Stories by Grandpa

Stories By Grandpa
Kacha and Devayani

(A story from the Mahabharata
Narrated by: Kanai L Mukherjee (Grandpa), Edited by: Professor Bruce Robertson )
Courtesy: Association of Grandparents of Indian Immigrants (AGII) Picture
acknowledgement: Indian Book House Ltd., Mumbai, India (Amar Chitra Katha)
Prologue
Devayani was the beautiful daughter of Shukracahrya, preceptor to the Asuras, the
demons. Shukracharya knew the secret of Mritasanjibani that brings back to life the
Asuras, killed in the war with the gods, the devas. The devas also wanted to know the
secret of Mritasanjibani. So they sent Kacha, the handsome son of Brihaspati,
preceptor to the Devas, to fall in love with Devayani. This is the story of Kacha and
Devayani and how the devas learnt the secret of Mritasanjibani.
Feature story
Long ago, the Devas and the Asuras fought all the time for the lordship of the three
worlds. The Asuras were care free and happy as long as Shukracharya, their preceptor,
was with them. The valiant Devas, tired of the unequal struggle, went to Kach, the
handsome son of Brihaspati, preceptor of the Devas and asked him to go to
Shukracharya and learn the secret of Mritasanjibani.
The obedient and dutiful Kacha immediately set out to meet Shukracharya. He
humbly presented himself before the great wise man, introduced himself as the son of
Brihaspati, and asked to become his disciple.
Shukracharya was a true teacher. He immediately recognized Kacha’s brilliance as a

student. Shukracharya did not differentiate between his students. He gave Kacha a
warm welcome and accepted him as his pupil.
Shukracharya had a daugher, Devayani, whom he loved dearly. He introduced Kacha

to his daughter saying, "Kacha has vowed to be my pupil till the period of his studies
is over."
All learning in those days was handed down by word of mouth. The pupil lived with
his guru's family as one of the household. In return for his education, the pupil served
his guru with love and devotion. However, Shukracharya was very busy either at court
or he was deep in meditation. So Kacha helped Devayani with her daily chores and
watched after her.
Within a few days of

his arrival, Kacha
found himself
spending all his
leisure hours in the
company of the lively
Devayani. Devayani
was slowly drawn
towards Kacha and
they fell in love.
Shukracharya liked
Kacha because he was
an attentive disciple.
As the years passed,

the Asuras became suspicious of Kacha. They wanted to get rid of him. One day as
Kacha was attending Shukracharya’s cattle, the Asuras fell upon him and slew him.
Then they cut him into pieces and fed his flesh to their dogs.
When Kacha did not come home at the normal hour, Devayani became alarmed.
When the cattle came back without Kacha she ran in a panic to her father and told him
that Kacha was missing. Shukracharya closed his eyes and to the great relief of
Devayani, Kacha came back to life and appeared before her. When Devayani inquired
about his disappearance, Kacha tried to explain in a puzzled voice, "I was killed by
the Asuras but I do not know how I came back to life?" Shukracharya just smiled.
The love between Kacha and Devayani grew day by day. The Asuras were worried.
They guessed right, Kacha was there to learn the secret of Mritasanjibani.
One day Devayani asked Kacha to get her a particular flower that only grows in the
deep forest. Kacha went for it. The Asuras followed him and once again killed him.
But this time they carried his body to a secluded spot, grounded up into a paste, and
dissolved it in the water of the ocean.
Devayani waited and waited. When Kacha did not return she went again to her father.
Shukracharya meditated and once again used the secret knowledge to revive Kacha.
Devayani was overjoyed.
The Asuras were now at their wits end. "How can we kill Kacha? Every time we kill
him, his guru brings him to life!"
They went to one of the senior Asuras and asked him how to destroy Kacha for good.
The senior Asura gave them an idea. The next day, when Kacha went out with the
cattle, they again slew him. This time then burnt him in the jungle. Then they took the
ashes home and mixed it in a wine which Shukracharya was very fond of. They took
the drink to Shukracharya for a taste. Shukracharya loved it. He immediately drank it
and blessed the Asuras.
When the cattle once again returned home without Kacha Devajani knew what had
happened.
"Will Kacha ever be mine?" she asked herself "The Asuras will never leave him
alone!"
She went to Shukracharya and wept. "Father, without Kacha I am as good as dead,
please bring him back to life."
Shukracharya waited for a while thinking. "It is no good to bring Kacha to life. The
Asuras will only kill him again. "
He tried to console his daughter, "It is futile Devajani to bring Kacha to life. The
Asuras are determined to get rid of him. A wise soul, like you, should not grieve at a
loved one's death. You are young and beautiful and you have your own life to live."
But Devajani was
adamant. So strong
was her love for
Kacha.
" Father” she said,

“Kacha was your best
student. I am in love
with him. I can not
live without him."
Devajani stopped
eating. Shukracharya
could no longer bear
to see his daughter in
such agony. Again
Shukracharya used his
secret knowledge and
called upon Kacha to come back to the world of the living. Kacha came back to life
and spoke from inside the stomach of Shukracharya.
"The Asuras killed me but I do not know how I happen to be inside your stomach?"
echoed Kach.
Shukracharya cursed himself for drinking the wine given by the Asuras. "Henceforth,
wine shall be forbidden for those engaged in the pursuit of wisdom," declared
Shukracharya in great frustration. Now Shukracharya had a real dilemma of his own.
He could ask Kacha to come out but that would mean his own death.
When he told Debjani of his dilemma she was again adamant, "Father, I can not live if
either of you dies."
After long deliberation Shukracharya thought of a way out. He knew now the real
purpose of Kacha's visit. He addressed Kacha, "I now see why you came and truly you
have succeeded. There is only one way by which both of us can ensure Devayani's
happiness. I will have to teach you the craft of Mritasanjivani.
With his new knowledge Kacha emerged from Shukracharya's dying body and then
immediately brought his guru back to life. Shukracharya could not have been happier
with his pupil's progress.
When the Asuras came to offer him wine, Shukracharya shouted, "You fools! Kacha
now knows my secret. You helped him learn by your foolish deeds. But rest assured
Kacha will continue to live with me because of his love for Devayani.
But Shukracharya was wrong. Kacha too faced the troubling dilemma. Waiting for the
period of his studies to come to an end, Kacha kept silent. While his love for
Devayani was deep, his sense of duty towards the devas was no less strong.
On the last the day of

his studies, Kacha went
to Shukracharya for his
blessing. As a wise man
and a dedicated teacher,
Shukracharya
concealed his grudge
against Kacha but he
was wondering how
Kacha was going to bid
farewell to Devayani.
Devayani waited for

Kacha to propose
marriage. But when
Kacha broke the heart-
breaking news that he
was going to fulfill his obligations to his own people, her joy turned to tears.
Devayani pleaded with Kacha to take her as his wife. But Kacha replied, "Peerless
one! I was reborn in your father's stomach. I am therefore your brother. I can't marry
you. I must return to heaven."
The broken-hearted Devayani cried out in her grief. She accused Kacha of using her
to attain his goal. Distort she cursed Kacha, "You will never be able to use the craft of
Mritasanjivani."
Kacha quietly listened and then spoke, "Devayani, it is wrong to curse me. I could
have walked away without reviving your father. There is no doubt that my love was
sincere and truthful. But, I also have a duty to perform towards my own people.
Because of your unfairness to me, I am cursing you. No Rishi's son will ever marry
you. I may still teach the craft of Mritasanjivani to others, even though I may not be
able to use it myself." Saying this Kacha departed for the abode of Indra, king of the
Devas. Shukhacharya gently led Devayani away.
With the passage of time, Devayani completely forgot about Kacha. She once again
became playful and lived happily with her father and her playmates in the city of
Vrishaparva, king of the Asuras. Of her playmates, the most important was princess
Sharmistha, the daughter of king Vrishaparva. In our next story we will tell how
Devayani fought with Sharmistha and married king Yayati, a Kshitriya, who belonged
to the warrior race.
Aruni
(A story from Mahabharata) Narrated by: Kanai L Mukherjee (Grandpa), Edited by: Chetana
Neerchal
Courtesy: Association of Grandparents of Indian Immigrants (AGII)
In the next few weeks I will tell you two stories, Aruni and Uttanka. These stories are
taken from Mahabharata that illustrate the special relationship that ought to exist
between the teacher (guru) and disciple (shishya). In these stories, the faith of the
student in his teacher is matched by the teacher's perception of his pupil's abilities.
Aruni of Panchala was a dedicated student of the ancient sage Dhoumya. In the days
of yore, a student had to stay with the teacher and help in the teacher’s daily chores in
order to receive the knowledge he sought.
It was a day of cold winter. Aruni was carrying the firewood he had collected for the
sage's household. As he was passing by a field, which belonged to the sage, he noticed
a breach in the embankment that was holding water in his teacher's field. He realized
that the water would seep away and the field’s crops would die with no water.
"What should I do? If I stop to build the embankment I will be delayed and there is no
firewood at the hermitage to keep the place warm. I better rush to the hermitage with
the firewood and then come back to take care of the breach."
Meanwhile the sage and his disciples
had assembled for the day's lesson.
Aruni was missing.
Soon Aruni rushed in, dropped the

firewood in the courtyard, and
informed the teacher about the breach
of the embankment. Then he quickly
rushed out.
Sage Dhoumya felt proud of his

disciple, "It is hard to get such a
responsible disciple."
Aruni ran all the way back to the

troubled spot and tried to stop the
leakage of water by putting some logs
and mud. However, this did not stop
the leak. The heavy pressure of water
washed away the dam Aruni made.
He felt helpless. It seemed impossible
for him to stop the leakage without
help. He thought for a while and then
made a plan.
It was getting dark and the teacher became worried. He called his disciples and set out
looking for Aruni. As he called out for Aruni, he heard a faint voice, "Here I am
master!"
The teacher and his disciples rushed to the spot and saw Aruni lying on the breach, in
order to hold the water in the field. The disciples quickly pulled Aruni out from the
freezing water. He was repeatedly muttering, "The water is flowing out, the crops will
die ---."
"Don't worry Aruni! We will take care of the breach," said the disciples.
"Never mind my son! You are more precious than the crop," said the teacher.
Aruni was covered in a blanket and brought home. Sage Dhoumya himself tended to
Aruni. The sage then blessed his disciple with pride, "You shall, forever, be renowned
for your unmatched devotion and obedience to your guru.
THE ENLIGHTENED
BUTCHER
(A story from Mahabharata)
Narrated by: Kanai L Mukherjee (Grandpa), Edited by: Arundhati Khanwalkar
This story from Mahabharata brings to light that our spiritual achievement is useless if
we neglect our duties or Dharma.
Kaushika was his parents' only son.
"Mother," he said one day, " I want to go off into the jungle and devote myself to
spiritual studies. "
His mother said with

concern, "But son,
your father and I are
very old. Your father
is so sick he can
hardly move. If you
go away, what will
happen to us? Who
will attend to our
needs?"
Kaushika did not listen. He was determined to study the Vedas. His mother cried in
vain as she watched her son turn his back on her and leave for the jungle.
Eventually Kaushika acquired great mystical powers.
One afternoon, as he was meditating under a tree, a crane flew up, and perched herself
on a branch above Kaushika. Some bird droppings fell on Kaushika's head. Kaushika
furiously threw a fiery gaze at the crane.
The crane immediately fell dead.

The sage felt sorry for what he had done. "How could I have allowed my anger to take
over me that way?" He mourned.
Later in the day, he went to a village to beg for alms. The lady of the house asked him
to wait and went to get some food. Right then her husband arrived. She immediately
set aside the pot of food she was taking to the sage and went to attend her husband.
After washing his feet, giving him food, and attending to his needs, she came back out
to give the alms to the sage. The sage was very insulted. "You put your husband
before a pious sage? Do you know the power of a Brahmin?"
She calmly replied, "Yes, a true Brahmin is he who has mastered his anger. Please do
not threaten me, I am not a crane that will die by your fiery gaze."
The sage was amazed. "How does she know about the crane?" he wondered.
The lady continued, "Oh holy one! You are a learned Brahmin but you have not
understood the truth about virtue. If you want to be enlightened, go to Dharmavyadha
who lives in Mathura. Any one will tell you where he lives."
The sage thanked the lady and hurried to Mathura. "He must be a great and learned
sage indeed," Kaushika thought to himself.
But when he finally reached Dharmavyadaha's place, he found it to be a butcher shop!
A very ordinary looking man came out and said, "Welcome holy one. I am
Dharmavyadaha, the man you seek."
"How can a butcher be spiritually enlightened?" Kaushika asked in amazement.
Dharmavyadaha smiled and said with compassion, "I know the story of the crane and
of the woman who sent you here. Come, let us go to my house. "
The sage could not contain himself and blurted out, "But butchering animals is such a
sinful profession! Are you not ashamed?"
"I am not," the butcher calmly said. "I am engaged in a family trade. I work hard and
honestly at it. There is no reason for me to be ashamed of my work!"
"Holy one," continued the butcher. "If I do injury to other creatures, so do you as you
did to the crane. "
"As we walk on the soil, we are trampling on numerous creatures. Nor is the air
devoid of creatures."
"You see that farmer tilling the land? He is killing so many animals that thrive under
the soil."
They reached the butcher's house. The butcher's wife was doing her house hold chores
and his two boys were playing.
The butcher introduced the sage to his wife and boys.
Then the butcher entered the house and touched his parents' feet.
"Here is a learned Brahmin who has come from a far-off place." the butcher told his
old father.
"Welcome, holy one," the father said.
Before leaving the room, the butcher remarked, "My parents are my Gods. My wife
and my children attend
to them with devotion
and love. We consider
caring for them to be
our greatest duty."
"In doing one's duty

cheerfully, lies true
virtue. This is what the
dutiful wife sent you to
learn."
"Oh learned one!" the

