unrecognised, in some inhabited country ; if they
were recognised, another twelve years' exile should
follow. Despite the pleading of Drona, Vidura,
Bhishma and other leading men, the king consented,
aye, though even Gandhari begged him to abandon
Durj'odhana. The Pandavas were recalled and the
stake declared, with the addition that on the expiry
of the thirteenth year the kingdom of the exiled
was to be restored to them. Yudhishthira sadly sat
down once more, to play for this last stake, and for
the last time the cry of Shakuni was heard : " Lo, I
have won ! "
Then the sons of Pandu cast off their royal robes
and clad themselves in deer skins, Dushasana loudly
exulting over them and bidding Krishna forsake them
and choose another lord. And Bhima, " like a Hima-
layan lion," approached him, rebuking him, but
"without doing anything, for he could not deviate
from the path of virtue," and Dush&sana shouted at
him, dancing the while, " O cow ! Ocow!" Bhima,
suppressing his rage, followed his eldest brother, pro-
phesying sternly the slaughter that should come. But
G
98 THE GATHERING OF THE STORM-CLOUDS
Arjuna said softly : " O Bhima, the resolutions of
high-minded men are not known in words only. On
the fourteenth year from this day, they shall see what
happeneth." There spake the strong man, speaking
by deeds. Each of the four younger brothers form-
ally registered a solemn vow to slay their enemies
and then went to bid respectful farewell to king Dhrita-
rashtra. When Yudhishthira spoke his brief and sad
farewell, none was able to answer him for very shame,
but "within their hearts, however, they prayed " for his
welfare. Then Vidura bade them leave their mother
in his charge, and declared to them that they would
reap great benefit from their exile ; they would gain
in it, rightly used, forces that no foe would be able to
withstand. " O son of Kunti, with our leave go
hence. O Bharata, blessings be thine. No one can
say that ye have done anything sinful. We hope to
see thee, therefore, return in safety and crowned with
success." Sad was the parting between the heart-
broken Kunti and her sons ; scarce could she master
her woe and tear herself away. At last, all was over,
and the mournful procession filed forth. Yudhish-
thira went first, covering his face ; Bhima, looking at
his strong arms; Arjuna, scattering sand ; Sahadeva,'
besmearing his face ; Nakula, staining himself with
dust ; Krishna, weeping and covering her face with
• THE GOING FORTH 99
her dishevelled hair ; Dhaumya, with kusha grass in
hand, uttering " the awful mantras of the Samaveda,
relating to Yama."
Dhritar&shtra anxiously enquired of Vidura, who
brought him the news of the going forth, what was
the meaning of the actions of the Pandavas. And
Vidura said that king Yudhishthira, ever kind, would
not let his eyes light on any lest they should be in-
jured by his wrath ; that Bhima was longing for the
day when his strong arms should wreak his vengeance
on his foes ; that Arjuna scattered sand as emblem of
the arrows he would scatter in battle ; that Sahadeva
would avoid recognition in the day of trouble ; that
Nakula stained his face with dust that he might win
no heart by love ; that Draupadi thought of the wives
of her enemies, who in fourteen years would be be-
wailing their husbands on that very road ; and that
Dhaumya was chanting beforehand the obsequies
that would accompany the dead.
Then nature bewailed the crime that had been
wrought and the coming woes, and N&rada, surround-
ed by great Rishis, appeared and said : " On the
fourteenth year hence, the Kauravas, in consequence
of Duryodhana's fault, will all be destroyed by the
100 THE GATHERING OF THE STORM-CLOUDS
might of Bhima and Arjuna." On which they vanish-
ed, as suddenly as they came. Thus in gloom and
fateful presage set the sun that witnessed the exile of
the Pandavas.
:o:-
1
CHAPTER V.
The Thirteen Years' Exile.
We have now to follow the P^ndavas and their
wife through their twelve years of wanderings in
woods and on mountains and their year of disguise
in a city — thirteen years of trial and anxiety. This
part of our story is told in two Parvas ; the twelve
years in the jungles are described in the Vana (wood)
Parva, and the story of the year in disguise is told in
the Virata Parva — Virata being the name of the king
of the city where it was spent.
The first of these, the Vana Parva, is very bulky :
it is the longest of all the Parvas except one, the
Shanti Parva. This is due to the fact that it contains
some very long and instructive discourses, deliver-
ed to the princes by Rishis who visited them, and
also some beautiful stories told to amuse, as well as
to teach them, in the weary days of exile. We shall
have to leave these out, but you might read them for
yourselves as you have time. You will find in this
Parva part of the story of Rama, the Avatara, the
divine King ; and the story of S&vitri who, by her
devotion and cleverness won back her husband from
102 THE THIRTEEN YEARS' EXILE
the arms of death — a lovely story ; and the tale of king
Nala and his wife Damayanti, and of all the sorrows
they underwent in consequence of Nala's gambling.
