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Chapter 3. The Forest
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Mahabharata, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Dharma
Pursuing Enlightenment
Heroism and Warfare
Grief, Loss, and Mourning
Stories and Storytelling
Summary
Analysis
VIRATA. Janamejaya asks Vaiśampayana how his ancestors managed to live unrecognized in the city of Virata for so long. Vaiśampayana answers. After receiving their boons from Dharma, the Pandavas debate where to spend their 13th year of exile. Yudhishthira proposes the city where King Virata rules. There, he plans to disguise himself as a Brahmin who’s skilled at gambling and become a courtier of the king. Bhima plans to be a cook (because he’s good at kitchen work), Arjuna plans to be a eunuch (because he can tell stories and dance like a woman), Nakula plans to be a horse master (because he’s skilled at training them), and Sahadeva plans to be a cattle overseer (because he enjoys herding).
Each of the Pandavas picks a new identity that exemplifies some aspect of their personality. The Pandava disguises aren’t perfect—in fact, a running theme of this book is that the Pandavas nearly get caught because they are so glorious that it’s hard for them to pose as mere mortals (although they do have help from the boon they received at the end of the previous book). While the various books of the Mahabharata all connect in order to tell one continuous story, each also has its own focus, and the opening section of this book helps set up a new premise of the Pandavas in their 13th year of exile.
Themes
Draupadi says she’ll joining them, pretending to be a maidservant skilled in hairdressing who attends to the queen: Sudeshna. The Pandavas all head out toward Virata’s city. As it gets late, Draupadi wants to rest, but Arjuna carries her the rest of the way. Before entering the city, they stow away their weapons in a tree, so as not to appear suspicious. They enter the city.
This passage where the Pandavas put aside their weapons symbolizes how they will have to spend the upcoming year relying on deception and their wits rather than their strength. And so, like their pilgrimage in the woods, this year in the city also helps prepare the brothers for the challenges they have ahead.
Themes
Yudhishthira approaches Virata first. Virata can’t believe at first that the man he sees is a Brahmin, believing that the figure before him seems too splendid. Yudhishthira introduces himself as a friend of Yudhishthira and tells his story about being a gifted Brahmin gambler. Virata is pleased to welcome him into his court.
Yudhishthira’s choice to disguise himself as a skilled gambler is perhaps humorous, given that his poor gambling decisions are part of why the brothers ended up in exile in the first place. Virata establishes himself as a virtuous person early by recognizing the value of the Pandavas without even knowing their identity.
Themes
Similarly, no one believes that the beautiful Draupadi is really a maid—they wonder if perhaps she’s even a goddess—but Sudeshna sees no one around to protect the lovely Draupadi, and so she welcomes her into the royal household. Sudeshna warns Draupadi that men will be after her for her beauty, but Draupadi says she already has five husbands who are all Ghandharvas (a type of celestial musician).
As this passage shows, the people in Virata’s city protect the Pandavas not because they fit their disguises convincingly but because people seem to naturally have sympathy for them. Sudeshna’s concern for Draupadi around men in the city foreshadows potential conflict, since she will be separated from her five husbands, who don’t have their weapons on them.
Themes
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The other Pandavas each introduce themselves to Virata and give their new fake identities. Each time, Virata suspects that the stranger he sees is of higher status than he lets on. But he nevertheless gladly accepts all of the Pandavas into his court.
Virata proves that he is a good leader due to the hospitality he provides to his guests, mirroring what Yudhishthira himself did in his hall in the second book. This passage shows why it’s important to offer hospitality to all guests—because you never know who the guests might really be.
Themes
For a long time, the Pandavas simply go about daily life and try to both win favor with Virata and stay incognito. Yudhishthira shares his gambling winnings with his brothers to help them all survive, and each other brother makes his own contribution to the group based on his new role.
The Pandava brothers cooperate and share their resources, which is similar to the generosity that Yudhishthira showed when he was on the throne. This passage shows that, while generosity is important for kings, it’s also important for people of all social classes.
Themes
After four months, there’s a great festival for Brahma in the city, with one of the main events being a wrestling competition. Bhima shocks the crowd by taking on a champion wrestler and spinning him in the air 100 times until he passes out. Virata watches everything and is pleased.