butcher continued,
"You have run away
from your
responsibilities and
deserted your aged
father and mother.
Spiritual achievement is useless if one has neglected one's Dharma, or duties."
The sage remembered his mother crying, "Who will look after us when you are gone
my son?"
The sage apologized, "You have shown me the path of true virtue, the true meaning of
Dharma, Oh pious one. I am deeply indebted to you."
Kaushika immediately returned to his parents and served them lovingly till the end of
their days.
UTTANKA
(A story from Mahabharata)
Narrated by: Kanai L Mukherjee (Grandpa), Edited by: Chetana Neerchal
There was once a great sage named Gautama. Many disciples came to the sage in the
pursuit of knowledge. Among them was Uttanka, who was exemplary in his devotion
to Gautama. Uttanka did the household work for Gautama, helped him prepare for the
sacrificial rites and knew exactly what his guru (teacher) needed at the right time. His
knowledge of the Vedas was outstanding and the other disciples went to him for
tutoring. Gautama had never had such a sincere and intelligent student before.
Uttanka and his classmates

graduated. All his classmates left
the hermitage (ashram) but the
guru loved Uttanka dearly and
did not permit him to go. Year
after year new students came,
they graduated and left the
hermitage in their independent
search for knowledge but Uttanka
stayed back as he was hesitant to
hurt his guru.
As years passed by, Uttanka

became old. He was unable to
carry the load of firewood, his back ached and his hair began to turn white. One day
when he was unable to do the household chores due to his declining strength. He came
to his guru Gautama in frustration and poured his heart out.
“Gurudeva, you did not allow me to leave the ashram for all these years. Now, I am
old and unable to take care of your household chores. I am unhappy that I could not
enjoy worldly pleasures as other disciples did.”
Gautama replied, “My son, I kept you here because of my love for you. But if you
wish to go, you have my permission and my blessings. With the power of your
penance in serving me, you will become a young man again and I shall give my
daughter to you in marriage.”
Immediately, Uttanka regained the looks and strength of a young man. He was very
grateful to his guru. He married Gautama's daughter and was ready to lead his
independent life.
Before his departure Uttanka wanted to pay tribute (gurudakshina) to Gautama. The
sage said, "You have served me with devotion for all these years. No other tribute is
necessary.” Then Uttanka went to Gautama's wife and requested her to ask for
something that she had wanted all her life.
After repeated coaxing, Gautama's wife said, “Uttanka, if you insist, I want the
earrings worn by king Saudasa’s wife. I have heard so much about these earrings that
I yearn for them in my dreams.”
Uttanka promised to get the earrings. He knew that it was not an easy task and he
would face many dangers. So, he asked his bride to stay with her parents while he set
out in search of the earrings. Uttanka was confident that his sincere penance to his
guru would help him in his challenging, forthcoming task.
When sage Gautama heard that Uttanka has left on a dangerous endeavor, he was
concerned. He told his wife, “You should have not asked for the earrings, my dear.
Uttanka will face many dangers that may even threaten his life.” Gautama's wife
regretted her request, but it was too late. Uttanka had already left on his quest, eager
for success.
King Saudasa was living in a remote forest. He had annoyed Vasistha, and was cursed
by the sage to lead the life of a cannibal.
Uttanka trudged on until he came to Saudasa’s abode. As soon as Saudasa saw

Uttanka he attacked him. Uttanka stopped him by saying, “Oh king, wait! I have come
on an errand for my guru. It is against Dharma (righteousness) to injure someone who
is on such mission. I promise that I will offer myself to you after I have completed my
errand.”
Saudasa inquired what the errand was about.
“I have come to beg for your wife’s earrings.” Saudasa was taken aback. He admired
the courage of Uttanka, in approaching him, a cannibal. He said, “Go to my wife and
tell her that I would like her to give the earrings to you. This good act may reduce my
life of suffering as a cannibal.”
Uttanka went to the queen with Saudasa's message. The queen immediately parted
with her earrings with the hope that her husband would benefit by her good deed.
When Uttanka examined the earrings, he could not find anything special with them.
Out of curiosity, he asked, “What is special about these earrings?”
The queen said, “This is a celestial ornament. The wearer will be free from hunger
and thirst and will be protected from all dangers.”
The queen further warned, “The nagas (serpents) have coveted these earrings for a
long time and will steal them at their first opportunity. So, guard them well. Hide
them in the folds of your deerskin and never part with them.”
Uttanka thanked the queen and assured her, “I shall protect them with my life.” Then
he left and came back to Saudasa as he had promised. He requested the cannibal to
spare him until he had handed over the earrings to his guru's wife. Saudasa agreed.
Uttanka then added, “You helped me in getting the earrings and in fulfilling my
promise to my guru’s wife. Your good deed will reduce the tenure of your life as a
cannibal. Hence, I have also been of help to you. By helping each other, we have
become friends. The scriptures say that one should not eat the flesh of a friend. So you
would surely not like to eat me…..?”
Saudasa was struck by Uttanka’s logic, and could not disagree with him. There was
even the possibility of leading a normal life soon! Uttanka quickly departed before
Saudasa changed his mind.
On way to Gautama's hermitage, Uttanka felt tired. So he tied the deerskin, which was
encasing the earrings, on the branch of a tree and lay down to rest in its shade.
Unfortunately, the deerskin slipped off and fell on the ground. A naga was waiting for
this opportunity. It quickly picked up the earrings and sneaked away. Uttanka saw the
naga slipping away with the earrings and chased it. The naga disappeared into an
anthill. Uttanka started digging the anthill with his staff. He continued to dig for
several days without food or water. He was determined to give up his life in the search
of the earrings rather than return to his guru's hermitage empty handed.
An old man suddenly arrived on the scene and asked “What are you doing, young
man?”
Uttanka explained, “A naga stole the celestial earring that I was carrying for my guru's
wife and went into this anthill. I am trying to find the naga.”
The old man said, “You must be joking! The naga may be hidden thousands of miles
deep into the soil. It may take you your entire life to dig with your staff which can
hardly make a dent in this hard soil.”
“I prefer to die here rather than face my guru's wife without fulfilling her wishes. I am
so very ashamed”, said Uttanka, sorrowfully.
The old man was none other than Indra, king of the devas (gods). Appreciating the
determination of Uttanka, Indra assumed his real form and asked Uttanka to strike his
staff onto his bajra (the thunder weapon that Indra carries). Uttanka did as he was told
and his staff was energized. The invigorated staff accelerated the process of digging
into the anthill.
Uttanka soon tunneled into the

kingdom of Nagas (serpants). It was
huge and well protected by the
nagas. Uttanka was puzzled. “How
can I search this place and where
can I look for the naga who stole my
earrings?”
Suddenly he saw a horse standing

before him with blazing fire around
him. Uttanka, overcome by awe, did
not move. The horse spoke, “Do not
be afraid, Uttanka. I am Agni (god
of fire). You have served me well at
your guru's hermitage. I am very pleased with you. Blow at me hard and I will emit
smoke that will choke the nagas. They will come to you for rescue. Then, you can ask
the naga king to return the earrings.”
Uttanka did as he was told and in no time the entire naga kingdom was filled with
smoke. The nagas could not breathe and they were all forced to come out of their
homes. They bowed before Uttanka. Uttanka asked the nagas to return the earrings.
The nagas realized that they had to choose between their lives and the earrings. And
of course, they chose to save their lives and quickly returned the earrings!
Uttanka returned to Gautama’s ashrama and gave the earrings to Gautama’s wife.
Everyone was very happy at Uttanka’s safe return. Gautama and his wife showered
their blessings on Uttanka. Uttanka fulfilled his obligation of giving gurudakshina and
was finally free to lead his own life.
Mahabharata for children(Part 1)

Narrated by: Grandpa, Edited by: Sabyasachi Guharay
Picture acknowledgements : Dreamland Publications, Delhi, India ,
India Book House Pvt. Ltd., Publishers of Amar Chitra Katha, Mumbai, India
Mahabharata is a literary treasure of India. It is the longest epic poem in the world,
originally written in Sanskrit, the ancient language of India. It was composed by
Vyasa several thousand years ago..
Mahabharata belongs not only to India but to the world too. It is a parable of the
human race and carries a universal message - victory comes to those who stay on the
righteous path. It is a real life drama that stands as a perennial spiritual strength to
the people of India in all phases of their lives.
The story of Mahabharata starts with King

Dushyant, a powerful ruler of ancient
India. Dushyanta married Shakuntala, the
foster-daughter of sage Kanva. Shakuntala
was born to Menaka, a nymph of Indra's
court, from sage Vishwamitra, who
secretly fell in love with her. Shakuntala
gave birth to a worthy son Bharata, who
grew up to be fearless and strong. He ruled
for many years and was the founder of the
Kuru dynasty. Unfortunately, things did
not go well after the death of Bharata and
his large empire was reduced to a kingdom
of medium size with its capital Hastinapur.
Mahabharata means the story of the descendents of Bharata. The regular saga of the
epic of the Mahabharata, however, starts with king Shantanu. Shantanu lived in
Hastinapur and was known for his valor and wisdom.
One day he went out hunting to a nearby forest. Reaching the bank of the river
Ganges (Ganga), he was startled to see an indescribably charming damsel appearing
out of the water and then walking on its surface. Her grace and divine beauty struck
Shantanu at the very first sight and he was completely spellbound.
When the king inquired who she was, the maiden curtly asked, "Why are you asking
me that?"
King Shantanu admitted "Having been captivated by your loveliness, I, Shantanu,

king of Hastinapur, have decided to marry you."
"I can accept your proposal provided that you are ready to abide by my two
conditions" argued the maiden.
"What are they?" anxiously asked the king.
"Firstly, you will never ask anything about my personal life, like who I am or where
do I come from? Secondly, you will never stop me from doing anything or ask the
reason of anything I do."
Shantanu was totally gripped by the maiden's beauty, now known as Ganga, and
immediately accepted her conditions. They instantly entered into a love marriage
(Gandharva vivah) and returned home.
Things went on quite smoothly for sometime and then queen Ganga gave birth to a
lovely boy. As soon as king Shantanu heard of this good news, he was overjoyed and
rushed to the palace to congratulate the queen. But he was astonished to see that the
queen took the newborn into her arms, went to the river, and drowned him. The king
was shocked and felt miserable, yet he could not ask the queen about her action. He
was bound by his pledge, not to question or
interfere with the her actions.
Hardly had Shantanu recovered from the

shock of the death of his first son at the
hands of the queen when she became
expectant again. The king felt happy and
thought that the queen would not repeat her
dreadful action again. But the queen again
took the newborn into her arms, and drowned him in the river.
After seeing the ghastly action of the queen, the king was in immense grief again, but
his pledge barred him to say anything.
This continued on until queen Ganga bore the eighth son and marched to the river as
before. Shantanu lost his patience and as soon as the queen was about to drown the
newborn, Shantanu stopped her. "I have lost seven sons like this and am left with no
heir. I can no longer stand to see my flesh and blood decimated before my eyes."
Queen Ganga turned around and said, "Oh King, you have violated your pledge. I will
not stay with you any longer. However before leaving you, I will open the secret that
led to the death of your seven sons. Once it so happened that the saint Vashishtha got
offended with eight gods known as Vasus. He cursed them to be born as human
beings on the earth and undergo the mental torture of being a human. Hearing this,
seven of the Vasus implored the saint to be excused but the eighth one, who was the
most mischievous, kept standing rudely. "
Vashishtha was appeased and modified his curse, "Seven of you will die and come
back to heaven as soon as you are born, but the eighth one will have to live on the
earth for a long period and face the tribulations as a human."
Ganga continued, "Upon the request from the Vasus, I assume the human form and
marry you. My job is now over and I must now go back to my heavenly abode. I am
taking your eighth son with me and will bring him back to you after he is amply
grown up."
After saying this, Ganga flew away into the sky along with the newborn. King
Shantanu felt very disappointed and returned to his palace with a broken heart.
Many years after, when Shantanu was taking a stroll on the bank of the river Ganges
(Ganga), Goddess Ganga emerged out of the river with a young boy.
Ganga spoke, " Oh King! Here is your eighth son, Deva Vrata. I have brought him up
in order that he may be able to cope with what is to befall on him in his life on this
earth."
The king happily brought the prince to the palace and celebrated his advent by
declaring him the crown prince of his kingdom. Deva Vrata was brave, just and
looked highly promising.
King Shantanu was getting old and announced his retirement. He was lonely and
always missed Ganga. It was one day while he was taking a stroll on the bank of the
river Ganges; he was attracted towards a charming maiden, Satyavati. She was the
daughter of the chief of the fishermen tribe. She took the sages across the river on her
boat. She had a divine aroma coming out
of her body.
Shantanu did not know the secret that

