Chapter 23 – Year of Disguise

The Pandavas spent 12 years of exile in the forest and they were getting prepared to face the most difficult part of the exile condition – the final year of exile , the year of disguise. They started planning how to spend the final year. They decided to leave to the Kingdom of Matsya ruled by a Wise king , Virata. Virata was known for his Just rule and his generosity. They hid their weapons in a Shami tree which they happened to see on the way to the Matsya kingdom.

The Pandavas reached Upaplavya, the city in Matsya.

Yudhishtra joined the court of Virata as a gambler with the name Kanka. Bheema became a cook in the King’s kitchen since he had a flair for cooking. He called himself Bhallava and also assumed the role of a wrestler.  Arjuna, who had been cursed by Urvashi (Chapter 22) disguised himself as a woman , called himself Brihannala. Since he had mastered the art of music and dance at Indralok, he became a tutor for the young ladies in the palace – teaching them various art forms, specially to the Princess Uttara. Nakula became a groom at the royal stable in the name Granthika. Sahadeva, who was skilled in taming cows, called himself Tantipala and worked as a cowherd looking after the cattle in the Palace. As for Draupadi, she became a sairandhiri ( Sairandhris were a class of virtuous women ) and served the Queen, Sudhashena as a beautician. She named herself as Malini. Thus they started spending their year of disguise.

One day, when Draupadi was going to the queen’s chamber, Keechaka, the commander of the Matsya army and the brother of Sudhshena happened to see her. He was smitten by Kamadeva as soon as he saw her. He immediately went to his sister and told her about his liking for Draupadi. Sudhashena initially disapproved of this , since she was her maid. But Keechaka somehow convinced her and got her to arrange a meeting with Draupadi. Keechaka waited for the meeting to happen. Later that day, the Queen asked Draupadi to take some wine to Keechaka. Draupadi refused to do so but later agreed with the assurance of the queen that she will ensure her safety. When Draupadi entered Keechaka’s chamber, he invited her to sit with him and drink some wine. He tried to hug her, but Draupadi pushed him and started running. She ran straight to the courtroom of Virata with Keechaka tailing her. He kicked her in the courtroom in front of everyone present there, including Kanka (Yudhishtra). None of the court members came forward to help her out of their fear for Keechaka.

Draupadi was very angry and humiliated and wanted to avenge the insult. That night, she went Bheema and narrated the incident. Bheema got extremely furious and told Draupadi that he would take care. He asked her to invite him to the dance hall next night. Draupadi happily agreed and left the place.

The next day, she did as she was told. That night, when Kheechaka entered the dance hall, the door shut and Bheema, who was hiding behind it pounced on him. It was a tough fight as both were matchless opponents. Finally, Bheema killed the cruel Kheechaka.

Draupadi had first mentioned that she had 5 Gandharva husbands. Everyone hence thought that one of the Gandharvas would have killed the mighty Keechaka. And it was thus decided that Draupadi should also be buried along with Keechaka.When Bheema heard about it, he went out of the palace secretly to the forest. He uprooted a tree and went to the place where people had assembled to burn the body of Keechaka and bury Draupadi alive. Bheema swung the tree around and came running towards them, scaring them for life. Everyone thought that the Gandharva had come to save Draupadi and began running helter skelter. Bheema threw the tree away and returned back to the palace.

King Virata and his Queen apologized to Draupadi. Thus Keechaka’s life came to an end.

Previous Chapter 22 – Arjuna’s Quest for Weapons

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Chapter 22 – Arjuna’s Quest for Weapons

One day, Sage Ved Vyasa visited the Pandavas. He told them that their opponents, the Kauravas had many powerful warriors like Bheeshma, Drona, Karna etc along their side. So in the event of a war between both the sides, it would be extremely important for the Pandavas to balance their strength   fulfill their vows and win the battle. The only way to gain more power would be to get celestial weapons from the Gods themselves. Saying these, he left the Pandavas thinking.

They decided that Arjuna should start on a mission to obtain celestial weapons to help them win the war. So Arjuna, after getting the blessings of his brothers, set out northwards towards the Himalayas. He carried with him his Gandeeva & other weapons.

On his way, he heard a voice. “O Kshatriya! Why do you carry weapons in this peaceful mountain inhabited by saints and sages”. Arjuna looked around and saw a sage meditating under a tree. Assuming that it was the sage who spoke, he replied, “Holy One! I am on a journey to acquire weapons of the Gods “. Then the sage revealed his true form. He was none other than Lord Indra, the King of Devas and the God father of Arjuna. He advised Arjuna to do a penance for Lord Shiva and acquire the Great Pasupathastra from the Lord Himself, after which Indra promised to give him the necessary weaponries to fight the battle. Arjuna thanked Lord Indra and decided to perform a penance for Lord Shiva.

