[§ 37-47-]

You may imagine how delighted the P^ndavas
were to hear of their beloved Arjuna and of the
success of his mission. Yudhishthira gladly agreed
to visit the tirthas, as Indra desired, and they started
forthwith on their long round, accompanied by Lo-
masha, [91-93-] At last, after long wanderings, they
reached the Himalayas, and came to Kailasa, to the
hermitage where Nara and NarSyana had lived in
days of old, and there they rested for awhile, happy
and at peace.

One day a north-east wind rose suddenly, and
brought a wondrous lotus blossom with a thousand
petals and left it on the ground. Draupadi, delighted
with its beauty and fragrance, begged Bhima to find



THE WONDERFUL MONKEY liy

her some more of the same kind, and he, at once,
eager to gratify her, set out towards the north-east
across the mountains. He fought his way through
wild beasts, driving all before him, till he saw a wood
of plantain trees that had through it a narrow path,
and he directed his steps thither. Now no mortal
might pass along that path, so Hanumana — who, like
Bhima, was a son of the wind-God, and wished to
do his brother a service — lay down across the path.
Presently up came Bhima, ready as usual to do battle
and shouted loudly to arouse the apparently sleep-
ing monkey. Hanumana opened his eyes lazily, and
complained that Bhima should awaken him sO
roughly ; moreover, he told the proud young warrior
that the path before him was the path of the Gods,
and that only by the practice of asceticism might it
be trodden. Bhima demanded who the speaker was,
proudly announcing his own name and lineage. " I
am a monkey," said Hanumana indifferently, and he
bade him go back lest he should perish. Bhima
haughtily bade him give way, but Hanumana said he
was too ill to rise. Bhima insisted, and Hanumana,
refusing to move, told Bhima to pass, moving aside
his tail. Then Bhima caught the tail carelessly in his
left hand and pulled, but the tail did not move. He
seized it with both hands ; it remained steady. Then



Il8 THE THIRTEEN YEARS' EXILE

he pulled and tugged with all his strength, till sweat
poured off his body, but still immovable the tail re-
mained. At last, humbled, he bowed before the
wondrous monkey, and prayed to know who he was,
and learned that he was Hanumana, the mighty
monkey chief, who had befriended Rama, the Ava-
tara. Then the brothers talked for awhile and Hanu-
mana, pointing out the way to Bhima, vanished,
while Bhima went on till he reached a river and lake
where the golden lotuses grew in abundance. But
as he prepared to gather the lotuses a number of
Rakshasas approached, and told him that the lake
belonged to Kuvera, and that he must not pick the
flowers without asking his permission. Bhima haughti-
ly refused to ask permission of any one, since a
Kshattriya could not beseech, and he plunged forth-
with into the lake. Then its guardians attacked him,
but he turned on them with his terrible mace and
slew them by hundreds, till the survivors fled to Kuvera
for aid : but the God, smiling, bade them let Bhima
take for Krishna what flowers he would, and so
pacified their anger. Meanwhile Yudhishthira and
the twins, with Krishna, had followed Bhima, carried
through the air by Ghatotkacha, Bhima's R^kshasa
son, and they all remained for a time at that plea-
sant spot on the slopes of the Gandham^dana, e.x-



ARJUNA'S RETURN II9

pecting the return of Arjuna. Ere long, however,
they were sent back to the hermitage of Nara and
Nar^yana, and bidden to go thence to two other
sacred hermitages. Obediently they set forth, and,
following the path traced out for them, they finally —
not without adventures on the way — reached Mount
Meru, and there abode, longing for Arjuna. Until,
one day, as they thought of him, Indra's great car
came blazing down from heaven, and there was
Arjuna, wearing the diadem and the armour his Father
had given him, and, springing to the ground, he
bowed down to Dhaumya, Yudhishthira and Bhima.
How glad a meeting was that, when Dhananjaya
came home again, the years of separation over, and
his quest crowned with success. [§ 145-154.]

For four years the brothers abode here, making —
with the preceding six — ten years of their exile, and
then for another year they wandered through the
mountains happily, till they reached the banks of
Sarasvati and there lived for awhile. [§ 175-176.]
As the last year of the twelve was passing, they re-
turned to the forest of Kamyaka and there Shri
Krishna came to see them, and, to try him. He bade
Yudhishthira send an army of the men who were will-
ing to fight for him, led by Balar^ma, His own elder
brother, to do battle with Duryodhana. But Yu-



120 THE THIRTEEN YEARS' EXILE

dhishthira answered steadfastly that they would
complete their twelve years in the forest and the one
year in disguise, and would then come to Him for
help. Associating with Him, how could they do
otherwise ? " The sons of Pdndu swerve not from the
path of truth, for the sons of Friths, with their
charity and their piety, with their people and their
wives, and with their relations, have their protector
in Thee." While they were thus talking, the great
sage M&rkandeya appeared, and having duly honour-
ed him, Shri Krishna prayed him to tell them of " the
eternal rules of righteous conduct by which are guid-
ed kings, women and saints." [§ i8i, 182.] Then
Markandeya taught them many things, out of which
we can only glance at a few.