circled around Satyavati during her maiden
days. Satyavati once had a bad fishy smell
on her body. Sage Parashar, one of the
sages who she took across the river, had a
special liking for her. He was pleased and
blessed her with a sweet aroma along with
the boon of a son who was named Vyas.
Immediately after birth, Vyas grew up
quickly through his divine powers and left
for the forest. Vyas, however, promised his
mother Satyavati that he will come back
whenever he was called for. Vyas, later known as Veda Vyas, had mastery of the
Vedas but was extremely ugly looking and had a horrible smell. Veda Vyas authored
the story of the Mahabharata, for the sake of the posterity. It is said that Vyas dictated
the entire epic at a stretch while Lord Ganesh acted as the scriber. In addition, Vyas
played a central role in his story appearing and disappearing on the scene whenever
his mother or her family members sought his help. He had rare magical qualities to
resolve their problems.
Shantanu, unaware of the secrets of Satyavati's maiden life, was charmed by her
beauty. He went to her father, the chief fisherman, and asked him for the hand of his
daughter. The chief fisherman, placed the condition that the son born of Satyavati will
be the successor of the Kaurava throne and not Deva Vrata. Santanu was shocked to
hear the condition and returned home disappointed and unhappy. Deva Vrata later
discovered the cause of his father's unhappiness and went to Satyavati's father, to
advocate his father’s position on marrying Satyavati. In return he promised to give up
his right to the throne for Satyavati's son.
The chief fisherman thought for a while and showed his further concern by saying,
"What about your children? They may not honor your promise?"
Hearing this, Deva Vrata took the terrible vow that he will never marry in his life, for
he would remain as a brahamachari. From then on he was known as Bheeshma, the
firm. Bheeshma brought Satyavati on his chariot to the palace and presented her to his
father. Shantanu felt shocked when he heard of all that happened. He blessed
Bheeshma with the power to choose his day of death.
In due course of time, queen Satyavati became the mother of two princes - Chitrangad
and Vichitravirya. After Shantanu's death, Chitrangad succeeded the throne but was
killed in a war. Vichitravirya, was then a minor, and was enthroned by Bheeshma as
the king of Hastinapur. When Vichitravirya came of age, Bheeshma and queen
Satyavati got him married to two princesses of Kashi, Amba and Ambika.
Unfortunately, Vichitravirya died without a successor.
Bheeshma and Satyavati conferred and decided to call Veda Vyas. Vyas arrived in no
time. Satyavati explained to him the grave situation that the Kaurava family was
facing without an heir. He requested Vyas to bless Ambika, the elder of the two
widows of Vichitravirya, to bless with a son who can succeed the deceased king. Vyas
agreed.
When Vyas approached Ambika, she was frightened by his ugly face and shut her
eyes while the saint uttered the boon. As a result, the son born to Ambika was blind.
He was named Dhritarashtra. The queen was disappointed and asked Vyas to offer the
boon to Ambalika, the younger widow. Ambalika could not stand his smell and turned
pale out of fear while the saint was uttering the boon. As a result, the child born of
Ambalika was pale and was called Pandu, meaning pale.
Queen Satyavati was puzzled, what can be done now? Requesting the saint for another
chance, she sent for the elder widow Ambika once more to receive the boon from the
saint. Ambika was so scared of the saint that she could not dare to go before him.
Instead, without telling her mother-in-law, Ambika sent her maid to the saint after
disguising her with stately garments. The maid remained fearless and greeted the
saint, Veda Vyas, with great devotion. Feeling happy, the saint gave her a boon and
she bore a perfect child called Vidur.
In course of time Pandu ascended the throne as his elder brother Dhritarashtra was
blind and Vidur became the prime minister due to his sagacity and distinguished
talent. Dhritarashtra married Gandhari, the princess of Gandhar in Beluchistan,
(today's Pakistan). When Gandhari came to know that her husband is blind, she, as a
true wife, sharing the emotions of her husband, bandaged her eyes permanently with a
cloth.
During the time of Pandu, the kingdom of the Kurus expanded far and wide. Pandu
was married twice, first to Kunti and then to Madri. After many years of rule, Pandu
decided to retire to Himalayas leaving the kingdom in the hands of Dhritarashtra and
grandfather Bheeshma. There was no heir to the throne since none of the brothers had
any children.
Later one day, when Pandu was hunting in the forest, he shot an arrow to a deer who
was in the state of making love. Before dying, the deer cursed Pandu that he will die
instantly when he will touch any of his wives. Pandu was shocked. After returning to
the hermitage, he explained what happened to his wives. They all agreed to lead the
life of an ascetic. They were, however, sad that any chance of having their children to
succeed the throne of Kaurava dynasty was gone.
In Hastinapur, Gandhari called Veda Vyasa and requested him the boon to bear one
hundred sons and a daughter. Veda Vyas very kindly agreed but informed Gandhari
that it will take some time before they arrive. Gandhari was in no rush since she knew
that Pandu could not have any children because of the deer's curse. However, things
turned out differently.
In the forest, Pandu began to suffer from a deep depression, due to the deer's curse,
Kunti painfully noticed it. Kunti was concerned and wanted to reveal a secret that she
kept in her heart until then, in order to make Pandu happy.
Kunti said, "When I was a young maid, sage Durbasha came to my father's house. I
served the sage devotionally and, as a result, the sage blessed me with a mantra
through which I could invoke any god I desire to get a son. The mantra, however, can
be used only five times."
Pandu was very happy. He can now have his sons without even touching Kunti. Kunti,
however, did not disclose to Pandu that she has already used the mantra once. This
happened when, after receiving the mantra, she became impatient to use it without
comprehending the consequences. She called the sun god and was blessed with a son
wearing earrings from birth. Now she realized that the child is born out of wedlock.
For fear of infamy, she put the newborn into a basket and set it afloat the river Ganga.
A charioteer who was childless, luckily discovered the basket. He brought up the
abandoned child who was later named Karna because he was born with the earrings.
Pandu requested Kunti to call for Dharma, the god of righteousness. Kunti was
blessed with Pandu's first son Yudhishthira. The news of the birth of first child
reached Dhritarashtra and Gandhari. Gandhari was disturbed that she cannot be the
mother of the future king. She immediately called Vyasa and requested him to force
the birth of her hundred sons. Through his magical powers Vyasa shortened the
waiting period and hundred sons of Dhritarashtra emerged along with a daughter
Dushala. Duryodhan was the eldest son while Dushashan was the second. Gandhari
was not happy that, in spite of her best efforts, Pandu's first son Yudhishthira would
be the true heir to the throne and not her eldest son, Duryodhana.
In order to strengthen the Kuru dynasty, Pandu requested Kunti for getting more
children. Kunti called the wind god Pavan and Bheema, the second son was born.
Indra blessed Kunti with the third son, Arjuna. Madri was still childless. Pandu
requested Kunti to pass on the mantra to Madri so that she can have a child. Madri
called the twin god, Ashwins and was blessed with two sons, Nakula and Sahadeva.
Thus Pandu had five sons, Yudhishthira, Bheema, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva.
These five worthy children of Pandu were called Pandavas. They grew up strong and
well behaved. They learnt the art of war games from their able father Pandu. The
sages taught them the teachings of the Vedas.
It was one spring day while Pandu was strolling on the riverside, he saw Madri
passing by. Aroused with passion he touched Madri and died instantly. Kunti and
Madri were devastated. The news reached Dhritarashtra and he too was shocked. The
body of Pandu was carried to Hastinapur for the crematory rites. Madri decided to
ascend to the funeral pyre of Pandu and appealed to Kunti to take care of her two
sons, Nakula and Sahadeva, like her own three children. The Pandavas, the sons of
Pandu, returned to Hastinapur and joined their cousins, Kauravas, the sons of
Dhritarashtra.
All the cousins, the Pandavas and the Kauravas grew up together under the direction
of their grandfather Bheeshma. Kripacharya, an able teacher of martial art, trained
them for war games.
Kripacharya in his childhood days, known as Kripa, came to King Shantanu,

Bheeshma's father, along with his sister Kripi, as orphans from a Brahmin family.
Shantanu was a kind-hearted person. He raised Kripa and Kripi with best care. Kripa,
through his best effort became a master in martial art and was then known as
Kripacharya. Kripi was married to Drona, the son of sage Bharadwaj; Sage Bharadwaj
was the best archer of his time. He ran a school to teach martial arts to the princes. His
father, Bharadwaj, personally trained his son Drona. During his student life, Drona
became a close friend of prince Drupada who promised Drona that he would share his
kingdom with him when he became king. But when Drupada became king, he forgot
all about his childhood promises to Drona.
After the death of Bharadwaj, Drone took over his father's responsibilities and was
known as Dronacharya. In those days, an ideal teacher provided free education to all
of his students and was satisfied with the honor showered by his students and the
community. As a result, he stayed poor in meeting his daily needs unless some royalty
provided financial support. Drona was no exception. He had a son named
Ashwathama whom he loved dearly. One day Dronacharya witnessed that his
playmates mocked his son because he was poor. He decided to go to his former
schoolmate Drupada for financial help. Drupada, drowned in his royalty, ignored his
childhood promises to Drona. He insulted Drona in his open court. Drone took the
vow that one day he will get even with Drupada and left the court in rage. He soon left
his hermitage and arrived at Kripa's residence along with his wife Kripi and
Ashwathama.
Drona was passing by one day, when the

princes of Hastinapur were playing ball.
He saw the bouncing ball fall into a nearby
well. The princes were puzzled as to get
the ball out of the well. Then Drona came
forward. He listened to the princes and
then threw his own ring into the well. Then
he boasted that he would get both the ball
and the ring with the help of his archery.
The princes were amazed to see that he
kept his promise. They all requested Drona
to see their grandfather Bheeshma.
Bheeshma, the old warrior, heard what
happened and was amazed by the ability of Drona. He immediately appointed Drona
as the teacher of archery for the princes. Drona was very pleased with his position that
considerably improved the economic condition of his family. He began to instruct the
princes with great care and love. He was confident that his royal disciples will one day
help him to defeat Drupada, and he will be able to fulfill his vow of getting even with
him.
Of all the disciples, Drona loved Arjuna the most. He was most skillful and Drona
promised Arjuna that he would make him the best archer in the world. One-day prince
Ekalavya, son of king Nishad, came to Drona and requested Drona to take him as his
disciple. King Nishad belonged to a low cast and Drona was committed only to the
royal princes of Kuru dynasty. Thus, Drona refused to take Ekalavya as his disciple.
Ekalavya was disappointed but did not lose hope. He went into a deep forest, made an
idol of Drona and considering him as his guru, practiced archery daily. Through his
devotion and constant practice, Ekalavya excelled in the game of archery.
One day the Kuru princes went hunting into the jungle where Ekalavya lived. Their
hunting dog strayed from the party and saw Ekalavya. It began to bark while Ekalavya
was busy with his practice of archery. Ekalavya shot a volley of arrows at the dog
such that it corked its open mouth. The dog ran back to the royal party and the princes
were amazed to see its plight. They all came to Ekalavya, along with Drona, in order
to identify the person who has surpassed them in the art of archery.
Seeing Drona Ekalavya fell at the feet of his guru. Drona was highly pleased by his
devotion and diligence. He soon recognized that Ekalavya will eventually become the
indomitable rival of Arjuna and Drona may not be able to keep his promise. So, Drona
asked for his right thumb as teacher's reward (guru dakshina) and Ekalavya obeyed,
cutting his right thumb and placing it at the guru's feet. What a glorious example of
obedience to teachers!
When the princes had completed their training, grandsire Bheeshma arranged for a
competition in order to demonstrate their sportsmanship. Various dignitaries were
invited in the grand ceremony. Arjuna surprised everyone by his feats of archery.
When the tournament was about to complete, Karna arrived on the scene. No one
knew that he was the illegitimate child of Kunti raised by a charioteer. He challenged
Arjuna. At this point, Kripacharya objected.
"The competition is meant for royal princes only and is not open to ordinary people."
Hearing the objection, Duryodhan, a rival of Arjuna, came forward and offered Karna
the state of Anga, making him a prince. Karna was as good as Arjuna and no one
could decide the superiority of one over the other.
The day completed and the royal princes, came to Drona to pay respect and pay guru
dakshina (teacher's reward). Drona asked them to capture Drupada, the king of
Panchal, and bring him to Drona as a prisoner. Kauravas and Pandavas had no
problem to run over Panchal and present Drupada to Drona.
Drona reminded Drupada of the insults he inflicted on him and said, "Drupada, as a
friend I am returning half of the kingdom to you, but I hope that in the future you will
remember the lesson and respect the promises that you make."
Mahabharata for children(Part 2) -

THE CONSPIRACY
The Pandavas were superior to the Kauravas in every respect, both in strength and
intelligence. They were greatly appreciated for their innate noble qualities. Bheeshma
advised Dhritarashtra to declare Yudishthira as the crown prince of Hastinapur since
he was the eldest and was endowed with fine qualities of a king.
Duryodhan's jealousy for the Pandavas increased after hearing that Yudishthira would
be declared the crown prince. Out of anger, Duryodhan planned to kill the Pandavas
so that he can ascend the throne of Hastinapur. One day Duryodhan approached his
father, Dhritarashtra, and requested him to send the Pandavas to the annual Pashupati
fair in Varnavat, a place far away from Hastinapur. Ignorant of any foul play,
Dhritarashtra asked the Pandavas to attend the fair.
Duryodhan, on the other hand, secretly ordered his trusted partner Purochana, to make
a special palace, with highly inflammable materials, for the Pandavas. His heinous
plan was to burn the Pandavas alive while sleeping. According to the plan, Purochana
would guard the palace and would put it on fire on the following dark night.
However, Vidur, uncle of the Pandavas, and their well wisher, came to know of
Duryodhan’s heinous plan and alerted Yudishthira. Yudishthira did not want to make
a big deal out of this matter, since the Pandavas were not yet ready to fight back. So
he decided to handle this in a clandestine manner. In order to allow the Pandavas to
gain time, Vidur sent a miner to Varnavat to secretly dig an escape tunnel from the
palace. The tunnel would lead into a nearby dense forest, an area easy enough for the
Pandavas to hide.
On the night when the heinous deed was