During the first month, he survived by eating fruits and leaves. In the second month, he had nothing to eat and lasted with only water. The next month, he only breathed. During the fourth month, he hardly consumed air. This caused panic in all the three worlds. The Devas pleaded Lord Shiva to put an end to the hard penance by Arjuna and save the worlds. The Lord agreed and went down to earth in the guise of a hunter.

Mookasura, a Danava (a.k.a Asura) in the form of a wild boar saw Arjuna and charged towards him. Arjuna saw the boar and mounted a powerful missile (missile, really?? those days??) on his Gandeeva and shot it towards the Danava. The boar fell down and assumed his original form of the Danava. When Arjuna went closer, he saw two arrows that had pierced the Asura’s body.  One was his and he was wondering who the other arrow belonged to. He looked around and saw a hunter. He asked the hunter “I had killed the boar already. Why have you shot an arrow too?” But the hunter replied that he was the one who killed the boar first with his arrow. They argued for a long time, which slowly turned out to be a fierce fight. Arjuna kept shooting a series of arrows on the hunter, but the hunter kept absorbing them. Arjuna’s inexhaustible quiver was empty leaving him stunned and worried. He quickly took out his sword and charged towards the hunter. The hunter charged towards Arjuna too. They fought until the swords broke. Next they fought with bare hands and the hunter overpowered Arjuna in a while.

Arjuna unable to gather any further strength decided to seek the help of Lord Shiva. He quickly made a Lingam (an idol form of Shiva) out of sand and worshipped it with a garland of flowers. But the garland, to his surprise adorned the neck of the hunter. That’s when Arjuna realized that for so long he had been fighting with the wielder of the Holy Trident, Lord Shiva Himself. Arjuna immediately fell on His feet and sought his blessings. Shiva then assumed his original divine form and said, “O Partha! I am impressed with your bravery and your archery skills. You can now possess the Great Pasupathastra”. The Lord also restored Arjuna’s quiver with arrows and his sword. Lord Shiva also taught Arjuna how to use the weapon since it could bring out mass destruction in a single shot.

With that, Shiva blessed Arjuna and returned to his abode.

Lord Indra along with the Devas appeared before Arjuna and granted him all the celestial weapons that were promised by Indra. Indra took Arjuna along with him to Devlok. Arjuna spent his stay learning the art of music, dance and warfare in Devlok. During his stay, he once had a misunderstanding with Urvashi, a celestial apsara. Urvashi cursed him that he will spend a year of his life as a woman. Arjuna spent the rest of the days happily at Devlok.

Arjuna came back to earth and reached the hut of the Pandavas. He displayed all the weapons he had acquired during his quest. The Pandava brothers were pleased to have Arjuna back, successful from his mission.

Previous Chapter 21 – The Years of Exile

Next Chapter 23 – Year of Disguise

 

Chapter 21 – The Years of Exile

The journey of the Pandavas began leaving the people in their Kingdom in sadness and their enemies in happiness. They left behind their royal robes and jewelry. All they carried along were their weapons. Many people, Rishis and Brahmanas followed the Pandavas, fearing the cruel Kauravas. But Yudhishtra requested them to stay back, not wanting them to suffer for his mistake.

Once in the forests, the Pandavas set up their hut and started living there. There are many incidents that I can share during their stay in the forests. But those will probably run chapters. So would cite a few important ones.

Akshaya Patra : Many sages visited them during their stay. Draupadi was worried since she did not know how to feed all their guests as they turned out in large numbers. Yudhishtra hence prayed to the Sun God for a solution. Lord Surya answered him and gifted him with the Akshaya Patra. The Akshaya Patra is a divine plate that has the ability to provide food as the rays of the Sun falls at it. The plate would be filled with food until Draupadi finished her meals. With the Akshaya Patra, Draupadi happily served all the wise men who visited them to their hut.

Once Sage Durvasa visited Hastinapur. Duryodhana served the sage well and the sage was extremely pleased with his hospitality. He granted Duryodhana a wish in return. Duryodhana utilized this opportunity and requested the sage to visit his brothers, the Pandavas for lunch who are living in the forests.”They will be honored to serve you , O great Sage” said Duryodhana. Durvasa, along with his followers went to the Pandavas hut. The Pandavas were extremely pleased with this sudden visit of the Great Sage. The Sage said that he would take a dip in the nearby river and come for lunch. The sad part is that Draupadi had finished her lunch already and the Akshaya Patra was empty by then. The Pandavas were thinking hard on how to serve the guests since they very well knew about  Durvasa’s anger. Idea!! Draupadi called her savior – Lord Krishna again for help. Krishna came to their hut and looked out for a solution. He saw a grain of rice stuck to the Akshaya Patra and ate the rice grain. Immediately, Durvasa felt so full that he could barely walk. He thought it would be very rude if he does not eat from the Pandavas’ hut. Not wanting to embarrass himself, Durvasa left the place without coming back to the hut. Thus Krishna saved the Pandavas from a fix again.

