Mahabharata Vol. 1 (Penguin Translated Texts) (44 page)

‘O king! He was always obedient to Duryodhana and left quickly. Purochana did as the prince had asked him to.’

Vaishampayana said, ‘The Pandavas yoked excellent horses, swift as the wind, to their chariots. When ascending, they sorrowfully
touched the feet of Bhishma, King Dhritarashtra, the great-souled Drona, Kripa, Vidura and others who were old. Since they were rigid in their vows, they paid homage to all the elders of the Kuru lineage and embraced their equals. Even the children said farewell. Taking leave of all the mothers
⁴⁷
and circling them with respect, they said farewell to the citizens and set out for Varanavata.

‘The immensely wise Vidura, other bulls among the Kurus and the citizens sorrowfully followed those tigers among men. O bull among the Bharatas! There were some fearless Brahmanas there. Aggrieved over what had happened to Pandu’s sons, they said, “The evil King Dhritarashtra isn’t impartial and is immersed in darkness. Dhritarashtra doesn’t follow the path of dharma. The Pandava who has no sin in his heart,
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Bhima, supreme among those who are strong, and Kunti’s son, Dhananjaya, cannot commit a sin. Nor can the immensely wise sons of Madri. Dhritarashtra cannot bear that they have inherited the kingdom from their father. How could Bhishma have allowed such a great act of adharma, so that Kunti’s sons, bulls of the Bharata lineage, have been banished to another city without reason? Vichitravirya, Shantanu’s son and Kuru’s descendant, and rajarshi Pandu were like our fathers. Since that tiger among men
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has now met his destiny, Dhritarashtra cannot bear his sons, these princes, though they are young. We cannot sanction this. Therefore, let us leave this supreme city and our houses and go to the place where Yudhishthira is going.” Dharmaraja Yudhishthira thought about this for a while and then sorrowfully addressed the sorrowing citizens. “The lord of the earth
⁵⁰
is like our father, he is our greatest preceptor. It is our duty to unhesitatingly obey whatever he commands. O illustrious ones! You are our well-wishers. Circle around us and make us happy with your blessings. Then return home. When the time comes for you to do something for us, do that which is pleasing
and is good for us.” Having been thus addressed, the citizens circled the Pandavas and gave them their blessings. Then they returned to the city.

‘When the citizens had returned, Vidura, who knew all the principles of dharma, spoke to the eldest Pandava so as to warn him. The learned one
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spoke to the learned one
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in nonsensical words,
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“One who knows will act so as to avoid danger. There is a sharp weapon that can pierce the body, but is not made of iron. He who knows this is not killed and can turn it against the enemy. The burner of grass and the drier of dew do not kill animals in holes. He who protects himself through knowledge lives. The blind man doesn’t see the way, because the blind man has no sense of direction. He who doesn’t have perseverance is never prosperous. Know this and be alert. He who accepts an ironless weapon from the untrustworthy, can escape from the fire like a porcupine. Through travelling, a man gets to know the way and from the stars can deduce the directions. He who keeps the five
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under self-control is never oppressed by the enemy.” Having thus addressed the Pandavas, Vidura circled them, and having said farewell, returned to his house.

‘After Vidura, Bhishma and the citizens had returned, Kunti went to Ajatashatru
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and said, “What did kshatta
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tell you among so many people? He spoke as if he said nothing and you replied similarly. We have not understood. If it is not inappropriate that we should know, I wish to know what you spoke to each other.” Yudhishthira replied, “Vidura said that there is danger from poison and fire and
that there should be no path that I do not know. He told me that the man who is self-controlled wins the entire world. I told Vidura that I had understood.” On the eighth day of the month of Phalguna, when Rohini
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was in the ascendant, they left for Varanavata and saw the city and its people.’

Vaishampayana said, ‘Hearing that the Pandavas were coming, the citizens of Varanavata were delighted and swiftly came out in thousands, in various conveyances. In order to receive those best of men, they carried with them auspicious gifts, as laid down in the shastras. Coming to Kunti’s sons, the citizens of Varanavata reverently surrounded them in a circle and uttered the blessed word “Jaya”.
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Thus surrounded by them, Dharmaraja Yudhishthira, tiger among men, looked like the one with the vajra in his hand,
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surrounded by gods.

