Deer Plead with Yudhishthira in a Dream
One night, the deer of Dvaitavana appear to Yudhishthira in a dream — trembling, weeping, their voices choked. They tell him that the Pandavas' hunting has reduced them to a handful of survivors, kept only as seed for the future. They beg him to leave. Yudhishthira, moved by compassion, gives his word.
Janamejaya asked Vaishampayana: after the Pandavas freed Duryodhana, what did they do in that forest?
Vaishampayana said: One night, when Yudhishthira was asleep in Dvaitavana, the deer came to him in a dream.
They stood before him trembling, their feet joined in salutation, their voices choked with tears. Yudhishthira asked them who they were and what they wanted.
"We are the remnants of the deer in Dvaitavana," they said. "O great king, find a residence somewhere else. Otherwise, all of us will be killed. Your brothers are brave and skilled with weapons. They have reduced the lineage of those that live in the forest until only a few remain. A few of us have been left — as seed for the future. O Yudhishthira, let us extend through your favours."
Yudhishthira saw them trembling and frightened. He was always engaged in the welfare of all beings. He told them: "It shall be as you say. I will do what you have asked me to." He took an oath in that fashion.
When night was over, the king was filled with compassion towards the deer. He spoke to his brothers. "The deer that still remain spoke to me in a dream last night. They said, 'Only a few of us remain as seed. You should show compassion towards us.' They spoke the truth. We have lived on them for one year and eight months. Let us go towards the supreme and beautiful forest of Kamyaka, which is full of large numbers of deer. It is located at the head of the desert, near the famous lake of Trinabindu. Let us pleasantly pass the rest of our time there." Aranyaka Parva, Chapter 541