The princes learned a great deal during their exile,
as you may also learn, if you follow their footsteps
through the Vana Parva.
When the princes set out from Hastinapura they
were followed by a great crowd of people, who wish-
ed to go with them, instead of remaining under the
rule of Duryodhana ; they declared that they wished
to associate with the good, not with the bad, for asso-
ciation with the righteous brought religious merit while
association with the evil caused virtue to lessen; " We
wish to live with you," they cried, " who possess those
attributes " of goodness. The people were here stat-
ing a very important rule of conduct. We should
try and live with those who are leading a good life,
and should not go into bad company. One person
affects another. You may catch smallpox by going
among people suffering from that disease, and moral
diseases are more catching and more serious than
physical ones. The minds of good people send out
purity, and the minds of bad people impurity. Both
are catching. In choosing your companions, choose
the good, especially while you are young; as you
grow older, your characters will become more fixed,
KING AND PEOPLE IO3
and you will be less liable to catch other people's
habits than while you are young.
But Yudhishthira knew that the people had no
right to leave their own king in order to follow him.
So he begged them to go back, and to love and
serve Bhishma, Dhritarashtra, Vidura and Kunti, and
thus shew their love to himself and his brothers. If
we have a bad ruler, we do not improve him by
desertion or rebellion. We have the ruler we deserve,
that our karma brings to us. If he be bad, we should
make the best of him, and by doing our part of duty
well, as loyal subjects, should steady the disturbed
State. If we are rebellious, we are left to our own
remedy and it goes ill with ruler and people alike ;
if we continue faithful and dutiful, the Gods see to
our protection, as in this case, where Duryodhana was
removed at the proper time by a righteous war, led
by those whose duty it was to wage it. This is the
old Hindu teaching, and it worked out much better
for every body concerned than the modern way of
agitation and rebellion. So the people went home at
Yudhishthira's bidding, and the princes passed on-
wards to the banks of Gang^, accompanied only by
some Br^hmanas who surrounded them with holy
chants.
104 THE THIRTEEN YEARS' EXILE
On the following morning, Yudhishthira was much
distressed because he had no food to give to the
Brahmanas, he who had ever fed them daily by
thousands, and he prayed them to leave him, so that
they should not suffer privation. They still clung
to him, till he sank weeping on the ground, lamenting
his inability to protect them. In vain one of them,
named Saunaka, reminded him that he should not
grieve over the loss of wealth, and bade him emanci-
pate himself from desire for worldly possessions. He
answered piteously that he did not desire wealth for
himself, but only for the support of the Brahmanas
dependent on him ; how could he neglect the duty
of the householder? In eloquent words he praised
the "eternal morality" of hospitality, "To the weary
a bed, to one fatigued with standing a seat, to the
thirsty water, and to the hungry food should ever be
given. To the guest are due pleasant looks and a
cheerful heart and sweet words." Then he turned
to his priest and asked what he should do, and Dhau-
mya bade him pray to Surya Deva, the sun, and
practise austerity and meditation ; so should a way
of escape be found. And the king, standing in
Ganga and practising pranayama (control of the
breath), lifted up his heart to God as revealed in the
Sun and praised him as the giver of all ; and the
THE SOLAR BOWL I05
God appeared, blazing like fire, self-luminous, and
blessed his worshipper, and gave him a copper bowl
which should never be empty of food so long as
Krishna held it without partaking of its contents.
Then Surya vanished, and Yudhishthira cooked a
little food and placed it in the bowl held by his wife!,
and with that food, which became inexhaustible, he
fed che Brahmanas, and his brothers, and lastly him-
self. And when all had eaten, Krishna took her
meal, and then the bowl was empty. All through
their wanderings they and theirs fed from this solar
bowl, and knew no want. For all food comes from
the light and heat of the Sun, and his action on earth
and atmosphere, passing through many stages from
the seed-corn to the full ear reaped in the harvest ;
and he can hasten the working if he will, and some-
times does so hasten it, when a faithful servant of
His needs food for the helping of others, for unselfish
charity.