about to be performed, Bheema bolted
Purochana’s room from outside and set the
house on fire. Then the Pandavas escaped
through the tunnel into the forest. At the
site of the massive conflagration, the
people of Varnavat came rushing to
extinguish the fire. However, the highly
flammable palace burnt to ashes quickly.
Everyone thought that the Pandavas were
burnt in the fire. Soon, the news reached
Hastinapur. Dhritarashtra and Bheeshma were shocked to hear the news. Duryodhan
was elated to hear it, but outwardly acted to be sad .
After many miles of walk through the forest, the Pandava brothers and mother Kunti
laid down under a banyan tree, hungry and thirsty. Bheema went to get the water but
when he came back, he saw everyone in deep sleep. Bheema stayed awake to guard
them.
The forest was a hunting reserve of a fearful demon called Hidimb. He lived with his
sister Hidimba on a huge tree, near the place where the Pandavas were resting. As
soon as Hidimb smelled the presence of humans, he asked his sister Hidimba to kill
them for their dinner. Hidimba reached the place and saw Bheema guarding the
Pandavas. After seeing the muscular body of Bheema, she instantaneously fell in love
with him. So she transformed herself into a beautiful maiden and approached Bheema.
Bheema also fell in love with Hidimba at the first sight. On Hidimba's inquiry
Bheema explained the reason for his family to hide in the forest. Hidimba
sympathized and promised to help them. In the meantime, Hidimb got impatient and
came down from the tree in search of his sister. When he saw his sister making love to
his intended prey, he became furious. He attacked Bheema instantly. Bheema pulled
him away to a distance so that his family could rest. A terrible fight ensued. Finally
Hidimb was killed by Bheema.
When the family of Pandavas got up, Kunti noticed a beautiful maiden standing near
Bheema. She inquired and Hidimba explained what had just happened. She further
requested Kunti to permit her son Bheema to marry her. Hidimba promised to return
Bheema to the Pandavas after the birth of a child. Kunti and her four sons were
impressed by Hidimba and agreed to accept her as Bheema’s wife.
Following a short ceremony, Hidimba and Bheema left for the land of beauty. In
course of time, a child was born who was named Ghatotkacha. Ghatotkacha grew up
in no time and, like his father, became a great warrior. Bheema returned to his family
with his son and wife. As promised, Hidimba left with her son after a short visit and
Ghatotkacha promised to return to the Pandavas whenever called.
After some time of hiding in the forest, the Pandavas began to plan to leave the forest
when Veda Vyas arrived. He consoled the Pandavas and assured them that justice will
finally avail. He advised them to have patience and to endure their current hardship.
On the advise of Veda Vyas, Kunti and her five sons went to a nearby town, called
Ekachakra. They stayed with a Brahmin family, disguised as Brahmins. The Pandavas
lived on begging alms and chanting prayers.
One day, while Kunti was resting at noon, she heard wailings inside the Brahmin's
house where they were staying. Considering it to be a part of their duty to stand beside
their host at the time of adversity, Kunti went to inquire of their misery.
The Brahmin told the horror story that this village was cursed by a demon called
Bakasur. When he came into the town of Ekachakra from no where, he was killing
people at random and destroying the village. Finally the leader of the town made a
deal with Bakasur asking him to stay in the nearby forest. Every day the town will
send to him a cartload of food drawn by two buffaloes, driven by a person drawn by
lot. Bakasur will eat the food, the buffaloes and the driver. Kunti immediately guessed
that it must be the turn of the host-family that day to send a driver. To the surprise of
all, Kunti offered her help.
"I have five children and I will send

Bheema to meet the demon. He is strong
enough to kill the demon and free the town
from his clutch forever. The only request
that I will make is to keep it a secret and
not to reveal our identity."
Bheema met Bakasur and ignoring him

began to eat his food in front of him.
Bakasur got furious and attacked Bheema.
A fearful fight soon ensued and Bakasur
was killed. Bheema secretly dragged his
body at night to the entrance of the town
and left it there for the people to witness.
Next morning, the citizens were surprised to see the dead body of Bakasur. They
rejoiced to their heart's content. When they asked the Brahmin, the host of the
Pandavas, he only said, "It is all God's will. Let us thank Him for removing the
menace for good."
Later on, while at Ekachakra, the Pandavas

heard from a traveler that Drupad, the king
of Panchal, was holding a swyambara for
getting his beautiful daughter Draupadi
married to the best of the princes. In those
days, swyambara was a royal ceremony
where the suitors competed in certain
events and the winner got the hand of the
princess. The Pandavas knew Drupad
whom they humbled before their guru
Dronacharya. Drupad did not have any
child. He performed a Yagna (fire worship)
so devotedly that a boy and a girl sprung
out of the fire. The boy was named Dhritasthadyumna and the girl, Draupadi.
Draupadi was well known for her stunning beauty and many princes aspired to win
her hand. Pandava brothers also decided to attend the swyambara ceremony, disguised
as Brahmins.

THE CONSPIRACY
The Pandavas were superior to the Kauravas in every respect, both in strength and
intelligence. They were greatly appreciated for their innate noble qualities. Bheeshma
advised Dhritarashtra to declare Yudishthira as the crown prince of Hastinapur since
he was the eldest and was endowed with fine qualities of a king.
Duryodhan's jealousy for the Pandavas increased after hearing that Yudishthira would
be declared the crown prince. Out of anger, Duryodhan planned to kill the Pandavas
so that he can ascend the throne of Hastinapur. One day Duryodhan approached his
father, Dhritarashtra, and requested him to send the Pandavas to the annual Pashupati
fair in Varnavat, a place far away from Hastinapur. Ignorant of any foul play,
Dhritarashtra asked the Pandavas to attend the fair.
Duryodhan, on the other hand, secretly ordered his trusted partner Purochana, to make
a special palace, with highly inflammable materials, for the Pandavas. His heinous
plan was to burn the Pandavas alive while sleeping. According to the plan, Purochana
would guard the palace and would put it on fire on the following dark night.
However, Vidur, uncle of the Pandavas, and their well wisher, came to know of
Duryodhan’s heinous plan and alerted Yudishthira. Yudishthira did not want to make
a big deal out of this matter, since the Pandavas were not yet ready to fight back. So
he decided to handle this in a clandestine manner. In order to allow the Pandavas to
gain time, Vidur sent a miner to Varnavat to secretly dig an escape tunnel from the
palace. The tunnel would lead into a nearby dense forest, an area easy enough for the
Pandavas to hide.
On the night when the heinous deed was

about to be performed, Bheema bolted
Purochana’s room from outside and set the
house on fire. Then the Pandavas escaped
through the tunnel into the forest. At the
site of the massive conflagration, the
people of Varnavat came rushing to
extinguish the fire. However, the highly
flammable palace burnt to ashes quickly.
Everyone thought that the Pandavas were
burnt in the fire. Soon, the news reached
Hastinapur. Dhritarashtra and Bheeshma were shocked to hear the news. Duryodhan
was elated to hear it, but outwardly acted to be sad .
After many miles of walk through the forest, the Pandava brothers and mother Kunti
laid down under a banyan tree, hungry and thirsty. Bheema went to get the water but
when he came back, he saw everyone in deep sleep. Bheema stayed awake to guard
them.
The forest was a hunting reserve of a fearful demon called Hidimb. He lived with his
sister Hidimba on a huge tree, near the place where the Pandavas were resting. As
soon as Hidimb smelled the presence of humans, he asked his sister Hidimba to kill
them for their dinner. Hidimba reached the place and saw Bheema guarding the
Pandavas. After seeing the muscular body of Bheema, she instantaneously fell in love
with him. So she transformed herself into a beautiful maiden and approached Bheema.
Bheema also fell in love with Hidimba at the first sight. On Hidimba's inquiry
Bheema explained the reason for his family to hide in the forest. Hidimba
sympathized and promised to help them. In the meantime, Hidimb got impatient and
came down from the tree in search of his sister. When he saw his sister making love to
his intended prey, he became furious. He attacked Bheema instantly. Bheema pulled
him away to a distance so that his family could rest. A terrible fight ensued. Finally
Hidimb was killed by Bheema.
When the family of Pandavas got up, Kunti noticed a beautiful maiden standing near
Bheema. She inquired and Hidimba explained what had just happened. She further
requested Kunti to permit her son Bheema to marry her. Hidimba promised to return
Bheema to the Pandavas after the birth of a child. Kunti and her four sons were
impressed by Hidimba and agreed to accept her as Bheema’s wife.
Following a short ceremony, Hidimba and Bheema left for the land of beauty. In
course of time, a child was born who was named Ghatotkacha. Ghatotkacha grew up
in no time and, like his father, became a great warrior. Bheema returned to his family
with his son and wife. As promised, Hidimba left with her son after a short visit and
Ghatotkacha promised to return to the Pandavas whenever called.
After some time of hiding in the forest, the Pandavas began to plan to leave the forest
when Veda Vyas arrived. He consoled the Pandavas and assured them that justice will
finally avail. He advised them to have patience and to endure their current hardship.
On the advise of Veda Vyas, Kunti and her five sons went to a nearby town, called
Ekachakra. They stayed with a Brahmin family, disguised as Brahmins. The Pandavas
lived on begging alms and chanting prayers.
One day, while Kunti was resting at noon, she heard wailings inside the Brahmin's
house where they were staying. Considering it to be a part of their duty to stand beside
their host at the time of adversity, Kunti went to inquire of their misery.
The Brahmin told the horror story that this village was cursed by a demon called
Bakasur. When he came into the town of Ekachakra from no where, he was killing
people at random and destroying the village. Finally the leader of the town made a
deal with Bakasur asking him to stay in the nearby forest. Every day the town will
send to him a cartload of food drawn by two buffaloes, driven by a person drawn by
lot. Bakasur will eat the food, the buffaloes and the driver. Kunti immediately guessed
that it must be the turn of the host-family that day to send a driver. To the surprise of
all, Kunti offered her help.
"I have five children and I will send

Bheema to meet the demon. He is strong
enough to kill the demon and free the town
from his clutch forever. The only request
that I will make is to keep it a secret and
not to reveal our identity."
Bheema met Bakasur and ignoring him

began to eat his food in front of him.
Bakasur got furious and attacked Bheema.
A fearful fight soon ensued and Bakasur
was killed. Bheema secretly dragged his
body at night to the entrance of the town
and left it there for the people to witness.
Next morning, the citizens were surprised to see the dead body of Bakasur. They
rejoiced to their heart's content. When they asked the Brahmin, the host of the
Pandavas, he only said, "It is all God's will. Let us thank Him for removing the
menace for good."
Later on, while at Ekachakra, the Pandavas

heard from a traveler that Drupad, the king
of Panchal, was holding a swyambara for
getting his beautiful daughter Draupadi
married to the best of the princes. In those
days, swyambara was a royal ceremony
where the suitors competed in certain
events and the winner got the hand of the
princess. The Pandavas knew Drupad
whom they humbled before their guru
Dronacharya. Drupad did not have any
child. He performed a Yagna (fire worship)
so devotedly that a boy and a girl sprung
out of the fire. The boy was named
Dhritasthadyumna and the girl, Draupadi. Draupadi was well known for her stunning
beauty and many princes aspired to win her hand. Pandava brothers also decided to
attend the swyambara ceremony, disguised as Brahmins.
Pandavas marry Draupadi and return to

Hastinapur
From Ekachakra, the Pandavas, disguised as Brahmins, arrived at Panchal to attend

the swyambara ceremony of Draupadi. They already had heard of the heavenly beauty
of Draupadi, the daughter of king Drupad.
At the swyambara assembly, the Pandavas sat next to other Brahmins, away from the
royal dignitaries. No one in the assembly recognized the Pandavas. Krishna, the king
of Dwarka, was present as an honored guest.
At the appropriate time, king Drupad greeted and honored all the participants and
announced that his daughter Draupadi was going to enter the venue. Amidst the
sounds of bugles, drums and melodious music, princess Draupadi, accompanied by
her brother Dhrishtadyumna, entered the swyambara hall. As soon she entered, all
eyes turned to her. She looked like a heavenly nymph.
Within a short while, Dhrishtadyumna addressing the gathering said, "Honorable

princes, you can see a fish hanging from a revolving wheel fixed on the top of a pole.
The reflection of the fish is seen in a wide pan full of oil, placed at the bottom of the
pole. The competitor, who hits the eye of the fish while looking at the image, shall
win the hands of my sister Draupadi."
A bow with arrows had been placed on the stage for the feat.
The event began and a number of princes came forward and tried their luck one after
another. But none of them were successful. One by one, they returned to their seats
with a fallen face.
When Karna's turn came Draupadi spoke out. She refused to marry Karna for lack of
royal lineage. Karna was the son of a charioteer. Karna left the hall in resentment.
Drupad and Dhrishtadyumna were getting worried since all of the princes present at
the function had failed. Finally, Arjuna, in the disguise of a Brahmin got up and
advanced towards the stage. People were amazed to see a Brahmin challenging the
valiant princes. Being a Brahmin in disguise, who belong to a superior cast than the
Kshatriyas (the warrior princes), Arjuna could not be stopped.
"He must have gone crazy!" remarked one

of the Brahmins.
Staying calm and composed, Arjuna picked

up the bow and arrow. He looked down at
the reflection of the fish in the oil pan and
drew the cord of the bow and shot the
arrow. In a flash, the arrow darted with a
twang and pierced the eye of the fish.
People could not believe that a Brahmin
could master the skill of archery better than
any prince could.
The princes felt insulted and came forward

to kill Arjuna. Immediately the rest of the
Pandavas grouped together to defend Arjuna. Soon enough, all the people realized the
strength and skill of the five brothers, the Pandavas. Finally, Krishna stepped in and
asked the frustrated princes to take their failure gracefully and the fighting stopped.
Duryodhana guessed that the winner must be Arjuna, and the four other Brahmins
must be the Pandava brothers. He was amazed as to how they could escape the fire at
Varnavat.
The Pandavas returned home with Draupadi as Arjuna’s wife. Kunti was waiting for
them thinking that her five sons will return home soon with their daily collection of
alms.
Yudhishthira spoke after reaching home, "Look mother what have we brought for you
today!"
Kunti was inside and did not see what Yudhishthira was talking about. So she casually
said without looking to them, "Divide it equally among yourselves." But soon she
noticed Draupadi and felt highly embarrassed at what she had said. She repented, "My
sons, I was under an impression that you had brought something special by way of
alms from some charitable wealthy person. That is why I directed you to share it
equally."
Once spoken, Kunti's words could not be taken back and her dedicated five sons took
Draupadi as their common wife. Draupadi accepted. She soon knew that the five
brothers were the Pandavas. She then thanked her stars for becoming a bride of the
royal family of Hastinapur.
After the swayambara, Dhrishtadyumna, Draupadi's brother, stealthily followed the

five Brahmin brothers and found out their identities. Happily he returned home and
informed his father Drupada that they are none but the Pandavas. The royal family
immediately decided to throw a party in celebration. During the celebration, the
identities of the Pandavas were revealed and King Drupad became their close allies.
News reached Hastinapur. Bheeshma advised Dhritarashtra to give half of the

kingdom to the Pandavas. Duryodhana did not like this idea but kept quiet and waited
for the next opportunity to wipe off the Pandavas.
Dhritarashtra sent Vidur, the Prime Minister, to king Drupada for the return of the
Pandavas to Hastinapur. Pandavas agreed and they proudly returned to Hastinapur
along with Kunti and Draupadi. Upon their arrival, a grand welcome was accorded to
the princes whom people believed to have died in the fair. They were delighted to see
them and joined the celebration.
The Pandavas touched the feet of all the
elders, Bheeshma, Dhritarashtra, Vidur,
Dronacharya and others, and were happy to
be back. Dhritarashtra, in consultation with
other members of the cabinet, offered
Khandavprastha to the Pandavas to settle.
Yudhishthira, modest and accommodating
as he was, accepted the offer and
proceeded to Khandavprastha, their own
kingdom.
In due course of time, the Pandavas made

