Dhoumya Comforts Yudhishthira with Examples
Yudhishthira is weighed down by the calamity that has befallen him. Dhoumya, his priest, speaks to him — not with empty consolation, but with a catalogue of gods who once hid in the most unlikely places: Indra in a hermitage, Vishnu in a womb, Agni in water. If the great-souled ones concealed themselves to conquer their enemies, Dhoumya asks, why should a king not do the same?
Yudhishthira was facing a calamity. The dice game had stripped him of his kingdom, his brothers, his wife, and his own freedom — and now he was bound to thirteen years of exile, the last of which must be spent in concealment. He was learned, self-controlled, true to his promises, and in control of his senses. But even such men can be confounded when they confront a calamity.
Dhoumya, the Pandavas' priest, spoke to the king. His words were full of grave import.
"O king," he said, "in times of difficulty, even the great-souled gods have gone into hiding in many places, with the objective of subjugating their enemies."
He began with Indra. To accomplish the task of subjugating the strength of his enemies, the king of the gods went to a hermitage in the land of the Nishadhas, located on the slopes of a mountain, and hid there.
Then Vishnu. To kill the daityas (demons), Vishnu spent a long time in hiding in Aditi's womb and was then born as Hayashira — the horse-headed one. Disguising himself in the form of a dwarf, the one whose form is that of the brahman used his valour to rob Bali of his kingdom.
"You have heard about this," Dhoumya said. "O son! You have heard everything about how brahmarshi Ourva accomplished the objective of the worlds while hidden in a thigh."
He continued: "O one learned in dharma! You have heard how Hari hid himself in Shakra's vajra (Indra's thunderbolt) so that Vritra might be killed. You have heard everything about how Agni entered and concealed himself in the water to accomplish the task of the gods. O son! The supremely energetic Vivasvat lived in hiding in earth and later burnt up all his enemies. Vishnu, terrible in his deeds, lived in Dasharatha's house and in disguise, killed Dashagriva (Ravana) in battle."
The pattern was unmistakable. Again and again, the gods had chosen concealment — not out of fear, but as strategy. They hid in wombs and hermitages, in water and earth, in the bodies of others and in the houses of kings. They did not hide to escape. They hid to prepare. And when the time came, they emerged and conquered.
"Thus did the great-souled ones live in disguise," Dhoumya concluded. "Then they conquered their enemies in battle. And you will also triumph in that way."
Yudhishthira was comforted by the words of Dhoumya, who knew about dharma. Using his own intelligence and knowledge of the sacred texts, he no longer wavered. Aranyaka Parva, Chapter 596