The Pandavas Escape by Burning the House of Lac
After a year of pretending to be content in the flammable house built to kill them, Yudhishthira decides the time to escape has come. The Pandavas set the trap on fire themselves, leaving their would-be murderer Purochana to burn, and vanish into the night through a secret tunnel. The citizens of Varanavata wake to the blaze and mourn, believing Duryodhana has finally succeeded in murdering his cousins.
For an entire year, the Pandavas and their mother Kunti lived in the house of lac in Varanavata. They acted happy and unsuspecting. Purochana, the man Duryodhana had sent to oversee their death, watched them and was delighted. He believed his deception was complete.
Yudhishthira watched Purochana’s delight. He gathered his brothers — Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva — and told them the cruel-hearted Purochana was fully deceived. The time for their escape had arrived. Their plan was precise: they would set fire to the armoury, burn Purochana to death, leave six bodies behind to be found in the ashes, and flee unseen.
To set the stage, Kunti held a feast. On the pretext of giving alms, she fed a large number of Brahmanas that night. Many women came as well. They all ate and drank as much as they wished. When night fell, they returned to their homes with Kunti’s permission.
Driven by destiny, a hunter woman, a Nishada, also came to the feast with her five sons, searching for food. They all drank wine until they were completely drunk. The woman and her sons lost their senses and fell into a deep, death-like sleep right there in the house.
When everyone was asleep and a violent storm began to rage in the night, Bhima made his move. He went to the spot where Purochana slept and started the fire.
The blaze took hold quickly. The intense heat and the great roar of the flames soon woke the citizens of Varanavata. They rushed to the scene and stood around the burning house, watching it be consumed. They spoke to each other in grief and anger. “Under Duryodhana’s instructions,” they said, “that evil-minded Purochana built this house for his own destruction.” They cursed Dhritarashtra for his partiality. “He has burnt to death Pandu’s pure sons, as if they are his enemies.” They believed that fate had allowed the evil-hearted Purochana to burn those innocent, unsuspecting princes — and to be burnt himself in the process. The citizens mourned throughout the entire night, believing the Pandavas were dead.
They were not. While the fire raged above, the Pandavas and their mother were already far away. They had emerged through the pre-dug tunnel and fled quickly into the darkness, completely unobserved. The scorchers of enemies were exhausted, moving slowly from fear and lack of sleep.
Bhima, Vrikodara, took action. With his great speed and terrible power, he gathered up his entire family. He placed his mother Kunti on his shoulder. He took the twins, Nakula and Sahadeva, on his hips. He carried his brothers, the two Parthas — Yudhishthira and Arjuna — one on each arm. Then he ran. He ran with such force that he shattered trees in his path and pounded the earth with his feet. The energetic Bhima rushed on through the night with the violence of a storm, carrying his family to safety and into a new life of exile.