Slaying of Sisupala

Bhishma started telling Bhima about Sisupala.  Sisupala was born as the son of the king of Chedi with three eyes and four hands. As soon as he was born, he screamed and brayed like an ass.His parents were scared. They resolved to abandon him but were stopped by a voice which said this child will grow up to be a great king. He will meet his death in the hands of one who has taken birth on this earth.
Hearing these words, the mother said she wished to know who would be this slayer of her son. The voice said,--'He , on whose lap this child will loose his extra hands and extra eye will be his slayer.

Soon a procession of people began coming to Chedi to see this son. Balarama and Krishna also came there. The queen placed her son on the lap of Krishna. As soon she did this, the extra arms fell down and the extra eye vanished. She asked Krishna to save her son. Krishna said he would pardon a hundred offences of Sisupala. Once he had crossed that, he will be slain.

Sisupala did not like this and kept on insulting Bhishma and Krishna.

While Sisupala was insulting the people, Krishna thought of the discus, Sudarshana. Addressing all he said, As asked by his mother, I have so far pardoned his hundred sins. The number has been crossed. Today, in the presence of all, I will slay him. Saying this he flung his discus, which cut off the head of Sisupala.

The last rites of Sisupala were performed with all respect. His son was declared the king of Chedi.

 Once the sacrifice was completed and Yudhistira was crowned, the invited guests all left. Duryodhana remained back, along with  Shakuni.

Duryodhana  with Sakuni explored the whole palace of Yudhistira. One day Duryodhana came across a crystal surface.Thinking it to be a pool of water, he drew up his clothes. Finding out his mistake he felt sad. Then mistaking a lake of crystal water adorned with lotuses of crystal petals for land, he fell into it with all his clothes on. Seeing Duryodhana fall,  Bhima laughed. The servants, at the command of the king, brought him dry  clothes. Beholding the plight of Duryodhana,the Pandavas could not control their laughter. Not used to be being insulted, Duryodhana could not bear that laugh. Concealing his emotions he left for Hastinapur.

He was dejected and told Sakuni about what he had seen and how he had been treated.

Sakuni said Duryodhana wanted Yudhistira's wealth and prosperity, it would have to be dealt with cunningly. In war, he would face defeat. A way out was to defeat Yudhistira in a game of dice.

Dhritarashtra tried to reason with Duryodhana and Sakuni, but they would not listen to him. Even though not happy, he gave permission for Yudhistira to be invited for a game of dice.

Along with Draupadi, the five brother set forth for Hastinapur.

Sacrifice starts

Yudhistira bowed down before  Bhishma ,Drona ,Kripa , Aswatthama and Duryyodhana and asked for their blessings.
 He appointed Dussasana to oversee the department of food . Aswatthama was asked to attend on the Brahmanas. Sanjaya was appointed to offer return gifts to  the invited kings. Bhishma and Drona looked over to see if everything going as per procedure. Duryyodhana was in charge of collecting the gifts brought by the invited kings. Krishna went about welcoming the Brahamans.

Bhishma asked Yudhistira to ensure that the invited guests was treated with respect and all were given offerings from the sacrifice. Yudhistira asked Bhishma who should be the first to receive the offerings. Bhishma said Krishna deserved this and he should be treated as the supreme and be worshipped.
As the sun is the most brilliant among all, so is Krishna, Bhishma said. The sacrifice is illuminated by his presence.
Thus commanded by Bhishma, Yudhistira and Bhisma both worshiped Krishna. The king of Chedi, Sisupala did not like this.

He said Krishna did not deserve this respect. Bhishma who was not even a king, had no right to suggest names of who deserved this respect. If some one had to respected, it should be Krishna's  O bull of the Kuru race, if thou regardest Krishna as the oldest in age, here is Vasudeva, and how can his son be said so in his presence? Or, if thou regardest Vasudeva father, Vasudeva, who was elder to Krishna in age and wisdom. There were other warriors like Drupada who could be respected. So, why Krishna? There were warriors like Drona and Kripa who deserved this and not Krishna.
Krishna was not a priest . By worshiping Krishna, the other mighty kings were being insulted.

Having said this, Sisupala walked out of the assembly hall. Yudhistira tried to get back Sisupala. He ran after him and said Bhisma knew Krishna better than others and there would be a reason why he had chosen him.
Sisupala then started asking the assembled kings to support him.  Approaching Bhisma, Yudhistira wanted to know how to tackle this situation. Bhishma asked him not to worry. The dogs would bark but they would be able to harm a lion.

Sisupala said Bhishma was old and did not know what he was saying. Krishna had slain all who were weak. He slew Kamsa who was his relative. He said Bhishma's celebacy was from ignorance and not for any virtue.
Continuing, he said there was once an old swan who always spoke of morality. Other birds would leave their eggs with him to watch over. This bird, seeing the other birds had gone, would eat up the eggs. When the other birds saw this, they attacked and killed the swan. Bhishma was like this swan.

Bhima was enraged to hear these words of Sisupala. Bhishma then tried to pacify Bhima.

Killing of Jarasandha and Start of the crowning

Krishna told Bhima to show the strength he had. Bhima lifting  Jarasandha, began to whirl him in the air. Bhima pressed his knee against Jarasandha's backbone and broke his body in twain. And having killed him , Bhima uttered a terrible roar. The citizens of Magadha became dumb with terror . Krishna then freed the kings that Jarasandha had imprisoned.

(Mahabharata serial showed Bhima trying to kill Jarasandha and failing till Krishna showed him how. Whenever Bhima would split Jarasandha's body, it would join itself. Krishna showed the way by taking a twig and throwing that apart in reverse directions. This is mentioned in the Bhagwad Purana, not in Vyasa's Mahabharat).

Krishna had Jarasandha' son , Sahadeva, crowned king of Magadha. Krishna  along with the Pandava princes returned to Yudhistira's kingdom, which now called Indraprastha.

 Accompanied by Bhima and Arjuna, Krishna arrived at Indraprastha, and gave Yudhishthira the news of the death of Jarasandha.
Krishna then departed for Dwaraka.

