The Pandavas Plan Their Conquest of the Four Directions
Armed with divine weapons and allies, Arjuna tells Yudhishthira it is time to extend their treasury by making other kings pay tribute. Yudhishthira gives his blessing, and the four brothers set out with armies to conquer the four cardinal directions, leaving Yudhishthira in Khandavaprastha.
Arjuna had everything a warrior could desire. He had obtained the supreme bow, the two inexhaustible quivers, the divine chariot, the flag, and the sabha (assembly hall). He went to his eldest brother, Yudhishthira, and laid out the situation. "O king," he said, "I have the bow, the weapons, the arrows, the valour, the allies, the land, the fame, and the strength. I have whatever men desire and find difficult to obtain. I think we should act now to extend our treasury. I wish to make other kings pay us tribute."
He proposed a plan: on an auspicious day, at the right moment and under the right nakshatra (constellation), he would set out to conquer the region protected by Dhanada — the lord of wealth, Kubera — which was the northern direction.
Yudhishthira, Dharmaraja (the king of dharma), listened to Dhananjaya. His reply was soft and grave. "O bull among the Bharata lineage! Go, but only after brahmanas have uttered benedictions upon you, so that our well-wishers may be delighted and our enemies immersed in grief. O Partha! Your victory is certain. Your desires will undoubtedly be fulfilled."
With this blessing, Arjuna set out with a large army. He rode the divine chariot, the performer of extraordinary deeds, that had been given to him by Agni. In similar fashion, Bhimasena and the twins — Nakula and Sahadeva, bulls among men — also worshipped Dharmaraja and set out with their own armies. The conquest of the four directions was underway: Arjuna, the son of Indra (the chastiser of Paka), would conquer the north; Bhimasena the east; Sahadeva the south; and Nakula, skilled in the use of all weapons, the west. Dharmaraja Yudhishthira remained behind in Khandavaprastha, the city they had built from the ashes of the Khandava forest.