Indraprastha as the capital of
Khandaprastha. Indraprastha took the
shape of a beautiful township with an
impressive palace. People were happy and loved their king, Yudhishthira.
In order to avoid misunderstanding, Narada advised the Pandavas to draw up a code

of conduct whereby each brother was to enjoy Draupadi's company in complete
privacy. If this was interrupted, the violator was to go into exile for a period of twelve
years.
Everything was going smooth until one day, a Brahmin came wailing bitterly to
Arjuna. Thieves had stolen his cows. Arjuna consoled and promised to go after the
thieves. But he suddenly realized that his weapons were left in Draupadi's bedchamber
and Yudhishthira was enjoying her company at that time. Arjuna was in a dilemma.
But he chose to violate the code and go for the exile instead of falling short in his
promises to the Brahmin. He knocked the door, begged excuse, picked up his bow and
arrow, and went after the thieves.
Arjuna returned after restoring the cows to the Brahmin. Then he came straight to his
elder brother Yudhisthira and apologized for breaking the code.
Arjuna said, "I am guilty of violating our mutually agreed arrangement and now I seek
your permission to go into exile for twelve years."
Yudhisthira tried to persuade Arjuna to change his mind by arguing that he entered the
private room in order to protect his subject and not for any personal reason. But
Arjuna insisted to obey the rules laid down by sage Narada without making any
exception and soon left for the forest.
Pandavas marry Draupadi and return to
Hastinapur
From Ekachakra, the Pandavas, disguised as Brahmins, arrived at Panchal to attend

the swyambara ceremony of Draupadi. They already had heard of the heavenly beauty
of Draupadi, the daughter of king Drupad.
At the swyambara assembly, the Pandavas sat next to other Brahmins, away from the
royal dignitaries. No one in the assembly recognized the Pandavas. Krishna, the king
of Dwarka, was present as an honored guest.
At the appropriate time, king Drupad greeted and honored all the participants and
announced that his daughter Draupadi was going to enter the venue. Amidst the
sounds of bugles, drums and melodious music, princess Draupadi, accompanied by
her brother Dhrishtadyumna, entered the swyambara hall. As soon she entered, all
eyes turned to her. She looked like a heavenly nymph.
Within a short while, Dhrishtadyumna addressing the gathering said, "Honorable

princes, you can see a fish hanging from a revolving wheel fixed on the top of a pole.
The reflection of the fish is seen in a wide pan full of oil, placed at the bottom of the
pole. The competitor, who hits the eye of the fish while looking at the image, shall
win the hands of my sister Draupadi."
A bow with arrows had been placed on the stage for the feat.
The event began and a number of princes came forward and tried their luck one after
another. But none of them were successful. One by one, they returned to their seats
with a fallen face.
When Karna's turn came Draupadi spoke out. She refused to marry Karna for lack of
royal lineage. Karna was the son of a charioteer. Karna left the hall in resentment.
Drupad and Dhrishtadyumna were getting worried since all of the princes present at
the function had failed. Finally, Arjuna, in the disguise of a Brahmin got up and
advanced towards the stage. People were amazed to see a Brahmin challenging the
valiant princes. Being a Brahmin in disguise, who belong to a superior cast than the
Kshatriyas (the warrior princes), Arjuna could not be stopped.
"He must have gone crazy!" remarked one

of the Brahmins.
Staying calm and composed, Arjuna picked

up the bow and arrow. He looked down at
the reflection of the fish in the oil pan and
drew the cord of the bow and shot the
arrow. In a flash, the arrow darted with a
twang and pierced the eye of the fish.
People could not believe that a Brahmin
could master the skill of archery better than
any prince could.
The princes felt insulted and came forward

to kill Arjuna. Immediately the rest of the
Pandavas grouped together to defend Arjuna. Soon enough, all the people realized the
strength and skill of the five brothers, the Pandavas. Finally, Krishna stepped in and
asked the frustrated princes to take their failure gracefully and the fighting stopped.
Duryodhana guessed that the winner must be Arjuna, and the four other Brahmins
must be the Pandava brothers. He was amazed as to how they could escape the fire at
Varnavat.
The Pandavas returned home with Draupadi as Arjuna’s wife. Kunti was waiting for
them thinking that her five sons will return home soon with their daily collection of
alms.
Yudhishthira spoke after reaching home, "Look mother what have we brought for you
today!"
Kunti was inside and did not see what Yudhishthira was talking about. So she casually
said without looking to them, "Divide it equally among yourselves." But soon she
noticed Draupadi and felt highly embarrassed at what she had said. She repented, "My
sons, I was under an impression that you had brought something special by way of
alms from some charitable wealthy person. That is why I directed you to share it
equally."
Once spoken, Kunti's words could not be taken back and her dedicated five sons took
Draupadi as their common wife. Draupadi accepted. She soon knew that the five
brothers were the Pandavas. She then thanked her stars for becoming a bride of the
royal family of Hastinapur.
After the swayambara, Dhrishtadyumna, Draupadi's brother, stealthily followed the

five Brahmin brothers and found out their identities. Happily he returned home and
informed his father Drupada that they are none but the Pandavas. The royal family
immediately decided to throw a party in celebration. During the celebration, the
identities of the Pandavas were revealed and King Drupad became their close allies.
News reached Hastinapur. Bheeshma advised Dhritarashtra to give half of the

kingdom to the Pandavas. Duryodhana did not like this idea but kept quiet and waited
for the next opportunity to wipe off the Pandavas.
Dhritarashtra sent Vidur, the Prime Minister, to king Drupada for the return of the
Pandavas to Hastinapur. Pandavas agreed and they proudly returned to Hastinapur
along with Kunti and Draupadi. Upon their arrival, a grand welcome was accorded to
the princes whom people believed to have died in the fair. They were delighted to see
them and joined the celebration.
The Pandavas touched the feet of all the

elders, Bheeshma, Dhritarashtra, Vidur,
Dronacharya and others, and were happy to
be back. Dhritarashtra, in consultation with
other members of the cabinet, offered
Khandavprastha to the Pandavas to settle.
Yudhishthira, modest and accommodating
as he was, accepted the offer and
proceeded to Khandavprastha, their own
kingdom.
In due course of time, the Pandavas made

Indraprastha as the capital of
Khandaprastha. Indraprastha took the
shape of a beautiful township with an
impressive palace. People were happy and loved their king, Yudhishthira.
In order to avoid misunderstanding, Narada advised the Pandavas to draw up a code

of conduct whereby each brother was to enjoy Draupadi's company in complete
privacy. If this was interrupted, the violator was to go into exile for a period of twelve
years.
Everything was going smooth until one day, a Brahmin came wailing bitterly to
Arjuna. Thieves had stolen his cows. Arjuna consoled and promised to go after the
thieves. But he suddenly realized that his weapons were left in Draupadi's bedchamber
and Yudhishthira was enjoying her company at that time. Arjuna was in a dilemma.
But he chose to violate the code and go for the exile instead of falling short in his
promises to the Brahmin. He knocked the door, begged excuse, picked up his bow and
arrow, and went after the thieves.
Arjuna returned after restoring the cows to the Brahmin. Then he came straight to his
elder brother Yudhisthira and apologized for breaking the code.
Arjuna said, "I am guilty of violating our mutually agreed arrangement and now I seek
your permission to go into exile for twelve years."
Yudhisthira tried to persuade Arjuna to change his mind by arguing that he entered the
private room in order to protect his subject and not for any personal reason. But
Arjuna insisted to obey the rules laid down by sage Narada without making any
exception and soon left for the forest.

Arjuna's exile for twelve years
From Indraprastha, Arjuna first went to the Himalayas and passed his time in the
company of sages, attending their discourses and performing the religious rituals.
One day Ulupi, daughter of the Naga king, who was the ruler of the serpent world
under water, saw Arjuna engaged in his religious pursuits. Arjuna's handsome
personality always attracted the damsels. Ulupi was no exception. She immediately
fell in love and decided to abduct Arjuna and marry him. So, when Arjuna went for a
bath in the river, she grabbed him and took him to her father's under water palace.
Arjuna was puzzled by the abduction and asked Ulupi about her intentions.
Ulupi explained, "I am the princess of the Naga kingdom. I am sorry for the
inconvenience caused to you. I have brought you here to make you my husband. You
have no way to escape."
Arjuna had no choice. He accepted the proposal offered by Ulupi and stayed with her
for a while. Then one day Arjuna appealed to Ulupi the reason for his inability to
continue staying with her when he was expected to travel during his period of exile.
Ulupi agreed and returned Arjuna to the surface. Before bidding him farewell, she
gave Arjuna a boon of protection from the bite of any water creature.
Arjuna then went on a long journey towards the east and finally reached Manipur.
Chitravahana was then the king of Manipur. He accorded him a warm welcome and
Arjuna decided to stay with him for a while. Chitravahana had a beautiful daughter,
Chitrangada.
Arjuna was fascinated by Chitrangada’s beauty and decided to marry her. So he

approached Chitravahana asking for Chitrangada’s hand in marriage. Chitravahana
was happy, but he put a condition for the marriage.
"Chitrangada is my only child and I do not have an heir to continue my dynasty. So, I
have decided to adopt her son. If you plan to marry Chitrangada, you must give me
her son who will be the crown prince of my kingdom."
Arjuna accepted the condition and married Chitrangada. Finally, a son was born after
three years whom Chitravahana adopted. Then Arjuna continued his journey, as
expected, leaving Chitrangada in Manipur.
After leaving Manipur, Arjuna moved southward reaching the seashore (close to the
present pilgrimage center of Puri). There
he was once again in the company of sages
and saints.
One day, the sages complained to Arjuna

that the nearby waters were infested with
ferocious crocodiles. They had to go a long
way to other back waters in order to take a
bath. Arjuna promised to do away with the
crocodiles. Mindful of Ulupi's boon,
Arjuna jumped into the waters to kill the
crocodiles. Soon a huge crocodile caught
his leg and Arjuna promptly dragged the
crocodile out of the water. To his utter surprise, the crocodile was instantaneously
transformed into a heavenly nymph.
Arjuna asked, "Who are you?"

The nymph answered, "Long ago, my four friends and I were playing in water and
offended a sage. The sage cursed us to become crocodiles and stay in water forever.
We apologized and begged for mercy. The sage took pity on us and toned the curse
down by saying that we would be rescued many years later when a virtuous warrior
would pull us out of the water. We would then be transformed into our true self. So,
please be kind to rescue my other four friends also."
Arjuna agreed and one by one pulled out the remaining four crocodiles. Like the
previous one, they also got back into their real form of heavenly maidens. They all
thanked Arjuna heartily for liberating them; they then departed to their heavenly
abode.
After a while, Arjuna headed towards Prabhas, located on the west coast of India, to
spend time in meditation. There he decided to move to Dwaraka to stay with Krishna,
his best friend. Krishna's elder brother Balarama, the king, gave a warm welcome to
Arjuna and Arjuna stayed in Dwaraka for few days.
One day Arjuna caught sight of Subhadra, Krishna's sister, and fell in love with her.
Balarama, however, already chose Duryodhana as Subhadra’s future husband. When
Krishna foresaw the situation, he indirectly suggested Arjuna to elope with Subhadra,
saying, "A Kshatriya like you never begs to win his lady-love. He wins her hand by
force."
Arjuna got the clue. He borrowed Krishna's chariot and forcibly took Subhadra away
when she was returning from the temple. Balarama flew into a rage and called for
Krishna before waging war against Arjuna. He had guessed that the abduction must
have been committed with the connivance of Krishna.
Balarama burst out at Krishna. "It is disgraceful to tolerate the misdoing of Arjuna,
your best friend. I could never imagine that a royal guest like him will return our favor
by this mean act. What do you have to say before we go after Arjuna?"
Krishna heard the allegations carefully and spoke in a pacifying mood.
"Brother Balarama, isn't it a pride for us to be related to the Pandavas? They will be
our strong allies. Arjuna is invincible, and if we are defeated, it will be more
disgraceful. I will suggest that we
honorably call Arjuna back and arrange for
a royal marriage between Subhadra and
Arjuna."
Balarama comprehended the gravity of the situation and realized the odds of winning
a fight against Arjuna. Thus, he soon arranged for their royal marriage and Arjuna
moved to Pushkar, near modern Ajmer. Here he spent the rest of his period of exile.
After the completion of the exile period, Arjuna returned to Indraprashtha with
Subhadra. As Arjuna went to see Yudhishthira to pay his respect, Subhadra went to
see Kunti and touched her feet with great reverence. Draupadi was quite upset in the
beginning but Subhadra's humility won her
heart in no time.
"Sister, kindly accept me as your maid-in-

attendance" said Subhadra in a humble
voice.
Balarama and Krishna came to

Indraprastha to join the celebration of
Arjuna's return and strengthening their ties
with the Pandavas as their in-laws. After
few days Balarama returned to Dwaraka
and Krishna chose to stay behind.
In due course of time, Subhadra gave birth to a lovely son who was named
Abhimanyu. Draupadi gave birth to five sons - one from each of her husband.
Gradually the princes of the Pandavas grew up to their manhood as strong as their
parents and uncles and everyone was proud of them.

