# The Mahabharata/Book 1: Adi Parva/Section LXI

Section LXI. ( Adivansavatarana Parva continued. )
Vaisampayana said, "Bowing down in the first place to my preceptor with the eight parts of the body touching the ground, with devotion and reverence, and singleness of heart, worshiping the whole assembly of Brahmanas and other learned persons, I shall recite in full the narration I have heard of this high-souled great Rishi Vyasa, the first of intelligent men in the three worlds. And having got it within thy reach, ​O monarch, thou also art a fit person to hear the composition called Bharata. And encouraged by the command of my preceptor, my heart feeleth no fear.
"Hear, O monarch, why that disunion occurred between the Kurus and the Pandavas, and why also that exile into the woods immediately proceeding from the game at dice prompted by the desire (of the Kurus) for rule. I shall relate all to thee who askest it, thou best of the Bharata race.
"On the death of their father, those heroes (the Pandavas) came to their own home. And within a short time became well-versed in the science of the bow. And the Kurus beholding the Pandavas gifted with physical strength, energy and power of mind, popular also with the citizens and blessed with good fortune, became very much jealous. And then the crooked-minded Duryodhana, and Karna, with (the former's maternal uncle) the son of Suvala, began to persecute them and devise means of their exile. Then the wicked Duryodhana, guided by the counsels of that bird of ill omen, Sakuni (his maternal uncle), persecuted the Pandavas in various ways for the acquirement of undisputed sovereignty. The wicked son of Dhritarashtra gave poison to Bhima, but Bhima of the stomach of the wolfe digested the poison with his food. And then the wretch again tied the sleeping Bhima of the wolfe's stomach on the margin of the Ganges and casting him into the water went away. But when Bhima-sena of strong arms, the son of Kunti, awoke, he tore the strings with which he had been tied and came up, his pains all gone. And while asleep and in the water, black snakes of virulent poison bit him in every part of his body but the slayer of foes did not perish still. And in all those persecutions of the Pandavas by their cousins the Kurus, the high-minded Vidura became attentively engaged in neutralising the evil designs and rescuing the persecuted ones. And as Sakra from the heavens keeps in happiness the world of men, so did Vidura ever keep the Pandavas from all evils.
"And when Duryodhana, by various means, both secret and open, found himself incapable of destroying the Pandavas protected by the fates and kept alive for grave future purposes ​(such as the extermination of the Kuru race), he then called together his councillors consisting of Vrisha (Karna), Dushshasana and others, and with the knowledge of Dhrita-rashtra caused a house of lac to be constructed. And king Dhritarashtra—the son of Amvica,—from affection for his children; and tempted by the desire of sovereignty, sent the Pandavas to exile. And the Pandavas then went away with their mother from the city called after the name of the elephant. And when they went away, Vidura (born of a Vaisya woman by a Kshetria) became the adviser of those illustrious ones. Rescued by him from the house of lac, they fled in the deep mid-night to the woods.
