In the great capital city of Kampilya, the sacrificial ground of South Panchala felt heavy and tense.
King Drupada had completely given up his pride.
Ever since his old friend Drona had insulted him and taken half his kingdom to form North Panchala, Drupada had lived with deep pain in his heart.
For one whole year, Drupada stayed with the holy sage Upayaja.
He did simple chores every day and even massaged the sage’s feet without any complaint.
Seeing such sincere devotion, Upayaja was moved and finally told him to go to his elder brother, Yaja.
With Drupada’s complete loyalty and a huge gift of 80,000 cows, Yaja agreed to perform a sacred fire ritual to help the king take revenge.
As the fire burned high and the final mantras were spoken, something incredible happened.
The flames opened, and a young man stepped out of the fire.
He was already grown, wearing armor, carrying a great bow, and roaring like a lion.
Drupada’s wish had come true.
He rushed forward in joy.
The young warrior bowed to the king and the priest.
“Father,” he said in a powerful voice, “I am Dhrishtadyumna.
I was born from this fire to destroy your enemy and bring back the glory of Panchala.”
Drupada held him tightly, tears flowing from his eyes.
“My son!
You are the answer to my suffering.
Now Drona’s end is certain!”
Then he turned to Sage Yaja and sage Upayaja cried out happily, “See, revered sage!
My revenge has taken birth!”
But the ritual was still not finished.
Just when everyone thought the fire would calm down, it suddenly blazed up again, glowing a deep red.
From the center of those flames came a young woman.
She was astonishingly beautiful.
Her eyes were long and graceful like lotus petals, and her dark hair carried the sweet scent of jasmine.
She moved with perfect grace, and her presence seemed to fill the whole place with divine light.
Then a mighty voice sounded from the sky.
”This woman is born for a great purpose.
She will guide the Kshatriyas toward destiny.
She will help destroy evil and complete the work of the gods.”
Drupada looked at her in wonder.
The moment he saw this girl, he understood that she could make that dream come true.
Draupadi stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
“Father, I am here to serve you.”
Drupada smiled with deep happiness.
“My daughter, your beauty is unmatched, but your destiny is even greater.
You are the blessing this kingdom needed.
Through you, the greatest warrior in the world will come to us.”
Fifteen days after these miraculous births in Panchala, the Pandavas finally made their move in the middle of the night.
For more than eight months, the five brothers and Queen Kunti had been living in the fragrant palace at Varnavat.
Yudhishthira played his role carefully and always treated Purochana, the palace warden, with great respect.
During the day, the Pandavas acted calm and comfortable.
But at night, they stayed alert.
Bhima quietly watched the dark halls while the others slept near the entrance of the secret tunnel that Vidura’s miner had dug.
The miner had worked quietly for months right under Purochana’s nose.
He began digging from the inner rooms of the palace and built the exit leading all the way out to the banks of the nearby Ganges river.
He covered the entrance of the tunnel with a clever false floor to keep it completely hidden from Purochana and his guards.
By the eighth month, Purochana had fully relaxed.
He believed the Pandavas felt safe and suspected nothing.
Yudhishthira saw this and decided the time had come to act first.
Kunti arranged a large feast for the people of the town.
Purochana joined the celebration and drank so much that he fell into a deep sleep.
Once he and his guards were fully unconscious, Bhima took a torch and set the palace on fire himself.
As the flames quickly swallowed the building, the Pandavas escaped through the underground tunnel.
Behind them, the palace collapsed in fire.
To the rest of the world, it looked as if the sons of Pandu had died in a terrible accident.
Unknown to the Pandavas, they were not alone in the dark.
Far away from Varnavat, back in the kingdom of Anga, a hidden spy soldier quietly entered the rooms of Prime Minister Vidyadhar.
The soldier stepped forward and whispered the absolute secret security code.
Vidyadhar looked up, instantly alert.
The soldier began to reveal a hidden order given to him long ago. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
Before Karna had left Hastinapur to begin his tapas, he had pulled this spy soldier in Hastinapur aside.
Karna had given him a strict, secret command “If I am gone and do not return within one year, you must watch over the Pandavas.
Spy on them.
If they are heading into a deadly conspiracy and are going to die because of it, you must help them survive with your other soldiers.”
Obeying his king, the spy had joined the royal guards traveling with the Pandavas to Varnavat.
He also had 100 of his partners hiding in the shadows around the town, ready to act when needed.
While trying to find the exact plot King Karna had warned them about, the spy managed to discover the dangerous secret of the palace.
He and his men were fully ready to launch a rescue mission to save the Pandavas.
However, when the fire broke out, the spy realized the Pandavas had already discovered the plan on their own.
He watched as Bhima started the blaze himself.
Seeing them escape through the miner’s tunnel, the spy quietly followed them to mark their exact location near the Ganges river.
Now, having rushed back to Anga, the spy delivered the complete report.
Hearing all of this, Vidyadhar had a completely shocked face.
He was stunned by the incredible foresight of his king, who had predicted this tragedy more than a year in advance.
At the same time, on the rough and lonely slopes of Mount Mahendragiri, Karna had now been doing harsh penance for one year and two months.
The heavenly dancers Rambha and Menaka had tried for over a month to break his concentration, but they failed.
Karna’s mind did not move at all.
Ashamed and defeated, they returned to heaven and begged Indra for forgiveness.
Indra was furious that even this plan had failed.
So he ordered the Maruts, his fierce band of 49 storm gods, to attack the mountain.
The Maruts raced through the sky in golden chariots.
They created wild storms that tore up ancient trees and filled the air with thick dust.
Lightning struck again and again around Karna, making a circle of fire and unbearable heat.
Their thunder was so loud that it seemed meant to shake his nerves and force his mind out of meditation.
But they went too far.
Deep inside his hermitage, Lord Parashurama grew angry at the noise.
With one quick motion, he threw his famous axe into the sky.
The moment the Maruts saw the weapon, they were terrified.
Afraid of Parashurama’s anger, they fled back to heaven while cursing their bad luck, while the axe returned safely to his hand.
When Indra saw this, his fear turned into pure fury.
Who knows how Parashurama is still helping him ?, after that curse was placed by him .
He thought parasurama would not help karna ,Indra thought bitterly.
Maybe the sage is the one who gave him the idea to take my throne!