Yudhishthira asked as to the course of conduct
he should follow, and the sage answered : " Be merci-
ful to all creatures, and devoted to their good. Love
all creatures, scorning none. Be truthful in speech,
humble, with passions under complete control, and
always devoted to the protection of thy people.
Practise virtue and renounce sin, and worship thou
the Pitris and the Gods. And whatsoever thou may-
est have done from ignorance or carelessness, wash
it off and expiate it by charity. Renouncing pride
and vanity, be thou possessed of humility and good



TRUE ASCETICISM 121

behaviour. And subjugating the whole earth, rejoice
thou and let happiness be thine. This is the course
of conduct which accords with virtue." [§ 190.]
On asceticism he taught : " The carrying of three
staves, the vow of silence, matted hair on head, the
shaving of the crown, covering one's body with bark
and deer-skins, the practise of vows, ablutions, the
worship of fire, abode in the woods, emaciating the
body— all these are useless if the heart be not pure-
Those high-souled persons that do not commit sins
in word, deed, heart and soul, are said to undergo
ascetic austerities, and not they who suffer their
bodies to be wasted by fasts and penances. He that
hath no feeling of kindness for relatives cannot be
free from sin, even if his body be pure. That hard-
heartedness of his is the enemy of his asceticism.
Asceticism, again, is not mere abstinence from the
pleasures of the world. He that is always pure and
decked with virtues, he that practises kindness all
his life, is a Muni, even though he may lead a domes-
tic life. Such a man is purged of all his sins. Fasts
and other penances cannot destroy sins, however
much they may weaken and dry up the body that is
made of flesh and blood. The man whose heart is
without holiness suffers torture only, by undergoing
penances in ignorance of their meaning. He is



122 THE THIRTEEN YEARS' EXILE

never freed from sin by such acts." So also is charity
greater than sacrifices. " He that giveth food to a
person that is dying of hunger, and he who, founding
a home of charity, establisheth there a person to look
after all comers, are both crowned with the merits of
all the sacrifices." [§ 199.] Why should any Hindu
boy seek teaching from any religion save his own,
when such rich stores of noble morality are found in
his own sacred books ?

In talk such as this, and in the telling and hearing
of many priceless stories — such as that of the BrSh-
mana Kaushika and the virtuous fowler who taught
him morality [§ 205-2 16J — the time passed away.
Meanwhile, Shakuni and Karna incited Duryodhana
to go and visit the P&ndavas, that he might pain
them by the contrast between his prosperity and their
sad estate. In order that Dhritar^shtra might not
interfere, Karna devised the pretext of going to visit
their cattle stations in the woods of Dvaitavana,
where the princes then were ; the king, however, had
heard that the P^ndavas were in the neighbourhood
of these cattle-stations, and advised Duryodhana to
send some one else thither rather than go himself.
On the promise of Shakuni, however, that they would
not go near the spot where the P^ndavas were living,
and on his lying statement that they had " no mind



DURYODHANA AND THE GANDIIARVAS 1 23

to see the sons of P^ndu," the king reluctantly con-
sented to the expedition, and Duryodhana set out,
accompanied by a large army and many followers.
They disported themselves in various ways, and
counted their cattle at the stations, until they ap-
proached the sacred lake of Dvaitavana, where the
Pandavas were residing. As the vanguard of soldiers
were about to enter the wood surrounding the lake,
some Gandharvas forbade their entry, for the king of
the Gandharvas had come thither and had closed the
wood against all comers. Then Duryodhana tried to
force his way, and a fierce conflict broke out, in which
the Kurus were routed, and even Karna, who had
stood against all assaults, " immovable as a hill," was
at last forced to fly. And Duryodhana, who would
not fly, was taken prisoner, with DushSsana and
others, and they were led away in chains. Then the
routed soldiers of the Kuru army fled to the Panda-
vas and prayed them for protection. Bhima answer-
ed sharply and scornfully, refusing all aid, but Yu-
dhishthira, saying, " This is not the time for cruel
words," rebuked Bhima, and told him that though
disputes might arise in a family, the family honour
must be protected when it was assailed by a stranger.
Then he bade his brothers arm themselves and go
forth and rescue Duryodhana and the other captives.