Arjuna then wished to go out and capture some land and increase the wealth in their treasury by obtaining the same from the defeated kings. Seeing this, all brothers set forth in different directions. If they were able to conquer enough kings, Yudhistira would be crowned emperor.

Yudhistira proved to be a great king. All were happy under his protection.  There were no droughts and floods. It was time for Yudhistira to be crowned emperor. Krishna came from Dwaraka bringing many gifts. Addressing Krishna, the Pandavas requested him to stay and requested him to be the cheif guest for the ceremony.
With Krishna's permission, gathering material for the sacrifice started.
Invitations were sent out to invite all.

The kauravas, Bhisma, Drona, Dhritarashtra, Vidura and other elders were invited to attend the ceremony.

Nakula went to invite the Kuru elders from Hastinapur. Dhritarashtra ,Bhishma ,Vidura , the Kaurava brothers with Duryyodhana, Suvala the king of Gandhara and Sakuni  and Karna came there with Nakula to attend the ceremony.

The ceremonies started with Yudhistira worshiping the brahamans present.

Ekadashi today - 21 December 2015

Today 21 December is an Ekadashi. This is special because today is Mokshada Ekadashi. This is supposed to be the day when Krishna told Arjuna about Bhagwada Gita. As per Brahmanda Purana, Yudhistira was told by Krishna, about the greatness of this day.

Krishna is worshiped this day. All Vaishnava temples will have a big rush, with devotees queing up to get a glimpse of the Lord.

This is what Krishna told Yudhistira.

In the city of Champaka Nagara, Vaikhaanasa, ruled over his subjects as if they were his very own children. The brahmins in that capital city were all expert in Vedic knowledge. The king dreamt one night that his dead father was suffering in hell. He asked the brahmins what this meant.

The brahmins told the king to seek the guidance of the saint Parvata who would be able to correctly interpret the dream.

The distressed king immediately went there. The king offered his humble obeisances to the sage, bowing his head and then prostrating his entire body before him. He then told the sage about the dream.

The sage said - Your father is suffering the results of committing a great sin, and I have discovered what it is. In his previous life he quarrelled with his wife and forcibly enjoyed her sexually during her menstrual period. She tried to protest and resist his advances and even yelled out, but he did not stop or leave her alone. It is on account of this grievous sin that your father now has fallen into such a hellish condition of suffering.

The king then said, how can I liberate my father?

The sage said - During the light fortnight of the month of Margashirsha (Magha, December) there occurs an Ekadasi called Mokshadaa. If you observe this sacred Ekadasi strictly, with a full fast, and give directly to your suffering father the merit you thus attain/obtain, he will be freed from his pain and instantly liberated.

The king returned to his palace to perform his  rite.In the month of Margashirsha , the king faithfully waited for the Ekadasi tithi to arrive, and then  perfectly and with full faith observed the Ekadasi fast with his wife, children, and other relatives.
He dutifully gave the merit from this fast to his father, and as he made the offering, beautiful flower petals showered down from the Gods .
The king's father was then praised by the messengers of the Gods and escorted to the celestial region.
As he passed his son, as he traversed the lower to middle to higher planets, the father said to the king -  All auspiciousness unto you. Saying this , he reached the heavens.

Krishna thus concluding, told Yudhistira that who ever strictly observes the sacred Mokshadaa Ekadasi, following the established rules and regulations, achieves full and perfect liberation after death.
There is no better fasting day than this Ekadasi of the light fortnight of the month of Margashirsha,
Whoever faithfully observes this Ekadasi fast, obtains special merit.

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While this is not a common practice in North India, here in the south today, all temples have a big line.

Jarasandha chooses Bhima

As the child had been joined by Jara, the king named the child Jarasandha, one who is joined by Jara.. He began growing up, becoming stronger and mighty as days went. The sage, with whose blessing the child had been born, came to visit the king one day. The king went to see the sage with his two wives and son. The sage blessed the child with beauty and knowledge. He also said this will be the greatest of all kings known.

When the child grew up, Jarasandha was crowned king of Magadha. He then worked on expanding his kingdom, conquering other kings and winning over their kingdoms.

He was fine till Kamsa was killed by Krishna (Jarasandha's daughter was Kamsa's wife). He became an enemy of Krishna. In anger, he flung a huge mace towards Krishna which landed near Mathura (where Krishna was staying). Jarasandha had two followers - Hansa and Dimvaka. Hansa was killed in a fight with Balarama and Dimvaka committed suicide.

Telling the tale of Jarasandha to the Pandavas, Krishna said Jarasandha was evil and he needed to be killed. He was incapable of being destroyed by weapons, and the only way was to wrestle him to death. He thought Bhima was the most apt for this, nd if attacked by others, Arjuna would be able to defeat them.He suggested going in disguise to the kingdom of Magadha and then bring about the downfall of Jarasandha.

Yudhistira sent for Arjuna and Bhima and asked them to go with Krishna.

Taking the guise of Brahmanas Krishna, Arjuna and Bhima left for Magadha and after a long journey through picturesque locales they finally reached the kingdom of Magadha. They were welcomed by the people of Magadha, who were happy and cheerful.

Seeing brahmins in his land, the king came and welcomed them. He wanted to know who they really were. He said he saw that their physique was not like Brahmins and that they had scars on hands, from stringing bows.

Krishna said they would not disclose who they really were and he also said they had come into the enemy territory and had come for combat. Jarasandha said he did not recollect having ever hurt them in any way.

Krishna said they had come because a just king wanted to rule and had sent them to defeat the king. Krishna also told the king that he was not innocent as he was sacrificing the kings that he had defeated. Slaughter of humans was not acceptable and was a grave sin.

Disclosing their identities, he said he was  Krishna, and with him were two sons of Pandu and they had come to defeat Jarasandha.

Krishna asked the king whom among them did he choose for a combat. Jarasandha chose Bhima. Taking off his crown and tying his hair properly, Jarasandha stood up. Addressing Bhima, he said he wanted to fight with him.

In the arena, Jarasandha rushed towards Bhima, and a fight began among them with bare hands.

