Resumo de The Escape Of The Pandavas: 14. Mahabharata

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As the Pandavas prepared to leave for Varanavata, Vidura
offered such words of advice to Yudhishthira as behoves the
royalty, but intelligible to the latter alone. He reminded
that only those could escape danger who could forestall the
machinations of an astute enemy; and also that a forest
fire cannot harm a rat that shelters itself in a burrow. He
further advised that a wise man can always find his
bearings from the stellar map in the sky. Yudhishthira,
clever as he was, read the message in no uncertain way and
conveyed the same to Kuntidevi. The prospects of a happy
holiday had disintegrated into possible fragments of
calamity.

When the Pandavas reached Varanavata, they were accorded a
warm welcome by the people living there. Purochana,
Duryodhana?s accomplice, had been made to accompany the
Pandavas in an outwardly show of solidarity, but with the
tacit intention of seeing the malicious project through.
The Pandavas were ushered into the newly built
palace ?Sivam? with adequate fanfare. Convinced of
Duryodhana?s plot after a guarded inspection of the
building, Yudhishthira instructed his brothers to act
cautiously so as not to give away the fact that they knew
the truth, as otherwise escape would be that much more
difficult.

Meanwhile, Vidura had sent a miner to Yudhishthira with a
code word that estsablished his authenticity, who worked
for days together on a secret underground exit out
of ?Sivam?, without Purochana?s knowledge.

The Pandavas maintained a normal and carefree lifestyle not
to arouse any suspicion in Purochana?s mind, while
Purochana stayed on at ?Sivam? and kept a close vigil on
the movements of the Pandavas. In course of time, when
Purochana found no reason to believe that the Pandavas were
aware of the plot, he started taking things a little easy.
The ever watchful Yudhishthira sensed that the fated moment
had come for the Pandavas to go into action.

One night, Kuntidevi arranged an affectionate get-together
for the attendants and served them with sumptuous food and
drinks with the intention of lulling them into a state of
stupor. At midnight, Bhima set the palace on fire and the
Pandavas escaped through the subterranean tunnel. Purochana
fell victim to the plot he himself had nurtured and died a
miserable death. The news reached Hastinapura like wild
fire.

At Hastinapura, the Kauravas, glad at heart, pretended
sorrow at the bereavement and dutifully carried out the
funeral rites for their Pandava cousins. Dhritarashtra went
through a combination of emotions ? one of genuine sorrow
at the perceived death of the Pandavas and the other of
latent joy at the prospect of Duryodhana ascending the
throne of Hastinapura. At the other end at Varanavata,
Bhima ? the strongest of the five brothers ? carried mother
Kuntidevi and brothers Nakula and Sahadeva and lent support
to Yudhishthira and Arjuna with his hands while navigating
their way to the Ganges, where a boat rowed by a confidante
was awaiting them. They crossed the river and took refuge
in a sprawling forest on the other side. In the morning,
they started their rigorous journey through the forest,
when they underwent untold hardships and overcame many
dangers.

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