worship. I was looking at

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you the other day out of sheer respect and not with ay other intent.”Urvashi felt that Arjun had mocked her. She cursed him say-

ing, “You shall become a eunuch.”Arjun was highly worried when he heard this and approached

and told Indra what happened. Indra consoled him and said that theperiod of this curse would not last more than one year. He also toldArjun that this would be a boon in disguise as no one would be ableto recognize Arjun during the Pandavs’ stay in hiding during theirthirteenth year of exile.

Meanwhile, the Pandavs roamed many forests and holyplaces, meeting rishis and munis and benefiting from their bless-ings. They then arrived at the Gandhamadan Mountains where Arjunjoined his family after his return from Indra’s heavenly abode.

The Pandavs were overjoyed when they learnt of the divineweapons and capabilities that Arjun had obtained. They now pos-sessed the power to fully avenge themselves of the insults and atroci-ties they had suffered over the years.

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28. Yaksha PrashnaOnce, in Dwaitvan, the Pandavs were very thirsty on a hot

afternoon, having wandered far from their ashram. They restedunder a tree. Yudhishtir asked Sahadev to fetch water from anylake or pond nearby.

Sahadev searched for a while and saw a clear pond nearby.As he was about to touch the water, a voice spoke in a warningtone: “Stop. Do not touch the water. This pond belongs to me. Thosewho drink water here without my permission will die instantly. An-swer my questions first if you want to quench your thirst.”

The surprised Sahadev looked here and there but could seeno one. He steeped forward to drink water, but once again the un-seen voice stopped him. Sahadev then saw a stork at some dis-tance speaking in a human voice. He ignored this being out of sheer

thirst and took some water in his hands to quench his parched throat.The next instant, Sahadev collapsed, unconscious.

When Sahadev did not return even after a lot of time hadpassed, Yudhishtir sent Nakul, then Arjun and finally Bheem. Butnone of them returned to Yudhishtir. Worried, Yudhishtir himself pro-ceeded to the place and saw all his brothers lying lifeless. He wasshocked and stupefied when he saw this. Who had done this?

But when Yudhishtir looked more closely, he was puzzled. Theirbodies did not bear any wounds or marks of battle. There were nosigns of anyone else having come to that lake. What had happened?

Yudhishtir was also extremely thirsty and proceeded to thelake to drink a little water. Immediately, the strange voice stoppedhim as well. Yudhishtir saw the stork staring at him and realized thatthis must be some celestial or demon in disguise. He replied, “ I’msorry. I did not realize that this lake belonged to you. It is clear thatyou are no ordinary being. If you have indeed caused my brothersto fall unconscious, you cannot be any ordinary stork. Put your ques-tions to me. I drink water only after answering your questions.”

The next moment, a yaksh (a certain group of celestials, simi-lar to the Devas) stood in place of the stork. He asked various ques-tions on Dharma, virtue, proper conduct and philosophy to Yudhishtir.Yudhishtir, whose wisdom was legendary, answered them all effort-lessly.Some of these questions were Like this.Yaksha : Who is real friend of a peison ?Yudhishthir : CourageYaksha : What makes a person more clever ?Yudhishthir : Company of great people.Yaksha : What is more precious than the Earth ?Yudhishthir : The womb of a mother holding the child for nine months.Yaksha : What walks faster than air ?Yudhishthir : Mind.

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Yaksha : Which is the most despicable thing ?Yudhishthir : Anxiety.Yaksha : What is that thing which, when you loose, you are notsorry ?Yudhishthir : Temper.Yaksha : What is more friendly / useful for a person who is dieing ?Yudhishthir : His Chanilty. The soul travelling alone after death getscompany only of “Charity he has made while living.”Yaksha : Which is the biggest vessel in the world ?Yudhishthir : Earth. It holds everthingYaksha : Which thing makes you rich when you loose it ?Yudhishthir : Greed.Yaksha : Which is the biggest wonder on this earth ?Yudhishthir : To feel that one is immortal. Everday a person seespeople dieing. Still the person thinks that he will not die or he shouldnot die.

Highly pleased, the yaksh said: “I shall allow any one amongyour brothers to come back to life. The choice is yours.”

Yudhishtir answered without hesitation: “Let my brother Nakularise again.”

Surprised, the yaksh asked, “Why Nakul? When you try toregain your kingdom, Bheem of matchless might or the invincibleArjun are more likely to be of use to you.”

“O yaksh, the pursuit of Dharma is more important than king-doms or material wealth. My father had two wives, Kunti and Madri.I, the son of Kunti am still alive. Similarly, Madri’s son too must live,”answered Yudhishtir without a moment’s hesitation.”

The next instant, the yaksh vanished and in his place stoodnone other than Yama, the deity of death and justice, who was alsoYudhishtir’s divine father. He said, “Dear son, I had deliberately doneall this to test you. Of course, all your brothers shall arise again. Doask me for any other boon.”

Yudhishtir asked, “Bless us so that we may not be recognizedduring our thirteenth year of stay in hiding.” Yamraj blessed themand disappeared.

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29. The Pandavs go into hidingThe Pandavs completed their twelve years of exile, braving

many dangers and hardships. They decided to make Matsya, thekingdom of King Virat the place of their thirteenth year in hiding.Before they left for Matsya, they decided what guise each of themwould adopt.

Reaching a forest near the borders of Viratnagar, the capitalof Matsya, the Pandavs found a shami tree in a desolate cremationground. They tied their weapons in a bundle and placed it atop thetree so that it was not visible. Then they proceeded to the capital tosee King Virat as per their plan of action.

Yudhishtir approached the king first in the guise of a Brah-min. He greeted the king and said, “My name is Kank. I am an expertin the art of dice. I also possess experience in advising rulers instatecraft and can be of assistance to you.” Virat employed Yudhishtiras his minister and courtier.

The towering Bheem then approached King Virat a few dayslater and told him that he was an expert cook and could preparedelicious dishes. Bheem introduced himself as Ballav and also toldthe king that he could entertain him by wrestling with elephants andbulls.

Nakul then presented himself by the name of Granthik, anexpert in horses and their breeding. It was then Sahadev’s turn toseek employment as Tantripal, an expert in cows and their breed-ing.

Arjun then came to Viratnagar and introduced himself asBrihannala. Arjun was in the guise of a eunuch, as Urvashi’s cursewas in operation for a year. He informed King Virat that he was an

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expert teacher of music, dance and the fine arts. Virat appointedhim for teaching music and dance to the royal ladies, especially hisdaughter Princess Uttara.

After everyone had moved in Draupadi approachedSudeshna, Virat’s queen in the guise of a maid by the name ofSairandhri. She told the queen that she was well versed in the art ofmake-up and decoratinghair. Sairandhri also toldSudeshna that she wasmarried to five Gandharvhusbands, who guardedher unseen. Her Gandharvhusbands would kill any-one trying to molest her.

The Pandavs thusfound a suitable place tocomplete their thirteenthyear of exile to remain un-detected. Ten monthspassed without any note-worthy incident.

Queen Sudeshna’sbrother Keechak, was thecommander-in-chief ofKing Virat’s army He was a strong man. He was an extremely cruel,lecherous and tyrannical individual. The king was forced to toleratehis wrongdoings because of his wife Sudeshna, who was alwayspartial to him. One day, Keechak happened to glimpse Sairandhriand was instantly captivated by her sheer beauty. He started pes-tering Sairandhri to “marry him” and when his entreaties had noeffect, started threatening her. Finding her unyielding, he asked hissister Queen Sudeshna to send Draupadi to his chamber under thepretext of some work and then chased her. Sairandhri escaped hisclutches and ran towards the royal assembly with Keechak in hot

pursuit. In the presence of King Virat and his court, Kank and Ballavwho were also present, the drunk Keechak kicked her, causing herto tumble to the floor. Bheem had to make a superhuman effort tocontrol his rage. Yudhishtir cautioned him using coded signs not todo anything hasty and reveal their identity. There were but a fewdays left of their period of undetected stay in their thirteenth year.