In the wrestling tournament, Bhima’s 100 spins recall an earlier story in which he used the same technique to kill a rival king. Despite trying to remain incognito, the Pandavas can’t help showing hints of their true identity, perhaps in part due to their commitment to dharma.
Themes
THE KILLING OF KICAKA. Now, 10 months have passed, and Draupadi suffers the most because she isn’t suited to be a servant. A general of Virata’s named Kicaka lusts after Draupadi and asks Sudeshna about her. Kicaka then sends Sudeshna away and approaches Draupadi herself, saying that her beauty is wasted in her current role as a maid. Draupadi, however, says it isn’t dharma for him to love a lowly woman like her, plus she already has her Ghandarva husbands.
Kicaka represents the fulfillment of Sudeshna’s early fears for Draupadi’s safety. While the poem positively portrays women who submit to the wishes of men, Kicaka’s lust is clearly unreasonable, particularly since, if Draupadi gave in to him, she would be cheating on her five husbands. She tries to reject Kicaka’s unreasonable requests gracefully, appealing to dharma.
Themes
Kicaka can’t let go of his lust for Draupadi, so he speaks to Sudeshna again, begging her to arrange things so he can “lie with” Draupadi. Sudeshna takes pity on him and arranges an opportunity for him to see Draupadi by sending her to his house to pick up some liquor. Draupadi initially refuses Sudeshna’s request to get the liquor, fearing what Kicaka might do to her, but Sudeshna reassures her that Kicaka won’t hurt her if Sudeshna has sent her.
Although Sudeshna wants to look out for Draupadi, her trust in Kicaka to respect her authority as queen suggests a level of naivety. The reference to liquor recalls the earlier story about intoxication, where lust, alcohol, and gambling were all revealed to have a common origin.
Themes
Kicaka welcomes Draupadi when he sees her approach his dwelling. He says he has a bed ready and grabs her, but she fights back and tries to flee. He then grabs her by the hair, throws her down, and kicks her. Bhima and Yudhishthira also witness the kicking, but they fear that if they attack Kicaka, they’ll reveal their true identities.
This passage portrays a serious test not just for Draupadi but also for Bhima and Yudhishthira, who are conflicted about what is the higher dharma—to keep incognito and remain true to their promise or to help defend their wife from an attacker.
Themes
Draupadi gives a speech to Virata, repeating many times how “the son of a Suta has kicked me” (Kicaka). She tells Virata it isn’t dharma of him to condone Kicaka’s behavior, but Virata doesn’t want to get involved because he doesn’t know the whole story of her dispute with Kicaka. Disappointed, Draupadi goes back to Sudeshna and tells her what happened. Sudeshna is more sympathetic, saying she’ll kill Kicaka if need be, but Draupadi says she believes someone else will kill Kicaka, perhaps another person he has wronged.
Draupadi’s speech hints at the low status that Sutas still hold in some parts of society (even though the narrator of this whole story, Ugraśravas, is a Suta himself.) The usually prudent Virata makes a rare error in doubting Draupadi, perhaps blinded by the fact that she is still in disguise as someone of a lower status. In this passage, Draupadi tries to set things up for one of her husbands to potentially kill Kicaka by spreading rumors that she has heard that people want to kill him.
Themes
That night, Draupadi wakes Bhima and tells him to kill Kicaka. She is frustrated with how Yudhishthira has not done enough to protect her from men who want to molest her. Bhima promises to do as she wishes.
Draupadi goes to Bhima for this task because she is fed up with the cautious attitudes of the other brothers and knows that Bhima prefers to take action. Once again, the personalities of Bhima and Yudhishthira balance each other out, with each being more suited to certain situations.
Themes
Later, Kicaka approaches Draupadi and begs her for another chance. She says she accepts, but on one condition: that no one else know about it. She makes plans to meet him alone at night at a dancehall, and then she tells Bhima about her plan. That night, Bhima surprises Kicaka in the dancehall, and the two get into a fight. Bhima manages to grab Kicaka like a hungry tiger, then squeezes him to death. Near the entrance to the dancehall, Draupadi starts talking about how her five Ghandarva husbands have slain Kicaka. His body is so mangled that the guards believe her.