124 THE THIRTEEN YEARS' EXILE

As the Gandharvas would not release their prisoners,
the Pandavas fiercely attacked them, and they fought
until their king and Arjuna coming into conflict,
Chitrasena revealed himself as his friend. Then
Arjuna asked him why he had assailed Duryodhana,
and Chitrasena explained that he had punished him
because he had come thither to mock the Pandavas
in their adversity. Somewhat unwillingly Chitrasena
consented to lead his captives before Yudhishthira,
and to allow him to decide their fate after he was
made acquainted with their mean wish to glory over
him. Then the young king, praising the Gandharvas,
at once liberated his relatives, and gently said to the
humbled Duryodhana : " O child, never again do such
a rash act. O Bharata, a rash person never attaineth
happiness. O son of the Kuru race, blessed be thou,
with all thy brothers. Go back to thy capital as it
pleases thee, without yielding thyself to despondency
or cheerlessness." So spake the gentle king, remem-
bering only that Duryodhana was of his blood and
in distress.

Then Duryodhana went away, broken-hearted
alike at his defeat and his deliverance, and as he sat,
moody and downcast, Karna came to him, imagining
that he had been victorious, congratulating him that,
while he himself had fled, Duryodhana had conquer-



duryodhana's despair 125

ed. Duryodhana soon explained to him the sad
truth, and told how their plot had been disclosed and
yet Yudhishthira had set him free. He was indebted
to his persecuted foes for his life. That life was now
insupportable to him, and he was resolved to starve
himself to death, installing his brother Dush^sana in
his place. But Dushasana flung himself at his bro-
ther's feet, weeping, and he swore that he would not
rule in his stead, and prayed his brother to turn from
his purpose and rule as the head of their race. Then
Karna spoke again, reproachfully, saying that the
Pandavas had only done their duty to their king ;
and Shakuni bade him make friends with the Panda-
vas and give them back their paternal kingdom as a
reward. Duryodhana, however, was resolute to die,
and sat down on Kusha grass, silent and intent on
death. Then the fierce hosts of the Danavas and
Daityas, knowing that in their conflict with the Gods
they would be weakened by Duryodhana's death,
by magic incantations brought the humbled prince
before theili, and began to urge on him the folly of
suicide. They promised him victory over the Panda-
vas and cheered him with promises of help, telling
him that they had obtained him from Maheshvara
Himself, and that many heroic Danavas were born
on earth to fight for him. Karna would slay Arjuna,



126 THE THIRTEEN YEARS' EXILE

and he himself should rule the earth. He was the
champion of the Asuras, as the Pfindavas were the
champions of the Gods. Duryodhana was then
transported back to his place, and, cheered by these
promises he rose up and, arraying his army, returned
to Hastinapura. Thence Karna set forth, and con-
quered country after country, bringing them under
the rule of Duryodhana, and that prince celebrated
a great sacrifice, the Vaishnava, and was hailed as
the foremost of kings. His heart, however, was set
on performing the Rajasuya sacrifice, which he could
not do while Yudhishthira was living, and Karna, to
cheer him, swore that until he slew Arjuna he would
not eat meat, nor allow any to wash his feet, nor
refuse anything to any one who asked him. [§ 235-
255.] Ill did this vow serve him, for when Indra,
intent on benefitting Arjuna, came to him and asked
him for his natural mail and earrings, he gave them,
observing his vow, and thus lost his impenetrable
armour. [See the story of Karna, §279-309.]

Duryodhana did not cease his plots against the
Pandavas, but no ill that was planned against them
took effect. And now the end of the twelve years
drew nigh. It was marked by a sharp ordeal of the
virtue of Yudhishthira. A deer, butting with its horns,
caught up the firesticks and the churning staff of a



THE QUESTIONING CRANE 12/

Brahmana and carried them away on its antlers. The
Brahmana cried to the P4ndavas to recover for him
these implements of sacrifice, and they started in
pursuit of the deer. They failed to shoot or over-
take it, and at last, losing sight of it, sat down weary
and exhausted by thirst. Yudhishthira sent Nakula
to look for water, who, finding a lake, disregarded
a voice that warned him not to drink until he had
answered certain questions, and, drinking, fell dead.
As Nakula did not return, Sahadeva was sent to seek
for him, and met the same fate. Arjuna followed,
and Bhima, and both drank and died. Then Yu-
dhishthira himself went to seek, and found his four
brothers lying dead on the ground. Overcome with
grief, he sought for the enemy that had slain them,
and as he began his ablutions in the lake, he heard a
voice declaring that the speaker had slain his brothers
and repeating the warning given them. Yudhish-
thira enquired, wondering, who he was, and the speak-
er, a crane, answered that he was a Yaksha, and
acfain bade Yudhishthira not take of his water till
he had answered his questions. Ever self-controlled,
the young king replied that he did not covet what
belonged to another, and that he would answer the
questions to the best of his ability. The Yaksha
then put to him question after question, and Yudhish-



