Dhoumya

Vaishampayana recites the full list of 108 sacred names of Surya, tracing their transmission from the god Indra to the sage Narada, then to Dhoumya, and finally to Yudhishthira — who obtained everything he desired by reciting them.

Yudhishthira is tormented: brahmanas have followed him into exile, but he has nothing to give them. He cannot abandon them, yet he cannot sustain them. He goes to his priest Dhoumya and asks what the right course of action is.

Having received the Sun's boon, Yudhishthira arises from the water and returns to his family. He cooks the forest fare himself — and it multiplies, becoming inexhaustible. He feeds the brahmanas first, then his brothers, then eats the remainder with Draupadi. Blessed and provisioned, the Pandavas set out for Kamyaka forest.

Vidura recounts how the exiled Pandavas entered the Kamyaka forest at midnight, when rakshasas roam. They are confronted by Kirmira, brother of Baka and friend of Hidimba, who vows to avenge them both. Bhima fights him with a tree, then with his bare hands, and kills the rakshasa, freeing the forest of his terror.

While living in exile along the Sarasvati, the Pandavas receive a visit from the ancient rishi Markandeya. When Yudhishthira notices the sage smiling, he asks why — and receives a discourse on dharma that spans the ages, from Rama to the elephants of the forest.

Yudhishthira remembers the sage's words and privately tells Arjuna that Duryodhana controls the earth and all the great warriors. Arjuna is their last refuge. He must go to Indra and obtain all divine weapons. Arjuna arms himself with Gandiva, receives blessings, and departs northward.

Lomasha arrives with a message from Indra himself — the king of the gods remembers Yudhishthira and invites him to visit the sacred tirthas. Overcome with delight, Yudhishthira declares that his mind was already made up: he will go.

Yudhishthira resolves to leave Kamyaka forest and begin the pilgrimage to the sacred tirthas. Before they can depart, Vyasa, Narada, and Parvata appear — three of the most powerful sages in existence — and give them instructions that go beyond mere travel: purify your minds, control your bodies, and go with friendship in your hearts. The Pandavas receive their blessings and, at the auspicious moment, set out eastward with their servants and chariots.

As the Pandavas and their companions enter Mount Gandhamadana, a violent storm descends — dust, wind, and rain blind and scatter them. They grope through darkness, each finding separate shelter under trees and mountainsides, until the storm passes and they reassemble to continue their journey.

Draupadi collapses on the forest floor, emaciated and unconscious. Yudhishthira takes her on his lap and begins to lament — blaming himself, his addiction to dice, his stupidity. The brahmanas chant mantras, the twins massage her feet, and slowly, she regains consciousness.

Exhausted by their long journey through the wilderness, Draupadi and the Pandavas can go no further. Bhimasena commands his rakshasa son Ghatotkacha to carry them through the sky. With the help of other rakshasas, the party lifts off the earth and travels swiftly toward the hermitage of Badari, passing over mountains, forests, and the legendary northern Kuru.

The Pandavas descend from the rakshasas' shoulders and see the hermitage of Nara and Narayana — a place untouched by sunlight yet free of darkness, where hunger, thirst, cold, and heat do not exist. Yudhishthira approaches the maharshis with restraint and purity, and is welcomed with water, flowers, roots, and fruit. The Pandavas enter and dwell there, making offerings to gods and ancestors, and take great pleasure in watching Draupadi sport in that sacred place.

Yudhishthira sets out north with his brothers, Draupadi, the brahmanas, Lomasha, and the rakshasas including Hidimba's son. They travel partly on foot and partly carried by the rakshasas, crossing mountains and difficult terrain, until on the seventeenth day they reach the sacred hermitage of the rajarshi Vrishaparva near Gandhamadana.

After leaving Vrishaparva, the Pandavas proceed on foot through a region teeming with animals, reaching Mount Shveta on the fourth day and then Mount Malyavan. They climb higher into Gandhamadana, a mountain so beautiful it resembles the pleasure garden of the gods, filled with every kind of tree, flower, bird, and pond.

Yudhishthira and his brothers, wandering in exile on Gandhamadana mountain, come before an ascetic sage who already knows them. The sage questions Yudhishthira’s adherence to dharma, describes the wonders and dangers of the mountain, and warns him not to venture beyond a certain point — or the rakshasas will kill him.

The Pandavas hear noises from the mountain caves and do not see Bhimasena. Concerned, they leave Draupadi in Arshtishena's care and ascend the mountain armed with weapons. They find Bhima surrounded by slain rakshasas, radiant as Indra after slaying danavas. Yudhishthira rebukes him for acting against the king's wishes and offending the gods — then falls into reflection.

