My trials, tribulations, triumphs and more... - Arjuna.

Chapter 27: Events after escape from Varanavat

After our narrow escape with life from the deadly house built of lac in Varanavat, we proceeded towards the dense forests in the southern direction to avoid detection from the spies of Duryodhan. All of us were totally exhausted, thirsty for water and feeling sleepy. After travelling for several hours, finally we set foot into the deep forests and were now confident that we will be safe from the spies of Duryodhan. For much part of our push towards the deep forests, Bhim bhai the gentle giant had carried all of us on his mighty body, and even after our persistent insistence was adamant to let us walk on our own. But, after a while, Yudhi bhai and I requested him to allow us walk on our own as we knew even for such a mighty and strong person as Bhim bhai, it would not be easy to carry all our family members continuously on his body and walk for such long distances. Finally, the gruelling events of the day took their toll on us, and we no longer had any more energy to go on further, and decided to take some rest and halt there for the night. Even though all of us were very hungry and thirsty, but seemed like some sound sleep was the first priority for everyone of us.

Even though, we were now in the middle of the thick forest, the forest environment did not scare us or was unfamiliar, as we spent much of our early childhood with our father Maharaj Pandu in the forests. Tears rolled from my eyes looking at my mother who was resting under the tree, she was totally exhausted and was resting on the bare ground which we covered with large soft leaves to give her body at least some soft cushion. My heart was bleeding looking at her hapless condition, when at this stage in her life, she should have been resting on a comfortable bed in a palace and with peace but unfortunately had to endure this difficult situation due to the insecurity and jealousy on part of our cousin Duryodhan.

Kunti maa was one strong and inspiring woman, who despite enduring enormous difficulties, never gave up and taught us how to overcome problems and handle tough situations. She was a real fighter and that quality of hers did really rub on all of us brothers. Bhim bhai sensing that we all were very thirsty, went in search of water and luckily for us returned shortly with several large cups of water and various fruits like guava, berries and so on, and he made those very useful looking cups so delicately by wrapping several large leaves together. I had a smile seeing the ingenuity of this gentle giant, who was much more than just a physically imposing man.

We woke up our mother and brothers who were resting under the tree and quenched our thirst by drinking the water and satisfied our bellies by eating those delicious fruits brought by Bhim bhai. Finally, it was time to sleep after the whole day of ordeal we had to endure starting from escaping from the house of lac in Varanavat and to the move into the deep forests. Usually, I was active even during the nights as well thanks to my habit of practising archery in the night at the Guru Dron's ashram, but that night I slept like a baby due to the earlier events which took a tremendous toll on us both mentally and physically. We were resting on the ground under the huge shala tree and the cool breeze flowing across did soothe our tired body and mind, and helped us get a quick and much needed sleep.

As I narrated earlier, Bhim bhai from a very young age had tremendous protective instincts for his family and was always ready to fight against anyone who would try to bully or intimidate us. So, he refused to sleep and said he will be awake all night and will be keeping a watch over us. Around midnight, my sleep got disturbed due to the constant murmurs I was hearing and woke up to see all my family members sleeping peacefully but found Bhim bhai was missing. The curiosity in me heightened listening to the murmurs which now grew more and more and turned into louder noise, so I went to the source of it and was shocked to find Bhim bhai there conversing with a woman who looked pretty tall and strong and in a way she seemed to be a perfect match for my gentle giant brother. Seeing me, Bhim bhai stopped the conversation with the woman and revealed to me what was going on, he mentioned that the woman in front of us was called Hidimbi who belonged to one of the prominent clans of the rakshasas and she was sent by her brother named Hidimba, the king of the rakshasa clan inhabiting that forest area to find humans in the area so he could devour them. The woman looked very unlike the rakshasas not only in physical appearance but in her demeanour as well.