‘Welcomed by the citizens and paying homage to them in return, those unblemished ones entered Varanavata, populated and decorated for the festival. O protector of the earth! Entering the city, the warriors first went to the houses of the Brahmanas engaged in their duties. They then went to the houses of the city officials and next to the houses of those with chariots.
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Next they went to the houses of the Vaishyas and even to the houses of the Shudras. The citizens paid homage to the Pandavas, bulls among men. Next, with Purochana leading the way, they went to their house.
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Purochana gave them beautiful food, drinks, beds and seats. Served by Purochana and worshipped by the town’s citizens, they lived there, attired in
expensive garments. When they had lived there for ten nights, Purochana told them about a house that was blessed, though it was actually unblessed. Attired in expensive garments, those tigers among men then entered the house at Purochana’s request, like the guhyakas enter Kailasha. Inspecting the house, Yudhishthira, supreme among those who know all the dharma, told Bhimasena, “O scorcher of enemies! From the smell of fat and ghee mixed with lac, it is clear that this house is made of inflammable materials. The evil Purochana has used trusted and well-skilled artisans to build a house with straw, bark and cane, sprinkled all over with ghee. After winning my confidence, he wishes to burn me to death. O Partha!
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This is the danger that the immensely intelligent Vidura foresaw and warned me about earlier. But now that he has told us, we know this house to be full of danger, constructed by skilled artisans under Duryodhana’s control.” Bhimasena said, “If you think this house is inflammable, then let us go back to our earlier house.”

‘Yudhishthira said, “I think we should live here as if we are keen and suspect nothing and thus doomed to be destroyed. But we must find a certain way of escaping. If Purochana deduces from our appearance that we suspect, he may act quickly and suddenly burn us to death. Purochana does not shrink from outrage and sin. The evil one is based here on Suyodhana’s
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orders. The question remains whether grandfather Bhishma will be angry if we are burnt alive. Will he anger the Kouravas by displaying his anger to them? It may be that if we are burnt, grandfather Bhishma and other bulls of the Kuru lineage may be angry for the sake of dharma. But if we flee from this place, scared of being burnt, Suyodhana, avaricious for the kingdom, may kill us through assassins. The evil Suyodhana has position, we have none. He has allies, we have none. He has a large treasury, we have no riches. There is no doubt that he can kill us through diverse means. Deceiving this evil one
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and that evil one, Suyodhana, let us live here for some time, hiding where we go. Let us roam the
earth the way hunters do, so that we become aware of all the routes that exist for escape. We will now secretly dig a hidden tunnel in the ground. If we can keep that a secret, the fire will not be able to destroy us. Let us live here in a way that neither Purochana nor the inhabitants of the city know what we are doing.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘O king! There was a skilled digger
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who was Vidura’s friend. This man came and spoke to the Pandava
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secretly. “I have been sent by Vidura to do that which is pleasing to the Pandavas. I am well skilled in digging. Please tell me what I can do for you. Vidura told me to go to the Pandavas and do that which is for their welfare. He trusts me. What can I do for you? On the fourteenth night of this
krishnapaksha
,
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Purochana will set fire to the door of your house. O Partha! I have heard that Dhritarashtra’s son has decided to burn the Pandavas, bulls among men, together with their mother. O Pandava! Vidura told you something in the mleccha
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language and you replied in that language. I am telling you this to establish my credentials.”

‘Yudhishthira, Kunti’s truthful son, replied, “O agreeable one! I now know you to be a trusted and true friend of Vidura’s, always devoted to him. There is nothing that learned one does not know. Just
as you are his, you are ours. Do not distinguish between him and us. We are yours as much as his. Protect us the way that wise man does. I know Purochana built this inflammable house for me on the command of Dhritarashtra’s son. That evil-hearted and malicious one, with control over riches and allies, has always oppressed us. Use all your efforts to save us from the fire. If we are burnt to death, Suyodhana’s wishes will be fulfilled. That evil-hearted one’s store of arms is there. This large house has been built along those walls. Vidura certainly knew in advance the evil crime that was being plotted and warned me about it. The danger that kshatta foresaw earlier is upon us now. Help us escape from that without Purochana knowing.” The digger promised to help.