Rajasuya Yajna of Yudhishthira
Narrated by: Grandpa, Edited by: Monisha Chakravarthy
One day, while Krishna and Arjuna were talking under a tree during Krishna's visit
with the Pandavas, a Brahmin approached and requested for their help.
"How can we help you?" asked Krishna.
The Brahmin replied, "I am Agni, the fire-god. I am very hungry to eat meat. I am
tired of eating only ghee, that is concentrated butter, offered to me by the sages. Help
me to eat the animals of the Khandava forest. I tried to accomplish this task by myself
several times, but unfortunately, Indra, the god of weather, protects the Khandava
forest. As soon as I try to burn the forest, Indra pours rain and I am extinguished. I
need your help to stall Indra until I am done consuming the Khandava forest."
Krishna and Arjuna agreed to help Agni. However, they did not have any celestial
weapon to fight Indra. They told Agni of their limitations. Then Agni, through his
divine powers, produced the celestial weapons that Krishna and Arjuna needed.
When everything was ready, Agni ignited the

forest and in no time the entire forest was in
flame. Indra was promptly informed and he
rushed with his army to protect the Khandava
forest. Krishna and Arjuna successfully kept
Indra’s army at bay. Suddenly Krishna saw a
demon running out of the forest and Agni was
chasing him. The demon sought Arjuna's asylum.
The fire-god turned back and left him with
Arjuna. Finally, Agni was satisfied and thanked
Krishna and Arjuna.
When Agni left, the demon introduced himself to

Krishna and Arjuna. "I am Maya (illusion), the
architect of Vishwakarma. I possess a miraculous
skill in architecture. Allow me to do something
for you in return for saving my life", he said.
Krishna asked Maya to build a palace for King Yudhishthira, which would be the best
on the earth. Maya gladly agreed.
In no time, a beautiful palace was built in Indraprastha, the kingdom of the Pandavas.
The royal priest suggested that an inauguration be made for the palace before it is
occupied. The Pandavas, in consultation with Krishna, decided to perform Rajasuya
Yajna for its inauguration. One of the conditions of the Rajasuya Yajna is that the
neighboring kingdoms must accept the supremacy of the performer, the Pandavas.
The only one who objected to this was Jarasandha, the ruler of Magadh.
Upon Krishna's advice, Yudhishthira sent the party of Bheema, Arjuna and Krishna to
Magadh to meet Jarasandha. Jarasandha had imprisoned many kings and occupied
their kingdoms by defeating them on a dual. He was blessed by Shiva and was
practically invincible.
The story says that Jarasandha's father was desperate for a son and had prayed to Lord
Shiva. Lord Shiva was pleased and gave him a fruit. Shiva said, "Ask your wife to eat
the fruit and she will soon have a child," But Jarasandha's father had two wives. He
had to be fair to both and so he split the fruit, giving one half to each wife. As a result,
each was born with one half of the child. A witch, named Jara, joined these two pieces
and thus the son was named Jarasandha. Jarasandha's body had a vertical joint running
from top to the lower end of the backbone. The only way he could be killed was to
tear him apart and no one was strong enough to do that. However, Krishna knew the
secret of killing Jarasandha. He revealed this secret to Bheema.
Jarasandha was informed about the arrival of the party of Krishna, Bheema and
Arjuna. As expected, Jarasandha refused to accept the supremacy of the Pandavas.
Thus, Krishna asked him to choose one of the Pandavas to settle the matter.
Jarasandha knew that he would be no match for Arjuna because of his superior skills
in archery. So, he chose Bheema and was confident to defeat him in the dual. They
both promised to fight each other untill death.
The fight continued for many hours and finally Bheema lifted him up and flung him
down with a thud. Then he tore Jarasandha’s body into two halves. Jarasandha was
dead. All the kings were released from prison. They thanked Krishna and Bheema for
saving their lives. They became friends of the Pandavas and accepted their supremacy.
Jarasandha's son, Sahadev succeeded the throne of Magadh and became one of the
strong allies of the Pandavas.
All kings, including the Kauravas, were invited to the Rajasuya Yajna and the fire
worship was completed with great enthusiasm. All the dignitaries honored Krishna.
Bheeshma, the grandfather, spoke very highly of him and declared him as the
Godhead in a human body.
The only one who was not happy of Krishna's presence was Sishupal, Krishna's
cousin. He was jealous of Krishna. Sishupal's mother knew of her son's shortcomings
and Krishna's power. So, she made Krishna promise that he will not take any action
against her son until Sishupal insulted Krishna more than one hundred times. Sishupal
publicly insulted Krishna at the ceremony in spite of Bheeshma's request to stop.
Krishna stayed calm until the insults exceeded one hundred times. Then Krishna cut
his head off with his chakra (disc).
Following the great ceremony, all the guests left with a great appreciation of the
Pandavas. But Duryodhana and his maternal uncle Shakuni extended their stay as
special royal guests in order to enjoy the grandeur of the beautiful palace of
Yudhishthira. The palace was full of illusionary things. Duryodhanaa was repeatedly
fooled and his appreciation soon turned into sheer jealousy. He said to Shakuni,
"Uncle, I cannot bear the prosperity of the Pandavas. I feel like attacking them and
take away all their wealth."
"I know a way they can be ripped off and sent to exile" replied Shakuni in his cunning
voice.
Duryodhana was getting impatient to know of Shakuni’s trick. Shakuni however

asked him to wait until they got out of the charming palace. "Who knows, the walls
may have ears," Shakuni said with agitation.

Indraprastha Lost
On the way to Hastinapur, Shakuni revealed his evil plan to Duryodhana. He said, "
Yudhishthira is fond of the game of dice, and none can beat me in this game because I
use charmed dice. Your job is to persuade your father, Dhritarashtra, to invite
Yudhishthira to play dice with me in the presence of all the dignitaries in the court.
Leave the rest to me."
When Duryodhana reached Hastinapur, he went straight to Dhritarashtra and narrated
the prosperous condition of the Pandavas. Dhritarashtra was a nice man and was
pleased to hear that his brother's sons, the Pandavas, were doing well.
Finding an appropriate moment, Duryodhana asked "Father, let us have a special

celebration to exemplify our friendliness with the Pandavas by inviting them to
Hastinapur. We will also invite other dignitaries to this occasion where the top
attraction and excitement will be the dice game between Yudhishthira and our
maternal uncle Shakuni."
Dhritarashtra did not comprehend the evil plan of Duryodhana and Shakuni. He was
blind and had been indulgent towards his eldest son, Duryodhana. So, he permitted
Duryodhana to have his way.
The invitation of the dice game went to Yudhishthira and he accepted. The Pandavas
arrived on the previous day along with Draupadi leaving behind their mother Kunti
and their children with Subhadra. The Pandavas rested for the night in the guesthouse
and reached the gambling hall on the following day, the day of the royal dice game.
Other royal dignitaries also arrived and Dhritarashtra and his courtiers welcomed
them.
Before the starting of the game Shakuni wished Yudhishthira good luck and said,
"Your majesty! Let us decide about the stakes."
Yudhishthira remarked, "Uncle, let us keep the game fair."
Shakuni was a professional gambler and he knew the weakness of his challenger. He
retorted, "Yudhishthira, let the dice decide our luck. Play fearlessly if you have the
courage and accept whatever comes out of it. If you are afraid, you can refuse and quit
now. There is no quitting after this."
Yudhishthira's pride was hurt. He did not want to withdraw in front of the dignitaries
who came there to witness the game. He proudly said, "You may call for the stake and
I will agree to that."
Duryodhana was waiting for the opportunity, he spoke at once, "I shall put the stakes
and uncle Shakuni shall throw the dice for me. Is it acceptable to you?"
Yudhishthira agreed.
Yudhishthir was no match for Shakuni. Using his charmed dice Shakuni won every
game. Eventually, Yudhishthir lost everything, his riches, his kingdom, his brothers
and finally even himself. Last of all, he staked his wife Draupadi and lost her too.
Duryodhana asked his brother Dushashana to bring Draupadi to the court. When
Dushashana reached the guesthouse, Draupadi was unaware of the calamity that had
befallen on her family. She was amazed to hear that Yudhishthira gambled away
every thing that the Pandavas owned. Draupadi refused to go to the court.
Dushashana, in the pretext of carrying out the orders of his elder brother dragged her
into the court by her hair.
Karna got this chance to humiliate the Pandavas in public and got even with the
insults that the Pandavas showered on him in the past. He asked Duryodhana to order
to remove off the royal garments that the Pandavas and their wife Draupadi were
wearing. Dushashana could not find a better way to
insult Draupadi in public.
Draupadi looked around but there was no one who

could rescue her. She finally called for Krishna to
save her honor. As Dushashana pulled her saree to
disgrace her, Krishna invisibly supplied the sarees
one after another and Draupadi could not be
undressed.
When Dushashana got tired of pulling the saree,

Duryodhana ordered Draupadi, "You are now my
maid, sit on my thigh."
Bheema could not tolerate the insults any longer and shouted, "I am taking this vow
that one day I will drink blood from Dushashana's heart and break the thigh of
Duryodhana for insulting a chaste woman in public."
Draupadi charged the elders with anger, "It is a shame for the race of Kshatriyas, the
descendants of Bharata, to allow a chaste woman of their own family to be disgraced
before their very eyes. I condemn the elders, the so called warriors, sitting here and
watching me disgraced."
Dhritarashtra was shaken up. He asked his sons to stop and he apologized to Draupadi
for fear of the curse that may befall on the Kauravas.
Then he asked Duryodhana to accept an alternative to release the Pandavas from the
slavery. Duryodhana agreed to banish them for thirteen years before they return to
Hastinapur along with the condition that they should be incognito during the thirteenth
year. If their identity is disclosed on the thirteenth year, they would have to go for an
exile of another thirteen years.
Upon Draupadi's request Dhritarashtra returned all the weapons to the Pandavas and
bade good bye, wishing them well. The Pandavas returned to Indraprastha for the last
time to make arrangements for their mother to stay with their uncle, Vidur and
Subhadra, Arjuna's wife, with her brother, Krishna, along with the children.
The Pandavas faced hard times as they started their exile. It was difficult for the
Pandava brothers to get enough food to satisfy their hunger. Yudhishthira prayed for
the sun god, Surya, with his utmost sincerity. The Sun god came and presented
Yudhishthira with a miraculous copper plate.
"Give this plate to Draupadi. It will go on giving you whatever dishes you want every
day till Draupadi finishes her meal."
After returning home from his daily worship, Yudhishthira gave the copper bowl to
Draupadi and told her everything that sun god had said. Draupadi was very pleased to
hear of the boon and took the bowl to her kitchen with great reverence. The Pandavas
soon invited all sages and saints to share food with them.
One day Vyasa arrived to pay his sympathy for the Pandavas. He predicted, "After
thirteen years, following your period of exile, there will be a fearful war with the
Kauravas when you return to Hastinapur. Finally you will come out victorious. The
war will leave only a few survivors of the descendants of Bharata. It will be wise if
you start preparing yourself for the oncoming battle. Hence start to acquire as many
divine weapons as you can during your exile."

Arjuna's Quest for Weapons
Narrated by: Grandpa, Edited by: Ashoke Khanwalkar
Following Vyas's advice Arjuna started for Mount Kailash. Reaching Indrakeel, a site
inhabitated by sages on Mount Kailash, he chose a spot to meditate. He soon went
into deep meditation to invoke Shiva. After a long time, Shiva was pleased and
decided to fulfill his wishes. Lord Shiva knew what Arjuna will ask but he did not
want to give away his divine weapon, Pashupat, without testing Arjuna's readiness to
receive it. So Lord Shiva disguised himself as a hunter and started for Indrakeel.
Parvati also accompanied him as his wife. The disciples of Shiva (the ganas) were
curious and came along in the disguise of women hunters.
When they reached the spot where Arjuna was meditating, they saw a wild boar
attacking Arjuna. Arjuna was alerted and aimed at the boar with his bow and arrow.
Lord Shiva simultaneously aimed at the wild boar. Soon the arrows, from Lord Shiva
and Arjuna, struck the boar and it instantly died.
Arjuna was disturbed by seeing that his prey was shot at by another person. He
challenged the hunter without knowing his identity. This resulted in a big fight
between the hunter and Arjuna. Finally Arjuna was exhausted. He requested the
hunter to give him time to pray to Lord Shiva to regain strength. The hunter smiled
and allowed him the time.
Arjuna made an image of Lord Shiva and prayed to him to revive his strength. When
he put the garland on the image, to his surprise, he saw the garland on the neck of the
hunter. He realized that the hunter was none else but Lord Shiva. He fell at Lord
Shiva's feet and offered his sincere reverence.
Having been highly pleased at

Arjuna's devotion, Lord Shiva asked
him to demand whatever he wanted
as a boon. Arjuna requested for the
Pashupat weapon from Shiva to be
used during the war against the
Kauravas. Lord Shiva handed over
the Pashupat weapon to Arjuna with
the blessing to acquire the capacity
to use it at will. Then he
disappeared with Parvati and his
ganas.
When Shiva disappeared, all the

other gods and goddesses appeared to congratulate Arjuna and offered their divine
weapons in order to fight for the right cause against the Kauravas. Arjuna expressed
his sincere gratitude to all of them for helping him.
Lord Indra invited Arjuna to visit Indralok, his abode. Soon a chariot arrived and
Arjuna left for Indralok.
Arjuna arrived at Indra's palace at Amravati in no time and was amazed by its
matchless beauty. He was received with due honor as he was the son of Indra. While
at Indra's court, Arjuna learned music and dance from Chitrasen, chief of Gandharvas,
When Arjuna met Urbashi, he addressed her as "Mother." Urbashi was a heavenly
nymph and Indra's court dancer. She was exquisitely beautiful and young for ever.
Urbashi tried to make love with Arjuna but Arjuna insisted that he stays as her son.
Urbashi was hurt and cursed Arjuna to become a eunuch among charming ladies
during his last year of exile. Urbashi was charmed by Arjuna's self control and blessed
him by saying, "My curse will prove to be a boon during the last year of your exile in
order to conceal your identity."