Seizing each other's arms and twining each other's legs, they slapped  and seizing each other's necks with their hands  they continued. They began to seize each other. Striking neck against neck and forehead against forehead, grasping each other by their arms, and kicking each other they struck at each other with clenched fists. They fought on dragging and pushing each other and fiercely looking at each other. Adept in wrestling, the two tried to throw each other down. A big crowd gathered to watch the match. It was the first day of the month of Kartika (October) when the fight began and for thirteen days this match continued. On the fourteenth day , Jarasandha felt tired. Seeing this an opportunity, Bhima with renewed strength attacked Jarasandha again, with an intent of killing him.

Jarasandha

Yudhistira wanted know about Jarasandha. Krishna then started telling him.

There was a king called Vrihadratha, in the land of Magadha. He was a fierce warrior. He was also a good and kind king. He married the twin daughters of the king of Kashi. . He loved his wives equally did not many difference between any of them. The king was growing old and he had no child. He wanted a son who would carry his name forward. One he heard that the sage  Chanda was staying near his kingdom and had taken shelter under a mango tree. The king visited the sage with his wives and started serving him. Pleased the sage asked the king to ask for a boon. The king told the sage that he wished to have a son.
Hearing this the sage handed over to the king, a ripe mango that fell on to the sage's lap from the tree. Happy, the king took the fruit and went home. The sage had told the king, to give the mango to one of his queens who would give birth to a son.

He took the fruit to his queens, who divided the fruit equally among themselves and each had half a fruit. In due time, both the queens conceived and the king was very happy.

When time came, the queens gave birth and it was shocking to see that each queen had given birth to half a child. Consulting among themselves, they abandoned the fragments behind the palace.

A rakshasha woman by the name of Jara was passing by. Seeing the parts of the child, she joined them together so she could easily carry it away with her. As soon as she joined the parts, the child came to life and started roaring. Assuming a human form, she went to the king and said this is your son, born from your wives and protected by me, Jara.

Plan for Rajasuya Yagna

When Yudhistira was seated in his palace, there came Narada. Yudhistira got up and he and along with his brothers paid respect to the sage. Narada advised him to perform a Rajasuya yagna., to declare his supremacy and proclaim himself as emperor.

He called his brothers and counselors and wanted to know how to go about this. He was advised to consult Krishna and take his advise.
Krishna advised him to first defeat Jarasandha, the king of Magadha who had also captured and taken over Mathura, then Sisupala, Vaka,  the king of Karushas, Bhagadatta and the other might kings.

On Krishna's advise, Krishna accompanied by Bhima and Arjuna left for Magadha, to meet and defeat Jarasandha.

The Palace

Taking leave of Arjuna, Maya proceeded towards Kailasha. On the banks of the lake Vindhu, some demons had accumulated lots of wealth and had kept that hidden. He planned to get that and use that for the construction of the palace. Along with the gems and jewels, there was also a giant mace that he planned to get for Bhima and a conch shell called Devadatta which he wanted to gift Arjuna.

Maya got back all that. He gave the mace to Bhima and the conch shell to Arjuna.

The palace that Maya built was wonderful to look at. The palace columns were made of Gold. It shone so brilliantly, that it seemed brighter than the sun.

A tank was built in the palace that had lotuses made of gems. Golden birds flew around and golden fishes swam in the tank. The banks of the tank were made with marble and a crystal stair case went from the tank to the upper quarters.

A sweet breeze always blew around.

After completing the construction, Maya went reported the same to Yudhistira.  

Forest burns

Arjuna and Krishna, alighting on the chariots started their vigil. While the fire burnt, Arjuna and Kirshna tried to prevent the forest creatures from escaping. Seeing this Indra started rainfall. Heavy showers started pouring.

Invoking divine weapons, Arjuna prevented the rain from touching the ground. Takshaka was not in the forest at that time, but his son Aswasena was. He tried to escape but Arjuna's arrows followed him. Indra suddenly created a storm, which caused Arjuna to be temporarily blinded and taking that chance, Aswasena escaped. From the sky, Indra hurled thunderbolts, but Arjuna was able to combat all. Clouds created by Indra were dispelled by Arjuna's wind weapons. All celestial weapons were cut down by Arjuna and Kirshna. Indra, though deeply pleased with Arjuna's skills, started showering stones on the forest. Arjuna sent forth arrows that dispelled that. Trees hurled by Indra were cut down. A voice in the heaven was then heard that said the Khandava and its residents were destined to die. Indra blessed Arjuna and Krishna and left.

Krishna saw an asura trying to flee. The asura, trying to escape from Krishna, appealed to Arjuna for help. Arjuna saved him. In the end, Aswasena, Maya and four birds called  Sarngakas were only that escaped the forest.

There was once a rishi named Mandapala. When he died, he was given no place in heaven as he had no offspring. He was asked to go and have children in a short time. He took the form of a bird called Sarngaka had children with another bird. He had four sons. HE appealed to Agni to save his young children in the forest, which Agni did and these birds were saved.

Having been granted life, Maya, the asura wanted to know how he could help Arjuna. He said he wanted to do something; he also told Arjuna, that he was an architect, no less then the celestial architect, Vishwakarma. Krishna then told him to build a palace like that no one had seen before, with a hall that was so grand, that would be unequaled in grandeur.

Glad, he began building a palace having no equal. Having worshiped the gods, land of the site was formalized and work started.

Agni approaches Krishna and Arjuna

This incident takes place after Arjuna's wedding with Subhadra. This is the Khandava-daha Parva. This has an importance, as here Arjuna and Krishna get weapons, and also the magical palace of Indraprastha is built.

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One summer day, Arjuna and Krishna were sitting on the banks of Yamuna. In the pleasant shade of trees they were talking among themselves when a brahmana came there. He was tall, with a reddish complexion. He had a bright yellow beard. He had matted hair and was dressed in rags. He seems to be blazing, his body giving away light.

The brahmana said he was looking for them , the two greatest warriors on the planet. He said he was hungry and wanted food of his choice. He introduced himself. He was Agni, God of Fire. He said the forest of Khandava was protected by Indra. Whenever he tried to burn it, Indra would rain on it, and the fire would go off. Agni wanted to consume the forest and all its beings. In the forest lived the serpent Takshaka, who a friend of Indra. Indra tried to protect his friend and thus Agni was unsuccessful. Agni said he wanted the help of Arjuna and Krishna. He wanted their help to prevent the rain from reaching the forest, when it was burning.