But Draupadi was in no mood to tolerate this insult. She se-cretly went to Bheem’s kitchen at midnight and woke him up andpoured her heart’s grief to him. Bheem really loved Draupadi noend. Both then planned that Keechak should be invited by Draupadito the dance hall the following night as the place would be desertedafter sunset. Bheem would go there in disguise and lay in wait forthe villainous Keechak.

The next day, Keechak was pleasantly surprised when he foundSairandhri to be very friendly towards him. He was in the seventhheaven of delight when she actually invited him for a secret meetingat the dance hall after dark. Keechak was simply thrilled. At night,Keechak reached the appointed place, highly eager to capture hisnew victim. He saw a sitting figure fully covered with a very longsheet of cloth. Thinking that Sairandhri was waiting for him underthat sheet, Keechak bolted the hall door from inside and rushed towhere the figure was sitting and grabbed it. Alas! It was not the softtouch of any beauty as Keechak had imagined but the iron frame ofBheemsen, who sprang like a mighty lion upon a helpless prey.Keechak, though physically strong, was no match for the hugeBheem. The son of Vaayu reduced Draupadi’s molester to a pulp ofhuman flesh, punching his body totally out of shape. He then threwthe mass of human flesh somewhere in the hall, quietly returned tothe kitchen and told Draupadi everything. She waited for a few hoursand then informed the guards and told them that her Gandharvhusbands had killed Keechak as punishment for tormenting her.

Next morning, all Viratnagar was stunned upon hearing newsof Keechak’s slaying.

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30. The Pandavs complete their exileDuryodhan was desperate. His spies had roamed the earth in

search of the Pandavs and had returned empty-handed. The thir-teenth year had a few days left to expire and he wanted to find outthe Pandavs and send them back to the forest. As the stipulatedperiod neared its end, Duryodhan received news that Keechak, themighty commander-in-chief of the Matsya kingdom had been slainby a powerful man. Duryodhan immediately reckoned that none otherthan Bheem could have done this.

Susharma, the king of the Trigart kingdom had been defeatedmany times by Virat, on account of Keechak’s strength. He nowglimpsed an opportunity to have his revenge; especially that Keechakwas no longer alive. He put forth his plan to Duryodhan, accordingto which Susharma would attack Matsya from the south, whileDuryodhan’s Kaurav army would invade Viratnagar from the north.Susharma assured Duryodhan that they would be able to lay handson a lot of wealth and cattle. Duryodhan also hoped to find thePandavs in Virat’s place.

The plan was put in action. Susharma and the Trigartas in-vaded with their army from the southern direction, looting and plun-dering. King Virat went out with his army to meet this challenge. ThePandavs, Yudhishtir, Bheem, Nakul and Sahadev too accompaniedthe Matsya army in their respective disguises. Arjun in the guise ofBrihannala stayed back.

The battle went badly for Virat and his army. Susharma’s armyscattered them and Virat was surrounded by Susharma’s warriors,and was in danger of being taken captive. Yudhishtir then orderedBheem, Nakul and Sahadev to free King Virat. Bheem, Nakul andSahadev attacked Susharma’s army and turned the Trigart victoryinto total defeat. Susharma was taken captive and dumped him be-fore Virat. After Susharma admitted his defeat before the Matsyaking, Yudhishtir asked Bheem to let him go. Virat was very happythat his kingdom’s wealth and its cattle were returned to him. Most

of all, he was relieved that he was himself safe and sound and praisedKank, Ballav, Granthik and Tantipal for having come to his rescue.

But another disaster had struck from the north. The entireMatsya army had gone southwards to ward of the Trigart challenge.The powerful Kauravs attacked the kingdom from the northern fron-tier. Virat’s son Prince Uttar alone remained to face this threat. Uttarwas still very young. In the presence of his sister Uttaraa and theother ladies of the palace, he childishly boasted that if only he couldget hold of a proper charioteer, he would send the entire Kauravarmy packing all by himself. He boasted that he could defeat evenArjun.

Sairandhri told him that Brihannala was an excellent chari-oteer as well. She had handled Arjun’s chariot too. Brihannala wasready and a chariot was ready to proceed to the battlefield. Uttarpicked up his weapons, donned armour to proceed with great pompand show. But when he reached the battlefield and actually saw theKaurav army, the young lad’s foolhardiness vanished. He jumpeddown from his chariot and started running back towards the capital.But Brihannala seized him and brought him back forcibly. She thensaid, “Don’t worry kid. If you are afraid to fight then handle my chariot.I shall do the needful.”

Uttar was in no mood to listen to Brihannala. “Let me go home,”he shouted. But Brihannala drove the chariot to the shami tree wherethe Pandavs had hidden their weapons. She then told the prince,“Climb this tree and bring down the weapons of the Pandavs.” Uttar’ssurprise knew no bounds when he first saw the renowned weaponsof the legendary Pandavs and then upon seeing Brihannala castoff her appearance. It was not a ‘she’ but a ‘he.’ Arjun’s period ofcurse as a eunuch had ended. Uttar stood gaping with surprise andjoy. Arjun briefly narrated everything to him, picked up his mightyGaandeev and then blew his powerful conch, the Devdatt.

The Kaurav army that was proceeding towards them suddenlyfroze in its tracks. There could be no mistaking whose bugle this

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was. It was Arjun, no doubt about that. Argument began in the Kauravarmy that the Pandavs had revealed themselves before the thir-teenth year was over. Bheeshma, Drona and Kripa were scholars ofastrology and clearly stated that as per the lunar monthly calcula-tions, the Pandavs had successfully completed their thirteenth yearof undetected stay. Duryodhan’s evil gang of four was in no moodto agree to this and wanted the Pandavs to go back into exile. Fi-nally Bheeshma’s statement settled the issue in favour of thePandavs.

Arjun was looking for Duryodhan who was meanwhile runningaway from the battlefield. The huge Kaurav army that tried to ob-struct Arjun was scattered by a never-ending shower of arrows thatpoured from Arjun’s Gaandeev. Dushasan was forced to flee withwounds all over his body. Duryodhan was badly defeated. Karnawas simply blown Dronacharya and his son Ashwatthama were forcedto withdraw Grandfather Bheeshma, too fell unconscious after Arjunused the Sammohanastra. Thus, the entire Kaurav army had beenbadly routed. by Arjun single-handedly. He also asked Prince Uttarto remove the upper garments of the Kaurav warriors as a mark oftheir victory.

Arjun returned the chariot to the shami tree near the crema-tion ground and safely deposited his weapons. He re-assumed hisguise of Brihannala and strictly instructed Uttar to keep the eventsof the day a close secret. He then took over the reins of the chariotwith Uttar in the main seat and both returned to Viratnagar.

Raja Virat meanwhile had already come back to his palace.He was informed of the Kaurav invasion from the north and alsothat Prince Uttar alone, accompanied only by Brihannala as chari-oteer had gone to meet the challenge. Before Virat could even re-cover his wits, news arrived that Prince Uttar had successfully drivenoff the invaders and was returning to the capital in triumph. Viratwas filled with boundless joy at what he thought was the stupen-dous achievement of his young son. Just then, Uttar entered theking’s chamber. When Virat eagerly questioned him how he had

defeated warriors of the stature of Bheesma, Drona and Karnasingle-handedly, all Uttar said was, “I did nothing of the sort, father.A divine figure appeared to my rescue and it was he who single-handedly routed all the Kaurav warriors and their army. He has dis-appeared but has promised to come soon and meet all of us.”

