(Jatugriha Parva)
" said, 'Then the son of (), king , and Kama, in consultation with one another, formed an evil conspiracy. With the sanction of , the king of the Kurus, they resolved to burn to death and her (five) sons. But that wise , capable of reading the heart by external signs, ascertained the intention of these wicked persons by observing their countenances alone. Then the sinless , of soul enlightened by true knowledge, and devoted to the good of the Pandavas, came to the conclusion that with her children should fly away from her foes. And providing for that purpose a boat strong enough to withstand both wind and wave, he addressed and said, 'This hath has been born for destroying the fame and offspring of the (Kuru) race. Of wicked soul, he is about to cast off eternal virtue. O blessed one, I have kept ready on the stream a boat capable of withstanding both wind and wave. Escape by it with thy your children from the net that death hath has spread around you.'
" continued, 'Hearing these words, the illustrious was deeply grieved, and with her children, O bull of Bharata's race, stepped into the boat and went over the Ganges. Then leaving the boat according to the advice of , the Pandavas took with them the wealth that had been given to them (while at Varanavata) by their enemies and safely entered the deep woods. In the house of lac, however, that had been prepared for the destruction of the Pandavas, an innocent Nishada woman who had come there for some purpose, was, with her children burnt to death. And that worst of Mlechchhas, the wretched (who was the architect employed in building the house of lac) was also burnt in the conflagration. And thus were the sons of Dhirtarashtra with their counsellors deceived in their expectations. And thus also were the illustrious Pandavas, by the advice of , saved with their mother. But the people (of Varanavata) knew not of their safety. And the citizens of Varanavata, seeing the house of lac consumed (and believing the Pandavas to have been burnt to death) became exceedingly sorry. And they sent messengers unto to king to represent everything that had happened. And they said to the monarch, 'Thy your great end hath has been achieved! Thou you hast have at last burnt the Pandavas to death! Thy your desire fulfilled, enjoy with thy your children. O king of the Kurus, the kingdom.' Hearing this, with his children, made a show of grief, and along with his relatives, including () and the foremost of the Kurus, performed the last honours of the Pandavas.'
" said, 'O best of Brahmanas, I desire to hear in full this history of the burning of the house of lac and the escape of the Pandavas there from. That was a cruel act of theirs (the Kurus), acting under the counsels of the wicked (Kanika). Recite the history to me of all that happened. I am burning with curiosity to hear it.'
" said, 'O chastiser of all foes, listen to me, O monarch, as I recite the (history of the) burning of the house of lac and the escape of the Pandavas. The wicked , beholding surpass (everybody) in strength and highly accomplished in arms became pensive and sad. Then , the offspring of , and , the son of , endeavoured by various means to compass the death of the Pandavas. The Pandavas too counteracted all those contrivances one after another, and in obedience to the counsels of , never spoke of them afterwards. Then the citizens, beholding the son of possessed of accomplishments, began, O Bharata, to speak of them in all places of public resort. And assembled in courtyards and other places of gathering, they talked of the eldest son of () as possessed of the qualifications for ruling the kingdom. And they said, ', though possessed of the eye of knowledge, having been (born) blind, had not obtained the kingdom before. How can he (therefore) become king now? Then , the , of rigid vows and devoted to truth, having formerly relinquished the sovereignty would never accept it now. We shall, therefore, now install (on the throne) with proper ceremonies the eldest of the Pandavas endued with youth, accomplished in battle, versed in the Vedas, and truthful and kind. Worshipping , the and conversant with the rules of morality, he will certainly maintain the former and the latter with his children in every kind of enjoyment.
"The wretched , hearing these words of the parting partisans of , became very much distressed. Deeply afflicted, the wicked prince could not put up with those speeches. Inflamed with jealousy, he went unto to , and finding him alone he saluted him with reverence and distressed at (the sight of) the partiality of the citizens for , he addressed the monarch and said, 'O father, I have heard the parting citizens utter words of ill omen. Passing thee you by, and too, they desire the son of to be their king. will sanction this, for he will not rule the kingdom. It seems, therefore, that the citizens are endeavouring to inflict a great injury on us. obtained of old the ancestral kingdom by virtue of his own accomplishments, but thou you, from blindness, didst did not obtain the kingdom, though fully qualified to have it. If 's son now obtaineth obtains the kingdom as his inheritance from , his son will obtain it after him and that son's son also, and so on will it descend in 's line. In that case, O king of the world, ourselves with our children, excluded from the royal line, shall certainly be disregarded by all men. Therefore, O monarch, adopt such counsels that we may not suffer perpetual distress, becoming dependent on others for our food. O king, if thou you hadst had obtained the sovereignty before, we would certainly have succeeded to it, however much the people might be unfavourable to us.'"