Kicaka’s lust prevents him from seeing the trap that Draupadi is laying for him. Bhima squeezes Kicaka to death both to show how personally angry he is at Kicaka as well as to deny him an honorable soldier’s death by a weapon. Draupadi’s lie about having five Ghandarva husbands is so close to the truth that it throws off the guards’ suspicion, perhaps illustrating how false stories get some of their power from having elements of truth to them.
Themes
Virata hears news of Kicaka’s death. Some of Kicaka’s surviving relatives blame Draupadi and want her to be burned on his funeral pyre. They seize Draupadi to take her away, and she cries out for help. Bhima runs to her aid so quickly that trees fall around him. Kicaka’s relatives mistake Bhima for an avenging Ghandarva and flee, but Bhima still kills 105 of them. People of the city marvel at the corpses, saying it’s like a thunderbolt has split a mountaintop.
Bhima continues to demonstrate that he is uncompromising when it comes to protecting the things that he cares about. While the poem clearly presents Bhima’s murder of Kicaka as justified or at least understandable, this additional murder of Kicaka’s fleeing relatives raises the question of whether Bhima has perhaps let his temper get the better of him.
Themes
Virata orders a mass funeral pyre, then tells Sudeshna to dismiss Draupadi, out of fear that he himself might one day have to face her supposed Ghandarva husbands. Draupadi agrees to go but asks to be able to stay for just 13 more days.
Virata himself played a role in allowing the attempted rape of Draupadi (since he didn’t trust her accusations against Kicaka enough to intervene), and this is perhaps why he himself fears getting caught up in the whole affair.
Themes
THE CATTLE RAID. News of Kicaka’s death reaches Duryodhana. Another king believes that the death of the general Kicaka makes Virata vulnerable, and Duryodhana encourages this other king to start a war, which he does by raiding some of Virata’s cattle. With the aid of the Pandavas, however, Virata wins the fight and captures the rival king. But while Virata is away trying to recover his livestock, Duryodhana attacks Virata’s home city, where his son Uttara is now in charge (Uttara doesn’t have a full army while Virata is away).
Duryodhana doesn’t seem to know yet that the Pandavas are with Virata, and yet Duryodhana is so much of a bully that he attacks Virata anyway just because he sees weakness. Cattle are an important animal in Hinduism, and Duryodhana’s raids on Virata’s cattle display a total lack of respect for Virata’s kingdom. Virata’s ability to defend his cows (with help from the Pandavas) becomes a metaphor for his ability to protect his kingdom at large.
Themes
Uttara plans to try to stop the attack by Duryodhana and the other Kurus, but he needs a skilled charioteer. Still disguised as a eunuch, Arjuna agrees to drive his chariot to help Uttara take back the cattle, although Arjuna acts foolishly and pretends he doesn’t know how to wear armor in order to keep up his disguise.
This passage humorously shows the great warrior Arjuna pretending he doesn’t know how to wear armor in order to keep up a disguise. It’s unclear how convincing his performance is, but what’s more important is that Arjuna has managed to earn the sympathy of people like Uttara, even without being able to use his illustrious name to his advantage.
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Uttara gets nervous as he rides in Arjuna’s chariot, and they come to a Kuru army that includes Karna, Duryodhana, Kripa, Bhishma, and Drona. Uttara jumps off the chariot and tries to run away, but since Arjuna believes it would be more dharma to die in battle than to flee, he chases Uttara down. As bystanders watch Arjuna run, they ponder who he really is, and they come close to discovering his true identity. Arjuna catches Uttara and forces him back into the chariot to fight the Kuru.
Arjuna faces a difficult question with his dharma—whether it’s more important for him to remain incognito or whether it’s more important to defend the innocent. True to his warrior nature, Arjuna chooses to fight, risking death and discovery, although perhaps he still shows more restraint than his brother Bhima might in the same situation.