Pandavas save Duryodhana : Meanwhile, Duryodhana not happy yet with the punishment given to the Pandavas , wanted to have them suffer during their forest days as well. He had hence gone to the forest to witness their hardship. On his way, he had to cross a lake, but was stopped by a Gandharva. The Gandharva would not allow him any further since the land belonged to them and was not ready to allow any trespassers. Duryodhana however did not pay heed and stepped into the lake. He was immediately imprisoned by the Gandharva along with his companions. The soldiers who managed to escape went straight to the Pandavas and pleaded for help. While all the Pandavas were against helping Duryodhana, Yudhishtra wanted his brothers to help Duryodhana. So Arjuna and Bheema went straight to the Gandharva and ordered him to free the prisoners. The Gandharva respected the Pandavas for their might and honesty and freed Duryodhana and his group. Duryodhana returned back home with shame.

Yudhishtra’s wisdom : In another incident, while the Pandavas were roaming about , they felt very thirsty. Sahadeva went in search of water and came near a large pond. When he was about to take a sip, he heard a voice – “Hey, I am the owner of this pond and nobody can drink water from this pond without answering my questions. ”. But the warning fell on deaf ears and Sahadeva took a sip. Immediately he fell on the ground – dead! One by the one, the other Pandavas met the same fate as they came looking for each other. Finally, Yudhishtra came to the pond in search of his missing brothers and found them lying dead. Then he heard the same voice and realized that it belonged to a Yaksha. He agreed to answer the questions.

Q : Who is the best friend a man had when he leaves his homeland?

Yudhishtra’s response : His Education

Q : What is the biggest gift, a man can have ?

Yudhishtra’s response : Good health

Q : Which is the biggest wonder in the world ?

Yudhishtra’s response : A person sees death everywhere around him and still thinks he is immortal

The Yaksha was pleased with the answers and revealed his true identity to Yudhishtra. He was none other than Lord Yama, the God of Death and the God father of Yudhishtra. He said he would be able to save only one of his brothers and asked Yudhishtra who he would choose to save. Yudhishtra chose Nakula. When asked why this choice, Yudhishtra replied that he was the Son of Kunti and was alive. He wanted Madri to have a son alive too and so he chose Nakula.

Yama was very pleased and brought back everyone to life. He also blessed them with victory against the Kauravas.

Bheema and Hanuman : Do you know Hanuman? I am sure you do. He is the God of Strength and a loyal devotee of Lord Rama. Now one more fact about Hanuman. He is also the brother of Bheema (Both were sons of Lord Vayu ). Once during the year of exile, there was a meeting between both of them. When Arjuna was away, Draupadi saw a fallen Saugandhika flower . The flower was very beautiful and she wanted more of it. So she asked Bheema to get them. Bheema took his maze and set out in search of the flowers. During his search, he saw a monkey sleeping under a tree. Its long tail was blocking his way. He got angry and shouted at the monkey. The monkey woke up at Bheema’s sound. Bheema screamed, “Hey! Move your tail”. The monkey replied coolly, “I am very old and don’t have any strength. Please move my tail and proceed”. Bheema tried to lift the tail with his left hand, but he couldn’t. He again tried with his strong right hand, yet he couldn’t lift. Then he tried using both his hands , but they were of no use. He tried and tried and tried again, but in vain. Bheema realized that this was no ordinary monkey and bowed to it. “O Great One! Please tell me who you are”. The monkey was suddenly surrounded by a beam of light and he transformed into Hanuman. Bheema fell at His feet and took the blessings of his elder brother. Hanuman promised to help Pandavas during the war that would soon break out between them and the Kauravas by positioning himself on Arjuna’s flag staff.

Previous Chapter 20 – The Game of Dice

Next Chapter 22 – Arjuna’s Quest for Weapons

Chapter 20 – The Game of Dice

Duryodhana wanted to take revenge on Pandavas and Draupadi too. He told his uncle Shakuni that he wanted to wage a war against the Pandavas to avenge the insult. But Shakuni said that Duryodhana would lose the war because Duryodhana was no match to Arjuna and Bheema’s prowess. Shakuni hence told Duryodhana that they should plan something else and came up with a cunning plan. He asked Duryodhana to invite Yudhishtra for a Royal Feast for celebrating his Kingship and cunningly introduce a game of dice as part of the party. Since Yudhishtra had a weakness for gambling, he was sure that Yudhishtra would agree for the game. “Go, ask your father for permission. But remember not to mention about the game of dice”, said Shakuni. Duryodhana convinced Dhritarashtra and made him invite the Pandavas for the feast.

