The Pandavas Found and Build Indraprastha

With Krishna leading them, the invincible Pandavas entered Khandavaprastha — a wild and terrible forest — and set out to make it as beautiful as heaven. They were not alone. The sage Dvaipayana (Vyasa) guided the maharathas (great chariot-warriors). Together, they selected a pure and holy site, performed the necessary propitiatory ceremonies, and measured the land for a city. What they built was a fortress of breathtaking scale and beauty. Moats as wide as the ocean surrounded walls that rose high into the sky, white like clouds or snow-covered mountains. The greatest of cities, it was as resplendent as Bhogavati, the subterranean capital of the nagas. It was protected by terrible double-doored gates that stood like the two-winged Garuda, and its high towers were like dense clouds or many Mount Mandaras. This was not just a beautiful place; it was an impregnable weapon. The city was well covered with every kind of armament: sharp spears, javelins like double-tongued snakes, hooks, and shataghnis (a hundred-killer weapon). Great iron chakras (discuses) adorned its fortifications. Its streets were wide and well laid out to prevent collisions among large chariots, and it shone with many beautiful white mansions. Like a mass of dense clouds circled by lightning, reflecting the image of heaven itself, it came to be known as Indraprastha. It became a magnet for life and prosperity. Brahmanas, the foremost knowers of the Vedas, made it their home. Merchants from every direction came, desiring to earn wealth. Artisans of every craft arrived, desirous of living there. Lovely gardens surrounded the city, filled with trees heavy with flowers and fruit: amra (mango), ashoka, champaka, kadamba, and many others. The air echoed with the calls of peacocks and cuckoos. There were bowers of creepers, artificial hillocks for pleasure, and ponds filled with clear water, fragrant with lotuses and alive with swans, geese, and chakravaka birds. Living in that large kingdom, populated by holy people, the joy of the Pandavas increased eternally. The five great archers, each like an Indra, adorned that best of cities. Their new capital was established. Having seen them settled, the brave Keshava (Krishna), with his brother Balarama (Rama), took his leave of the Pandavas and returned to his own city of Dvaraka.

The Pandavas Found and Build Indraprastha

The Marriage of Draupadi and the Pandavas' Return to Status