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Arjuna Kills the Nivatakavachas – Stories from Aranyaka Parva

When his Pandava brothers and Draupadi were on a pilgrimage, Arjuna was at Indra’s sabha, mastering the art of using celestial weapons, as well as learning music and dance from a gandharva. When his training was complete, Indra gifted the celestial missiles to Arjuna and asked for guru dakshina. He wanted Arjuna to kill the Nivatakavachas, a large group of danavas who converted a portion of an ocean into their domain. None of the gods could defeat them. Indra told Arjuna to finish the job.

Arjuna-kills-nivatakavachas

The Nivatakavachas were thirty million in number, powerful, skilled in magic, and looked alike. They had to be destroyed together and in the same location. Indra ordered his charioteer Matali to drive Arjuna to the place. Matali not only drove the chariot but also helped Arjuna with his expertise. 

The chariot rode from the sky to underwater. Matali effortlessly steered the horses as Arjuna took in the sights. He saw colorful fish, tortoises, dolphins, whales, and other aquatic animals. They rode into the city of the danavas. The sound of the chariot alerted the danavas who rushed out and got ready to attack the intruder. 

Arjuna blew his conch Devadatta, and the sound echoed in the city. The danavas were ready in their armor, holding their weapons like lances, clubs, spears, swords, etc., and threw them at him. Matali drove at such high speed that Arjuna couldn’t see things clearly. Everything appeared distorted. However, he regained his clarity and began the counter-attack of the danavas. A frightening war took place between them. As Arjuna took them out with his arrows, Matali trampled some of the Nivatakavachas under the chariot. 

When Arjuna was gaining the upper hand, the danavas resorted to magic to confuse him. Large rocks began to fall on him from all sides. He continued to shatter the rocks but more fell. Then water hit him from different directions. Arjuna used celestial weapons like vishosana, salila, etc., to counter their magic. Then, suddenly, the entire region was plunged into darkness. Even Matali couldn’t see anything. He asked if Arjuna was safe and said he hadn’t seen such a horrific battle ever before and maybe this was meant to be. 

Arjuna used another celestial missile to dispel the darkness around them. Still, the Nivatakavachas continued to deploy various magic tricks to stop Arjuna. However, he and the charioteer put up a tough fight and moved ahead. Arjuna killed more danavas. Then, they disappeared. Arjuna didn’t stop. He used divine arrows which hit the invisible danavas and killed them. Not knowing what else to do, the Nivatakavachas slunk back into their city. When Arjuna thought it was over, they rose high to tower over and attack him again. 

Matali noticed Arjuna was hesitant and unsure. He encouraged the Pandava to use the vajra weapon. Arjuna invoked the vajra, which released countless vajras, one each at the remaining danavas, and killed all of them. The arrows hunted down the Nivatakavachas who tried to escape. At last, all of them fell dead. 

Arjuna and Matali drove deeper into the city and ensured none of the danavas were left alive. They saw that the rakshasa women rushed into their houses. The city was so grand and majestic that Arjuna asked why the gods couldn’t live there. It was grander than heaven!

Matali replied that this was indeed the city of gods in the earlier days. The Nivatakavachas performed various austerities to gain boons and become powerful. They invaded the city, drove out the gods, and captured it as their own. The gods went elsewhere since they couldn’t defeat the Nivatakavachas. Arjuna had done it to give guru dakshina to Indra. 

They returned to Indra’s sabha to update him about the good news. Indra was happy that his son and disciple proved himself worthy of the celestial weapons.

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Arjuna Conquers the Northern Kingdoms – Stories from Sabha Parva

Before the Rajasuya, the four younger Pandava brothers went in different directions to conquer the kingdoms and bring tribute to Indraprastha. Yudhistira stayed back and ruled the land. Arjuna went northwards, and his conquests were described in detail in Sabha Parva.

arjuna-conquers-north

Arjuna set out with a large army after obtaining permission from his older brother and the blessings of the Brahmins. Armed with his inextinguishable quivers and Gandiva bow, he got into the chariot gifted by Agni Deva and rode ahead. 

His first stop was the Kulinda (Kuninda), Anarta, and Kalakuta kingdoms. He appointed Sumandala as the chief of the rear end of his army and continued toward Shakala and King Prativindhya, one of the seven Dvipas. Arjuna fought an intense battle with the kings of Shakala and defeated them all. 

