Indra and Varuna

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.

As Yudhishthira journeys through the wilderness, the sage Lomasha begins describing the sacred sites that lie ahead — places where gods performed austerities, rivers served a rishi, and the Ganga herself splintered a mountain. Each spot carries its own history, and together they form a path that might lead the anxious king to peace.

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.

Vritra's roar shakes Indra to his core, but the king of the gods strikes him dead with the vajra — then flees in terror, refusing to believe his enemy is gone. The daityas, hunted by the rejoicing gods, retreat into the ocean depths and there hatch a terrible plan: destroy the world by destroying every virtuous ascetic who sustains it.

The gods are in distress. After Vritra's death, the terrible Kaleyas have taken refuge in Varuna's ocean and are killing sages by night. The gods seek Vishnu's counsel, and he tells them what they must do: the ocean itself must be destroyed, and only Agastya can accomplish it.

The gods, unable to defeat the Kaleyas who hide in the ocean, seek out the sage Agastya and ask him to do what no one else can: drink the entire ocean dry. Agastya agrees, for the welfare of the worlds, and sets out with the assembled gods, rishis, and celestial beings toward the roaring sea.

After spending the night through Tryambaka's favours, Arjuna meets the brahmana who had guided him earlier. The brahmana tells him he will see the lords of the worlds and receive weapons from Indra. That afternoon, all the lokapalas — Kubera, Yama, Varuna, and Indra — appear before him, and Arjuna receives their celestial weapons according to prescribed rites.

An unmarried princess gives birth in secret, wraps the newborn in a basket, and sets him adrift on a river at night. She weeps over him, calls on the gods to protect him, and returns to her father's palace as if nothing happened. The basket floats through three rivers before reaching a city of charioteers — where a child in divine armour will be found.