Mahābhārata

Drupada heard the words of Dharmarāja sent through the purohita and was yet unable to determine the clan and the family lineage of the groom; so he thought of a plan to find that out.

As the celebration of the svayaṃvara started, the crowd at the venue kept growing; actors and dancers entertained them and were rewarded with precious gems. Fifteen days passed this way and on the sixteenth day, Draupadī took her sacred bath, wore a grand sari and decked herself with magnificent ornaments. She held a golden vīra-kalaśa and entered the stage. As she entered, the musical instruments grew silent and Dṛṣṭadyumna entered the stage. With a voice that was as deep as thunder, he announced, “Dear kings! Pay attention!

[The following sub-stories appear in the Ādi Parva of the Mahābhārata, Adhyāyas 158–74] The brave Pāṇḍavas travelled day and night and arrived at a holy place called Somaśravāyaṇam. Arjuna, the bravest among them all, carried a fire-stick to light their path and also as a means of protection. In an isolated corner of the Gaṅgā, the king of the Gandharvas was engaged in water-sports with several women. He heard the Pāṇḍavas approaching and was enraged.

In the meantime, the other Pāṇḍavas returned home after their daily round of seeking alms. Looking at Bhīma’s face, Yudhiṣṭhira guessed that there must be something amiss and asked his mother, Kuntī, “What is it Mother? What does Bhīma want to do? Has he told you about it and got your approval?” She narrated the day’s events and said, “Bhīma has embarked upon this task only on my advice. He is going to help the brāhmaṇa’s family and also liberate the town from the clutches of the evil rākṣasa. He has undertaken a tremendous task!” Yudhiṣṭhira was not satisfied with her answer.

The Pāṇḍavas wandered from one forest to another for several days.[1]

After their escape from Vāraṇāvata, the Pāṇḍavas went southward, moving quickly in the light of the stars, and reached a dense forest. By this time, all of them were exhausted, tormented by thirst and overcome by sleep; at that point, Dharmarāja told Bhīma, "Trapped in this dense forest, we are groping in the dark; we are unable to tell the directions; we are unable to walk any further; is there a greater difficulty than this? We don't know whether that wretched Purocana succumbed in the fire or not; how do we escape from our fear of him? We shouldn't be seen by anyone.

After Dhṛtarāṣṭra spoke to Yudhiṣṭhira [regarding the trip to Vāraṇāvata], Duryodhana was delighted and summoned Purocana to meet him in private. Duryodhana held Purocana’s right hand and said, “Look Purocana! It is now in your hands to make sure that this land, rich with resources will come under my control. There is nobody else who I can trust on this matter and there is no other person who can ever be as helpful as you are; therefore, please maintain utmost secrecy. I request you to act accordingly and extinguish my relatives who want a share of my kingdom.

At the fag-end of the tournament, when they heard the tumultuous sound at the gates, filled with wonder the spectators asked, “Have the mountains crumbled?” “Has the earth been torn apart?” as they looked in that direction. With naturally endowed armour (kavaca) and earrings (kuṇḍala), Karṇa walked to the center of the arena like a walking mountain.

There lived a teacher by name Kṛpācārya^[1] who taught archery to the kings of the Vṛṣṇi clan and other kṣatriya clans. The Kauravas and Pāṇḍavas were his disciples too. Bhīṣma was not content with this; he thought that his grandchildren should be trained under a person who was an expert in several śāstras and skilled in combat; he wanted the teacher to be a genius and nurture the grandchildren to turn them into extraordinary people. As he was looking for such a person, an interesting episode took place.

Back at Hastināpura, Gāndhārī too was pregnant; even as she was carrying, she heard that Kuntī had given birth to Yudhiṣṭhira. She hadn’t given birth even after two years of pregnancy; the pain was unbearable too. So one day, extremely upset, she squeezed her abdomen and pushed out the foetus. The foetus came out as a ball of flesh. “Is this what Īśvara blessed has me with in the past; is this what Vyāsa promised!” Thinking thus with disgust, she was about to throw the ball of flesh away.