128 THE THIRTEEN YEARS' EXILE

thira answered wisely and well, until at last the Yak*
sha was satisfied, and granted hinn the boon of the
revival of one of his brothers. Yudhishthira chose
Nakula, at which the Yaksha remonstrated with him,
urging that he should choose Bhima or Arjuna rather
than one of his half brothers. But steadfastly the
just king replied that abstention from injury was the
highest virtue, and that neither of his father's wives
should be left childless. " I desire to act equally
towards my mothers. Therefore, let Nakula live."
Then the Yaksha said : " Since abstention from in-
jury is regarded by thee as higher than both profit
and pleasure, therefore let all thy brothers live, O
bull of Bharata's race !" Then the four arose unhurt,
and when Yudhishthira prayed to know what God
was concealed in the crane's form, as it was surely
no Yaksha, Dharma, the God of Justice, revealed
himself, blessing his noble son. He offered him a
boon, and Yudhishthira begged that the Br^hmana
might have his fire- sticks again. "It was I," said
Dharma, " who carried away the fire-sticks as a deer,
in order to test thee." And he offered a second boon.
Answered Yudhishthira : " We have spent these
twelve years in the forest and the thirteenth year is
come. May no one recognise us as we spend this year
somewhere. " Dharma granted the boon, and bade



THE DISGUISES I29

them go to Virata's kingdom, taking what forms
they would. And the time having fully come, the five
brothers, with Krishna, bade farewell to Dhaumya
and the Brahmanas, and, blessed by them, set forth
for Virata. [§310 — 314.]



-:o:-



VirAta Parva.

Deciding to go to the kingdom of Matsya, ruled
over by Virata, Yudhishthira asked his brothers what
disguises they would assume ; he himself, he said,
would go as Kanka, a Brahmana, skilled in dice, and
would act as a courtier. Bhima answered that he
would be a cook and wrestler, Vallava by name ;
Arjuna, remembering the word of Indra and the
curse of Urvashi, said he would disguise himself as a
eunuch and live among the queen's women, teaching
music and dancing, and his name should be Vrihan-
nala. Nakula, under the name of Granthika, would
be the keeper of king Virata's horses, while Sahadeva^
as Tantripaia, would tend his kine. Krishna deter-
mined to be a Sairindhri, a superior waiting-maid
and companion, and cheerfully prayed Yudhishthira
not to grieve for her, as the queen would surely
cherish her. The young king then sent his priest
with the sacred fires to Drupada, and his cars to
I



130 THE THIRTEEN YEARS EXILE

Dv^r&vati, and his servants to the Panchalas, so that
none might know of their retreat save Dhaumya only.

Setting- forth, the six approached the city of
Virata, and in a huge tree near a cemetery the bro-
thers hid their weapons, hanging a corpse on the tree
that none might approach it. Then Yudhishthira
prayed to the Goddess Durga, who saves her worship-
pers from all dangers, and she appeared to him and
blessed him, promising him protection and success.
Thus blessed, Yudhishthira took golden and jewelled
dice and entered the court of Virata, who, struck by
by his noble aspect, gave him glad welcome and ap-
pointed him as his chief minister and friend. Bhima
appeared, praying to be employed as cook, and Virata
— expressing much doubt as to such office befitting
him — agreed to make him superintendent of his kit-
chen. Krishna, dressing herself humbly, wandered
near the palace, and the queen, seeing her, sent for
her and asked her who she was ; Draupadi answered
that she sought for service, but the queen, seeing her
marvellous beauty, thought her a Goddess rather
than a servant. When Draupadi insisted, the queen
replied that she feared to take her into service, for
her rare loveliness would win the king's heart ; who,
indeed, might resist her? But Draupadi told her that
she was married to five Gandharvas who ever protect-



PRINCES AS MENIALS 13I

ed her, and that no man would be allowed to do her
wrong. Then Sudeshna, the queen, took her into her
household with delight, and none guessed who she
really was. Now came Sah^deva, clad as a cowherd,
and representing himself as skilled in all cattle-lore,
and he was appointed head keeper of VirSta's kine.
Next Arjuna appeared, wearing female ornaments, and
he prayed that he might be assigned to the princess
Uttara as teacher of dancing and music ; Virata,
declaring that he resembled a warrior and ruler rather
than a eunuch, yet tested his skill in the fine arts,
and finally sent him among the women to give them
lessons. Lastly came Nakula and offered himself as
a keeper of horses, and Virata accepted him and
made him his head equerry. Thus did the Pandavas
commence their thirteenth year of exile, and " passed
their days of disguise with great composure, notwith-
standing their poignant sufferings." [§i — 12.]