(Jatugriha Parva continued)
" continued, "King whose knowledge only was his eyes, on hearing these words of his son and recollecting everything that Kanika had, said unto to him, became afflicted with sorrow, and his mind also thereupon then began to waver. Then and , and , the son of , and as their fourth, held a consultation together. Prince said unto to , 'Send, O father, by some clever contrivance, the Pandavas to the town of Varanavata. We shall then have no fear of them.' , on hearing these words uttered by his son, reflected for a moment and replied unto to , saying, ', ever devoted to virtue, always behaved dutifully towards all his relatives but particularly towards me. He cared very little for the enjoyments of the world, but devotedly gave everything unto to me, even the kingdom. His son is as much devoted to virtue as he, and is possessed of every accomplishment. Of world-wide fame, he is again the favourite of the people. He is possessed of allies; how can we by force exile him from his ancestral kingdom? The counsellors and soldiers (of the state) and their sons and grandsons have all been cherished and maintained by . Thus benefited of old by , shall not, O child, the citizens slay us with all our friends and relatives now on account of ?"
" replied, 'What thou you sayest say, O father, is perfectly true. But in view of the evil that is looming on the future as regards thyself, if we conciliate the people with wealth and honours, they would assuredly side with us for these proofs of our power. The treasury and the ministers of state, O king, are at this moment under our control. Therefore, it behoveth behooves thee you now to banish, by some gentle means, the Pandavas to the town of Varanavata; O king, when the sovereignty shall have been vested in me, then, O Bharata, may with her children come back from that place.'
" replied, 'This, O , is the very thought existing in my mind. But from its sinfulness I have never given expression to it. Neither , nor , nor , nor () will ever sanction the exile of the Pandavas. In their eyes, O dear son, amongst the Kurus ourselves and the Pandavas are equal. Those wise and virtuous persons will make no difference between us. If therefore, we behave so towards the Pandavas, shall we not, O son, deserve death at the hands of the Kurus, of these illustrious personages, and of the whole world?'
" answered, ' hath has no excess of affection for either side, and will, therefore, be neutral (in case of dispute). The son of () is on my side. There is no doubt that where the son is, there the father will be. , the son of Saradwat, must be on the side on which and are. He will never abandon and his sister's son (). () is dependent on us for his means of life, though he is secretly with the foe. It he sides the Pandavas, he alone can do us no injury, Therefore, exile thou you the Pandavas to Varanavata without any fear. And take such steps that they may go thither there this very day. By this act, O father, extinguish the grief that consumeth consumes me like a blazing fire, that robbeth robs me of sleep, and that pierces my heart even like a terrible dart.'"
(Jatugriha Parva continued)
" said, Then prince , along with his brothers began to gradually win over the people to his side by grants of wealth and honours. Meanwhile, some clever councillors, instructed by , one day began to describe (in court) the town of Varanavata as a charming place. And they said, The festival of Pasupati () hath has commenced in the town of Varanavata. The concourse of people is great and the procession is the most delightful of all ever witnessed on earth. Decked with every ornament, it charmed the hearts of all spectators.' Thus did those councillors, instructed by , speak of Varanavata, and whilst while they were so speaking, the Pandavas, O king, felt the desire of going to that delightful town. And when the king () ascertained that the curiosity of the Pandavas had been awakened, the son of addressed them, saying, 'These men of mine often speak of Varanavata as the most delightful town in the world. If therefore, ye you children, ye you desire to witness that festival, go to Varanavata with your followers and friends and enjoy yourselves there like the celestials. And give ye you away pearls and gems unto to the Brahmanas and the musicians (that may be assembled there). And sporting there for some time as ye you please like the resplendent celestials and enjoying as much pleasure as ye you like, return ye you to Hastinapura again.'
" continued, ', fully understanding the motives of and considering that he himself was weak and friendless, replied unto to the king, saying, 'So be it.' Then addressing , the , the wise , , , the Kaurava, , , , , and the other councillors, and Brahmanas and ascetics, and the priests and the citizens, and the illustrious , he said slowly and humbly, 'With our friends and followers we go to the delightful and populous town of Varanavata at the command of . Cheerfully give us your benedictions so that acquiring prosperity, therewith we may not be touched by sin.' Thus addressed by the eldest of 's sons, the Kaurava chiefs all cheerfully pronounced blessings on them, saying, 'Ye you sons of , let all the elements bless you along your way and let not the slightest evil befall you.'
"The Pandavas, having performed propitiatory rites for obtaining (their share of) the kingdom, and finishing their preparations, set out for Varanavata.'"