‘Carefully, he began the work of excavation and made a deep tunnel under the ground. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He built that tunnel in the centre of the house, with a narrow mouth and level with the ground, and covered it with wooden planks. Because of the fear of Purochana, the opening was thus covered. He
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constantly kept a watch on the gate of the house. O king! They lived in the hole in the night, with their weapons ready. During the day, the Pandavas went out hunting, from forest to forest. O king! Deceiving Purochana with a display of trustfulness and contentment, they were actually distrusting and discontented and lived very unhappily. The inhabitants of the city knew nothing about all this, except for Vidura’s friend, the excellent digger.’

Vaishampayana said, ‘Having seen them live there for an entire year, happy and unsuspecting, Purochana was extremely delighted. Witnessing Purochana’s delight, Yudhishthira, Kunti’s virtuous son, spoke to Bhimasena, Arjuna and the twins. “The cruel-
hearted and evil Purochana thinks us to be trusting and has been deceived well. I think the time has come for our escape. Let us escape, unobserved by anyone, after setting fire to the armoury, burning Purochana to death and leaving six bodies here.”

‘O king! On the occasion of giving alms, Kunti fed a large number of Brahmanas in the night. A number of women also came. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! They enjoyed themselves and ate and drank as much as they wished. When it was night, with Madhavi’s
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permission, they returned home. Driven by destiny and in search of food, a hunter woman also happened to come to the feast, accompanied by her five sons. All of them drank wine, until, with her sons, she was completely drunk. O ruler of men! She and her sons lost their senses and slept in that house, as if dead. When everyone was asleep and a violent storm started in the night, Bhima started a fire at the spot where Purochana was sleeping. The intense heat and great roar of the fire soon became manifest and awoke a large number of the citizens. The citizens said, “Under Duryodhana’s instructions, the evil-minded one
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built this house for his own destruction. Curse on Dhritarashtra, whose intelligence isn’t impartial. He has burnt to death Pandu’s pure sons, as if they are his enemies. As fate would have it, that evil-hearted and evil-minded one
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has burnt those innocent and unsuspecting ones, supreme among men, and has himself been burnt.” Thus did the citizens of Varanavata mourn, as they stood around the house throughout that entire night.

‘However, with their mother, the grieving Pandavas emerged through the tunnel and fled quickly, unobserved. The scorchers of enemies, the Pandavas, could not move swiftly with their mother, because of fear and lack of sleep. O lord of kings! Bhimasena, with great speed and power, then took up all his brothers and his mother. With his great strength, the valorous one carried his mother on his shoulder, the twins on his hips and his brothers, the two Parthas,
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on his arms. He shattered the trees with force and pounded the earth with his feet. The energetic Vrikodara rushed on, with the violence of a storm.’

Vaishampayana said, ‘When the night passed, all the city’s inhabitants went there quickly to look for Pandu’s sons. They put out the fire and saw that the house which had been burnt down had been constructed with lac and that the adviser Purochana had been burnt. The citizens said, “There is no doubt that the evil Duryodhana committed this act to destroy the Pandavas. Without a doubt, this was done with Dhritarashtra’s knowledge. Otherwise, he would have prevented Dhritarashtra’s son from burning Pandu’s heirs. Indeed, Shantanu’s son,
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Drona, Vidura, Kripa and the other Kouravas haven’t followed the dictates of dharma either. Let us send the news to the evil-hearted Dhritarashtra that his supreme desire has been fulfilled and that he has burnt to death the Pandavas.” When they stirred the ashes to look for the Pandavas, they found the burnt hunter woman and her five sons. While cleaning up, the digger covered up the opening with debris, so that none of the men present noticed it.

‘The citizens then sent the news to Dhritarashtra, that the Pandavas, together with the adviser Purochana, had been burnt in a fire. Hearing the terrible news of the death of Pandu’s sons, King Dhritarashtra lamented in great sorrow. Dhritarashtra said, “When those warriors and their mother have been burnt to death, today my unparalleled brother, Pandu, is truly dead. Let men quickly go to Varanavata and perform the funeral ceremonies for those warriors and for the princess Kunti. Let the bones of the dead be sanctified in large and white receptacles. Let the well-wishers of the dead pay homage to them. Now that this has happened, let us spare no riches to perform acts
that bring welfare to Kunti and the Pandavas.” Having said this, surrounded by his relatives, Ambika’s son
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tendered offerings of water to Pandu’s sons. Afflicted with grief, all the Kouravas lamented. But Vidura did not sorrow much, because he knew more.