Chapter 26: The Pāṇḍavas secretly escape after burning the lac house and are believed dead. Dhṛtarāṣṭra publicly mourns while Vidura conceals the truth.
Vaiśampāyana said:
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O king, at one point a certain friend of Vidura’s, a skilled miner, spoke these words to the Pandavas in private: (BORI: 1-135-1)
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Vidura has sent me. I am a highly skilled miner, charged with serving the Pāṇḍavas’ interests. What can I do for you? (BORI: 1-135-2)
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Vidura secretly instructed me, “Because I trust you, bring the Pandavas here to safety.” So what shall I do for you? (BORI: 1-135-3)
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On the night of the fourteenth day of the waning moon, Purocana will set fire to the door of your house. (BORI: 1-135-4)
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“The Pāṇḍavas, those bulls among men, are to be burned to death with their mother.” This, Pārtha, is the plan of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son, as I have heard. (BORI: 1-135-5)
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Vidura said something to you in the language of the Mlecchas, O Pandava, and you replied, “So be it.” This is the basis for your trusting me. (BORI: 1-135-6)
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Yudhishthira, Kunti’s son, steadfast in truth, said to him, “Good sir, I recognize you as a true friend of Vidura.” (BORI: 1-135-7)
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—pure, trustworthy, dear, and always steadfastly devoted. No token of identification from the wise man is needed. (BORI: 1-135-8)
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As he is to us, so are you; we regard you no differently. We are yours just as we are his. Protect us as that wise man would. (BORI: 1-135-9)
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I believe that this inflammable shelter was built for my sake by Purocana at the command of Dhritarashtra’s son. (BORI: 1-135-10)
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He is wicked, wealthy, supported by allies, and malevolent; that evil-hearted man is forever persecuting us as well. (BORI: 1-135-11)
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Therefore, you must make every effort to rescue us from this fire, for if we are burned to death here, Suyodhana will have his wish. (BORI: 1-135-12)
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This great, well-stocked arsenal of that wicked man was built against the edge of the rampart, with no means of escape. (BORI: 1-135-13)
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This surely is the evil deed he intended to commit. Vidura knew of it beforehand and therefore warned us. (BORI: 1-135-14)
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This is the very danger that Kshatta foresaw long ago. Rescue us without Purocana’s knowledge. (BORI: 1-135-15)
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The miner agreed, saying, “So be it,” and diligently set to work. On the pretext of digging a moat, he made a very large tunnel. (BORI: 1-135-16)
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In the middle of that house he made an inconspicuous opening, not very large, fitted with a door and level with the ground, O Bharata. (BORI: 1-135-17)
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For fear of Purocana, he kept the opening concealed. That evil-minded man always stayed there at the doorway of the house. (BORI: 1-135-18)
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There, O king, they all spent the nights armed, while by day the sons of Pandu roamed from forest to forest, hunting. (BORI: 1-135-19)
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Feigning trust while remaining wary, they deceived Purocana. Though discontented, they appeared content, O king, and lived there in profound misery. (BORI: 1-135-20)
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Nor did the inhabitants of the city see through them, except for Vidura’s minister, that master miner. (BORI: 1-135-21)
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Vaiśampāyana said:
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Seeing that they were cheerful after living there for a full year, and judging them to be unsuspecting, Purochana rejoiced. (BORI: 1-136-1)
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When Purocana was thus delighted, Kunti’s son Yudhishthira, who knew dharma, addressed Bhimasena, Arjuna, and the twins: (BORI: 1-136-2)
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The wicked Purocana believes us completely unsuspecting. This cruel-hearted man has been deceived; I think it is time for us to escape. (BORI: 1-136-3)
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Let us set fire to the arsenal and burn Purocana, leave six people here, and escape unnoticed. (BORI: 1-136-4)
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Then, under the pretext of giving alms, Kunti held a great feast for Brahmins at night, O king, and women came there. (BORI: 1-136-5)
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After enjoying themselves as they pleased, and eating and drinking, O Bharata, the women took their leave of Kunti and returned home that very night. (BORI: 1-136-6)
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But by chance, a Nishada woman with five sons came with her children to that feast in search of food, driven there by fate. (BORI: 1-136-7)
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After drinking liquor, she became intoxicated and, overcome by drunkenness, fell asleep there in that very dwelling with all her sons, O king, unconscious and as if dead. (BORI: 1-136-8)
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Then, O lord, on a night when a fierce wind was blowing and the people were asleep, Bhima set fire to the place where Purocana lay. (BORI: 1-136-9)
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Then the fire gave off tremendous heat and a great roar; at that, the crowd of people awoke. (BORI: 1-136-10)
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The townspeople said:
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The house that the wicked fool acting at Duryodhana’s behest had built and set on fire to destroy them… (BORI: 1-136-11)
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Alas, shame on Dhritarashtra! His judgment is far from sound, for through his minister he had the innocent young Pandavas burned. (BORI: 1-136-12)
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But fortunately, this wicked and utterly foolish man has now been burned—the man who burned those innocent, unsuspecting noblest of men. (BORI: 1-136-13)