Then began the regular life in the forest with all
its privations and hardships. The princes were soon
visited there by Vidura, who told them that Dhrita-
rashtra had angrily dismissed him, because he beg-
ged him to discard Dur3-odhana and to call back the
Pandavas. He advised Yudhishthira to be patient, tel-
ling him that the wise man, who could patiently endure
I06 THE THIRTEEN YEARS' EXILE
gross wrong, ended by reaping success, and Yudhish-
thira promised to abide by his advice. But Dhrita-
rashtra soon repented of his hasty action and called
Vidura back, and Vidura, ever dutiful, returned and
spoke lovingly to his elder brother, assuring him that
his sons were dear to him as the Pandavas, only "as
the latter are now in distress, my heart yearneth after
them." Meanwhile Karna incited Duryodhana to
pursue the Pandavas into the forest, and the Kuru
princes " rushed out in a body to slay the sons of
Pandu." But the great Vyasa, " knowing by his in-
ner vision " that they had set out with this evil intent
appeared before them and sent them back, and then
went to king Dhritarashtra, desiring him to restrain
Duryodhana from mischief, else only ruin could be-
fall. " O king of the earth, if thou desirest all the
Kauravas to live, let thy son Duryodhana make peace
with the Pandavas." As Vy^sa left, another great
sage, Maitreya, came, and he remonstrated with the
king for allowing such wrongs as had been perpetrat-
ed ; on account of these, he said, " which are even
like the acts of wretched outcastes, thou art not well
thought of among the ascetics." Then Maitreya
turned to Duryodhana and spoke very gently to him,
begging him to be at peace with his cousins, but
Duryodhana rudely slapped his own thigh and smiled
EFFORTS TO MAKE PEACE 10/
mockingly at the great ascetic. Maitreya, at this,
pronounced his fateful curse, that Duryodhana should
reap the fruit of his insolence, and " in the great war
which shall spring out of the wrongs perpetrated by
thee, the mighty Bhima shall break that thigh of
thine with a stroke of his mace." Dhritarashtra tried
to persuade the sage to recall his words, but he told
him that his sentence could only be made void by
Duryodhana making peace with the Pandavas; refus-
ing to talk any longer, since his counsels were disre-
garded, the gentle Maitreya went his way, one of the
many holy ones who sought to turn Duryodhana
from his evil path and failed.
At this time Shri Krishna went to the P&ndavas
to tell them why He had not appeared at the court of
Dhritarashtra in time to stop the game at dice, and to
Him KrishnA made a most piteous appeal, declaring
that " husbands or sons, or friends or brothers, or
father have I none ! Nor have I thee, O thou slayer of
Madhu, for ye all, beholding me treated so cruelly,
sit still unmoved," The Lord consoled her, and pro-
mised her that she should again reign as queen over
kings. "The heavens might fall, or the Himavat
might split, the earth might be rent, or the waters of
the ocean might dry up, but My words shall never be
in vain," Yet Draupadi could not resign herself to
I08 THE THIRTEEN YEARS' EXILE
patience, and we find her soon urging Yudhishthira to
action, imploring him not to forgive the wrongs they
had suffered. This drew from the young king an
admirable discourse on forgiveness: "If the man
who hath ill speeches from another returneth those
speeches afterwards ; if the injured man returneth his
injuries ; if the chastised person chastiseth in return ;
if fathers slay sons, and sons fathers ; if husbands
slay wives, and wives husbands ; then, O Krishn^,
how can birth take place in a world where anger thus
prevails? One should forgive, under every injury
He, indeed, is a wise and excellent person who hath
conquered his wrath, and who sheweth forgiveness
even when insulted, oppressed, and angered by a
strong person. Forgiveness is Brahman ; forgiveness
is truth : forgiveness is stored ascetic merit ; forgive-
ness protecteth the ascetic merit of the future ; for-
giveness is asceticism ; forgiveness is holiness ; and by
forgiveness it is that the universe is held together.
The man of wisdom should ever forcjive, for when he
is capable of forgiving every thing, he attaineth to
Brahman." But Draupadi still answered angrily, and,
assailing the order of the world, she bitterly declared
that God played with His creatures according to His
pleasure, like a child makes or destroys an earthen
toy. What was the use of virtue, if the virtuous
TRADERS IN VIRTUE IO9
were plunged in suffering while the wicked were pros-
perous? Gently but firmly Yudhishthira answered
her, praising her excellent phrases and well-chosen
words, but " thou speakest, however, the language of
atheism. O princess, I never act solicitous of the
fruits of my actions. I give away, because it is my
duty to give ; I sacrifice, because it is my duty to
sacrifice ; I act virtuously, not from the desire of
reaping the fruits of virtue, but of not transgressing
the ordinances of the Vedas, and beholding also the
conduct of the good and wise. My heart, O Krishna,
is naturally attracted towards virtue. The man who
wishes to reap the fruits of virtue is a trader in virtue.