The next day, the Pandavs and Draupadi cast off their dis-guises and sat on royal seats in King Virat’s assembly. Yudhishtiroccupied King Virat’s throne, seeing which the king was highly en-raged. But Bheem stepped forward and explained that Yudhishtirindeed had a right to sit on the throne, revealing the Pandavs’ realidentities. Virat, upon knowing the truth was overjoyed. He also cameto know that it was none other then Arjun who had save d Uttar andhis kingdom from the Kauravs.

King Virat proposed that Arjun marry his daughter PrincessUttaraa. But Arjun rightly said that having taught her dance andmusic, he was her guru and therefore in the position of a father toher. He agreed to accept Uttaraa as bride for his young sonAbhimanyu. There was joy all around

Thus, the Pandavs successfully completed their twelve toughyears of forest life and one year of hidden stay.

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31. Karna - the Great DonorKarna was invisible in war as he had divine kavach and

kundals on him. He had sworn to kill the Pandavs to please hisfriend and master Duryodhan, to whom he was indebted for life.

Indra, the king of celestials, wanted to deprive Karna of hiskavach and kundals as he feared that they would give Karna undueadvantage in battle and put the Pandavs at risk. Indra was Arjun’sdivine father and Soorya (the sun) had fathered Karna. Sooryaguessed Indra’s intentions and appeared before his son and warnedhim, “Son, tomorrow, Indra shall appear before you to ask for yourkavach and kundals. You must refuse him.”

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But Karna replied “O lord! If the king of gods himself asks mefor something, how can I refuse him? It is my vow not to refuseanyone in need who asks me for something. Let me become re-nowned by granting Indra’s wishes”

A day later, Indra appeared before Karna in the guise of aBrahmin and asked for his kavach and kundals. Karna bowed tohim and said, “Lord of the Devas, I consider myself truly blessedtoday. The ruler of celestials himself has come to my door as aneedy person. But you must grant me a divine weapon in returnthat will destroy my most formidable enemy.”

Indra replied: “Karna, you shall attain lasting fame as adaanveer (renowned for donating anything). Radheya, I give youmy special weapon called the Vaijayanti. This will claim the life ofanyone upon whom it will be used. But it can be used only once,after which it will come back to me.”

Karna pulled off his kavach and kundals and handed themover to Indra and received the Vaijayanti weapon in return. He thusbecame renowned as a danveer.

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32. The clouds of war gatherAfter completing their thirteen years of exile, the Pandavs left

Viratnagar and moved to a place called Upaplavya in the Matsyakingdom. They had successfully completed the conditions of theirexile. The time had come to demand their kingdom back. Their friendsand relatives arrived from all over the country for Abhimanyu’s mar-riage to Uttaraa, Virat’s daughter. After the marriage, Shree Krishna,Balaram and other relatives assembled to discuss the future courseof action. Krishna proposed sending an emissary to Dhritarashtrato demand that the Pandavs be returned their share of the empire.King Drupad of Panchal said: “Duryodhan is not going to quietlyreturn the Pandavs’ kingdom. As per my information, he has al-ready started making preparations for war. Kshatriya kings and rul-

ers usually join them who in-vite them first. Let us there-fore not delay for even a dayin inviting our allies andwell-wishers to join us. Ihave no objection to send-ing our emissary toDhritarashtra’s court, asKrishna has suggested. Butlet us start making seriouspreparations for war also.”

Both sides spared noeffort to woo kings and war-riors along with their respec-tive armies from all over theearth to join them. As coin-cidence would have it, bothArjun and Duryodhan ar-

rived in Dwaraka the same day to seek help from Shree Krishna.Keshav was asleep upon his bed when both entered his room.Duryodhan entered first and sat near Krishna’s head. Arjun imme-diately followed him and sat at Krishna’s feet in reverence. WhenKrishna opened his eyes, he saw Arjun first, though Duryodhanclaimed that it was he who came first. But Krishna said that as hehad seen Arjun first, the latter had the right to choose first. ShreeKrishna then put forth his condition saying: “I shall give my onemillion-strong Naaraayani Sena to one of you. I shall join the otherside, but shall not take up any weapon. You are free to choose,Arjun.”

Arjun respectfully said: “O Achyut! It doesn’t matter whetheryou take up arms or not, fight or remain inactive. I want you and youalone, as you are. I have chosen you.”

Duryodhan controlled his laughter with great difficulty. Arjunhad made a fool’s choice and had refused the million-strong Yadav

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army. Duryodhan could scarcely believe his good luck. ThesePandavs were real idiots, choosing someone who wasn’t even go-ing to fight. He made a show of thanking Krishna and hurriedly leftfor Hastinapur. When they were alone, Krishna asked Arjun the rea-son for his choice. Parth replied: “Keshav, victory and glory arepresent only where you are. It does not matter whether you take uparms or not. In the battlefield, the warrior’s best friend is his chari-oteer. Therefore be my charioteer and guide us to victory in thecoming Dharmayuddh.” Shree Krishna said: “So be it, Dhananjay.”

Thus, Shree Krishna also became Paarthsaarthi (Parth’s chari-oteer, Arjun was Parth).

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33. Shree Krishna’s peace missionKing Drupad had sent his family priest as an emissary to

Hastinapur to try and convince him of the need for a peaceful settle-ment. But Dhritarashtra evaded committing anything and insteadsent Sanjay to Upaplavya, instructing him to convince Yudhishtir toforget the Pandavs’ rightful claim over their own kingdom.

But Shree Krishna, who was unbeatable in diplomacy, bluntlytold Sanjay: “The greedy Duryodhan and weak-minded Dhritarashtrado not seem to be in any mood to listen to good counsel and dojustice to the Pandavs. I shall personally go to Hastinapur and tryfor a peaceful settlement to this dispute. If the Kauravs do not yieldand return half the kingdom to the Pandavs, then war will be inevi-table.”

As Krishna was about to leave for Hastinapur, he also carriedspecial message for Duryodhan from Yudhishtir: “We accepted whatour uncle (Dhritarashtra) had given us without question and estab-lished the independent kingdom of Indraprasth. You must now re-turn our kingdom to us as per the conditions of our exile or be readyto face us in war. But I am also ready to settle for even five villagesto avoid war and bloodshed.”

Shree Krishna reached Hastinapur and paid his respects tothe Kuru elders. He then argued the Pandavs’ case forcefully andwith convincing arguments, narrating the sheer injustice meted outto them right from their childhood, presenting evidences of the hair-raising atrocities of the evil sons of Dhritarashtra. Though thePandavs were definitely much more powerful than Duryodhan, hisbrothers and their friends, they suffered all atrocities for the sake ofDharma and upholding their word. They genuinely desired amityand wanted to avoid a showdown, but would not tolerate any furtherinjustice in the name of peace. Shree Krishna finally addressedDhritarashtra: “O king! If the Pandavs do not get their due evenafter repeated requests, they are certainly ready for war. Yet, theyare ready to accord the position of a father to you and serve youwith respect if you act justly and according to Dharma. Therefore,consider everything carefully and do as you deem fit.”

Duryodhan got up and shouted in a fit of rage, “Krishna, youare blaming us for everything. I am not in the least afraid of thePandavs and their threats. Forget five villages, I shall not yield themeven as much land as can be covered by the pointed tip of a needle.I care not for the consequences.”

Shree Krishna then said: “You have usurped the Kuru king-dom through deceit. You also tried to dishonour your sister-in-law,who is like your mother, in this very assembly. Your cup of sins arenow full, Duryodhan. Very soon, the world shall see you fallen inbattle, writhing in a morass of blood and slush. I had come here tooffer friendship and a peaceful settlement, but your arrogance andevil advisors have made this impossible. War is now a certainty.”Shree Krishna’s words were like the message of doom for the KauravDynasty.

