Yudhishthira Bids Farewell to Gandhamadana

Yudhishthira, knowledgeable about dharma and artha, turned to face the mountain that had sheltered them for four years. He bid adieu to the houses — the unmatched pleasure grounds of Kubera. He bid adieu to the rivers and the lakes. He bid adieu to all the rakshasas who had shared the mountain with them. He glanced down at the path through which he had ascended, then looked again at the mountain itself. "O Indra among mountains!" he said. "When my deeds are done, when my well-wishers and I have triumphed over the enemies and have won the kingdom, I will behold you again, for performing austerities with a restrained soul." It was a vow of return — spoken not as a hope, but as a certainty. Surrounded by all his brothers and the brahmanas who had accompanied them through the years of exile, the lord of the Kurus was carried along a similar path by Ghatotkacha — over mountains and waterfalls, across the difficult terrain they had crossed on their way up. The maharshi Arshtishena, seeing them ready to leave, cheerfully instructed them like a father to his sons. Together with Lomasha, who had guided them through so many sacred places, the Pandavas went on their way — toward the sacred abodes of the dwellers of heaven, toward the beautiful tirthas and hermitages and great ponds that still lay ahead. The Gandhamadana chapter was closed. The incognito year was yet to come.