Sanjaya, the Minister of the Royal Court was sent to invite the Pandavas, Draupadi and their Mother Kunti. Yudhishtra happily agreed and set out with Sanjaya, with his family along. They were received with grandeur and respect. Celebrations were held at every corner of Hastinapur. The Pandavas were also happy. The party was filled with music and dance performances by artists from every corner of the country. The Grand feast was enjoyed every bit by the guests. After the feast, as everyone was chatting, Duryodhana suggested to play a game of dice. At first the Pandavas disagreed, but Yudhishtra agreed to play since he thought it would be a good way to spend their time.

The game began between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. The women went back to the Palace chambers. Duryodhana managed to bring in Shakuni on their behalf to play the game saying that he did not know the rules of the game and would be no match to Yudhishtra. The other Pandavas sensed something fishy. But Yudhishtra said that these should not be taken seriously since it was only meant to be a game of fun.

The game began with each side betting small amount of money. Shakuni let Yudhishtra win the initial games. The wins further tempted Yudhishtra to continue the game betting jewelry, large amount of money, lands etc. That’s when Shakuni started his real game. He was known for cheating in such a manner that the numbers on the dice would always turn to his advantage. Slowly Yudhishtra was ripped off his wealth. It came to a point when Yudhishtra was stripped off his Kingdom. Duryodhana taunted Yudhishtra to bet on his brothers for the next game. Yudhishtra agreed and lost them too. He then put himself at stake and lost again. In the next game, he lost Draupadi too. Now Yudhishtra had to accept defeat since he had nothing more to lose.

Duryodhana had all reasons to take revenge on Pandavas and Draupadi. He wanted to insult Draupadi as a payback for the treatment at Indraprastha ( Chapter 19 ) . He ordered Dushasana to drag Draupadi out of her chamber as he considered her a slave now. Dushasana dragged her by her hair to the court. Duryodhana insulted her by hitting his thighs and signaling her to sit on his thighs. Bheema grew wild with rage. Duryodhana then instructed his brother to pull her royal robes out of her since she no longer was a queen and was only a slave to the Kauravas. Dushasana pulled out her robes. Draupadi looked out for help from her husbands but the Pandavas could do nothing and hung their heads helplessly. Draupadi had no support from anyone present in the Durbar including the Royal family. So she called out for her only Hope – The One and Only Lord Krishna to save her from the humiliation. Lord Krishna answered her Prayers and appeared to the eyes of Draupadi. He was invisible to everyone else around. Dushasana pulled her robes but her robes continued to keep increasing in length leaving a huge mountain of robes on the floor. Dushasana grew completely tired and fell on the floor breathless. Lord Krishna thus saved Draupadi from the complete insult.

The Pandavas, all the while helpless were extremely furious with the entire incident. Bheema vowed to avenge the insult by killing all the Kauravas. He vowed to the break the hands of Dushasana that dragged Draupadi, kill him and drink his blood. He also vowed to break the thighs of Duryodhana. Arjuna vowed to kill Karna who supported the Kauravas. Sahadeva vowed to kill Shakuni.

The sad part of this whole episode was that the complete incident took place under the very eyes of the elders of the Kuru court.

Dhritarashtra and all the elders in the court panicked at the anger of the Pandavas and pleaded Draupadi to forgive everyone for their silence and the misbehavior of the Kauravas. Dhritarashtra granted Draupadi two boons that she could wish immediately. Draupadi sought the freedom of her husbands for the first boon and the return of their complete wealth and Kingdom as the second boon.

The Pandavas returned back to Indraprastha. Duryodhana was extremely angry with his father and scared him saying that the Pandavas with their wealth and Kingdom would easily overpower the Kaurava clan and would kill them all as per the vows. He hence wanted to invite them for a second game of dice with the condition that the losing side should surrender their wealth and Kingdom and go for a 13 years exile – 12 years in the forests and 1 year in hiding. During the 13^th year of exile, if their true identity was revealed, they would have to spend another 12 years in the forests. Dhritarashtra was convinced and Yudhishtra was invited again.

Yudhishtra agreed for the game again and as expected, he lost the game. The Pandavas set out on their period of exile along with Draupadi.

Previous Chapter 19 – Shishupala & other stories

Next Chapter 21 : The Years of Exile