Mahabharata

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).

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.