Arjuna Defeated by the Yaksha
Yudhishthira sends Arjuna to find his missing brothers and water. Arjuna finds Nakula and Sahadeva dead, raises his bow, and unleashes a storm of arrows at the sky — but thirst overcomes him, and he too ignores the yaksha's warning, drinks, and collapses dead.
When neither Nakula nor Sahadeva returned, Yudhishthira spoke to Vijaya — Arjuna, the greatest archer among them.
"O Bibhatsu! O destroyer of enemies! Your brothers have been gone for a long time. Go and bring them and the water."
Arjuna grasped his bow and arrows. He took his unsheathed sword and proceeded toward the lake.
He saw his brothers — the tigers among men who had gone to fetch water — lying dead on the ground. They looked as if they were asleep. Arjuna was extremely distressed. He raised his bow and looked around the forest. He could see no beings anywhere.
He was exhausted. He rushed toward the water.
The voice spoke from the sky: "Why are you approaching? You will not be able to drink the water by force. O Kounteya! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! If you are able to answer my questions, you will be able to drink the water and take it."
Arjuna did not ask questions. He said: "Show yourself and then restrain me. You will not be able to speak again in this fashion when my arrows pierce you."
He invoked his arrows with mantras. He displayed his skill at shooting arrows targeted at sound — the highest art of the archer — enveloping the directions. He unleashed showers of barbed arrows, hollow arrows, and iron arrows toward the sky.
The yaksha said: "O Partha! What purpose do these exertions serve? Answer my questions and then drink. If you do not answer the questions, you will cease to exist as soon as you drink."
But Arjuna had unleashed his invincible arrows. He was overcome by thirst. He ignored the words. He drank.
He collapsed and fell down. Aranyaka Parva, Chapter 593