Duryodhana humbled
Narrated by: Grandpa, Edited by: Ashoke Khanwalkar
At the conclusion of his stay in Amravati Arjuna prepared to return to his brothers.
Indra gave him the weapon of Bajra, and taught him how to use it. Arjuna came back
to his family on Indra's chariot and all Pandava brothers were happy to see him back.
Through a messenger Duryodhana learnt that the Pandavas were staying in the
Dwitavana forest as ascetics. They decided to go there for a hunting game along with
Shakuni and Karna. The idea was to start a quarrel with the Pandavas and then kill
them.
Indra heard about this and sent the chief of the Gandharvas, Chitrasen. in order to give
a lesson to Duryodhana so that he stayed humble in the future and stopped bothering
the Pandavas. The Gandharvas
were good not only in music but
also in war games.
Chitrasen came to Dwitavana

along with his army and
confronted Duryodhana. In the
following skirmish, Duryodhana
and his party were taken captive.
Duryodhana was brought before
Yudhishthira. Yudhishthira asked
Chitrasen to free his cousin brother
but Chitrasen insisted that
Duryodhana must apologize for his
heinous plan. Duryodhana had no
choice. He apologized and the
Kauravas returned to Hastinapur.
Dhritarashtra and Bheeshma heard about the encounter with the Pandavas, and they
too asked Duryodhana to make peace with the Pandavas and share the kingdom with
them. Duryodhana refused.
As for the Pandavas, they continued their exile in Dwitavana. At one point, Yama, the
god of death, appeared to test Yudhishthira for his steadfast faith in truth.
Yudhishthira surpassed his evaluation. Yama was pleased and asked Yudhishthira to
request a boon. Yudhishthira requested that Yama protect them through the thirteenth
year of exile, because they need to stay undetected according to the condition of the
exile. Yamaraj blessed Yudhishthira and asked him to go to king Virata and stay there
during the thirteenth year. The Pandavas started to make preparations to move to the
kingdom of Virata.

Pandava's thirteenth year of exile incognito
The Pandavas were worried about the successful ending of their thirteenth year of
exile, the period which they had to pass unrecognized. Duryodhana has mandated that
if the Pandavas were recognized during the thirteenth year of their exile, they would
have to remain in exile for another thirteen years.
According to Veda Vyas’ advice the Pandavas went to the kingdom of Virata in
disguise. In the mean time Duryodhana sent his spies to discover Pandavas’ hideout.
Hiding their weapons, the Pandavas entered the kingdom of Virata. They were not
recognized by king Virata and he welcomed them. The Pandava brothers and princess
Draupadi requested King Virata to give them some jobs. Virata willingly agreed.
Yudhisthira, disguised as a Brahmin, became one of king’s trusted advisors. Bheema

became the chief cook. Arjuna who had learnt the art of dance and music from
Chirtrasen at Indraloke, was cursed by Urbashi, a beautiful dancer of heaven, to
remain a eunuch for a year. So Arjuna found it convenient to become a dance and
music teacher for princess Uttara. Nakula became the royal groom and Sahadeva, the
royal cowherd. As for
Draupadi, she became Queen
Sudeshana’s maid.
Things were going well until

the queen’s evil brother,
Keechak, the commander of
Virata’s armies, became
interested in Draupadi.
Keechak asked for
Draupadi’s hand in marriage.
Draupadi, being happily
married to the Pandava
brothers, refused. Keechak,
thinking her to be only a
maid, felt insulted to have
been turned down. He
decided to force himself into Draupadi’s chamber one night. As soon as Draupadi
heard of this plan, she begged Bheema to rescue her. Bheema, disguised as Draupadi,
lay on the bed. When Keechak stealthily entered Draupadi’s room, Bheema sprung
out of the bed and killed him.
The next day Keechak’s corpse was discovered in Draupadi’s room, with no clue as to
who was the assailant. To save Bheema from the Queen’s wrath, Draupadi told her
that Keechak had entered her room, without her permission. When she had screamed,
someone had come in and killed Keechak and she had no idea of his identity. The
queen apologized for her brother’s misdeeds, but never learnt the truth about
Bheema’s action.
In the mean time, Duryodhana had sent his men to every corner of the earth to
discover the Pandavas’ hideout. He knew that if he could locate the Pandavas, who
were men of honor, they would never go back on their words and would start their
exile all over. He was happy to hear of Keechak’s death, as he had been a great threat
to his kingdom. But he knew no ordinary man could kill the mighty Keechak and so
he suspected that Bheema could be the assailant. He decided to invade the kingdom of
Virata. In no time Duryodhana’s army attacked Virata while Duryodhana planned to
personally attack Virata’s palace from the rear.
As the war approached, Yudhishthira offered the services of himself and his family to
Virata. This was an expression of his gratitude towards Virata for providing them
shelter. All his brothers, except Arjuna, joined the army and in no time captured
Susharma.
Duryodhana, unaware of Susharma’s captivity, attacked Virata’s palace from the rear.
The young prince Uttar was the only man left in the palace as all the others had
already left for the war. When the women teased Uttar for hiding in the palace, he
came up with the plea that
he did not have a
charioteer and hence could
not go war.
When Arjuna heard of

this, he promptly offered
his services. He first took
the chariot to the tree
where he had hid his
weapons almost a year
ago. Uttar was puzzled but
kept quiet, as he was
afraid to face the Kaurava
army. Arjuna guessed the
situation and asked Uttar
to take his place as a
charioteer while he does
the fighting. Uttar agreed.
When Arjuna blew his conch the Kaurava army immediately recognized Arjuna.
Duryodhana was happy to locate the Pandavas. But to his utter disappointment
Duryodhana soon learned that the thirteenth year had just been completed. Arjuna
single handedly defeated the army and Duryodhana fled from the battlefield.
During the victory celebration Yudhishthira explained to Virata the details of their
thirteenth year of exile under his protection. All the Pandavas expressed their
gratitude to Virata. Virata was overwhelmingly happy and agreed to give his daughter
Uttara in marriage to Arjuna’s son Abimanyu.
Subhadra and Abhimanyu were called and they came with Krishna and Balarama. The
marriage celebration went on for several days uniting the Pandavas with their friends
and relatives.

War Declared
When Abhimanyu and Uttara’s wedding was over, Krishna requested Virata and
Drupada to approach Dhritarashtra with the request to return the kingdom of the
Pandavas. The Pandavas had, after all, gone through the penalties imposed on them by
Duryodhana. Everyone agreed and Sanjaya, the royal priest of king Drupad, was sent
as a messenger to visit Dhritarashtra. Dhritarashtra called Bheeshma, Vidur, and the
other elders, to a meeting with Duryodhana, and his supporters.
Duryodhana flatly refused to give even a pinch of land to the Pandavas. His close
friends, like Karna. overwhelmingly supported him. They declared that they would be
willing to go to war against the Pandavas in order to keep the kingdom. Grandfather
Bheeshma was sorry to witness such hatred between the cousins, his grandchildren.
He could sense the oncoming peril for the Kauravas. Dhritarashtra could not help. He
was blind and his eldest son Duryodhana ruled the kingdom. Duryodhana was
adamant to be the sole ruler of the Kaurava Empire and did not want to share the
kingdom with the Pandavas.
Sanjay witnessed the arguments in the court of Dhritarashtra. Dhritarashtra finally

gave in and regretfully informed Sanjay that his son Duryodhan was unwilling to
share the kingdom with the Pandavas.
Yudhishthira was a righteous person. He wished to avoid a war, especially against his
own relatives. He was willing to give up some of the kingdom that originally
belonged to him. He requested Krishna to convey his feelings to the Kauravas as the
last resort. Krishna knew that war was inevitable yet he went to Duryodhana to
persuade.
Reaching Hastinapur, Krishna stayed with Vidur. Kunti, mother of the Pandavas, then
staying with Vidur, expressed her concern that the war may kill the Pandavas, Krishna
consoled her.
“Mother Kunti, your sons are

invincible. Whatever may be the
strength of the Kauravas, the
Pandavas will finally come out
victorious. I am here to make
every attempt to avoid the blood
shed which will destroy the entire
Kaurava dynasty.”
Next day Krishna was given a

rousing welcome in the court of
Dhritarashtra. All the elders were
on Krishna's side and requested
Duryodhana to reconsider his
decision and share the kingdom
with the Pandavas in a peaceful manner. Duryodhana was unwilling to listen to logic.
He sternly replied, “ Krishna! You are unduly partial to the Pandavas. Be it known
once and for all that the only way for the Pandavas to win back their kingdom is
through war.”
Then in disgust Duryodhana left the court with Karna. People present in the court
were gravely concerned about the consequences.
Krishna returned from Hastinapur disappointed and delivered the message of war to
Yudhishthira and Kunti’s blessing for the Pandavas. All hopes for a peaceful
settlement were over and the Pandavas had no other resort than to declare war against
the Kauravas.
Krishna asked Yudishthira to remain on the path of justice, yet not to forego his
rights, even if this may result in a war with the Kauravas.
When Kunti saw that war was imminent, one day she approached Karna when he
finished worshipping the sun god after his bath. Karna was the son of the sun god,
Surya, born of Kunti, out of wed lock. This happened when Kunti tried out the mantra
given by Durbasha before she was married to Pandu. As Kunti was unmarried, she
had no choice but to discard Karna in the river. A charioteer picked him up and raised
him to adulthood. This was a well kept secret. Karna was truly one of the Pandavas.
Kunti finally told Karna the true
story of his life.
Kunti requested Karna not to kill

any of his brothers. Karna
promised to spare all, except
Arjuna. Before Kunti's departure,
Karna broke down in his
mother’s arm and sobbed with
grief, “Mother, I have to fight
Arjuna until death. This is my
promise to get even with him for
insulting me in public at the time
when I challenged him to
compete in archery. You will still
have five sons, whosoever
survives.”
Kunti blessed Karna and left with fear and grief.

War Begins
Narrated by: Grandpa, Edited by: Bibha Mukherjee
The Kauravas and the Pandavas began to prepare for the battle. Drishtadyumna was
chosen as the chief of the Pandava army. No one could match the valor of Bheeshma
who was rightfully chosen to be the commander of the Kaurava army. But for
Bheeshma, there was no difference between the Kauravas and Pandavas. It was not
the righteous war and yet he was bound by duty to serve the king of Hastinapur.
As Duryodhana approached grandfather Bheeshma to take over the command,

Bheeshma laid down two conditions, “Firstly, I will not personally hurt the Pandavas
but will kill only their soldiers. Secondly, I would not like Karna to come to the
battlefield as long as I am the commander.” Karna and Bheeshma held each other in
contempt.
Krishna was also in a similar dilemma. Which side should he join when both the
Kauravas and Pandavas were equally dear to him? So when Duryodhana and Arjuna
both approached Krishna to join their side, Krishna gave them the choice. He would
offer his army to the one and himself to the other side. Arjuna was younger and
Krishna gave him the first chance to choose. Arjuna chose Krishna while the army
went to Duryodhana. Duryodhana was happy to have Krishna’s huge army of brave
Yadavas on his side.
When Krishna asked Arjuna, why he chose him over his army, Arjuna explained.
“Your counsel is more valuable to me than an entire army.” Krishna was pleased, as
he loved Arjuna so dearly.
Kurukshetra was chosen as the battleground. Both armies marched towards

Kurukshetra. Undoubtedly the Kaurava army was a lot larger than the Pandavas.
On the chosen day, the Kaurava and Pandava armies stood face to face. Karna stayed
away from the battlefield as mandated by Bheeshma. Yudhishthira, the representative
of the Pandava army, came forward and paid respect to his elders, Bheeshma, Drona,
Ashwathama and the other great warriors. The codes for the war were finalized and
warriors from both the camps took their pledges to abide by the code.
Krishna became Arjuna’s charioteer and counselor. Krishna brought Arjuna’s chariot
to the front line for an overview. Seeing all his beloved relatives, including his
grandfather, and his teacher Drona on the other side, Arjuna was overwhelmed with
grief. He could not justify killing them in order to win the war. He dropped his
weapons and refused to fight.
Krishna came forward and taught him how the righteous path was not always an easy
one. One had to be willing to fight for what one believed to be right even if it meant
sacrificing one's own life.
This sermon later came to be
known as Bhagvata Geeta.
Krishna said, “Arjuna, may it

be known to you that man’s
duty lies in performing the
duty while the results should
be left to God. To oppress
others is a sin but to tolerate
oppression is a far bigger sin.
All those, whom you claim to
be your relatives are none but
individual souls, unrelated to
you, on way to their ultimate
destination of uniting with
the supreme Lord, the
Brahman. Pick up your
weapon and fight that is what
is ordained to you. Do not
think of the consequences.”
With Krishna’s motivation, Arjuna picked up his weapon and got ready to fight.
Amidst the sound of the conch, the neighing of war-horses, the trumpeting of war
elephants, and the war cries raised by the soldiers, Arjuna stepped forward to in the
name of Justice.
Bheeshma moved with tremendous force killing the Pandava soldiers by the
thousands. In spite of all their efforts, the day ended with heavy losses for the
Pandavas. This was eye opening for the Pandavas. At night Yudhishthira called a
meeting of the army commander Dhrishtadyumna along with his brothers. They
planned a new strategy and on the following day Bheeshma could not make as much
progress. Duryodhana expected Bheeshma to win the war within a few days. Instead
the Kaurava army was losing ground, as Bheeshma was totally engaged with Arjuna.
It went on like this for several days and, finally, Duryodhana lost his patience. He
taunted Bheeshma as being too old to fight a war. Bheeshma admitted that the
Pandavas were blessed with divine powers and that, under the circumstances, he was
doing his best. He promised to conclude the war in the next few days or to leave the
battlefield. On the tenth day of battle their seemed no end in sight.
The Pandavas were worried. At the rate that they were loosing soldiers, they would
not be able to hold out too long against Bheeshma. Bheeshma was blessed with the
power to choose his time of death. So, he was practically invincible. When the
Pandavas were about to give up, Krishna came up with a plan. Krishna knew that
Bheeshma would not fight the eunuch, Srikhandi. To Bheeshma, a noble warrior like
him would consider it a disgrace to fight with a eunuch. At one point he had even
proudly promised to drop his arms if such a situation ever arose. Krishna knew
Bheeshma’s weakness and wanted to take advantage of this. So he asked Arjuna to
keep Shrikhandi, a eunuch, in front of the chariot while fighting with Bheeshma. This
would stop Bheeshma, and Arjuna could take this opportunity to immobilize him with
a volley of arrows.
The plan worked and