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34. The Kurukshetra War beginsShree Krishna returned to Upaplavya and reported the events

of Hastinapur to Yudhishtir. There was no alternative left for thePandavs but to go to war. Kings and warriors along with their hugearmies had already started assembling on either side to take part inthe coming war.

Yudhishtir, appointed Draupadi’s brother and King Drupad’sson Dhrishtadyumna as the supreme commander of the Pandavarmed forces. On the other side, Duryodhan requested the grand-father Bheeshma to become the commander-in-chief of the vastKauarav army.

At this time, Maharshi Ved Vyaas arrived at Hastinapur to visitDhritarashtra. The blind king was eager to know how the war pro-gressed. Upon his request, Maharshi Vyaas bestowed divine visionto Sanjay whereby he could actually see the events of the battle-field sitting in Hastinapur and narrate them to his king. WhenDhritarashtra asked the illustrious rishi which side would win thewar, Bhagwan Vyaas replied: “Yato Dharmastato Jayaha” – mean-ing where there is Dharma, there shall be victory.”

On the ancient plains of Kurukshetra, which was also knownas Dharmakshetra in the ages gone by, the Pandavs and Kauravshad assembled for a trial of strength. The Pandav army totalledseven Akshauhinis (ancient army divisions) in all, while the Kauravshad gathered a force of eleven Akshauhinis. Both armies now stoodfacing each other. Acting according to Shree Krishna’s guidance,Arjun first worshipped Goddess Durga and the Devas, prostratedhis divine chariot adorned with the emblem of Lord Hanuman andascended it after Shree Krishna.

Shree Krishna drove the chariot and placed it between thetwo armies. Arjun, Gandeev in hand surveyed the Kaurav army thatstood before him, ready for combat. He wanted to have a glimpse ofthe main warriors who he would have to tackle.

He saw his grandfather Bheeshma, his guru Drona, his ma-

ternal uncle Shalya (who had defected to Duryodhan), his firstteacher Kripa, his guru’s son and childhood classmate Ashwatthama,friends, companions, elders, teachers, brothers and cousins, justabout everyone he personally knew. Yes, they were all there today.But for what? To shed each other’s blood?

Upon seeing his family members and kinsmen arrayed againsthim, Arjun’s senses began going numb. There was no doubt thatthis Great War was going to consume millions of human lives. Arjunwas overwhelmed by grief at the thought that he would now have toslay his own kith and kin. He would thus be responsible for the down-fall of his family and race. killing my own brothers just for the sake ofa mere kingdom? He voiced his state of mind to Shree Krishna,refusing to fight. Arjun placed his Gandeev aside and sat remorse-fully in the rear of his chariot.

Bhagwan Shree Krishna, seeing his devotee and confidant inmental distress, then came forth with his words of supreme wisdom.Shree Krishna’s solace to Arjun on the battlefield of Kurukshetra,dispelling his mental illusions, inspiring him to perform his karma ina spirit of selfless attachment is the Divine Shreemad Bhagwadgeetawe all know and worship today, the greatest ever philosophy thatmankind has known. The Geeta, thousands of years after ShreeKrishna first narrated it to Arjun, continues to inspire, illuminate andguide humanity even today.

Shree Krishna said: “Your impression that you are going tobe the cause of death of your loved ones like Bheeshma and theothers is totally wrong, Arjun. The soul is neither born nor does itperish. It cannot kill anyone nor be killed by anyone. The elementscannot touch it and it is detached from the body’s travails. As onediscards old clothes and dons new ones, so too, the soul discards abody worn out by age and enters a new one. What is born has todie and what dies will be reborn again. Why then grieve for thephysical body?”

“Our Dharma is to perform our duty. Your grieving will notavert this war. If you do not perform your duty of fighting this

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Dharmayuddh, you shall certainly be guilty of sin, besides earningundying disgrace. Any self-respecting individual would prefer deathto disgrace.”

“O Kaunteya! The world looks upon you as an invincible andfearless warrior. If you run away from this conflict, you shall be thelaughing-stock of your enemies. You will be condemned by historyas a weak-minded coward. Dharma and justice stand by you in thisconflict. Do not worry about the consequences, because you willnot be responsible for it. Cease worrying about victory or defeat,benefit or loss, joy or sorrow and stand up to perform your duty. Nosin shall attach to you. If you are slain you shall attain heaven and ifyou are victorious, you shall enjoy the fruits of victory. Cast aside alldoubts of the mind, Dhananjay. I have already consumed those whomyou think are going to perish. You have merely to carry out yourresponsibilities.”

The Lord then showed Arjun His awesome Cosmic Form. Arjunwas overcome with wonder and devotion, and realized that ShreeKrishna was none other than the Almighty Himself, incarnated inhuman form on earth. All Arjun’s doubts and weaknesses of mindwere dispelled; he prostrated to the Lord and said: “O Achyut,blessed by You, my doubts have been quelled. Fully aware of wheremy duties lie, Keshav, I shall carry out your bidding.” Pleased withhis devotee, Shree Krishna blew his conch the Panchajanya. Thesound of Arjun’s conch the Devdatt, mingled with it, shook the battle-field.

However, before the hostilities could break out, everyone wassurprised to see Yudhishtir remove his armour, discard his weap-ons and walk on foot towards the Kaurav army with folded hands.Both armies were astonished to see this. The Pandav brothers, ac-companied by Yudhishtir, followed their king as he went ahead.

Yudhishtir walked to Bheeshma’s chariot, touched thegrandfather’s feet and received his blessings before commencingthis great conflict. Bheeshma was very touched. Even on the occa-sion of war, Yudhishtir had not forgotten his samskars. Pleased,

Bheeshma told Yudhishtir to ask for any boon.“Grandfather, you are unconquerable. How do we defeat you

in war?”“So long as I hold weapons in my hands, no one, not even the

celestials can defeat me. But meet me later, I shall tell you.”Yudhishtir and his brothers then touched Dronacharya’s feet

and asked him the same question. The Guru was pleased withYudhishtir’s humility and character and replied: “It is not possible tovanquish me so long as I hold weapons in my hand. But if any reli-able person brings me bad news on the battlefield, then I may dis-card my weapons. I can then be slain.” The Pandav brothers thensought and received blessings from Kripacharya and their uncleShalya.

Before returning, Yudhishtir stood between both armies andannounced: “Dharma and truth are on our side in this war. Thosewho wish to be on the side of Dharma and justice are welcome tojoin us.”

Hearing this, Dhritarashtra’s son by another woman, Yuyutsu,joined the Pandav.

Warriors on both sides blew their conches. Trumpets andbugles blared and war-drums thundered, their noise shaking theskies. Both armies began to advance upon each other, in a varietyof classical battle formations. The Great Kurukshetra War had be-gun.

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35. The passing of BheeshmaFighting began with sunrise and ended at sunset on the first

day.While under Bheeshma’s command, the Kaurav army used to

march ahead, but was stopped by Bheem and Arjun used to halt itin its tracks. Bheem ruthlessly slaughtered many of Duryodhan’sbrothers. Bheeshma caused immense loss to the Pandav army. Arjun

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and other Pandav warriors, on their part, destroyed many Kauravdivisions.

While Bheem was killing many of Duryodhan’s brothers daily,not a single important Pandav warrior had yet been slain. Duryodhanwas exasperated. At sunset on the eighth day, he accused thegrandsire in contemptuous language, saying, “Grandfather, it is clearthat you are partial to the Pandavs. You will not do anything to killthem. I cannot rely on you.”

Bheeshma was furious and hurt at hearing these insultingwords of Duryodhan. But he controlled himself; He cursed himselfat his bondage to his promise of safeguarding the Kuru Dynasty atall costs. Bheeshma then somehow assured Duryodhan that he wouldnot be found wanting.

