Bhima Urges Yudhishthira to Attack Hastinapura
Arjuna has departed for Indra's world to obtain divine weapons, and the Pandavas sit grieving in Kamyaka forest. Bhima can bear it no longer — he argues that they should abandon the exile, kill Dhritarashtra's sons in battle, and reclaim the kingdom now. Yudhishthira must find a way to hold his brother back without breaking his own word.
Arjuna had gone to Indra's world for weapons. The Pandavas remained in Kamyaka forest with Krishna, and they sat together in a deserted spot, miserable. There were tears in their throats. They grieved for Dhananjaya and they grieved for the kingdom they had lost.
Then Bhima spoke.
"O great king! It was on your instructions that Arjuna went. The lives of the sons of Pandu are established in him. If he is destroyed, we will be destroyed — the Panchalas, Satyaki, Vasudeva, all of us. He departed without thinking of the difficulties he would face. He went on your instructions. What can cause greater grief than that?"
Bhima's voice was not pleading. It was the voice of a man who had been holding something back for a long time.
"All of us have depended on the arms of that great-souled one, thinking we will triumph over our enemies and win the earth. It was the influence of the one with the bow that prevented me from killing all of Dhritarashtra's sons — together with Soubala — in the middle of that sabha. We have the strength of our arms. We are controlling the anger, and you are the reason. We are protected by Vasudeva. If Krishna and we had killed the enemies led by Karna, we would have ruled the earth, conquered through the strength of our arms."
He named the cause directly: "All of us are faced with this calamity because of your vice of gambling."
Then he shifted. He began to argue from dharma itself.
"O king! You must bear in mind the dharma of kshatriyas. It is not the dharma of kshatriyas to reside in the forest. The learned have said that the supreme dharma of kshatriyas is to rule over the kingdom. Do not stray from that path. Let us kill the sons of Dhritarashtra before the twelve years have passed. Return from the forest. Summon back Partha and Janardana. Let us kill their armies and battle formations in a great battle."
He made a specific promise: "I will send the sons of Dhritarashtra to another world. Together with Soubala, Duryodhana, Karna, and whoever else wants to fight back — I will kill all of them."
And then he offered a way out of the oath itself. "After I have pacified them, you can return again to the forest. If we do this, no blame will be attached to you. If a sin is committed, we can perform various sacrifices. Wiping it off in that way, we can attain supreme heaven."
He pressed further. "It is the way of the wise to kill those who are deceitful through deceitful means. There is no sin attached to killing deceitful ones through deceitful means. The learned in dharma say that a day and a night are equal to an entire year. In times of calamity, one entire year is equal to a day. Therefore, if the Vedas are the authority, regard the passage of thirteen years as equal to a single day. This is the time to kill Duryodhana and his followers. Otherwise, he will bring the entire earth under his suzerainty."
Yudhishthira listened. Then he inhaled the fragrance of Bhima's head — the gesture of a father to a son, or an elder to a beloved younger brother — and spoke in tones of pacification.
"O mighty-armed one! There is no doubt that you will kill Suyodhana, together with Gandivadhanva, but only after the thirteen years have passed. You have said that the time has arrived. But I cannot utter a lie, because that finds no place in me. O Kounteya! O invincible one! You will kill Suyodhana and his followers, but without resorting to deceit, because that will certainly be sin."
While he was still speaking, the great rishi Brihadashva arrived. Aranyaka Parva, Chapter 346