Duryodhana Departs for Lake Dvaitavana
Having obtained permission, Duryodhana sets out for Lake Dvaitavana with a vast army and retinue — Karna, Duhshasana, Shakuni, his other brothers, thousands of women, and a military force of chariots, elephants, infantry, and horses. Citizens and their wives follow him into the forest, and the king's departure raises a roar like the winds of the rainy season. He camps one gavyuti from the lake, setting the stage for what comes next.
Duryodhana obtained permission and prepared to leave.
He was Gandhari's son, foremost among the Bharatas, and he did not travel lightly. With him went Karna, Duhshasana, and Shakuni the dice player. His other brothers surrounded him. Thousands of women accompanied the procession. And behind them came the army — eight thousand chariots, thirty thousand elephants, many thousands of infantry, and nine thousand horses. Carriages, shopping carts, whores, traders, bards, and men skilled in hunting followed in hundreds and thousands.
When the mighty-armed one departed to see Lake Dvaitavana, the citizens of Hastinapura followed him into the forest — together with their wives, unwilling to let their king go alone.
The departure of the king raised a mighty roar, like the deep rumble of the winds during the rainy season. He headed toward Lake Dvaitavana with all his mounts and his vast retinue, and camped at a distance of one gavyuti — about two miles — from the lake itself.
There he waited. The stage was set. Aranyaka Parva, Chapter 525