As if to prove his words, Bheeshma wrought havoc on theninth day. The Pandav army quaked before his terrible valour. Arjunalone was able to stand up to the grandsire with great difficulty. Itwas sheer good fortune that the Pandavs ended the ninth day with-out losing any of their noted warriors, but now Yudhishtir was seizedwith worry. At night, the Pandav brothers and their allies sat downfor some harsh decisions. It was clear that Bheeshma had to be putout of action if the Pandavs were to win the war. But the grand oldman of the Kurus was unconquerable in battle. Moreover, he alsohad the boon to die when he wished to. Shree Krishna then re-minded Yudhishtir that Bheeshma had promised to tell them how hecould be killed. It was decided that the Pandavs would go and askBheeshma how he could be felled. Accordingly, the Pandavs wentunarmed to Bheeshma’s camp and paid homage to their grandfa-ther. Yudhishtir then asked humbly, “Grandfather, tell us how wecan achieve victory in this war?”

Bheeshma was pleased at seeing his virtuous grandchildren.He said, Yudhishtir, you must defeat and slay me in order to win thiswar. Tell Arjun to attack me placing shikhandi before me. I will notfight Shikhandi as he was born a woman. I can thus be easily over-whelmed in this manner. Yudhishtir, this is the only way you all can

get rid of me.”The tenth day of the war dawned. According to plan, the

Pandavs attacked Bheeshma. The grandfather was like a furiousstorm, blowing away Pandav soldiers who dared stand before him.But his mind had had enough. He wanted to depart from this world.The victory of the Pandavs and the destruction of Duryodhan wereessential for the safety of virtue and goodness in this world. Hewould not stand between the Pandavs and victory.

The Pandavs too, furiously attacked the Kaurav formationsthat stood to protect Bheeshma from Shikhandi and destroyed them.Very soon, the chariots of Arjun and Shikhandi faced Bheeshma’s.Seeing Amba reborn as Shikhandi before him, Bheeshma calmedhis mind. Arjun and Shikhandi showered arrows upon the grandsire.Arjun easily smashed many of Bheeshma’s bows, something no otherwarrior had done to Bheeshma in his lifetime. The thick shower ofarrows from the Gaandeev pierced Bheeshma leaving not an inchof space in his body. Finally, the grand old man of the Kurus,Bheeshma, the son of Shantanu and Ganga fell headlong from hischariot to the ground. But as his body was filled with arrows, it didnot touch the ground. Bheeshma thus came to rest on a bed ofarrows.

Arjun immediately cast aside his Gaandeev and rushed to hisbeloved grandfather’s side. The Pandav brothers and Shree Krishnajoined him. The Kauravs too stopped fighting. Hostilities were sus-pended immediately. Warriors on both sides assembled aroundBheeshma. The gods showered flowers from the air. Everyone wasfilled with grief. Only Shree Krishna and Bheeshma himself remainedcalm.

Bheeshma’s head hung without support. He requested Arjunto provide him a pillow. Arjun immediately shot three arrows be-neath the grandfather’s head in such a fashion that Bheeshma’shead could comfortably rest on the pillow of arrows. Arjun also shotan arrow into the ground whereby Ganga herself surged forth toquench her dying son’s thirst.

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Bheeshma expressed his desire to lie on this bed of arrows tillthe sun turned from Dakshinaayan to Uttaraayan, preferring to leavehis mortal body then. All paid homage to him.

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36. Abhimanyu becomes a martyrAfter Arjun felled Bheeshma, Duryodhan was filed with fear,

though refusing to admit it. He appointed Guru Dronacharya com-mander-in-chief of the Kaurav armed forces with due ceremony.Duryodhan also asked Drona to capture Yudhishtir alive. His planwas simple. He wanted to use the captive Yudhishtir to bargain withthe Pandavs on his terms. After ten days of war, and the destructionof many of his brothers at Bheem’s hands, Duryodhan had no con-fidence in any of his warriors that they would ever be able to beatthe Pandavs. Time was running out.

Drona tried on the eleventh and twelfth days to somehow cap-ture Yudhishtir alive. The Pandavs were aware of the Acharya’sintentions and Arjun guarded Yudhishtir like a shadow. LeadingKaurav warriors perished during these two days. Duryodhan, trueto his nature, abused his guru for failing to accomplish the task ofseizing Yudhishtir alive.

On the thirteenth day, the Trigart king Susharma and his broth-ers challenged Arjun to fight and drew him afar. Drona had designeda Chakravyooha. Only Arjun, Shree Krishna, Pradyumna (Krishna’sson) and Arjun’s son Abhimanyu knew how to breach this deadlyformation. Abhimanyu knew the tactic of entering the formation butnot its exit route. Yudhishtir and the Pandavs requested him to breachthe Chakravyooha; they would follow him inside and then smash itfrom within.

Duryodhan, Karna, Shakuni and Kripacharya guarded Drona’sChakravyooha in the centre. Drona himself stood at the opening asAbhimnayu’s chariot rushed towards them. Their efforts were of littleuse. Abhimanyu, piercing the Chakravyooha where Drona stood,

inflicted a defeat on the old Acharya and then proceeded to displaymartial prowess of an astonishing nature. Bheem, Dhrishtadyumna,Saatyaki and the other Pandav warriors followed him closely, de-stroying the Kaurav army as they advanced, but alas! Jayadrath,the king of Sindhu, effectively halted them at the entrance of theChakravyooha Jayadrath had obtained a boon by worshipping LordShiva that he would be able to stop the Pandav brothers’ with Arjun’sexception advance for one day. This one-day boon to Jayadratheventually proved fatal for Abhimanyu who was now trapped insidethe Chakravyooha alone. The Kaurav army and its leading warriorsnow surrounded him.

But the son of Subhadra and Arjun was an outstanding war-rior. Abhimanyu easily defeated Duryodhan and Dushasan,Dronacharya soon realized that it was impossible to confrontAbhimanyu single-handedly. The seven Kauurav Maharathis (greatchariot-warriors) i.e. Dronacharya, his son Ashwatthama, Kripa,Karna, Kritavarma, Brihadbal and Shalya now surroundedAbhimanyu, in complete disregard for the rules of war. Yet, the val-iant Abhimanyu not only stopped their advance but also made themretreat. He then started slaughtering the Kaurav army inside theChakravyooha.

The Kauravs realized that fair play would soon lead them tototal defeat. Upon Drona’s advice, Karna attacked Abhimanyu frombehind and broke his bow. Kritavarma killed his horses, whileKripacharya slew his charioteer. Abhimanyu jumped down from hischariot, sword in hand and continued the fight, but Drona broke hissword, while Karna destroyed his shield. Abhimanyu then picked upthe wheel of a broken chariot and dispatched many Kaurav warriorsto their doom, but the constant shower of arrows from his unjustenemies broke the wheel too. Arjun’s son then picked up a gadaand continued destroying the Kaurav soldiers. Dushasan’s son alsorushed forward with a gada and engaged him in combat. Both fellunconscious, but Dushasan’s son recovered first and beforeAbhimanyu could regain consciousness, brought the gada down on

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his skull mercilessly. The shameless Kauravs blew their conchesand danced like savages.

Thus Arjun’s mighty son Abhimanyu became a great martyrat a very young age. Far away, after destroying Susharma’s forma-tions, Arjun was returning to camp. His mind was troubled thatevening. Arjun entered the tent, saw his grieving brothers and thenheard the terrible news of his beloved son’s martyrdom. His griefknew no bounds. When he learnt that Jayadrath was responsiblefor Abhimanyu’s isolation, Arjun’s rage knew no bound. He sworerevenge, saying: “I shall sever the sinner Jayadrath’s head by sun-set tomorrow, failing which I shall enter fire.”