Arjuna wanted to know why specifically this forest was to consumed by Agni. In the olden days, a king Swetaki performed five sacrifices in a row. The fires burnt continuously and the priests were also finding it difficult, the smoke bothering their eyes. The king sent for more priests to conduct the sacrifices. This went on for years. The priests went to the king and said they could do not do it anymore, which angered the king. The priests then told the king to approach Shiva for help.

The king went to Kailasha there he started worshiping Shiva. Long was his worship and finally Shiva appeared. When he asked the king wanted he wanted, the king said he wanted Shiva's help to complete the sacrifice. Shiva said he had a condition. The king needed to continuously pour butter in the fire for a long period. The king agreed. He asked the king to get the help of the sage Durvasa to help as the priest.

The king returned and got Durvasa to come for the sacrifice. For years this sacrifice happened and was finally completed. In the course of the sacrifice, Agni had consumed large quantities of clarified butter, he thus became pale. He wanted to consume a dry forest to get rid of the butter in him.

He went to Brahma for help. Brahma asked him to consume Khadava forest. Ready to burn, Agni went there but his efforts were ruined by Indra.
In despair he went back to Brahma. Brahma then asked him to approach Krishna and Arjuna who would be able to help him. Thus Agni had approached the two warriors.

Arjuna said they did not have the weapons to combat Indra. Agni then sent for Varuna, the god of water. From Varuna, Agni got for Arjuna the bow called Gandiva and two quivers which were full of arrows and would never be empty. He also gave Arjuna, a chariot on which was a flag, with Hanumana sitting on it.

Agni then gave Krishna, a discus with a iron pole, attached to its center. It was a fiery weapon with jagged edges, This was Sudarshana. He aslo gave Krishna a mace called Kaumodaki.

Wedding

Drupada sent a messanger to the Pandavas. He had invited them and his daughter to his palace for a feast after the swayamvara. Pandavas left for the palace in the chariots that had been brought for them. Drupada to test the Pandavas kept in his house articles of agriculture, weapons and scriptures along with food and drink. He wanted the Pandavas to disclose their identifty to him. Kunti and Draupdi went into the inner part of the palace.  The ladies there bathed and decorrated both Kunti and Draupadi. The Pandavas sat on the provided seats like kings. The king then asked the Pandavas to tell who they really were.

Yudhistira then introduced all. Drupada then wanted to know how they had escaped the house of lac. Yudhistira was then told that Arjuna needed to get ready and wed Draupadi as per scriptures. Yudhistira said the princess needed to marry all five of them and walk around the fire with all five of them.

The sage Vyasa then came there and told Drupada not to worry. Draupdi was to marry and have husbands.

Yudhistira then said he had heard of a lady called Jatila who had married seven sages.

Vyasa then told Drupada that once Yama, God of death, let off killing humans. People started increasing on the planet. The Gods then went to Brahma and asked him to do something and maintain the balance. Yama, Brahma said, was busy in a sacrifice. Once that was over, he would resume his duties. The Gods then went to Yama. Indra sawa  golden lotus floating in the river. He wanted to know where it was going and followed it. He saw a woman washing herself in the river. She was glowing like fire, and was weeping. Her tears were falling in the water and becoming golden lotuses. Indra asked her who who she and why was crying. The woman told Indra to follow her. He soon saw a handsome young man and a young woman playing dice. They were engrossed in their game and did not care about Indra. Indra was angry at being ignored. The young man was actually Shiva. He cast a glance at Indra, and Indra froze. When the game was over, Shiva told the weeping woman to get Indra there. At a touch of the weeping woman, Indra fell on the earth. Indra was then told by Shiva, that he along with other Gods would be born on earth as Pandavas. The weeping woman, who was foutune, would also be born as the common wife of all. Indra then went to Vishnu who then told him that he would be born as sons of Devaki and Rohini.

Vyasa said it was told that Draupdi would be a common wife and that so one could deny that. Vyasa also told Drupada, how in a previuous birth, Draupdi had been given a boon of five husbands by Shiva.

Vyasa then addressed the Pandavas and said this was an auspicious day for marriage. Preparations started for the wedding. Draupdi was bathed and draped in beautiful clothes and jewels. People who came to see the wedding were dazzled by her beauty.

Drupada's palace was decorated with lights and flowers.

The pandavas were bathed and dressed in expensive robes. They, accompanied by their priest, Dhaumya, entered the wedding hall. Dhaumya lit the holy fire. Draupadi walked around the fire with each of the brothers. Drupada then gave great expensive gifts to the Pandavas. Krishna also sent them many gifts.

Vidura conveyed this message to Dhritarashtra, and the king after consultation his near ones, let Pandavas rule over the barren land of Khandavapratha.

Winning Draupadi

Drupada wanted Arjuna to wed his daughter. He thus setup a very stiff competition. He had a very stiff bow made that only Arjuna would be able to bend. The contest was to bend and string the bow, and shoot a mark with specfic heavy arrows and shoot a mark.
Many kings and princes were invited to participate in the contest. They all took their seats around the dias on which the feat was to be performed. Duryodhana and Karna were amongst those who came to participate.

The dias was grand to look at. Walls surrounded it and canopies hung over it. Pandavas came and took their seat among the brahmanas. Dhrishtadyumna came accompanied by his sister. Addressing all, he explained that kings had to shoot the mark, through gaps with the specifc bow and arrows and win the hand of his sister.

In the invited list of kings were Krishna and his Balarama. Krishna recognizing the Pandavas said to Balrama quietly that the Pandavas were there.

The contest started and most kings were have a very hard time bending the bow. Most could not bend it, those who could bend it, could not string it. Seeing this Karna stepped forward, but Draupadi stopped him saying she would not accept a son of a chariotter as her husband. Arjuna seeing this wanted to try his hand.

Arjuna rose from his seat. Some of the Brahmanas started saying this was not right - a brahmana should not compete in archery, others said a brahmana should. Not caring, Arjuna moved forward. He moved forward and approached the bow. Saluting the bow he lifted it and strung it easily. Taking five arrows, he struck the mark and it fell down. Gods showered flowers.