For ten months they lived in Virata's court, serv-
ing the king and queen, gaining both respect and
wealth, and then a menacing storm-cloud arose. The
queen's brother, Kichaka, the commander of the
army of Virata, fell madly in love with Krishna's
beauty, and would not be gainsaid in his desire to
have her as his wife, though she told him of her
Gandharva husbands and that to love her was des-



132 THE THIRTEEN YEARS' EXILE

truction. At last he persuaded his sister Sudeshn^
to send Krishna to his house, under pretext of fetch-
ing wine ; in vain Krishna implored her mistress not
to send her on such errand, lest Kichaka should in-
sult her and evil should befal. Sudeshna, to please
her foolish brother, insisted on her going, and Krishna,
praying to Surya, went forth, accompanied — though
she knew it not — by a Rakshasa, appointed by Surya
to protect her. Kichaka welcomed her with delight and
begged her to sit down, but Krishna coldly answered
that she came only for wine for her mistress. Ki-
chaka thereupon seized her by the arm, and Krishna,
seeking to escape, pushed him violently away and
fled to the court, where Yudhishthira and Bhima
were seated with the king. Kichaka followed in hot
pursuit, and, catching her by the hair, pulled her
down and kicked her in the very presence of the
king. The Rakshasa flung him senseless to the
ground, but what should her husbands do, seeing their
beloved thus outraged ? As might be expected, Bhima,
furious, was starting up on the verge of self-betrayal
but the cold voice of Yudhishthira was heard : "Look-
est thou, O cook, for trees for fuel ? If thou art in
need of faggots, then go out and fell trees." Drau-
padi, striving to keep her promise, addressed king
Virata only, passionately reproaching him for allow-



yudhismthira's self-control 133

ing her to be insulted in his presence. Virata sai^
he knew nothing of the dispute as it had begun else-
where, but the courtiers began to praise the beauty
of KrishnS, praise more intolerable to Yudhishthira
than even the cowardly kick of Kichaka. Yet he
lost not his self-control, but, sternly addressing his
wife, he said : " Stay not here, O Sairindhri, but
retire to the apartments of Sudeshna. The wives of
heroes bear affliction for the sake of their husbands,
and, undergoing toil in ministering unto their lords,
they at last attain to regions where their husbands
may go. Thy Gandharva husbands, effulgent as the
sun, do not, I imagine, consider this as an occasion
for manifesting their wrath, inasmuch as they do not
rush to thine aid. O Sairindhri, thou art ignorant of
the timeliness of things, and it is for this that thou
weepest as an actress, besides interrupting the play
in Matsya's court. Retire, O Sairindhri ! the Gan-
dharvas will do what is agreeable to thee. And they
will surely dispel thy woe, and take the life of him
that hath wronged thee." Passionately Krishna an-
swered, tortured beyond bearing, and yet striving to
keep her pledge : " They of whom I am the wedded
wife are, I ween, extremely kind. And as the eldest
of them all is addicted to dice, they are liable to be
oppressed by all." With this bitter taunt she rushed



136 THE THIRTEEN YEARS EXILE

consent and aid in invading Matsya and in seizing
king Vii-ata's cattle, and on the eighth day of the last
fortnight of the thirteenth year of the Pandavas'
exile, the Kauravas set forth on this enterprise. Su-
sharman, with his Trigartas, had started on the
preceding day. King Virata with his army, in which
were included Yudhishthira, Bhima and the twins,
met the Trigartas in battle, and, after a fierce fight,
were defeated, Susharman carrying Virata away on
his chariot as a prisoner. Then the four brothers
began to fight, and speedily changed the fortunes of
the day, Bhima capturing Susharman and setting
Virata free. Meantime, the Kauravas were seizing
the cattle, and the cowherds, flying for assistance,
found no one left as leader save a boy-prince, Uttara.
The lad proudly said he would go if he had a cha-
rioteer, and Draupadi pressed him to take Vrihan-
nala, who, she said, had been the charioteer of