46. Kunti’s Elephant Ritual

Kunti decided to perform an elephant ritual to bring blessings upon her sons, so she had the potters of Hastinapura make elephants of clay for her to use.

Gandhari was jealous and wanted to perform an even grander ritual for her sons, so she had the goldsmiths make golden elephants.

Kunti was dismayed, but Arjuna said, “Don’t worry! I’ll ask my divine father Indra to send his heavenly elephant Airavata.” Arjuna then lifted his bow, shooting arrows into the sky to create a bridge by which Airavata descended.

Kunti thus conducted the most grand elephant ritual ever seen in Hastinapura.

47. Queen Satyavati Departs

The aged Queen Satyavati was dismayed to see such strife among her great-grandsons, the sons of Pandu and the sons of Dhritarashtra.

“All my life I worked for the success of this family,” she said, “but now I see the sons of the sons of my son quarreling with each other like dogs fighting over scraps in the street. I cannot bear it. I am going to retire into the forest.”

The widows of Vichitravirya, Ambika and Ambalika, departed together with her. No one ever saw them again.

Kunti and Gandhari were then the elders among the ladies of Hastinapura.

48. The Kauravas and Pandavas Trade Insults

The young Kauravas often insulted their Pandava cousins. “Pathetic Pandu had no sons!” they would shout. “Your mothers were whores!”

One day, though, Bhima shouted back, “Your mother’s a widow!”

The Kauravas ran to Bhishma to ask what this meant, and Bhishma launched an investigation. He learned that the astrologers of Gandhara predicted Gandhari’s first husband would die, while her second husband would live a long life. Gandhari’s father, King Subala, thus decided to cheat fate: he married Gandhari to a goat which he then sacrificed.

Dhritarashtra was her second husband.

Bhishma was furious when he learned of this deceit.

49. Bhishma Imprisons Subala

Bhishma vowed to kill Subala and his family. He locked them in prison, giving them only a handful of rice each day.

Subala’s sons fought over the rice, but Subala ordered them to give it all to Shakuni. “He is the most clever,” said Subala. “He must live to avenge us.” Subala then broke Shakuni’s ankle. “When you limp,” he said, “remember us.”

Later, as he was dying, Subala said, “Make my knucklebones into dice. Those dice will do your bidding.”

Shakuni alone survived. He then lived in Hastinapura with Gandhari, but he nursed hatred for Bhishma in his heart.

50. King Dhritarashtra Sends the Pandavas Away

King Dhritarashtra assigned his nephew Yudhishthira important public duties in Hastinapura, but he later regretted this decision. Yudhishthira and his brothers became wildly popular, and Dhritarashtra was worried that the Pandava brothers had eclipsed his own son Duryodhana in the public’s esteem.

As a result, the king decided to send the Pandavas away. “Take a long holiday!” he said to Yudhishthira. “Go with your mother and brothers to Varanavata.”

Yudhishthira was surprised, but he did as his uncle commanded.

Meanwhile, Dhritarashtra, Duryodhana, and Shakuni hatched an evil plot, hoping to put an end to the Pandavas once and for all.

51. Duryodhana Plots against the Pandavas

King Dhritarashtra ordered a beautiful palace built for the Pandavas in Varanavata, and he put his son Duryodhana in charge.

Duryodhana, meanwhile, turned the palace into a deadly trap, arranging for the building materials to be soaked in oil and resin so he could burn the Pandavas alive in their home.

But Vidura, Dhritarashtra’s low-born brother, warned his nephews to beware. “The wise jackal’s den has more than one exit,” he told Yudhishthira.

“I understand,” said Yudhishthira, smiling.

The Pandavas pretended to be delighted with their new palace, but they secretly built a tunnel that would provide a safe escape.

52. The House in Varanavata Burns

The royal administrator in Varanavata, Purochana, was Duryodhana’s agent. The Pandavas knew he planned to kill them in a fire.

“We’ll beat him to it,” said Yudhishthira, and he ordered Bhima to set the palace on fire.

The Pandavas escaped through their tunnel, while Purochana died in the flames.

A mother and her five sons also died in the fire. They had come to the palace seeking food and drink, and there they fell asleep, intoxicated.

The next day, when their charred remains were discovered, Duryodhana was delighted, thinking the Pandavas and their mother Kunti had died in the fire.

53. The Pandavas Escape

When the Pandavas and Kunti emerged at the other end of the tunnel, they met a boatman who was waiting for them as Vidura had arranged, and they gave the watchword: “The wise jackal’s den has more than one exit.”

This boatman took them across the river, and they then fled deep into the forest. Their plan was to hide in the forest, disguised as brahmins, keeping as far from Duryodhana and his spies as they could.

Meanwhile, back in Hastinapura, King Dhritarashtra mourned his nephews in public, but privately he rejoiced with his son Duryodhana.

Vidura, meanwhile, kept silent.

54. Bhima Fights a Rakshasa

As they wandered the forest, Bhima would stand watch over his mother and brothers while they slept.

One night, a rakshasa named Hidimba approached them. “I smell humans!” he said to his sister, Hidimbi. “Lure that big one in my direction. I’ll kill him, and we will enjoy a feast!!”

But when Hidimbi saw Bhima, she fell in love. While Bhima and her brother fought, she used supernatural powers to protect Bhima, and he killed her brother.

Bhima then married Hidimbi, and she bore their son: Ghatotkacha.

“If you ever need me,” Ghatotkacha told Bhima, “call, and I will come.”

55. Bhima Fights Baka

In their wanderings, the Pandavas met their grandfather Vyasa. “Go to the village of Ekachakra,” he advised them.

The villagers there told the Pandavas that a deadly rakshasa named Baka demanded a cartload of food daily. He ate the food, and the driver too!

Bhima agreed to drive the cart, being eager to eat the food himself.

As Bhima sat on the cart eating, Baka attacked. “That’s my food!” he shrieked.

Bhima just laughed.

They wrestled, and Bhima finally killed Baka.

The villagers wanted to honor their saviors, but the Pandavas decided to move on before their identity was discovered.

56. The Pandavas Meet a Gandharva

One day in the forest, a gandharva named Angaraparna attacked the Pandavas, but Arjuna incinerated Angaraparna’s chariot with a fire-arrow and captured him.

Angaraparna’s wife begged for mercy, and the Pandavas freed him. Angaraparna then rewarded the Pandavas with great hospitality, telling them many stories, and also giving them advice. “Find a priest, get a wife, and make yourselves the kings you were born to be.”

So the Pandavas found a priest, and the priest told them to seek a wife at the swayamvara of King Drupada.

Because they were still hiding from the Kauravas, they went disguised as brahmins.