Spies carried the news of Arjun’s terrible oath to the Kauravcamp. Jayadrath trembled when he heard of Arjun’s resolve. Hewanted to flee to his kingdom but Duryodhan, Karna and Dronasomehow assured him of protection.

Arjun’s wrath was like the message of doom for the Kauravson the fourteenth day of the war. He was simply unstoppable. ShreeKrishna piloted the chariot, which surged like a stormy wind fellinghuge trees. The thunder of Arjun’s Gaandeev and the never-end-ing shower of arrows like bolts of lightning swept away everythingbefore it. The Kauravs wanted to somehow prevent Arjun from ful-filling his vow. But anyone who dared stop him perished. In his questto find Jayadrath before sunset, Arjun wiped out seven KauravAkshauhinis on the fourteenth day. Drona, Kripa, Karna andDuryodhan tried their utmost to stop him but were badly defeated.

But Jayadrath could not be glimpsed even as the sun drewcloser to the western horizon. He had been well-hidden behind theKaurav formations. Shree Krishna, using his power of yogamayacreated the illusion of sunset. The jubilant Kaurav warriors and arelieved Jayadrath came forward. Krishna suddenly withdrew hisillusion. The sun had still not set! Krishna prompted Arjun: “Parth,here is the sun and there is Jayadrath. Fulfil your vow.”

Parth reacted like lightning. In an instant, a deadly astra flewfrom the Gaandeev and removed Jayadrath’s head from his body.

Arjun had fulfilled his vow.

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37. Drona passes awayDuryodhan’s spirits were broken at the close of the fourteenth

day. Arjun had slain Jayadrath and the Pandavs had wiped out ahuge portion of the Kaurav army. As usual, Duryodhan vented hisanger on his commander-in-chief Dronacharya. The old guru wasenraged at this and said: “You are most ungrateful, Duryodhan,insulting me even though I am doing my best for your sake. I shallnow destroy the Pandavs or perish myself.”

The battle continued even into the night with the help of torchesand flaming lights. It was an eerie and frightening night.

Duryodhan’s army also had many Rakshas soldiers who nowbegan causing havoc in the Pandav army. Yudhishtir was anxiousto counter this. Bheem’s son Ghatotkach, now stepped forward towage counter-warfare. Not only did he defeat and wipe outDuryodhan’s Rakshasas, but also began destroying the Kauravarmy.

Soon, Ghatotkach single-handedly wiped out an entire KauravAkshauhini. The Kauravs trembled at the ferocious detsruction thatGhatotkach was causing. It was clear that unless something wasdone to stop him, the Kaurav army would cease to exist by sunrisenext morning. But no one including Drona, Karna or Shalya couldstand before Ghatotkach.

Karna had obtained the Vaijayanti weapon from Indra in re-turn for giving away his kavach and kundals. He had kept it re-served for use against Arjun, but Duryodhan and his brothers nowpleaded with him to use the weapon now to stop Ghatotkach. Karnawas reluctant to use it, but there was little time for thought. Ghatotkachwould indeed leave no Kauravs alive by morning.

Karna went forward to combat Ghatotkach and used manydivine astras against but to no avail. Ghatotkach’s powers easily

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disposed off Karna’s weapons. Left with no alternative, Karna dis-charged Indra’s shakti upon Ghatotkach. It entered the giant’s bodyin a flash of light and then flew heavenwards. Ghatotkach even whiledying enlarged his body and fell, crushing innumerable Kaurav sol-diers, chariots, elephants and horses under him. Bheem’s youngson too became a martyr.

The Pandav army grieved at Ghatotkach’s heroic death. OnlyShree Krishna was relieved as Karna’s Vaijayanti was now goneand could not be used against Arjun. Arjun now had nothing to fear.It was now certain that he would eventually slay Karna.

After a while, the fifteenth morning of the war dawned. Actingaccording to the promise he had made to Duryodhan, Dronacharya,with scant regard for the rules of war, was fighting like a man pos-sessed. He first killed King Virat and then also slew his childhoodfriend King Drupad of Panchal. Drona then went about slaughteringthe Pandav army.

It was necessary to stop Dronacharya. But none could defeathim as long as he held a bow in his hand. It was necessary to con-vey some bad news to him. Shree Krishna had a plan. If Dronaheard that his son Ashwatthama had been killed, he would breakdown. Bheem killed an elephant of the Kaurav army by the name ofAshwatthama, stood before Drona’s chariot and roared: “I have slainAshwatthama!”

Drona was stunned when he heard this. But he could not easilybelieve it and asked Yudhishtir, “Dharmaputra, you never speakuntruth. Is what Bheem has said true?”

Krishna had anticipated this. He had somehow convincedYudhishtir of the need to adopt strategy to achieve victory for thesake of Dharma and the higher truth. Drona was after all, fightingfor injustice and adharma. There was nothing wrong in employingtactic to put him out of action.

The ever-truthful Yudhishtir therefore said with a heavy heart:“Yes, Ashwatthama has perished.” But soon added, “Ashwatthama

the elephant, or the man.”It was too late. Yudhishtir’s words were lost in the din of the

battle. Stunned, Drona cast aside his weapons and sat in the rearof his chariot, meditating upon the Almighty. He had lost interest inlife. Dhrishtadyumna, the Pandav supreme commander ascendedDrona’s chariot and with one slash of his powerful sword, choppedoff Drona’s head. The saga of Dronacharya was over.

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38. Karna is slainAfter fifteen days, it was becoming clearer and clearer that

the Kauravs would soon be defeated. In desperation, Duryodhanappointed Karna as his third commander-in-chief on the sixteenthday of the war. Karna swore that he would slay all the Pandavs andmake Duryodhan victorious. But he was unable to achieve anythingsubstantial on the sixteenth day.

At night, Karna said toDuryodhan: “Arjun has agreat charioteer in Krishna.Only Shalya, the king ofMadra can match Krishna incharioteering skills. OrderShalya to be my charioteerand I can easily take care ofArjun.”

When Shalya heard ofKarna’s desire, he washighly enraged. Duryodhanpacified him with difficultyand got him to agree for thetask at hand.

Arjun continued tospeed ahead in his destruc-

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tion of the Kaurav army on the seventeenth day. Slowly, the chari-ots of Karna and Arjun began to draw nearer.

Meanwhile, Bheem spotted Dushasan. He remembered thegame of dice and what Dushasan had attempted to do to Draupadi.Bheem could no longer control his rage. He jumped down from hischariot gada in hand and charged at Dushasan like a mighty tigerspringing upon its helpless prey. Bheem’s assault smashedDushasan’s chariot. The son of Vaayu picked up the tremblingDushasan like a bundle of clothes and roared, “See your hand thatdared touch the divine Draupadi.” Bheem plucked out Dushasan’shand and threw it afar. He than brought Dushasan crashing to theground and proclaimed, “Wretch! I now fulfil the oath I made thir-teen years ago. Anyone who has the courage may try and stopme.” The giant Bheem than ripped apart the screaming Dushasan’schest and drank his blood like a lion feasting upon its prey.Duryodhan fainted with shock when he saw Bheem fulfil his oath.Ten of his brothers attacked Bheem but the son of Vaayu finishedthem off in no time.

Arjun slew Karna’s son Vrishsen before his father’s eyes.Burning with anger, Karna attacked Arjun. Both warriors showeredarrows on each other and also began using their divine weapons.

All of a sudden, the wheel of Karna’s chariot sank in the mudand got stuck firmly. Karna got down from his vehicle to retrieve itand requested Arjun not shoot arrows at him, saying it would beagainst righteous conduct. Shree Krishna then mocked Karna, say-ing, “Karna, it is surprising that you remember Dharma and rightconduct when you are in distress. Where was Dharma throughoutyour life? Arjun, there is nothing wrong in slaying such people evenif they are helpless.”

