Pandavas Return from Hunt and Learn of Abduction
The Pandavas return from their hunt to find their hermitage empty and their maid weeping. A jackal howls on their left — an omen of disaster. When Indrasena questions the maid, she learns the truth: Jayadratha has abducted Draupadi while they were away, and the trail is still fresh.
The Pandavas had scattered through the great forest, hunting separately — deer, boar, buffalo — each man working his own ground with his own bow. When they reassembled, Yudhishthira noticed something wrong.
The birds and animals were moving in a single direction, away from the hermitage, making harsh noises as if the forest itself had been invaded. Yudhishthira’s mind was burning. He told his brothers: "Kamyaka now appears to me like a pond that has been robbed of its serpents by Suparna (the eagle), a kingdom that is without its king and its fortune, or a pot that has been emptied of its liquor by drunkards."
They mounted their chariots — yoked to Saindhava steeds with the speed of wind — and drove back toward the hermitage. On the way, a jackal appeared on their left and howled hideously. Yudhishthira pointed it out to Bhima and Arjuna. "This clearly shows that the evil Kurus must have mounted a fierce attack on us."
They entered the grove and saw the maid who used to serve Draupadi. She was weeping.
Indrasena, their charioteer, rushed to her. "Why are you lamenting? I hope evil ones have not caused violence to the princess Draupadi. Even if the goddess has entered into the earth, ascended to heaven or plunged into the sea, the Parthas will follow her steps there. Who is the foolish one who will dare to carry her away? Does he not know that she has protectors now?"
The maid wiped her face and spoke. "Ignoring the ones who are like five Indras, Jayadratha violated this place and abducted Krishna. The traces remain and are still fresh. The broken branches have not yet faded. Swiftly turn and pursue. The princess cannot have gone far. All of you are the equals of Indra. Prepare yourselves with large, expensive and handsome armour. Grasp your great bows and arrows and swiftly travel along her steps."
She described what she feared: that Draupadi might give up her body to an unworthy person, like sacred oblations thrown into ashes; that she might become an oblation to the fire, like chaff of grain; that while the officiating brahmana was inattentive, the offering of soma on the altar might be licked by a dog.
"Follow her swiftly," she said. "Hasten, lest time passes you by." Aranyaka Parva, Chapter 550