Yama

While Yudhishthira and Bhimasena are locked in conversation, Vyasa appears — having perceived Yudhishthira's hidden fear about the Kuru warriors. He promises to show how Bhishma, Drona, and the others can be legitimately killed, then teaches Yudhishthira the secret knowledge called pratismriti and tells him that Arjuna must go to the gods for weapons.

Shiva disappears from the Himalayan peak, and Arjuna is still reeling from having seen the god face to face — when the sky lights up and four more gods arrive. Yama, Varuna, Kubera, and Indra have come to reveal who Arjuna really is, what he is meant to do, and to arm him for the war that awaits.

Four gods — Indra, Agni, Varuna, and Yama — desire Damayanti and choose Nala to deliver their proposal. Nala has already promised to do their bidding, but when he learns the task, he protests: he himself desires Damayanti. The gods insist he keep his word.

When Damayanti enters the svayamvara arena, she finds five identical men — the four gods disguised as Nala and Nala himself — and cannot tell which is her chosen husband. She prays to the gods, asking them to reveal their true forms, and they grant her request, allowing her to see Nala's mortal signs and place the garland around his shoulders.

After Damayanti chooses Nala, the four gods — delighted by her choice — each grant Nala two boons: Indra gives him presence at sacrifices and supreme sacred goals; Agni gives him his presence whenever desired and resplendent worlds; Yama gives him taste of food and establishment in dharma; Varuna gives him his presence and a fragrant garland. The gods return to heaven, the kings depart, and Nala marries Damayanti, ruling righteously like Yayati.

Yudhishthira asks the sage Lomasha about his travels. Lomasha is pleased to reply — he has been sent by Indra himself with news of Arjuna. He tells Yudhishthira that he saw Arjuna seated on half of Indra's throne, that Arjuna has obtained the Brahmashira weapon from Rudra and other divine weapons from the guardians of the world, and that he has mastered the gandharva veda. Then Lomasha delivers Indra's message: Arjuna will return after accomplishing a great task for the gods, Yudhishthira should devote himself to austerities, his fear of Karna will be dispelled, and he should accept Lomasha's guidance on tirthas.

The danavas unleash a storm of rocks, water, wind, fire, and finally a terrible darkness that confounds Arjuna and terrifies Matali. Arjuna counters each elemental assault with divine weapons, but when the darkness falls, even his charioteer loses his senses — and Arjuna must steady himself before he can fight on.

Markandeya, pulled from the mouth of the cosmic being, hears Narayana declare his true nature: he is Vishnu, Brahma, Shakra, Yama, Shiva — all gods in one. He is the creator and destroyer, the one who sleeps through the ages and wakes to recreate the universe.

With Skanda instated as general of the gods, Rudra departs for Bhadravata in a chariot yoked to a thousand lions, followed by a vast celestial procession — gods, yakshas, rishis, weapons, rivers, and the very branches of knowledge — establishing the new cosmic order.

Sita has collapsed after Rama's public rejection. As she lies on the ground, the sky fills with gods — Brahma, Indra, Agni, Vayu, Yama, Varuna — and the radiant form of King Dasharatha descends in a swan-drawn chariot. Sita rises and calls upon the elements themselves to witness her truth.

Savitri follows Yama as he carries away Satyavan's life, refusing to turn back. Through a sustained dialogue on dharma and virtue, she wins four boons from the god of death — her father-in-law's sight and kingdom, a hundred brothers for her father, a hundred sons through Satyavan — and finally, Satyavan's life itself.

Satyavan collapses from exhaustion while chopping wood, his head aching, and lies down with his head on Savitri's lap. As she holds him, she sees a terrible crowned figure approach — Yama himself, who extracts a thumb-sized being from Satyavan's body, binds it with his noose, and departs southward, leaving the body lifeless.

When Satyavan and Savitri return late at night, the rishis press Savitri for the truth behind Dyumatsena's sudden restoration of sight. She reveals everything: Narada's prophecy, Yama's arrival, her confrontation with the god of death, and the five boons she won — including her husband's life.