From there, he proceeded to Pragjyotisha, ruled by Bhagadatta. They fought for eight days before Bhagadatta chose to make peace. He smiled and praised Arjuna for being a dominant warrior and offered him a gift. Arjuna informed him about the Rajasuya and asked for tribute. He also invited the king to attend the celebrations. Bhagadatta agreed to pay the tribute and said he was a good friend of Arjuna’s father (Indra) and was happy to do so. 

Arjuna then went to the mountains, which were protected by Kubera. He conquered kingdoms in the inner, outer, and upper mountain regions. Next, he went to Kuluta, ruled by Brihanta. The king faced the Pandava with a fourfold army. However, he realized he couldn’t face Arjuna and agreed to a truce. He paid the tribute and accepted the invitation to attend the Rajasuya yagna. 

Next, Arjuna defeated Senabindu, Modapura, Vamadeva, Sudamana, and Susamkula before reaching north Kuluta and conquering those kingdoms. He set up his army base in Divahprastha and fought King Vishvagashva Pourava. Defeating him, Arjuna tackled the even mountain-dwelling dacoit tribes known as Utsavasamketa. Then, he conquered Kashmir and Lohita kingdoms. From there, he went to defeat the Trigartas, the Darvas, the Kokanadas, the Abhisaris, and the Rochamanas, who lived in Urasha. He conquered the city of Simhapure, protected by Chitrayudhasura. 

Arjuna continued his conquests and added the Suhmas and the Cholas (not the southern Cholas) to the list. He even defeated Bahlika and moved to subdue the Daradas and the Kambojas. He also tackled the bandits living in the forests in the northeast before fighting the Lohas, the Kambojas, and the northern Rishikas. After the battle with the Rishikas, he got eight horses in the color of a parrot’s breast. 

Conquering the Himalayas and Nishkuta Mountains, he crossed the white mountains to the land of the Kimpurushas protected by Drumaputra. Another intense battle took place here. Arjuna then went to Hataka, protected by Guhyaka, where they signed a truce. Next, he went to Lake Manasa and visited the regions where rishis lived. From there, he conquered the lands of the gandharvas and got horses in the color of partridges and with speckles. 

Arjuna traveled to the northern part of Harivarsha. However, the giant guards at the entrance informed him that he could not enter the protected lands. Anyone who entered those cities would have to die. They said they were pleased with his conquests and wished him luck. The land of the north kurus cannot have wars, and even if Arjuna entered, he wouldn’t see anything inside. They added that if he wanted anything, he could ask them, and they would give it. He respectfully replied that he wouldn’t enter if it was forbidden for humans. However, he needed a little tribute to take back as a sign of the kingdom’s support for Yudhistira’s Rajasuya. The guards gave him divine garments, ornaments, etc. 

When he reached the end, Arjuna turned back towards Indraprastha with all the wealth and tributes he collected. 

Read about Bhima, Nakula, and Sahadeva’s conquests.

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Did Draupadi Really Call Duryodhan a Blind Man’s Son When he Slipped in Their Palace?

Duryodhana falls into water
Duryodhana falling into an indoor water body

There is an often attributed incident to Draupadi, where she is said to have called Duryodhan a “blind man’s son” after he mistook an artificial pond in their palace at Indraprastha for a crystal floor and slipped into the water. This narrative has been promoted by TV serials, abridged versions, and retellings of the epic. The dialogue that’s popularly used is “Andhe ka putra bhi andha!” It means: a blind man’s son is also blind.

But is this incident really mentioned in the Mahabharata? The short answer is NO — it is not mentioned anywhere in the Unabridged Mahabharata. In the rest of the article, I will describe (with quotes) everything that happened in the Pandava’s palace at Indraprastha, the day after the Rajasuya Yagna, when Duryodhan fell into the indoor pond of water.

I’ll begin with a little background.

The Pandavas established Indraprastha as the capital city of their Kingdom after Dritarashtra gave them the Khandavprastha region, of the ancestral kingdom, as their share. The first goal of the Pandavas was to bring well-being and prosperity to the citizens of the kingdom. After succeeding in this goal, Yudhishthira expressed the desire to perform the Rajasuya Yagna and become the emperor of Bharat. Subsequently, the four Pandavas (Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadev) set out in the four directions, brought all the surrounding kingdoms under their sway, and returned to Indraprastha with large tributes.

Sometime after this, Yudhishthira invited all the kings, who had accepted him as the emperor, and relatives/well-wishers to the final Rajasuya Yagna where he would be crowned as the emperor of Bharat. After the yagna was complete, all the kings returned to their respective kingdoms. However, Duryodhana and Sakuni stayed back to inspect the Pandavas’ magnificent palace.