His nature is mean, and he should never be counted
among the virtuous." None the less was it true, he
went on, that acts had fruits, and that in the long ru>n,
under the providence of God, the practice of virtue
was the source of prosperity. But the details of pro-
vidence could only be understood by the wise, by
those in whose minds dwelt quiet and peace and
holiness. " Therefore, though thou mayst not see
the fruits of virtue, thou shouldst not yet doubt re-
ligion or the Gods. Thou must perform sacrifices
with a will, and practise charity without insolence.
Acts in this world have their fruits, and virtue also is
eternal. Brahma Himself told this unto His sons,
no THE THIRTEEN YEARS' EXILE
as Kashyapa testifies. Let thy doubt, therefore, O
Krishna, be dispelled like mist. Reflecting upon all
this, let thy scepticism give way to faith. Slander
not' God, who is the Lord of all creatures. Learn o
know Him. Bow down to Him. Let not thy mind
be such. And, O Krishna, never disregard that Su-
preme Being through whose grace mortal man by
piety acquireth immortality."
Draupad still pleaded passionately that it was
her husband's duty to regain his kingdom, and Bhima
angrily chimed in, reproaching Yudhishthira for their
forlorn condition ; virtue was not enough, he said ;
kings must shew strength and fight ; let them set
forth and do battle, and wrest the sovereignty from
Duryodhana. But Yudhishthira patiently answered
that he deserved blame, and " I cannot reproach thee
for torturing me thus by piercing me with thy arrowy
words." He had lost his self-control while playing,
and had thus brought them to ruin. But he had given
his word to abide by the throw of the dice as to exile,
and he could not break it ; Bhima should have ob-
jected then, if at all. Having given the pledge, he
could not violate it. " My promise can never be
untrue. I regard virtue as superior to life itself and
a blessed state of celestial existence. Kingdom, sons,
fame, wealth — all these do not come up even to a
THE WEAPONS OF THE GODS III
sixteenth part of truth." Bhima, however, would
not be persuaded, but continued to argue hotly for
battle, till Yudhishthira, weary, answered him on
lines more suitable to his disposition, and told him
that in fighting he would be opposed by Bhishma,
Drona, Kripa and Karna, and that he could not con-
quer these. At this Bhima became silent and de-
pressed, but just then Vy&sa arrived, and taking the
young king aside, he bade him send Arjuna in search
of weapons from the Gods, and further imparted to
him the celestial science of weapons that he might
teach it to Arjuna ; lastly he advised the brothers to
travel from place to place during the absence of
Arjuna. [§ 1-36.J
Soon afterwards the young king, calling Arjuna
to him, taught him the science given him by Vyasa,
and bade him go to Indra and obtain from him the
weapons of the Gods. Taking leave of his brothers
and of Krishna, and followed by the blessings of the
Brahmanas, the heroic Arjuna set forth alone, and
journeyed till he reached the mighty barrier of the
Himalayas, and crossed the snowy range. Reaching
Indrakila, he heard a voice cry "stop," and saw a
shining ascetic, sitting under a tree. This ascetic
bade^ him throw away his bow, as he had reached a
spot where all was peace, but Arjuna refused to
112 THE THIRTEEN YEARS' EXILE
disarm himself, though repeatedl}^ pressed to do so,
Then the ascetic revealed himself as Indra, and
offered him a boon. Arjuna, bowing low, prayed
him to give him weapons, but Indra smilingly offer-
ed him instead any regions of bliss he might desire.
Arjuna refused such gift, his brothers being wander-
ers in the forest, and, seeing him thus steadfast in
duty, Indra answered: " When thou art able to be-
hold the three-eyed, trident-bearing Shiva, the Lord
of all creatures, it is then O child, that I will give
thee all the celestial weapons. Therefore strive thou
to obtain the sight of the highest of the Gods ; for
it is only after thou hast seen Him, O son of Kunti,
that thou wilt obtain all thy wishes." Then Indra,
disappeared, "and Arjuna, devoting himself to as-
ceticism, remained at that spot."