Themes
The Kauravas are afraid as they watch Arjuna (disguised as a eunuch) force Uttara back into the chariot. Arjuna takes Uttara to the tree where he and the other Pandavas stashed their weapons. As Arjuna rides into battle, the sound of his conch and the appearance of his bow hint at his identity. Drona hears the conch and fears bad news. Duryodhana and the other Kauravas, who finally recognize Arjuna, argue about whether the Pandavas have completed their exile or whether this discovery means they have to do another 12 years.
When Arjuna goes back to reclaim his weapons from the tree, he also reclaims his former identity, suggesting how much of his identity is tied to his status as a warrior. His warrior identity is so strong that his own relatives, the Kauravas, recognize him at first not by his appearance, but by his bow and by the conch that he blows to signal the start of a battle.
Themes
Uttara and Arjuna ride into the Kaurava army and begin attacking. Meanwhile, gods like Indra come to watch the spectacle. Arjuna attacks Drona, who is unable to defeat Arjuna, although Drona’s son Aśvatthaman is able to break Arjuna’s bow, pleasing the gods. But eventually Arjuna restrings, and Aśvatthaman runs out of arrows.
This early battle provides just a sampling of the spectacles that will appear later in the poem. Descriptions of battles often catalog the actions of each combatant in great detail, describing, for example, each volley of arrows between two combatants. This high level of detail shows the significance of the battle while also conveying the scale and the ferocity of the fighting.
Themes
Arjuna continues to fight the Kauravas, who eventually all attack him together. During one of the most intense moments, Arjuna faces off against Bhishma and manages to hit him with so many arrows that he passes out. Eventually, Arjuna blows his conch and knocks out all of his opponents. He then has Uttara take their clothes. He breaks Duryodhana’s crown and collects Virata’s herds of cattle to take back.
Many of the actions that warriors take on the battlefield also have symbolic significance that goes well beyond strategic value. Here, for example, Arjuna sends a very clear message when he breaks the crown on Duryodhana’s head, showing how he intends to strip him of his leadership power.
Themes
THE WEDDING. Meanwhile, Virata has won his own battle. When he gets back, he is dismayed to hear that Uttara set off alone into battle in his chariot with a eunuch, not realizing that this eunuch is in fact the great warrior Arjuna. But his ministers soon reassure him that Uttara is safe. Virata gets angry, however, when Yudhishthira seems to give too much credit for the victory to the charioteer (Arjuna) instead of to Uttara.
Arjuna manages to essentially fight off a whole army by himself, showing the heightened tone of the battles in this poem and how great heroes like Arjuna exist on a plane far above regular soldiers. Virata’s anger about his son’s contributions to the battle being ignored stems from the fact that he still doesn’t know Arjuna’s identity. While Virata proved his virtue by offering his generosity to the Pandavas even when he didn’t know who they were, he falters here by failing to recognize Arjuna’s achievements in battle due to his seemingly low status.
Themes
When Uttara himself enters, however, he assures Virata that Yudhishthira is telling the truth and that he owes his victory to his eunuch charioteer (Arjuna). Virata asks to see this hero, but Uttara says he seems to have disappeared for the moment.
Uttara shows humility by not trying to take credit for Arjuna’s accomplishments. While it can be dharma to recognize class distinctions, here Uttara does the right thing by ignoring Arjuna’s seeming status as a eunuch and instead judging him based on his deeds.
Themes
Finally, Arjuna comes back. He and the other Pandavas finally reveal to Virata their true identities, and so does Draupadi. Virata is so overjoyed by this revelation that he makes a treaty and offers his entire kingdom to the Pandavas. Additionally, Virata has a daughter that he’d like to offer to Arjuna as a wife. Arjuna believes it would be more proper for her to marry Arjuna’s son, Abhimanyu. Yudhishthira also approves of this marriage. Princes and distinguished guests, including Krishna, come from all over for the wedding.
This book ends with the Pandavas being restored to their old identities, completing this arc of their character development. This passage emphasizes how, in spite of the many difficulties, the Pandavas turned their exile into a moment of triumph, experiencing new situations but always proving their worth, even during this ultimate test when they had to give up their illustrious names and let their virtue speak for itself. Virata’s approval of the brothers and the wedding of his daughter to Abhimanyu cement this as a joyous occasion.
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