The Pandavas, along with Draupadi, quickly left the hall. Krishna, seeing this was happy. The invited kings were displeased and started attacking the Pandavas. Bhima uplifted a tree and flung it at the kings. Arjuna was ready with his bow. Krishna then pointed out each Pandava to Balarama.He said he thought they were the PAndavas but he was not too sure. He sadi, he had heard that the Pandavas had escaped from the house of lac, but had no clue where they were.

Arjuna asked the other brahmans to step back while he took out the bow he had got when he won Draupadi's hand. Bhima was ready also. Karna attacked Arjuna while the other kings tried to attack the others. Karna was amazed at Arjuna's archery skill and wanted to know who he really was. Arjuna said he was a mere brahmana who had mastered the weapons. Bhima on the other side defeated most of the kings. Everyone fled and the Pandavas.

Krishna was now convinced the fighting heroes were the Pandavas. He addressed everyone - Draupadi was been won fairly by the Brahmana. He asked all to stop the fight. The kings left for their kingdoms, dejected.

At home, Kunti was restless. Her sons were getting late. Then Arjuna entered the hut, along with others. He asked her to come and see what they had got. Thinking it was alms, Kunti without seeing, said divide among yourselves. Then she turned and saw Draupadi.

Kunti did not know what to say. She asked Yudhistira for advise. Approaching Arjuna, Yudhistira said, as he had won Draupadi, he should marry her. Arjuna said as the elder, he needed to marry first. Yudhistira then remembered Vyasa's words of Draupadi having five husbands. He then said that desity said that Draupadi would marry all five. Krishna came there. He had been following them trying to ascertain their identities. He introduced himself and Balarama and bowed before Kunti, their father's sister. Krishna knowing all was well, left along with Balarama.

While the Pandavas and Draupi were going towards their hut,  Dhrishtadyumna was slowly following them alone. Kunti asked Draupadi to give away some food to the Brahmanas. She then asked Draupdi to cook a meal and divide that into two. One half to be given to Bhima and the rest to be divided among themselves.  Then laying a bed of grass they lay down.  Dhristadyumna was said to see his sister in this state. He went backl rfeported to his father what he had seen and heard. Drupada was glad to hear the Pandavas had won Draupadi and also that his daughter was adjusting in the hut.

Conclusion of the Gandharva's story

Parasara was angry that his father had been killed by a king and he wanted to take revenge on all Kshatriyas. Vashistha, to control him , started telling him a story.

There was a Kritavirya, who had the Brigus as his priests. He was devoted to them. When he dies his descendants found that they did not have much wealth left and also found that the Brigus were very rich. They went and insulted and killed many of the Brigu priests. Not satisfied, they began killing more of the clan, even keeping small children and pregnant women. One woman was bearing child, and the kings got to know of this. When they went to kill the woman, they saw the child tear itself out of its mother's thighs. It was so bright that the kings were blinded.They went to the woman and begged for forgiveness. They said that if their sight was restored they would not conduct sins and would give up their ways. The woman said it was she who was angry but her child who was angry at the deeds of the kings. This child, who had been born from his mother's thigh was called Aurva. The kings approached the child, who then granted the kings their sight.

Aurva was still not content and he wanted to destroy all. His dead ancestors told him to control his anger. Aurva said if he did not do something, his anger would eventually destroy him. The ancestors told him to throw the fire of anger in the ocean. The fire of anger was cast into the sea which took the shape of a head of a horse, called Vadavamukha.

Parasara hearing this from Vashistha, controlled his anger. He setup a sacrifice to consume all rakshashas. The great rishi, Atri, seeing the destruction, came to the site accompanied by other great rishis like Pulastya, Pulaha and Kratu, and asked Parasara to stop this mindless destruction of rakshashas. They told, that in the process, he was also destroying those who were innocent.

Parasara seeing reason cast his anger away.

Arjuna then asked the gandharva, who would be the ideal priest for the Pandavas. the gandharva asked Arjuna to approach Dhaumya, who was meditating in the forests.

Arjuna gave the knowledge of the fire weapons to the Gandharva. The Gandharva in turn presented horses that would never tire. Arjuna accepting the horses, said let teh horses remain with you until I feel a need for them. Thus the gandharva and Arjuna parted.

The Pandavas then approached Dhaumya, who accepted their offer and then they all set forth towards the land of Panchala. Hearing of the swayamvara of the princess of Panchala, the pandavas left for it.
The Pandavas had been told by Brahmans on the way, Drupada was hosting a grand swayamvara. They also got to know of the birth of Draupadi and  Dhrishtadyumna. The pandavas along withe brahmanas proceeded towards the palace of Drupada.

Tapati and Vashistha

The Gandharva king had addressed Arjuna as a descendant of Tapati. Aruna wanted to know more. The gandharva then told the story of Tapati.

The sun god is the one the provides light to all. Tapati was his daughter, younger to Savitri. There was no one who was equal to her in beauty. She was always engaged in meditation and tapasya, so she was known as Tapati in the triple world. seeing her , the sun thought that there was none in the three worlds who deserved to be her husband. This led him to sleepless nights.
On the earth, Samvarana, a kuru king was a great devotee of the sun. Seeing his devotion, the Sun God thought this was the ideal husband for his daughter.

One day Samvarana,the handsome and powerful king went hunting. On the way, exerted, his horse fell down and died. The king continued on foot till he came across a beautiful maiden. He was spellbound by her beauty. The sight of that maiden maddened the king. The king's heart and eyes were captivated by the damsel. The king wanted to know who she was. Without answering the king, the maiden just vanished. The king collapsed in grief.

The maiden reappeared and asked the king to rise. The maiden helped him to his feet. The king in turn kept praising her beauty and wanted to know all about her. She said she was Tapati, the daughter of the Sun, and if the king wished, he could could ask her hand in marriage, from her father.

