The Legend of Indraprastha
After their marriage with princess Draupadi, Pandavas stayed at the palace of Drupada for some days. Knowing that Pandavas are alive, the wise court-men of Hastinapura, Bhishma, Drona and others, sent for Pandavas inviting them back to Hastinapura. But Drupada was not ready to send Pandavas for he thought it to be another murderous plan of Kauravas. At the end, he accepted to send them back to Hastinapura amid many conditions.
Finally, Pandavas are back home. People of Hastinapura celebrated the arrival of Pandavas and a blanket of festive clouds covered the capital city. Everyone was happy except the blind king, Drutharashtra. He was immersed in deep thoughts. His ministers advised him to make peace with Pandavas and give them their rightful share of kingdom. But those wise words didn’t penetrate into his ears as his thoughts were clouded by the fog of selfishness and greed.
The five brothers came before Drutharashtra. He welcomed them and congratulated them for their escape from the fire accident and on marriage with the princess of Drupada. Then he gave them a small tract of land called Khandavaprastha. Khandava means forest in Sanskrit. Khandavaprastha is a small piece of abandoned barren land. People were scared to live there and considered it to be the dwelling place for demons. Yudhistira knew this. But he didn’t protest for the injustice done to them. He wanted no battle between the family members. He was someone who enjoys tranquility and who doesn’t long for material comforts. He accepted the land given by Drutharashtra and started shifting to his new kingdom. The blind king was silently happy with his plan and felt relieved that Yudhistira didn’t complain about the injustice.
When Pandavas reached the Khandavaprastha, they were shocked at the sight of the land. The city looked lifeless with barren lands and hungry animals. They immediately set about planning and organizing the construction of their new capital. Renowed engineers and architects from all over the country were invited to take part in the mission of transforming Khandavaprastha into a beautiful place. What was once a lonely and lifeless city, now became the scene of busy human activity. Soon, a beautiful city was constructed and people started to shift there. The Khandavaprastha which was once a land known for demons was now turned into Indraprastha which translates into the home of Indra, the king of Gods. Kind weather favored the residents of Indraprastha and they were able to produce good harvest. Yudhistira proved himself to be a wise and capable ruler in a very short time.
One day, Krishna advised Yudhistira to perform Raja Suya yaga, the Imperial Sacrifice, in order to gain the support from other kingdoms. Yudhistira was initially reluctant to do so. He has no interest towards material comforts and was contented with the peaceful life he was living. But Bhima and Arjuna, whose blood was filled with a passion for action persuaded Yudhistira to perform the Imperial Sacrifice. But..
Krishna warned Yudhistira about Jarasandha, the king of Magadha. Jarasandha was the strongest of rulers, so strong that Krishna left Mathura and went to Dwaraka, fed up with the violence done by Jarasandha. Will Pandavas be able to defeat Jarasandha and perform Rajasuya Yaga ? We will see the forthcoming incidents in the following articles.