At sunrise, the priest Dhoumya takes Yudhishthira's hand and turns him eastward. What follows is not a blessing but a map — of the four directions, the mountains that anchor them, the gods who guard them, and the sun's eternal circuit around Mount Meru that creates seasons, measures time, and sustains all life.

While the Pandavas are thinking of Arjuna, Indra's chariot driven by Matali suddenly appears in the sky, carrying Arjuna. He descends, pays respects to Dhoumya, Yudhishthira, Bhima, and Draupadi, is worshipped by Nakula and Sahadeva, and the Pandavas honor Matali before he departs. Arjuna presents the gifts from Indra, recounts his acquisition of weapons from Indra, Vayu, and Shiva, and his entry into heaven, then happily goes to sleep with his brothers.

The Pandavas, having established themselves on Mount Gandhamadana, are waiting for Arjuna to return from obtaining divine weapons from Indra. They live on the mountain, performing austerities, rituals, and yoga, while constantly thinking of Arjuna and counting every day and night as a year in his absence. A month passes in melancholy; the Pandavas remain in grief-stricken waiting, their happiness absent since Arjuna left Kamyaka forest.

Yudhishthira sees terrible omens — a blazing sky, a howling she-jackal, a deformed quail vomiting blood — and his own body trembles with foreboding. When he asks where Bhima is, Draupadi tells him his brother has been gone a long time. He follows the trail of broken trees to a mountainous cavern, where he finds Bhima immobile in a serpent's grasp.

Nahusha discards his serpent body and ascends to heaven. Yudhishthira returns to the hermitage with Bhima and Dhoumya, and tells the assembled brahmanas, his brothers, and Draupadi everything that happened. They are astounded — and overjoyed.

Exiled to the desert, the Pandavas endure the arrival of the rainy season — clouds, thunder, and endless torrents transforming the barren land. When autumn follows, they find the sacred Sarasvati river overflowing with clear water and roam its banks in delight before the dark fortnight sends them onward to Kamyaka.

The Pandavas have settled in the Kamyaka forest, surrounded by sages, when a brahmana announces that Krishna and the ancient sage Markandeya are coming to see them. Krishna arrives on his chariot with Satyabhama, embraces Arjuna repeatedly, and hears the full account of their forest exile.

Seated among the Pandavas, Krishna praises Yudhishthira's dharma and endurance of the assembly hall humiliation, reports that Draupadi's sons are safe and training under Abhimanyu in the Vrishni city, offers the Dasharha army led by Halayudha, and advises Yudhishthira to complete his exile before returning to Nagapura.

The five Pandava brothers, roaming the Kamyaka forest during their exile, decide to hunt deer in all four directions to feed the brahmanas. With the permission of the sages Trinabindu and Dhoumya, they leave Draupadi alone at the hermitage gate — and ride out, unaware that a king passing through the forest has already seen her.

Draupadi sees Jayadratha is about to seize her and cries out in fear, seeking help from the priest Dhoumya. Jayadratha grasps her by her upper garment; she pushes him away, causing him to fall, but he seizes her again with great force and forces her onto the chariot. Dhoumya follows on foot, warning that Jayadratha will face the Pandavas.

The Pandavas follow the fresh trail of Jayadratha's army, seeing the dust raised by the hooves of his horses. Dhoumya urges Bhima to attack. When they see Draupadi standing on Jayadratha's chariot, their rage flares — and they call out to the king of Sindhu to stop.

Seeing his army destroyed, Jayadratha frees Draupadi and flees into the forest. Yudhishthira orders Nakula to pick her up, and Bhima wants to slaughter the remaining soldiers — but Arjuna stops him. Bhima vows to kill Jayadratha even if he escapes to the nether regions. Yudhishthira objects, citing Duhshala and Gandhari. But Draupadi, angry and unashamed, demands the wretch's death.

Dyumatsena, his eyesight miraculously restored, finds his hermitage empty — Satyavan and Savitri have not returned. He and his wife Shaibya run through the forest, wounded and bleeding, crying out their children's names, until the forest sages bring them back and offer reasons why Satyavan must still be alive.

Yudhishthira is weighed down by the calamity that has befallen him. Dhoumya, his priest, speaks to him — not with empty consolation, but with a catalogue of gods who once hid in the most unlikely places: Indra in a hermitage, Vishnu in a womb, Agni in water. If the great-souled ones concealed themselves to conquer their enemies, Dhoumya asks, why should a king not do the same?

After Dhoumya's counsel, Bhimasena speaks to Yudhishthira. He reminds the king that Arjuna has not acted foolishly, that Nakula and Sahadeva are restrained only by his own command, and that all four brothers stand ready to carry out whatever task Yudhishthira assigns — and to vanquish any enemy who stands in their way.