Saying this, went back to the skies. Looking for the king, his courtiers found him lamenting in the forest. Thinking the king had collapsed with hunger, his ministers tried to offer him food, but the king had lost his senses.  The king then began worshiping the Sun God and then thought of his chief priest, Vasishtha. Vasishtha knoew what had happened. He assured the king, that he would do all he could to unite the king with Tapati. Vasishtha then met the Sun God and asked for his daughter's hand in marriage for the king. The Sun God agreed and let Tapati go with Vashishtha to the king. Thus the king got married to Tapati.

Arjuna then wanted to know more and the Gandahrva continued.

Vashishtha was the son of Brahma and the husband of Arundhati. He had great control over emotions. And it was obtaining a priest like Vashistha, the king was able to get Tapati as his wife. The Gandharva then said, it was always beneficial to have a priest with them, whereever they went. Arjuna still wanted to know about Vashistha.

When Samvarana got married to  Tapati, he proclaimed Vashistha, a ruling king, when he roamed around with his new wife. For twelve years there was no rain. On seeing this, Vashistha sent for the king. The moment the king back, it started raining and all was well.

It was this Samvarna in whose dynasty the Pandavas were born, thus they were called descendants of Tapati.

Arjuna then wanted to know about Vashistha and Vishwamitra. The gandharva continued.

Vishwamitra was a king. One day, while out hunting, he lost his way and reached the ashrama of Vashishtha. The sage welcomed the king and fed him fruits and offered clarified butter. Vashistha had a cow that could give all that was desired of her. She could yeild fruits, grains, juices and any other items that she was requested to give. She could also give robes and gems, if asked for.

The king coming to know of this cow, wanted it for himself. He was willing to exchange land in place of the cow.

When Vashishtha refused, Vishwamitra tried to take the cow by force. The cow called out for help. Vashistha then said , the cow needed to help itself. The cow then took an a terrible shape and attacked Viswamitra's troops . From her tail she began to rain showers of burning coals all around. Then she brougt forth an army that destroyed the king's army. Vishwamitra feld. He then thought, true power was in being a sage, being a king was worthless. He then gave up his kingdom and became a rishi.

There was once a king called Kalmashapada of the Ikshvaku race. Vishwamitra wanted to make this king his disciple.The king not knowing this, approached Saktri who was coming from the opposite way. This was a son of Vashistha. The king asked the rishi to step aside so he could pass. The rishi saying, kings needed to bow down before rishis and give them right of way. The king struck the rishi, who cursed him saying he would be born as a Rakshasha. Vishwamitra saw this happening. His defeat in hands of Vashistha was not forgotten.

The sage had a rakshasha enter the body of the king. Once a rishi came to the king for food. The king told the rishi to wait. Then when he remembered, he asked his cook to send some food to the rishi, but he was not found. Angered, he told his cook to feed the rishi, human flesh.

Angry, the rishis in the kingdom cursed the king to become a flesh eating rakshasha. The king then sought out Saktri, and said as he had been cursed to eat human flesh, he would start by eating this son of Vashistha. After he had eaten him, Vishwamitra told him to go and eat up all the sons of Vashishtha. Learning that all his sons had been killed because of Vishwamitra, Vashistha remained calm.


He left his ashrama and began roaming around. He tried to kill himself but he found it was not possible. Coming back, he heard someone reciting the vedas. He then found this was the unborn son of Saktri, speaking from his mother's womb.

One day he saw Kalmashapada possessed by the rakshasha. Sprinkling holy water, he released the king from the curse.

The king bowed down before the sage and begged for forgiveness. The king being childless asked the sage how he could get a son. The king entered his kingdom, called Ayodhya along with Vashishtha. He then had a son whom he named Asmaka.


In Vashishtha's ashram, his daughter in law gave birth to a son called Parasara. 

Birth of Draupadi

There was once a rishi named Bharadwaja. He saw an apsara called Gritachi having a bath. A child was born from the two, in a pot. As the child was in a pot, he was called Drona. Bharadwaja had a friend called Prishata who was the king of Panchala. At the time when Drona was born, Prishata also had a son called Drupada. Both Drupana and Drona grew up together. They studied together and learned use of weapons together. Once Drona heard that Parasurama was giving away all he had. Drona asked Parasurama for wealth. Parasurama said he had given all away but he had his weapons left, and those he could take.

Drona, gifted with the knowledge of weapons, went to Drupada who was then the king of Panchala. The proud king refused to acknolwdge Drona as his friend. Drona went away thinking of a way to humiliate Drupada. He went to Hastinapur and started teaching the princes there. As guru dakshina, Drona asked for Drupada to be brought to him alive. The Pandavas defeated him and brought him. He took half of Drupada's kingdom thus became an equal of the king. The king went away but the defeat in the hands of Drona constantly haunted him.

The king then approached two sages, Yaja and Upayaja who agreed to help the king. The king wanted a son who could slay Drona. As he had no children, he wanted the sages to help him.


A sacrifice was started and Yaja, after having poured  clarified butter into the sacrificial fire and asked Drupada's queen to come. She was bathing then and could not come. Not waiting, Yaja poured some more butter and utter some mantras and from the fire, rose a child. He had a crown on his head, body clad in armour and a bow and arrow in his hand. A voice from the skies said this was the prince, that was born to kill Drona. Then arose a daughter, Panchali, who was very beautiful and dark in complexion. A voice from the skies said this maiden will cause the destruction of many kshatriyas. The sone was called Dhrishtadyumna, because of his excessive audacity and because of his being born with natural armor and the daughter was called Krishna as she was dark.

Hearing these words of the Brahmana, the Pandavas decided to go to Panchala to see these fire born prince and princess. The sage Vyasa told the Pandavas that as part of her past life she was born unfortunate. Though beautiful, she had no husband. She prayed to Shiva to get a husband. When Shiva appeared, she said she wanted a husband and repeated that five times. Shiva said she would have five husbands. The maiden wanted only one, and Shiva said in this life she would have one, but in her next life she would have five husbands. Vyasa said the Pandavas would have Draupadi as their wife and asked them to go to Panchala.