You may remember that after the burning of the
forest of Khandava, Indra had appeared to Arjuna,
and had promised to give him celestial weapons after
he had obtained the grace of Mahadeva. That pro-
mise was now to be redeemed, but first the condition
must be fulfilled. So Arjuna set to work to purify
himself, that he might be able to see the great Lord,
and at first he took a few leaves and fruits as food,
lessening the amount during three months, and then
fasted entirely. He was the master of his body, not
A STRANGE HUNTER II3
the servant, as most people are now-a-days, and knew
that Hfe is not dependent wholly on food. At last,
Mahadeva took the form of a hunter, a Kir&ta, and
went to Arjuna, and saw a demon in the shape of a
boar, seeking to slay him. Arjuna was going to shoot
at the boar, and the Kir^ta cried to him to cease, as
the boar had been first aimed at by himself. But
Arjuna let fly his arrow, and it struck the boar at the
same moment as the shaft of the Kir^ta. Then
Arjuna, telling the Kir&ta that the boar was his,
threatened to take his life for his breach of forest law,
but the Kir^ta, smiling, said that he had killed the
boar and was ready to fight Arjuna. Arjuna drew
his great bow and shot at the hunter, but he only
smiled and bade him shoot his best. And Arjuna
sent at him a shower of arrows, marvelling at his
resistance, until his arrows were exhausted, though
drawn from the hitherto inexhaustible quivers. Then
he rushed at the hunter to strike him down with his
bow, but the Kirata twisted it from his hand. He
struck fiercely with his sword ; the sword broke. He
snatched up rocks and trees ; still the hunter bore
patiently the shower. Then, rushing at him, he struck
him heavy blows with his fist, and the hunter re-
turned the blows and wrestled with him, and at last
threw him senseless on the earth. When he regained
H
114 THE THIRTEEN YEARS' EXILE
consciousness, he strove no more, but making a clay
image of Mah^deva, he worshipped it with flowers,
and behold ! the garland he threw round it appeared
on the Kirata. Then he knew the God and fell at
His feet, and MahSdeva gave him the vision that
could see Him, and Arjuna, praying pardon for hav-
ing fought with Him, and receiving His blessing, was
told of his own past and of his divine greatness.
Then he prayed for weapons, and Shiva taught him
to use His own mighty weapon, the P&shupata, un-
known even to the chief of the Gods, and that
weapon " began to wait upon Arjuna as it did upon
Shankara." Finally, Shiva bade him go to heaven
and giving him back GSndiva, He disappeared.
As Arjuna still wondered, Indra, Varuna, Kuvera
and Yama came, surrounded by lesser deities, and
Yama gave him his mace, Varuna his nooses, Kuvera
his favourite weapon that sent the foe to sleep, while,
finally, Indra bade him mount his car and ascend to
heaven. Then, as the Gods vanished, that splendid
chariot came flashing down, and Arjuna, having
bathed and prayed, and blessed the holy peak where-
on he had lived, mounted the blazing car and drove
through space, seeing the self-luminous regions — " so
small in consequence of their distance, though very
large " — that " are seen from the earth in the form of
ARJUNA IN HEAVEN II5
Stars", until he saw shining before him AmarSvat!,
the city of Indra. Thereinto he entered and jour-
neyed onwards, surrounded by hosts of celestial beings,
till he reached the throne of Indra and bowed before
the feet of his divine Father, who raised him and seated
him beside himself on his own seat. Indra gave him
his thunderbolt and the lightnings, and bade him
remain in heaven, and learn of Chitrasena, the king
of the heavenly musicians, the Gandharvas, vocal
and instrumental music and dancing, /. e. the powers
of numbers and sounds and rhythmic forms. But
though Arjuna obeyed, and learned dutifully all that
he was bidden during five years, his heart wearied
for his brothers wandering in exile upon earth. But
ere he was allowed to leave, he was subjected to a
trial, to see if his mind was as pure as his body was
strong. Urvashi, a heavenly nymph, was sent to win
his love and came to woo him, radiant in dazzling
beauty. Now the race of Arjuna had descended
from Urvashi, so he bowed before her reverently as
the parent of his race, worshipping her as a son his
mother. • More than this worship he would not give
her, and Urvashi was angry, and condemned him to
live as a eunuch among women. Arjuna went and
told Chitrasena what had occurred, and they went to
Indra. Then the God blessed Arjuna, who had
Il6 THE TPIIRTEEN YEARS' EXILE
" vanquished even Rishis by thy patience and self-
control." The apparent curse would be a blessing,
for it should take effect during the thirteenth year of
exile, through which Arjuna must remain in disguise
unrecognised. Indra then sent a great Rishi, named
Lomasha, to the earth, to give Arjuna's brothers news
of his well-being, and to bid them perform pilgri-
mages to various sacred shrines. Arjuna, ere he re-
turned to earth, had to destroy certain Asuras, and
then he would rejoin his brothers. So Lomasha set
out, and went to Yudhishthira and his brothers,