Karna pleaded, “Krishna, I am unarmed at the moment andon the ground. Attacking me now would be against Dharma.”

Krishna replied in a stern, resounding voice, “Oh really? Sonow you remember Dharma when your own life is in danger. Wheredid your great ‘knowledge’ of Dharma vanish when you all tried to

poison Bheem and threw him into the river? While plotting to burnthe Pandavs alive at Varnavat, conspiring with Duryodhan to de-prive the Pandavs of their basic rights in that game of deceit ortrying to dishonour Draupadi in publicly? Or when seven of youkilled young Abhimanyu with no regard for the rules of war? Arjun,what are you waiting for? Dispatch your arrow and put an end tothis vile man, this embodiment of adharma!”

Arjun obeyed the command of Shree Krishna and shot downKarna’s flag. Then he demolished his chariot’s umbrella and fixedhis third arrow to his bow. Dhananjay dedicated this arrow to hispenance, his merit and Shree Krishna Himself and loosened thebowstring. The Gaandeev’s sound was like a thunderclap. A flash oflightning emerged from it as Arjun’s arrow sped towards Karna. Thenext instant Karna’s head flew from his shoulders and landed afar.Krishna and Arjun blew their conches in victory. The seventeenthday of the war was over.

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39. The end of DuryodhanOn the eighteenth day, Duryodhan appointed King Shalya of

Madra as the commander-in-chief of the Kaurav army, or whateverwas left of it after seventeen days of incessant warfare. The Pandavswere on the threshold of victory; the Kauravs, sensing defeat weredetermined to fight to the bitter end. It was decided that instead ofindividual combat, they would stick together.

Sahadev killed the remaining sons of Karna. He also soughtout and killed the evil Shakuni and his son Ulook. Arjun finally killedSusharma of Trigart. Bheemsen slew all the remaining brothers ofDuryodhan.

Yudhishtir used a powerful shakti piercing Shalya’s chest. AfterShalya’s death, the remainder of the Kaurav army completely dis-persed in all directions. The Kauravs had been decisively routed;the Pandav victory was complete.

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Thus the eighteen-day Kurukshetra War came to an end. Allthe Pandav brothers and their leading warriors were still alive, whileonly Duryodhan, Sanjay, Ashwatthama, Kripacharya and Kritavarmaremained on the Kaurav side. Their vast army of eleven Akshauhinishad been completely destroyed by the Pandavs. Ashwatthama, Kripaand Kritavarma fled the battlefield on their chariots. Seeing the vic-

torious Pandav army ad-vancing towards him,Duryodhan too fled thescene. The Pandavs beganlooking for him. Wounded,tired and desperate,Duryodhan went northwardsand reached the vastDwaipayan Lake. He usedsome magic he knew to stillthe waters of the lake andentered it to rest inside thewater.

The Pandavs wereaware that their victory wouldbe incomplete withoutDuryodhan’s end. Spiesbrought them news of

Duryodhan’s hiding place. Yudhishtir and his brothers with ShreeKrishna, followed by the Pandav army reached the place. Yudhishtirchallenged Duryodhan, “Do not hide like an imbecile, Duryodhan.Come out and fight like a Kshatriya.”

Duryodhan replied, “I am ready to come out and kill all of youbut am tired and have come to rest here. I shall fight only one of youat a time, kill you all and repay debt to all those who have laid downtheir lives for my sake.” Duryodhan then came to the surface of thewater hissing like a snake. He donned armour and picked up hisgada. Bheem too picked up his mace and stepped forward to con-

front Duryodhan.Desperate after his defeat in the war, Duryodhan charged

towards Bheem. He was aware that this was his last chance. For hispart, Bheem remembered the suffering of the Pandavs all theseyears and was also enthused with confidence by their stupendousvictory in the war. Bheem was huge and unmatched in physicalstrength, while Duryodhan had put in more practice in wielding themace during the last thirteen years. Sparks flew as both clashed inthis deadly duel.

Arjun slapped his thighs to remind Bheem of his vow. Bheemremembered in a flash and his anger now exploded. Duryodhanhad leapt in the air to avoid Bheem’s blows but left his thigh ex-posed. Bheem now brought his gada crashing down on hisadversary’s thigh. It was like a thunderbolt. Duryodhan let out asickening scream “Eeeeeyyaaaaaa” and fell to the ground. Bheemroared in triumph and stomped upon Duryodhan’s head to vent hisburning rage of the past many years. The victorious Pandavs blewtheor conches and left Duryodhan beside the lake. He had only afew moments of life left.

The Pandav army returned to its camps. All warriors celebratedtheir historic victory and rested for the night. Upon Shree Krishna’sadvice, the five Pandavs spent that night outside the camp near ariver some distance away.

Ashwatthama, Kripacharya and Kritavarma had seen the vic-torious Pandav army depart from the Dwaipayan Lake whereDuryodhan was supposed to be resting. After the Pandavs had left,they came to meet Duryodhan and saw him lying mortally wounded.All three were sunk in grief; Ashwatthama burnt with rage and sworeto kill the Pandavs at night when they would be asleep. He forciblyconvinced his uncle Kripa and Kritavarma to assist him in his evilplan.

It was very dark night. The three reached the Pandav campstealthily. While Kripa and Kritavarma stood guard at the entrance,

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Ashwattham entered unseen. He first slaughtered Dhrishtadyumnathen Shikhandi and Draupadi’s five sons. He then set fire to thewhole camp. The Pandav soldiers were thus helplessly slaughtered.Kripacharya and Kritavarma who were lying in wait at the gates cutdown those who tried to escape. Within a few hours, most of thecamp was reduced to ashes. After committing this ghastly crime,Ashwatthama hurried with Kripa and Kritavarma to the lake whereDuryodhan was in the throes of death. Hearing what Ashwatthamahad done, Duryodhan was very happy. He then breathed his last.Ashwatthama, Kripa and Kritavarma left in different directions.

When the Pandavs learnt of this terrible tragedy, they wentmad with rage and grief. They had lost all their sons. Draupadi andthe other wives of the Pandavs, living in Upaplavya too arrived onthe scene. Their grief was beyond control. Draupadi vowed not toucheven a drop of water until the murderer Ashwatthama was dealt hisdue punishment. Bheem ascended a chariot and rushed in the di-rection Ashwatthama had taken. Krishna and Arjun, plus the otherPandavs followed him on their chariots.

They found Ashwatthama hiding in a rishi’s ashram on thebanks of the Ganga. When Arjun challenged him, Ashwatthama wasstruck by fear and took a blade of grass in his hand. He then ut-tered the mantra of the Brahmashiras astra and let it loose on thePandavs in order to destroy them. To counter this, Arjun also re-leased the Brahmashiras. Both the divine astras, possessing theawesome power of universal destruction clashed with each other. Itseemed as if the entire creation would come to an end. DevarshiNarad and Ved Vyaas appeared at that moment and ordered bothArjun and Ashwatthama to withdraw their astras. Arjun could easilydo so, but Ashwattham failed to do likewise. Finally, he diverted theastra upon the womb of Uttaraa, the late Abhimnayu’s wife who waspregnant and was living in Dwaraka.

Krishna cursed the wretched Ashwatthama, who though be-ing a Brahmin had ventured into the Kshatriyas’ domain of fightingand killing. In fact, Ashwatthama’s actions had made him fall below

even an animal. Shree Krishna then pronounced a terrible curse onhim: “Your body will be full of boils and wounds, with pus oozing outof it. You shall keep wandering for many thousands of years in for-ests and mountains. No human will be able to see you or help you.You shall thus suffer for long.” Krishna then snatched away a celes-tial gem on Ashwatthama’s head. Ashwatthama turned into a ghoul-ish figure and left for the forests.

