Draupadi

Defeated at dice by Duryodhana and his allies, the Pandavas leave Gajasahrya with Draupadi and their servants, heading north. But the citizens — grieving, furious at Bhishma and Vidura and Drona for allowing it — decide to follow them. Yudhishthira must turn them back, asking them to care for those left behind in Nagasahrya.

After the citizens turn back, the Pandavas ascend their chariots and travel to the great banyan tree Pramana on the banks of the Jahnavi. They touch the pure water and spend the night subsisting on nothing but water — the first night of their twelve-year exile, consoled only by the brahmanas who refused to leave them.

Exiled from their kingdom, Yudhishthira tells his brothers they must find a place to live for twelve years. Arjuna proposes the lake of Dvaitavana — a beautiful, pure place frequented by virtuous men. Yudhishthira agrees, and the Pandavas travel there with a host of brahmanas, arriving at the end of the hot season to establish their new home.

No sooner has Brihadashva left than Yudhishthira learns that Arjuna is engaged in austerities so terrible they have never been witnessed before — surviving only on air, alone in the forest like Dharma personified. Tormented by the news, Yudhishthira seeks refuge in the great forest and questions the brahmanas about what he should do.

Rama and Janardana learn of Yudhishthira's severe austerities and lead the foremost Vrishnis to visit him with their armies. They find the Pandavas lying on the ground, their bodies smeared with dirt, and Draupadi in distress. Yudhishthira offers them homage, tells them of his enemies' deeds, and reveals that Arjuna has gone to Indra for weapons — leaving the Vrishnis relieved but weeping at the sight.

After crossing the ocean shore, Yudhishthira arrives at a sacred forest where the altar of Richika's son stands. He visits the holy sites of gods and ancestors, observes fasts, and gives away gems. Then, at the great tirtha of Prabhasa, he performs a twelve-day austerity — living on water and air, surrounded by flames — that draws the attention of the Vrishnis.

Lomasha, their guide through the wilderness, becomes confused — and Yudhishthira immediately reads the danger. He orders everyone to guard Draupadi, maintain absolute cleanliness, and then gives Bhima a direct command: protect her. Finally, he goes to the twins Nakula and Sahadeva, embraces them, and tells them not to be afraid.

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.

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.

Bhima enters Kubera's pleasure garden and begins taking the fragrant sougandhika lotuses for Draupadi. The rakshasas guarding the pond warn him that even gods must seek permission before sporting there. Bhima refuses to beg, plunges into the water, and when the rakshasas attack, he meets them with his club — slaying hundreds and routing the rest.

The defeated rakshasas flee to Kailasa and report Bhima's strength and valour to Kubera, expecting punishment. Instead, Kubera laughs and tells them to let Bhima take as many lotuses as he wishes for Draupadi — he knows the reason. The rakshasas return, their anger controlled, to find Bhima sporting happily alone in the 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.

As Arjuna prepares to discharge the celestial weapons, the gods and lokapalas arrive at the scene of cosmic disturbance. Narada, instructed by the gods, warns Arjuna that using divine weapons without a target is a great sin — and that mishandling them could destroy the three worlds. Arjuna is restrained, and the weapons are preserved for future battle.

After Draupadi is abducted, the Pandavas leave Kamyaka forest and settle in Dvaitavana at Markandeya's hermitage, living frugally on fruit and rigid in their vows. There, while devoted to brahmanas and controlled in their conduct, they experience a great calamity that eventually ends in happiness — beginning with a brahmana's desperate plea for his lost kindling.