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Vaiśampāyana said:
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Thus the people of Varanavata lamented, and that night they stood all around the house, surrounding it on every side. (BORI: 1-136-14)
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Meanwhile, O king, the deeply distressed Pandavas escaped with their mother through the tunnel and departed secretly, unobserved. (BORI: 1-136-15)
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Because they had been deprived of sleep and were frightened, the Pāṇḍavas, those scorches of foes, could not travel swiftly with their mother. (BORI: 1-136-16)
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But Bhimasena, O king, whose speed and prowess were formidable, set out carrying all his brothers and his mother as well. (BORI: 1-136-17)
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The valiant one placed his mother on his shoulder and the twins against his side, and grasped in his hands his two immensely powerful brothers, the sons of Pritha... (BORI: 1-136-18)
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Breaking trees by sheer force and tearing up the earth with his feet, the radiant Vṛkodara sped swiftly on, as fleet as the wind. (BORI: 1-136-19)
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But he reflected with inward delight, “I believe the time has now come for the destruction of the Pandavas.” (KUMB: 1-160-2)
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Having discerned his hidden intention, the wise Yudhishthira, Dharma’s son and foremost of the Kurus, reflected. (KUMB: 1-160-3)
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the evil-hearted Nishada woman placed there by Purochana, who constantly attended Pritha and moved about inside... (KUMB: 1-160-9)
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bound by affection born of long familiarity, a friend of Kunti and her sons... (KUMB: 1-160-10)
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having brought honey, roots, and various fruits… (KUMB: 1-160-11)
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That very sinful woman, who had five sons, was regarded as a friend of Pritha. (KUMB: 1-160-11)
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Then the Pandava set fire to the doorway of the lac house. (KUMB: 1-160-14; NILA: 01.148.010)
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Afterward, he set fire to that dwelling on all sides. (KUMB: 1-160-15; NILA: 01.148.011)
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Having first searched the house, the wise Bhimasena… (KUMB: 1-160-15)
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He had Kunti enter that tunnel with the Pandavas. Then, having suddenly set fire to the house on all sides, the wise Bhima… (KUMB: 1-160-16)
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Taking the valuables from the house, he escaped through the tunnel. (KUMB: 1-160-17)
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But the sons of Pandu, realizing that the entire house was ablaze… (KUMB: 1-160-17; NILA: 01.148.011)
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the sons of Pandu, subduers of their foes, swiftly entered the tunnel with their mother. (KUMB: 1-160-18; NILA: 01.148.012)
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Seeing the house ablaze, the gaunt-faced townspeople said: (KUMB: 1-160-19; NILA: 01.148.013)
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Vaiśampāyana said:
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Then, when the night had passed, all the townspeople hurried there, eager to see the sons of Pandu. (BORI: 1-137-1)
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As they extinguished the flames, the people saw that the house of lac had burned down, along with the minister Purocana. (BORI: 1-137-2)
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“Surely this was contrived by the wicked Duryodhana to destroy the Pandavas!” the people cried out. (BORI: 1-137-3)
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With Dhritarashtra’s knowledge, his son undoubtedly burned Pandu’s heirs, for Dhritarashtra did not restrain him. (BORI: 1-137-4)
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Surely Bhishma, son of Shantanu, does not follow dharma; nor do Drona, Vidura, Kripa, and the other Kauravas. (BORI: 1-137-5)
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We shall send word to that evil-minded Dhritarashtra: “Your greatest wish has been fulfilled—you have burned the Pandavas.” (BORI: 1-137-6)
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Then, as they cleared away the fire’s debris in search of the Pandavas, they saw an innocent Nishada woman burned to death with her five sons. (BORI: 1-137-7)
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The tunnel had been covered over with earth by that same miner as he cleared the house, and it went unnoticed by those men. (BORI: 1-137-8)
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Then the townspeople sent word to Dhritarashtra that the Pandavas and his minister Purocana had been burned to death in the fire. (BORI: 1-137-9)
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When King Dhritarashtra heard the deeply distressing news of the sons of Pandu’s destruction, he lamented in profound grief. (BORI: 1-137-10)
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Today King Pandu, my irreplaceable brother, has died anew, now that those heroes have been burned, especially together with their mother. (BORI: 1-137-11)
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Let men go swiftly to the city of Varanavata and pay due honor to those heroes and to that daughter of the king of Kunti. (BORI: 1-137-12)
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Let them have large, gleaming funerary monuments built, and let them also honor the friends of those who died there. (BORI: 1-137-13)
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Now that matters have come to this, let everything beneficial that I can have done for the Pandavas and Kunti be carried out with my wealth. (BORI: 1-137-14)
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Having said this, Dhritarashtra, Ambika’s son, surrounded by his kinsmen, then offered water for the sons of Pandu. (BORI: 1-137-15)
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All the Kauravas wailed, utterly overcome with grief. Vidura, however, grieved only a little, for he knew the truth. (BORI: 1-137-16)
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The Pandavas too left the city of Varanavata and, heading south, traveled swiftly, O king. (BORI: 1-137-17)
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