Bheem presented the divine gem to Draupadi and told her,“We have taken revenge on Ashwatthama by inflicting terrible pun-ishment on him. You must now stop grieving.” Draupadi gave thegem to Yudhishtir who wore it on his crown.

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40. After the war

The Pandavs returned to Hastinapur. They went to meetDhritarashtra and Gandhari, whose world had collapsed with thedeath of all their sons. Dhritarashtra and Gandhari were inconsol-able. The mother of a hundred sons and many grandsons was ren-dered childless. All this happened because of the evil of one man,Duryodhan. She accused Krishna: “Madhusoodan, if you had reallywished, you could have stopped this war and the destruction of theKuru Dynasty. I curse you that like me, you too shall be forced towitness the destruction of the Yadav race.”

“I accept your curse,” said Shree Krishna calmly.Yudhishtir gently persuaded Dhritarashtra and Gandhari that

they should continue living in Hastinapur as before.Yudhsihtir was then duly crowned as emperor of the Kurus to

the accompaniment of Vedic mantras. Bheem held the reins of hischariot. Arjun held a royal umbrella over Yudhishtir’s head. Nakuland Sahadev stood fanning him.

Arjun had felled Bheeshma the grandsire on the tenth day ofthe Kurukshetra war. He was now lying on his bed of arrows, waitingfor the appropriate time to depart from the mortal world. The

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Pandavs, Dhritarashtra and Shree Krishna went to Kurukshetra tosee Bheeshma.

There were still fifty-six days for Uttarayan to begon. Bheeshmaimparted the knowledge of statecraft, kingly duties (rajdharma), theduties of a kshatriya, politics and administration to Yudhishtir. Thisdiscourse lasted for all the fifty-six days. On the final day, Bheeshmaenquired about everyone. He then fixed his mind and senses onLord Krishna who blessed him and said: “You have not done any-thing wrong, never spoken a lie nor acted against Dharma in yourlife. You have never shirked your duty and have upheld your vow inevery respect. You are now free to rejoin the celestial world of theVasus.”

Using the power of yoga, Bheeshma concentrated his entireenergy in his head and left his earthly body through the route of theBrahmachakra (on the crown). A shining halo left his body and trav-eled heavenwards. The divine Vasu, who had been born asShantanu’s son, had completed his journey on earth.

Once, Maharshi Ved Vyaas came to see Yudhishtir. He ad-vised Yudhishtir: “To dispel your mind’s grief at having to fight anundesired war and also to quell the anarchy arising from the de-struction of most kings in the Kurukshetra war, you must performthe Ashwamedh Yadnya.”

Soon, Abhimanyu’s wife Uttaraa conceived. But because ofthe effect of Ashwatthama’s Brahmaastra, her baby boy was deliv-ered lifeless. This child was the only hope of the continuation of thePandav lineage after all their children had perished in the war. Butseeing Uttaraa’s lifeless infant, their grief was uncontrollable. ShreKrishna immediately entered Uttaraa’s chamber and consoled herand all the ladies. He then said, “If I have never spoken a lie in mylife, never run away from battle, have slain evil-doers and if Dharmaand power be present in me then let this child rendered lifeless bythe Brahmaastra come to life.”

So saying, Shree Krishna placed the toe of his right foot uponthe chest of the infant. The next moment, the baby boy came to life

and started crying loudly. There was joy in the Pandav family. ShreeKrishna named the boy Pareekshit.

Yudhishtir’s Ashwamedh Yadnya began on an auspicious day.Arjun escorted the sacred horse and forced all rulers to acceptYudhishtir as their emperor. After the Pandav victory in theKurukshetra war, few dared argue. Arjun returned victorious.Yudhishtir’s Ashwamedh Yadnya was a grand success.

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41. Lord Krishna winds up his incarnationDhritarashtra and Gandhari lived for fifteen years in Hastinapur

after Yudhishtir’s coronation as emperor. They then desired to en-ter the vaanaprasth ashram. Kunti, Vidur and Sanjay too decided tojoin them. All of them left for the forest. The Pandavs and the city ofHastinapur grieved for them. After three years, Narad arrived tomeet the Pandavs. He informed them that their mother Kunti,Gandhari and Dhritarashtra had given up their bodies in a forestfire. Vidur had passed away earlier. Sanjay had become a sanyasi.Yudhishtir ruled wisely and well for thirty-six years after the GreatWar.

The Yadavs of Dwaraka had become intoxicated with powerand wealth and very arrogant. Strife and quarrels among them be-came an everyday affair. Once, during their community festivals,they started furiously quarrelling among themselves. This soon ledto physical fight and bloodshed. Most of them perished in this man-ner. In Shree Krishna’s presence, Balaram left for his heavenly abodeof Vaikunth using the power of yogamaya. Deciding to wind up hisavatar on earth, Shree Krishna sat under a tree in a yogic posture.A hunter mistook his foot for the mouth of a deer and shot an arrowin its direction. When he reached the spot, he saw what he haddone and was horrified. But Shree Krishna consoled him and lefthis physical body to return to his original divine form. All the Devas,Goddesses, Gandharvs, Kinnars, Siddhas, rishis and munis pros-

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trated to the Lord and sang his praises as he left for His abode ofVaikunth. The Kali Yuga began the moment Shree Krishna woundup his incarnation.

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42. The Pandavs attain heavenAfter Shree Krishna’s departure, the Pandavs lost all interets

in life and decied to renounce the earth. They crowned their grand-son Pareekshit as the emperor of Hastinapur and Vajra, the solesurviving descendant of the Yadav Dynasty, as king of Indraprastha.The Pandavs and Draupadi cast off their royal clothes and leftHastinapur forever.

Yudhishtir walked ahead followed by Bheem, Arjun, Nakul,Sahadev and Draupadi. Yudhishtir’s pet dog too followed them

a f f e c t i o n a t e l y . T h ePandavs visited the east-ern part of the country andthen turned to the south.They then went south-west, westwards and sawthe city of Dwaraka sub-merged by the ocean af-ter Shree Krishna’s depar-ture from earth. ThePandavs then turnednorthwards towards theHimalayas. Crossing theHimalayas, they went stillupwards to the divineMeru Mountains.

All of a sudden,Draupadi fell down lifeless.When Bheem asked the

reason for this, Yudhishtir replied, “She was partial to Arjun amongsther husbands.”

Sahadev fell next. Yudhishtir explained, “Sahadev thoughthimself to be the most intelligent on earth.”

Nakul was the next to go. Yudhishtir said, “he was too vainabout his handsome looks.”

Arjun’s turn came next. Dharmaraj said, “Arjun was fond ofboasting of finishing all his enemies in a single day.”

Bheem was the last one to fall. Yudhishtir told him, “You arefalling because of your pride in your matchless strength, your ex-cessive greed for food and extreme hatred of foes.”

Yudhishtir was now alone. Only the faithful dog kept him com-pany as he transcended the realms of human life and existence.Finally, Indra, king of the Devas, appeared before him and informedhim that his brothers and Draupadi had already reached heavenbefore him. Indra invited him to enter heaven in that very body.Yudhishtir picked up his little dog. Indra objected, saying, “Why areso fond of a mere dog?”

Yudhishtir replied, “This dog has been faithful to me in myfinal journey. I shall incur sin if I were to forsake it. I would ratherforsake the joys of heaven, but shall not leave this faithful compan-ion.”

The next moment, the dog vanished and Yama, the god ofdeath and justice stood in its place. Pleased, he said to Yudhishtir,“Dear son, you have successfully passed all tests and have emergedsupreme.”

Following this, Yudhishtir bathed in the Ganga that flowed inheaven and discarded his physical body to attain a divine one. Hesaw his mothers, father, all his brothers and Draupadi, near anddear ones. The Pandavs also could see Bhagwan Shree Krishnabeing worshipped by the gods. In this state, they attained completebliss, having completed their journey on earth.

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