Janamejaya Asks About the Pandavas' Stay on Gandhamadana

Janamejaya was not satisfied with a summary. He wanted to know everything. "How long did the great-souled sons of Pandu live on Mount Gandhamadana? What did they subsist on while they were there? Tell me in detail about Bhimasena's prowess — what did the mighty-armed one accomplish in those Himalayan mountains? Did he wage war against the yakshas again? Did they ever meet Vaishravana? Arshtishena said the lord of riches visits that place. I wish to hear all of this in great detail. I am never satiated on hearing about their deeds." The questions came in a rush — not the polite curiosity of a king fulfilling a ritual, but the genuine hunger of someone who had grown up on stories of his ancestors and could not get enough. He wanted the texture of their exile: what they ate, how long they stayed, what Bhima did when there was no war to fight, and whether the supernatural beings of that mountain ever crossed paths with the Pandavas. Vaishampayana began his answer.