Bheeshma fell down on a bed
of arrows. That was the tenth
day of war. The fighting
stopped so that all could pay
respects to a hero of all
times.
As he fell to the ground,

Bheeshma requested Arjuna
to raise his head. Arjuna shot
an arrow to give him the
headrest. When Bheeshma
asked for water to drink.
Arjuna shot an arrow into the
ground and water gushed out
to quench Bheeshma’s thirst.
Even Karna came to pay
respect to the hero of heroes,
grandfather Bheeshma, and sought his blessing. Bheeshma declared his time of death
to be when the sun returns towards north or the advent of summer in the Northern
Hemisphere. This falls in the middle of January.
After visiting Bheeshma, Duryodhana returned to his camp and was anxious to
appoint the next commander-in-chief. Karna suggested the name of Drona and all
agreed. Drone had a soft corner for the Pandavas. He knew that the war was due to the
ill advice that Duryodhana got from his maternal uncle Shakuni and friend Karna. But
he was committed to serve the crown. After taking the command, Drona changed
Bheeshma’s tactic and made a special war formation with the intention of capturing
Yudhishthira. Drona underestimated the strength and cleverness of Krishna. He failed
to capture Yudhishthira. During the scuffle, however, he killed Drupada, the father of
Dhrithadyumna, the commander in chief. Dhrithadyumna vowed to kill Drona.
The following day, Drona began to kill the Pandavas with a vengeance and yet victory
was not in sight. Upon his return at the end of the day , Duryodhana charged Drona as
failing in his duties to capture Yudhishthira. Drona was infuriated and promised to kill
one of the great Pandava warriors on the following day or else he would give up his
life.
With the day break, he called for a special meeting asking his best commanders to
keep Arjuna busy as he was the only one who knew how to break through his special
circular array, called Chakra Beuha. Jaidratha was given the task of organizing the
movement of the Beuha. Drona was confident of his victory as no one knew how to
break through the Chakra Beuha, except Arjuna. Hence Drona asked all his
commanders to prevent Arjuna from coming near the Beuha. It seemed the perfect
plan.
The Kaurva army began to march across the Pandava army with the advance of the
circular array. It was like a giant wall advancing and crushing the Pandava soldiers.
Yudhishthira finally asked his brothers and Abimanyu for advice. Abhimanyu said, “I
only know how to enter the Byuha but I do not know how to get out.” Yudhishthira
asked his brothers, Bheema, Nakul and Sahadeva to follow Abhimanyu and fight their
way out.
When Abhimanyu started to break through the Chakra Byuha, Jaidratha ordered to
quickly close the Byuha entrapping Abhimanyu solitarily inside. His uncles could not
get into the Beuha. Abhimanyu single-handed fought all the warriors. Duryodhana,
Karna, Drona, Aswathama mercilessly killed the brave son of Arjuna. Abhimanyu’s
death sent a current of joy in the Kaurava camp.
When Yudhishthira got the
news, he felt responsible for
the death of Abhimanyu..
Arjuna had not heard as yet of
his valiant son’s death until
the end of the day. He
immediately broke down and
fell senseless on the ground. It
was an unjust fight. The code
of the war called for a fair
fight between two soldiers and
not a ganging up against a
single soldier. Arjuna vowed
to kill Jaidratha, the person
who had plotted the Chakra
Beuha. He swore he would
either kill Jaidrata the next day
before the sunset, or else, he
would kill himself.
When Jaidratha heard of

Arjuna’s vow, he wanted to run away from the battlefield. Drona assured him that he
would make such a Byuha next day, keeping him in the center of the Byuha that
Arjuna would not able to get to him. All the warriors of the Kauravas were also
alerted that the following day might prove to be the decisive battle. If Arjuna could
not kill Jayadratha, he would kill himself and thus the Kauravas would be able to get
rid of one of the most powerful warriors of the Pandavas.
The fighting resumed the next day. Arjuna penetrated into the Byuha but was unable
to reach Jaidratha until close to sunset. Krishna was alarmed.
“Arjuna it seems that you will not be able to get to Jayadratha before sunset.” Krishna
said, “Let us work jointly and when I will give you the cue, you will get your last
chance to kill Jayadratha.”
Soon Krishna created an illusion by which the sun set on the west and the Kaurava
army began to rejoice, relaxed in their effort to resist Arjuna any longer. Krishna
asked Arjuna not to loose his only opportunity to kill Jayadratha. Arjuna lost no time
and Jayadratha was beheaded. Soon Krishna removed his illusion and the Kaurava
army was surprised to see that the sun was still up. They realized that Krishna had
tricked them and the Pandava army rejoiced.
Duryodhana was furious and blamed Drona for not being able to keep his promise
and, therefore, he should now step down. Drona promised to end the war the next day
by killing Arjuna. Krishna was alerted. He conferred with the Pandavas and revealed a
secret that would allow Arjuna to win against Drona.
“Drona once promised to himself that he would stop fighting if his only son
Aswathama was killed in the battle field. As Aswathama was practically invincible,
Krishna would have to trick him in to believing this. Yudhishthira would have to tell a
lie that Ashwathama was dead. As Yudhishthira never told a lie, Drona would believe
him. Drona would stop fighting and Drithadyumna would get the chance to behead
Drona..”
On the following day, Drona attacked Arjuna, his former student. Arjuna successfully
defied his attack and fought with equal strength. When the time came to act on
Krishna’s plan Yudhishthira was hesitant to lie to Drona. Bheema acted promptly. He
killed an elephant with the same name Ashwathama and Yudhishthira informed Drona
that Aswathama is dead without clarifying that it was not his son but an elephant. As
soon as Drona dropped his arms, Dhrishthadyumna beheaded him and Drona was
dead. On the other side of the battlefield Bheema killed Dushashana to fulfill his vow
for insulting Draupadi.
Ashwathama hearing of his father’s death at the end of the day was furious and
promised to kill Drishthadyumna the next day to avenge his father's death.
Karna was chosen as the next commander in chief of the Kaurava army and he took
over the command with great zeal. His superior fighting skills completely baffled the
Pandava army and this ended with great losses for the Pandavas. Bheema called his
son Ghatotkacha to fight for the Pandavas. Ghatotkacha attacked the Kauravas at
night creating an illusionary air. Duryodhana asked his army to put on the light and
continue to fight through the night. The code of war, as agreed upon, was broken. The
weapons from Gatotkacha were coming from the sky but no one could locate
Gototkacha. The army fled in panic and Karna could not get them back to fight.
Finally, Duryodhana used up his most powerful weapon, Brahmastra, which he was
holding to kill Arjuna.
When Bheema heard of his son’s valiant death, he broke down. Krishna said in
consolation, “Bheema, you should be proud of your son’s valiant death. Single
handedly, he pushed back the Kaurava army. He has also sacrificed his life to save
Arjuna otherwise Brahmashtra would have surely have killed him.”
The army mourned the death of Gatotkacha and prepared themselves to fight again on
the following day. It was the day when Karna was in command of the Kaurava army.
He decided to have his final battle with Arjuna that day. Arjuna was also ready for
him. The armies of the Kaurava and Pandava were skeptical of the outcome as both
were equally powerful. When Karna proceeded towards Arjuna on the battlefield,
Yudhishthira came in between and Karna cut his weapons in pieces. He spared
Yudhishthira’s life as he had promised to Kunti. Karna soon stood face to face with
Arjuna. Suddenly Karna’s charioteer was killed and one of the chariot’s wheels broke
down. Karna requested Arjuna to stop fighting while his wheel was fixed. Karna was
unarmed and it was unethical for Arjuna to attack Karna in that situation. But Krishna
spoke otherwise, “Karna, this war itself is unethical. It will be foolish of Arjuna not to
take this opportunity to kill you.”
Krishna encouraged Arjuna to

kill Karna instantly. Thus
Karna was killed mercilessly
in the hands of his brother
Arjuna. The Kaurava army
began to flee away from the
battlefield.
Duryodhana was shocked to

hear of Karna’s death. He felt
helpless. He could not find
anyone to replace Karna or get
his army organized. His vanity
did not prompt him to accept
defeat . So he chose to run
away from the battlefield
along with his maternal uncle
Shakuni. Sahadeva located Shakuni and killed him but Duryodhana escaped. It was
the sixteenth day of war. The battlefield was nothing but heaps of corpses.
On the eighteenth day of the Mahabharata war, Duryodhana was missing and the
Kaurava army chose to surrender. Duryodhana was finally located inside a tank from
where he was pulled out. Bheema challenged Duryodhana to a mace fight.
Duryodhana was noted for his mace fights. Everyone witnessed the great fight
between Bheema and Duryodhana, which went on for many hours until Krishna
convinced Bheema to hit Duryodhana on his thigh in order to win. Hitting an enemy
below the navel was not allowed in a fair mace fight. But Bheema took Krishna’s
advice thus he kept his vow of breaking Duryodhana's thigh to punish him for
insulting Draupadi by asking her to sit on his lap after that ill-fated dice game.
The Pandavas then left Duryodhana in the battlefield and started to return to their
camp. Before their departure, the Pandavas thanked Krishna for bringing victory to
them through his valuable advice.
Although the war was over on the eighteenth day, three warriors of the Kauravas were
still missing at large – Aswathama, Kripacharya and Kritaverma. Kripacharya and
Kritaverma accepted their defeat and went to the forest to spend their time in prayers.
Ashwathama, however, desired revenge. He planned to wipe out the Pandava family.
The Pandavas were on their way home after the war. Ashwathama stealthily entered
the camp at night, killed the guard and then killed all of Draupadi’s sons , one by one,
in cold blood. Then he came to Duryodhana before the daybreak where he was lying
in pain. He described the heinous crime that he had just committed . Duryodhana
breathed his last breath and Aswathama fled into the forest.
When the Pandavas returned to camp, they witnessed the crime incurred by
Aswathama. Draupadi was lost in grief and bewailed loudly. Consoling her to be
pacified, the five Pandavas set out in search of Ashwathama. He was soon located but
Draupadi asked the Pandavas to release him as he was the son of their guru Drona.
Thus at the end of the war, there was no one left to claim the throne of Hastinapur
after the Pandavas, except the unborn baby of Uttara, the son of Abhimanyu.

After The War
Narrated by: Grandpa, Edited by: Bibha Mukherjee
Pandavas then started for

Hastinapur to meet Dhritarashtra.
Dhritarashtra was fully aware of the
happenings of the war through
Sanjay, the priest of Drupada.
Sanjay was blessed with the power of watching the war from a distance and narrated it
to blind Dhritarashtra as it happened. Gandhari and Dhritarashtra were mad at
Bheema for killing their sons, Duryodhana and Dushashana.
Krishna accompanied the Pandavas to meet Dhritarashtra and Gandhari. Vidur joined
them to help console his brother, Dhritarashtra.
Krishna spoke, “King Dhritarashtra, the war was inevitable. The war has hurt
everyone. The Pandavas were left with no heir. The heat of the war forced both the
parties, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, to perform many inhuman acts. Now is the
time to open your heart and accept Yudhishthira as your son and bless the Pandavas.”
Krishna’s words touched Dhritarashtra and he broke down on Vidur. Yudhishthira

touched the feet of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari, they blessed the Pandavas.
Yudhishthira was accepted as the king of Hastinapur.
Gandhari, however, was unable to

excuse Krishna whom she blamed
to be the root of exterminating her
children. She cursed Krishna, “Let
your family face the same as the
Kauravas and be wiped out from the
face of the earth.” Krishna knew
that this was going to come sooner
or later.
The party then arrived to the place

where Bheeshma was still resting,
waiting for his departure from the
earth. Bheeshma blessed the
Pandavas and his soul left for the heaven. Dhritarashtra, Gandhari, Kunti and Vidur
left for the forest to pass their time in meditation and prayers. Sanjay went along with
them to take care of their needs. Unfortunately they all died in a forest fire and Sanjay
came back to give this heart breaking news to the Pandavas.
Yudhishthira declared to perform the Aswamedha Yajna to establish the supremacy of

the Pandavas over other rulers of the area. The people were pleased to see justice
coming back and peace prevailed. As time rolled on, Uttara, wife of Abhimanyu, the
son of Arjuna and Subhadra, gave birth to Parikshit. He was the only heir left of
Pandavas and was not killed by Ashwathama as he was in his mother’s womb.
In few years Gandhari’s curse on Krishna began to work. The Yadav clan began to
fight among themselves. Krishna and Balaram also died leaving none to succeed the
throne.
When Pandavas heard the news of

destruction of the Yadavas and
Krishna’s demise, they decided to
crown the young prince Parikshit and
retire to Himalayas. They threw their
weapons into the river and started for
their endless journey to the top of the
Himalayas along with Draupadi. To
their surprise, a dog accompanied
them.
As they climbed up the mountain, four

Pandavas brothers and Draupadi fell
dead. The only ones survived were
Yudhishthira and the dog who was
following at the heels of the party.
When they reached the top of the
Himalaya mountain, Indra came on his chariot to get pious and truthful Yudhishthira
to heaven. Yudhishthira paid his respect to Lord Indra and asked his companion dog
to get into the chariot. Indra was shocked, “A dog to heaven?” When Yudhishthira
refused to go to heaven without the dog, the God of Death, Dharmaraj Yama emerged
out of the dog and blessed Yudhishthira. Yama was testing the steadfastness of
Yudhishthira.
After reaching heaven Yudhishthira joined his family but was surprised to see his
cousin brothers settled in the heaven. When asked as what happened to the sins they
committed on earth, Narada replied, “In heaven all are equal, the sinner or the pious
ones. The happenings on the earth are nothing but the illusion created by our creator.”
Thus ended the great story of Mahabharata the epic that the future generations of
Indian will enjoy for ever.

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Stories By Grandpa

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