The day after the yagna, Duryodhan and Sakuni walked around the palace and marveled at the extraordinary designs of the kind they had never seen before in Hastinapur. As we will see in the passage below, Duryodhan bumbled a lot in the palace. He mistook the crystal floor to be an indoor pond and he mistook an indoor pond for a crystal floor. As a result, he fell into the water and got himself wet. When the Pandava brothers saw his bumbling, they laughed aloud. Even the menials laughed at Duryodhan.

The passage where the Pandavas laughed at Duryodhan

Unfortunately, Duryodhan’s misery had no bounds because he went on to be further confounded in the palace. He mistook doors for walls and walls for doors, as seen in the passage below. After several such moments, he took leave from the Pandavas and returned to Hastinapur with his uncle, Shakuni.

Duryodhan leaves for Hastinpur after a few more embarrassing incidents.

As we can see, Draupadi was not even in the picture, so there was no question of her insulting Duryodhan and King Dhritarashtra.

Another important point to note (as we will see in future posts) is that Draupadi did not insult the Kuru elders even when she was disrobed after the game of dice, so it’s really far-fetched to assume that she would have uttered unkind words to uncle, Dhritarashtra, and brother-in-law, Duryodhan, in her own palace.

Now, I’ll jump ahead to another passage. Later, when Duryodhan reached his palace, he recounted the incident to his father, Dhritarashtra. In this talk, he mentioned that Draupadi had laughed at him.

See the passage below.

The passage where Duryodhan narrates, to Dritharashtra, how he was insulted.

As we can see in the passage above, the only thing Duryodhana mentioned to his father was that Draupadi and other servants laughed at him. There was no mention of Draupadi calling him a blind man’s son.

This incident of Draupadi telling Duryodhana: “Andhe ka putra bhi andha,” is purely a figment of certain people’s imagination that has been repeated without verification.

The reason why I consider this piece of information important is because the Mahabharata is an epic about the subtle dharma. In certain instances, the subtle dharma is clearly elucidated by Vyasa Muni and, in other instances, it is left to the reader to introspect and decipher the subtle dharma. In this spiritual exercise, the actions, words, and dilemmas of the characters in the Mahabharata become pointers to the subtle dharma (that is described as being beyond human logic and morality). These are small factoids that the reader considers to understand what the subtle dharma might mean. When we twist these seemingly small details, we obscure the subtle dharma that Vyasa-Muni wanted to describe, thus reducing the Mahabharata from being the fifth Veda into being a mere story of the rivalry between cousins.

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Why Did the Assembled Monarchs try to Slay King Drupada After Draupadi’s Swayamvar?

fight after Draupadi's swayamvar

As we know, King Drupada secretly wanted his daughter, Draupadi, to marry the great archer, Arjuna. Therefore, he devised a challenge for Draupadi’s swayamvara, that could only be completed by Arjuna. The challenge was to string a very heavy bow and shoot down a mark that had been placed high up on specially erected machinery.

Powerful kings and princes had come from near and distant kingdoms to participate in the swayamvara. However, none of them were even able to string the bow, let alone shoot the mark.

Note: Karna was able to string the bow, but was restrained by Draupadi from participating in the challenge.

After everyone else had failed, Arjuna (who was disguised as a brahmana youth) got up, strung the bow in the blink of an eye, and shot down the mark with five simultaneous arrows.

King Drupada was delighted and so was Draupadi. Draupadi got up and approached Arjuna with a white robe and garland. I’ve inserted quotes from Kisari Mohan’s translation of the Mahabharata where he describes the expressions of King Drupada and Draupadi (called Krishna in the quote) after Arjuna shot down the mark.

Yudhishthira and the twins leave the swayamvara to return to the potter’s cottage.

However, the monarchs who had assembled there to participate in the swayamvara were deeply unhappy when Drupada expressed his consent to the marriage. They were kings and princes, and even though they were clearly aware of the rules of the challenge, they considered themselves superior in might and splendour to the brahmana youth who had shot down the mark. They believed themselves to be more deserving of Draupadi.

So strong was their insult and indignation that, after a brief consultation with each other, they made a collective decision to spare the brahmana youth and slay Drupada.

When Drupada saw the kings, with Karna leading them, rush towards him with arms in their hands and hostility on their faces, he was taken aback. He took a step back because he feared for his life, however, the brahmana youths (Bhima and Arjuna), comforted him and prepared to fight the assailants.

Bhima uprooted a tree with his bare hands and stood there to face the threat, while Arjuna readied himself with his bow and arrow.