Starting towards Panchala where they met the King of Gandharvas, Angaraparna, on the Ganga banks. The king was not happy with Pandavas trespassing into his territory. Arjuna challenged the king to a duel. The king started shooting arrows at Arjuna who skillfully dodged them. Arjuna then hurled a fire weapon and destroyed the king's chariot. Then he began dragging the king by his hair, towards his brothers. Seeing this, the king's wife, Kumbhinasi, begged Arjuna to release her husband, which he did. The Gandharva then said from this day he would give up his name, Angaraparna which meant a blazing vehicle. He exchanged with Arjuna, the science of commanding animals, in exchange for an arrow of Arjuna. He asked the Pandavas to appoint a priest and have that priest be with them constantly. 

Killing of Vaka

The Pandavas presented as a Brahmanas and then found a king Brahmana who was kind enough to host them. They started living with the family,going for alms in the morning and coming back and sharing their alms with all, in the evening.
One day Bhima was at home with his mother when he heard someone crying in the Brahmana house. Kunti also heard the same and she asked Bhima to find out what was the matter. Hearing continuous noises of weeping, Kunti herself went inside to see what was the matter. She saw the Brahmana planning to move away from the town. He was saying he would not be able to abandon his family, so this was the step he was taking. If this was not possible, the family would, all together, kill themselves.
Kunti wanted to know what was causing this grief.

The Brahmana then told her about Vaka. Not far from the town, there lived a rakshasha called Vaka who lived on human flesh. The town people had an agreement with him. In a certain interval, each family of the town, had to send, in turn, a cart full of rice, two buffaloes and a human. All this would be devoured by the rakshasha. Now was the turn of his family and he would now have to go and surrender himself to the demon.

Kunti asked the brahman not to worry. She said she knew of a way to avoid this. She said she had a son whom she would send. She also told the brahman that she was not worried, as her son would go, and return victorious. Finally convinced, the Brahmana agreed. Kunti spoke to Bhima, who also readily agreed.

After consulting the rest of the brothers, Bhima decided to set forth and meet Vaka.
Bhima went the food of the Rakshasha to the place where the Rakshasha lived. He then began eating the food himself, also asking Vaka to come and have a share. The angry rakshasha came running.

Bhima fought with the Rakshasha and in the duel that followed, he killed him. Vaka's family was frightened to see this and started fearing their own lives. Bhima assured them saying if they promised not to attack and kill humans, they would not be harmed. They promised, and Bhima returned back to Ekachakra.

The town people thought that the Brahmana had gone to Vaka, and were pleasantly surprised to see the brahmana alive and Vaka dead. They wanted to know how this was possible, to which the Brahmana said he had some divine help.

The Pandavas,  after slaying Vaka, continued to live in the house of the Brahmana. One day a brahmana came visiting. In his wanderings, the brahmana had been to Panchala and had been witness to the divine birth of Dhrishtadyumna and Draupadi.

Hidimva and Ghatotkacha

Seeing his sister getting delayed, Hidimva set forth to the place where the Pandavas were sleeping. When the sister saw her brother coming, she asked Bhima to place them all on her back. She would be able to carry them away from her bother.
Bhima addressing Hidimva asked her not to panic. He said he would slay her brother and free the forest of him.

The brother having heard all this was angry at his sister and started cursing her for having betraying him. He said he would now kill her along with the humans.

Seeing the Rakshasha rush towards his sister, Bhima stepped in between. He addressed the Rakshasha saying he needed to first defeat Bhima and then touch the others. It was not of good conduct to strike a woman, especially someone who has been helpful. Bhima also acknowledged the fact that the Rakshashi had fallen in love with him and in that course she had not harmed anyone.

Hearing this, the rakshasha rushed towards Bhima. Bhima grasped him by his hands and flung him into the ground. It was like a fight between two wild bulls in the forest. Hearing the sounds, the Pandavas and Kunti woke up. They saw a frightened maiden before them. Kunti asked her who she was. The girl said that in the forest was a rakshasa, Hidimva. She unfortunately was his sister. Having seen Bhima, she had lost her heart to him. Now Bhima and Hidimva were battling each other.

Seeing Bhima fight, Arjuna said he would the Rakshasha with an arrow, but Bhima asked them to stay back and watch.

Bhima, feeling energetic after hearing his brothers killed the rakshasha.
Anxious that Duryodhana should not find them out, the Pandavas and Kunti decided to leave the spot. Hidimva, the rakshashi also decided to go along with them.

Bhima seeing Hidimva asked her to go away and be free. Hidimva then begged Kunti to let her stay. She said she had left her family and had decided to be with Bhima. If Bhima rejected her, she would have to kill herself.

Hearing her, Kunti and Yudhistira agreed. They told her they she was fine to have Bhima with her in the day, but she would have to bring Bhima back to them in the night. Bhima said he was fine and he would stay with Hidimva till a child was born. Once a child was born, she would then raise the child and Bhima would come back to the Pandavas.

Taking Bhima with her, Hidimva moved around. One day she discovered she was with child. Though the child was born from a human father, he looked terrible. The child, the moment he was born became big in shape. As his head was bald, looked like a pot (Ghata) they called him Ghatotkacha (pot headed).

Despite his looks, the child was very good at heart and soon became loved by the Pandavas.

Hidimva soon relaized it was time for her to leave. Promising that they would come whenever they were thought of of, they took the blessings of all and left.

The Pandavas then kept moving around. They moved from forest to forest, hunting for food when needed. They met many great sages in their wanderings and learnt as much as they could, from them.

Soon they reached the town of Ekachakra. Making sure that they were not recognizable, the Pandavas then entered the town.

Escape into the forests - Hidimva

Vidura had sent a trusted aide in the forests to guide the Pandavas. This person guided the Pandavas on to the Ganges and helped them cross the river. He then said that Vidura had told the Pandavas to be careful.
In Varnavrata, when the people came and walked into the smoldering house of lac, they saw the bodies of Purochana, Nishada woman andher sons and thinking that the Pandavas were dead, started lamenting.
In Hastinapur, Dhritarashtra and his sons performed the last rites for the Pandavas

Meanwhile, the Pandavas in a group of six. Bhima lifted Kunti and the younger brothers, and they all walked in carefully , deep into the forest.