"The sons of Kunti having reached the town of Varanavata, lived there with their mother. And according to the command of Dhrita-rashtra, those illustrious slayers of all enemies lived in the palace of lac while in that town. And they lived in that palace for one year, protecting themselves from Purochana very wakefully. And causing a subterranean passage to be constructed, acting according to the directions of Vidura, they set fire to that house of lac and burnt Purochana (their enemy and spy of Duryodhana) to death. Those slayers of all enemies anxious with fear then fled with their mother. In the woods beside a fountain they saw a Rakshasa of the name of Hidimva. And they slew that king of Rakshasas. But alarmed at the risk they ran of exposure by such an act, the sons of Pritha (Kunti) fied in the darkness, afflicted with the fear of the sons of Dhrita-rashtra. It was here that Bhima acquired Hidimva (the sister of the Rakshasa he slew) for a wife; and it was of her that Gatotkacha was born. Then the Pandavas, of rigid vows and conversant with the Vedas, wended to a town of name Ekachakra and dwelt there in the guise of Brahmacharis. And those bulls among men dwelt in that town in the house of a Brahmana for some time, in temperance and abstinence. And it was here that Bhima of the wolfe's stomach and of mighty arms came upon a hungry and mighty and man-eating Rakshasa of the name of Vaka. And Bhima the son of Pandu, that tiger among men, slew him speedily with the strength of his arms and made the citizens ​safe and fearless. Then they heard of Krishna (the princess of Panchala) having become disposed to elect a husband from among the assembled princes. And hearing they went to Panchala and going there they obtained the maiden. And having obtained Draupadi (for their common wife) they then dwelt there fora year. And after they were known, those persecutors of all enemies went back to Hastinapura. And they were then told by king Dhrita-rashtra and the son of Shantanu (Visma) as follows:—'In order that, O dear ones, dissensions may not take place between ye and your cousins, we have settled that Khandava-prastha should be your abode. Therefore, go ye, casting all jealousy away, to Khandava-prastha containing many towns and divided by many broad roads for dwelling there!' And according to these words, the Pandavas went, with all their friends and followers, to Khandavaprastha, taking with them many jewels and precious stones. And the sons of Pritha dwelt there for many years. And they brought, by force of arms, many princes under their subjection. And thus, setting their hearts on virtue and firmly adhering to truth, unexcited by affluence, calm in deportment, and putting down numerous evils, the Pandavas gradually rose in power. And Bhima of great reputation subjugated the East; the heroic Arjuna, the North; Nakula, the West; and Sahadeva—the slayer of all hostile heroes, the South. And having done this, their dominion was spread over the whole world. And owing to the five Pandavas, each like unto the Sun, with the Sun himself in his splendour, the Earth looked as if she had six Suns.
"Then for some reason, Yudhish-thira the just, gifted with great energy and prowess, sent his brother Arjuna (the right and left handed one) dearer unto him than life itself, into the woods. And Arjuna, that tiger among men, of firm soul, and gifted with all virtues, lived in the woods for eleven years and ten months. And during this period, on a certain occasion, Arjuna went to Krishna in Dwaravati. And Vivatsu (Arjuna) there obtained for wife the lotus-eyed younger sister of Vasudeva, of name Suvadra, of sweet speech. And she became united, in gladness, with Arjuna the son of Pandu, ​like Shachi with the great Indra, or Sri with Krishna himself. And then, O best of monarchs, the son of Kunti, Arjuna, with Vasudeva, gratified Agni—the carrier of the sacrificial butter, in the forest of Khandava (by burning the medicinal plants in that wood to cure Agni of his indigestion.) And to Arjuna, assisted as he was by Keshava, the task did not at all appear as heavy, even as nothing is heavy to Vishnu with the help of means in the matter of destroying his enemies. And Agni gave unto the son of Pritha the excellent bow Gandiva, and a quiver inexhaustible and a war-chariot marked by the sign of the monkey. And it was on this occasion that Arjuna relieved the great Asura (Maya) from fear (of being consumed in the fire.) And Maya, in gratitude, built (for the Pandavas) a celestial court decked with every sort of jewels and precious stones. And the wicked Duryodhana, beholding that building, was tempted with the desire of possessing it; and deceiving Yudhish-thira by means of the dice played through the hands of the son of Suvala (Duryodhana's maternal uncle and chief adviser,) sent the Pandavas into the woods for twelve years and one additional year to be passed in concealment thus making the period full thirteen.
"And on the fourteenth year, O monarch, when the Pandavas returned and claimed their own property, they did not obtain it. And thereupon war was declared. And the Pandavas exterminating the whole race of Kshetrias and slaying king Duryodhana obtained back their ruined kingdom.
"This is the history of the Pandavas who never acted under the influence of evil passions; and this the account, O first of victorious monarchs, of the disunion that ended in the loss of their kingdom by the Kurus and the victory of the Pandavas."
And so ends the sixty-first Section in the Adivansavatarana of the Adi Parva.