Bhima and Companions Resolve to Enter Mount Gandhamadana

Bhima could not bear it any longer. His brother Arjuna had left years ago to obtain divine weapons, and word had reached them that he was now on Mount Gandhamadana — a place of such power that ordinary men could not approach it. Bhima wanted to see him. He said so. The others agreed. They would go together. But the mountain was not a place one simply walked into. It was the home of Kubera, the god of wealth, whose lotus pond was guarded by rakshasas (flesh-eating demons). It was the site of the hermitage of Nara and Narayana — the ancient sages who were incarnations of the supreme being himself. Yakshas (spirit beings) filled its forests. The journey would test everything they had. The speaker — whether Bhima himself or one of his companions — laid out the terms plainly. They would enter Mount Gandhamadana on foot, observing great austerities. They would be armed, with swords strapped to their sides. They would be accompanied by brahmanas who had taken severe vows. And they would be controlled. Because the mountain did not yield to the undisciplined. Those who were not controlled would encounter flies, gnats, mosquitoes, tigers, lions, and reptiles — every obstacle the wild could throw at them. But those who were controlled would see none of these things. The mountain tested the soul before it tested the body. So the resolution was made: they would restrain their food. They would control their souls. They would enter Mount Gandhamadana to see Dhananjaya — Arjuna, the winner of wealth — and follow in his footsteps.