The huge and mighty Bhima walked, crushing trees and making way for the others. He was passing through like a herd of wild elephants in the forests. Crossing streams and small rivers, the Pandavas disguised themselves in the forest. They then reached a deep part of the forest where fruit trees were few and not much water was around. All they could hear was the sounds made by birds and animals of the forest. Tired, the Pandavas decided to rest there for sometime. Kunti was very thirsty and seeing her in a sad condition, Bhima decided to go and get some water. Wandering around, he came across a lake where he freshened himself and then wetting his garments he came and started giving them water by wringing his clothes. He was sad to see this condition of Kunti and the Pandavas. Kings and Queens who were used to soft beds were now having to spend their days in the hard forest ground. He decided to stay awake and guard his brothers and mother while they slept.

Not far from the place where the Pandavas were asleep, lived a Rakshasha Hidimva. Roaming around in the forest looking for food, he saw the Pandavas. He was hungry and human flesh would suit him well. His sister was with him. He asked his sister to go, kill the people and bring them to him, so that the two could have a hearty meal. The sister, also called Hidimva, went to the forest and there she saw Bhima guarding the brothers. It was love at first sight for her. She was in love with Bhima. She wanted to marry Bhima and for the first time in her life, she went against her brother's wishes. She decked her self with ornaments and walking modestly approached Bhima and wanted to know what he was doing in this forest. She also said that there was a wicked Rakshasha in the forest who wanted to kill them and so they needed to be careful and should escape. She said the Rakshasha was her brother and she wanted to help Bhima escape, as she was in love with him.
Bhima addressed her said he could not abandon his mother and brothers for her. The Rakshashi asked him to then awaken all, so that she could help all escape from there.
Bhima said he was not afraid of her brother and he would not move like a coward. He said his brothers and mother were tired and he would not awaken them.

Jatugriha - Part 2 - from Mahabharata

Meanwhile the Pandavas took leave of the Kuru elders and left for Varnavrata.  People of Hastinapur were sad to see the Pandavas go. They were loudly cursing the Kaurava saying maybe it was a ruse. Yudhistira addressed the people, asking them to respect the wishes of the Kuru elders

After the people had left, Vidura addressed Yudhistira in a language only the two could understand. He said Act in a way to avoid all suspicion but be aware of danger. Weapons are there that can cut through bodies not made of metal. Know that fire cannot destroy those in a tunnel. Use weapons not made of metal, against your enemies.Wander and gain knowledge.

Vidura indirectly told Yudhistira about the inflammable house, to escape through a tunnel after setting it on fire and roam around.

Vidura then left. Yudhistirta then told his brothers that Vidura had told him that the house they would be living in, was made of combustible material. He also told them not to worry and not let around know that about this knowledge.

People of Varnavrata, seeing the Pandavas greeted them. Then Purocahana, Duryodhana's aide came, and he guided the Pandavas into the palace. The pandavas could smell the butter and oils that had been mixed to build this combustible house. They all the house had been built with resins, bamboo, straw, little mud - all mixed with butter and lac. Bhima wanted to kill Purochana, but Yudhistira told him to be patient. If Purochana suspected their knowing, it would be their end. They needed to act innocent.

A friend of Vidura then came to meet the Pandavas. This person was an expert in mining. He said he had been sent by Vidura and he was to dig a tunnel for the Pandavas. Purochana had plans to set alight the palace on the night of Amavasya. Work began in the nights. In the day, it was covered with planks. In the day, the Pandavas would go hunting and in the evening they guarded the mining work.

Seeing the Pandavas living there cheerfully and without suspicion for a full year, Purochana was happy. Seeing this, Yudhistira said it was time to set the house on fire and escape, killing Purochana. Kunti approached Purochana and said she wanted to arrange a feast for the Brahmanas. Many people came for the feast. Along with the others, came a Nishada woman with her five children. Having had a lot to drink, Purochana and the Nishada woman and her children lay down and went to sleep, after the feast.
It suddenly became very windy. Taking this is a sign, Bhima set the house on fire, starting with the main doors. Satisfied that the house was burning, the Pandavas and Kunti entered the tunnel.

The people of Varnavrata noticing this started cursing Dhritarashtra, Duryodhana and Purochana. Pandavas came out on the other end of the tunnel and fled into the nearby forest.

Jatugriha - Mahabharata

What does does Jatugriha actually mean? The closest literal meaning is house made from lac, which is highly combustible. Jatu literally means lac or gum, and Griha means house.

Pandavas had to live there for sometime. This incident takes place in Adi Parva of Mahabharata, much before the Pandavas got married to Draupadi.

Why the Jatugriha here? The serials based on Mahabharata, show different versions of the same. I just wanted to share what Mahabharata has.

In consultation with Dhritarashtra, Duryodhana and the other Kaurava princes decided to burn the Pandavas alive. Vidura coming to know of this, approached Kunti and told her to flee the Kuru land with her sons, as no good would come if she stayed on. Hearing this, Kunti and her sons climbed on to a boat that had been prepared, and left Varnavrata.

A Nishada woman, who happened to be the house of lac, along with her children, got burnt to death.

The citizens of Varnavrata, thinking the Pandavas were dead, were saddened.

On the other hand, Dhritarashtra along with the other Kuru elders performed the last rites of the Pandavas.

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As the Mahabharata is being recited to Janmajeya, the king wanted to know what had happened in Varnavrata. He was then told what had happened there.

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Duryodhana was disturbed to see Bhima grow stronger by the day and Arjuna become skilled in the archery. Karna, Sakuni and Duryodhana then tried to hatch plans to get rid of the Pandavas. Every attempt failed. The people of Hastinapura also wanted Yudhistira to be crowned king.

Duryodhana approached Dhritarshtra and asked to him send the Pandavas to Varnavrata. Blined by the love for his son, the king agreed. Duryodhana then told the king that Bhisma and Drona would be loyal to the throne, Vidura alone would not be able to do any harm even if sided with the Pandavas.

The festival of Shiva was to start in Varnavrata, and the Pandavas were asked to stay there for sometime. Pandavas agreed to go there. Hearing this, Duryodhana asked Purochana, one his aides, to go to Varnavrata and construct a palace using all combustible material. The mud that was to be used would be mixed with oil and fat, to aid burning. It was to be built in such a manner that the Pandavas should not suspect this.