As the monarchs came near, Karna rushed to fight with Arjuna, and Salya (the king of Madra), rushed to fight Bhima. Duryodhana and a few other kshatriyas had minor skirmishes with the other brahmanas in the audience.

Arjuna, who was already prepared with his bow and arrows, shot a volley of arrows at Karna. So quick and fierce was Arjuna’s attack that Karna fainted. However, he recovered quickly and fought with greater care. Both the archers enveloped each other with a shower of arrows until they became invisible to everyone. Only their words could be heard emanating from a cloud of arrows. Karna fought with all his might, but he could not defeat the brahmana. Astonished, Karna asked the brahmana to reveal his identity. However, Arjuna simply said that he was an ordinary brahmana who had been graced by his teacher in the mastery of Brahma and Paurandara weapons. Karna decided to retreat from the fight thinking that Brahma energy was invincible.

Meanwhile, not too far away, Salya and Bhima fought with their hands and legs. They punched each other with their fists and knees. Sometimes, Salya threw Bhima on the ground and dragged him, while, at other times, Bhima threw Salya on the ground and dragged him. The fight continued until Bhima lifted Salya and threw him with enormous force several metres away. Being both noble and skilled, Bhima threw his opponent with perfect dexterity so as to not hurt Salya much.

The remaining kings were alarmed when they saw Salya on the ground and Karna struck with feat (of his opponent’s Brahma energy). They realised these brahmanas were mighty warriors and decided to stop fighting. They agreed, among themselves, that kshatriyas should protect brahmanas and not fight with them.

However, everyone assembled there was curious about one thing — they wanted to know the identity of the brahmanas who had fought so valiantly.

Lord Krishna was also present there and he knew that the brahmanas were none other than Arjuna and Bhima, and he also knew the importance of keeping their identity a secret. Stepping in at the right time, he gently addressed the monarchs and convinced them that the brahmana youth had justly fulfilled the condition of the challenge by bringing down the mark and it was best for everyone to return to their kingdoms without pursuing the matter further.

The kings and princes were convinced by Krishna’s words and prepared to return to their kingdoms without asking any further questions to Drupada or the brahmanas.

Author’s Notes: I’ve read several stories about devas and asuras, and two tendencies (a similarity and a difference) have consistently stood out through these stories. Very often, both the devas and asuras, perform actions motivated by lower emotions such as greed, lust, vengeance, etc. However, a big difference between them is that when the devas are made to understand their wrong ways (usually by the trinity — Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh), they seek forgiveness and try to make amends. The asuras, on the other hand, never (or in very rare cases) accept their mistake. Not only do they never make amends, but they usually dig in their heels and increase the intensity of their adharmic actions.

This tendency is seen in humans also — as we see it in this story, where the kings through fury and jealousy in the spur of the moment, they retreated when Sri Krishna convinced them to do so.

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How Did the Crowd at Draupadi’s Swayamvara Respond When a Disguised Arjuna got up to Participate in the Contest?

After escaping from the house of lac in Varnavata, Arjuna and the other Pandavas had gone into hiding. Consequently, they lived disguised as brahmanas. The Pandavas continued their disguise even when they went to the Panchala country to attend Draupadi’s swayamvara. Within the amphitheater, they sat, dressed in deesskin, with other brahmanas.

Arjuna did not participate in the contest when the swayamvara began. He remained seated and waited for all the kings and princes to try and bring down the target. However, when none of them were able to attain success, Arjuna got up from his seat and proceeded towards the center of the amphitheater to string the bow and shoot the target.

When the brahmanas saw Arjuna proceed towards the bow, many were happy and cheered for him, some were displeased and actively discouraged him, and the others wondered if he would be able to accomplish such a difficult feat.

It’s a delight to understand these reactions with the help of quotes from the Unabridged Mahabharata.

As we can see from the quote below, most of the brahmanas were happy to see Arjuna proceed towards the bow.

However, not all were happy. They thought a brahmana was naturally unskilled and weak to accomplish a task that required strength and training in arms. They were worried that he would fail and make them the laughing stock of the assembly hall, or, even worse, they might incur the anger of the kings because one of them dared to participate in an event where all the great warriors had failed. Let’s examine the exact words.

However, many brahmanas who saw Arjuna’s strength also spoke out in his favor comparing him with the great brahmana warrior, Parashurama.

I find this incident interesting because it shows how people react when someone tries to step out of their prescribed periphery to accomplish a task that his lot has not yet accomplished. Regardless of their reasons, some will support and some will oppose, some will encourage and some will discourage. But, at the end of the day, we see how Arjuna just went ahead and did what he had to do. And, just like Arjuna, so must we.

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