The stipulated period of twelve years was drawing to a close. One day, a deer was rubbing itself against a saga's fire-kindling mortar and as it turned to go, the mortar got entangled in its horns and the frightened anima fled wildly with it into the forest. In those days, matches were unknown and fire was kindled with pieces wood by mechanical friction.

'Alas! The deer is running away with my fire-kindler,' shouted the sage and rushed towards the Pandavas for help in his distress.

The Pandavas pursued the animal, but it was a magic deer which sped in great leaps and bounds, decoying the Pandavas far into the forest and then disappeared. Worn out by the futile chase, the Pandavas sat in great dejection under a banyan tree. Nakula sighed.'We cannot render even this trifling service to the sage. How we have degenerated !' he said, sadly.

Yudhishthira noticed with sorrow that his brothers had lost their cheerfulness and courage. He thought they would be more cheerful with something to do. He was tormented with thirst and so he said to Nakula,'Brother, climb that tree and see whether there is any pool or river nearby.' Nakula climbed the tree, looked around and said, 'At a little distance I see plants and cranes. There must certainly be water there.'

Yudhishthira sent him to fetch some water to drink.

Nakula was glad when he got to the place and saw there was a pool. He was very thirsty himself and so thought of quenching his thirst first before taking water in his quiver for his brother; but no sooner did he dip his hand in the transparent water than he heard a voice which said, 'Do not be rash. This pool belongs to me. O son of Madri ! Answer my questions and then drink the water.'

Nakula was surprised, but carried away by his intense thirst and heedless of the warning, he drank the water. At once, overcome by a great drowsiness, he fell down, to all appearance dead.

Surprised that Nakula had not returned, Yudhishthira  sent Sahadeva to see what the matter was.When Sahadeva reached the pool and saw his brother lying on the ground, he wondered whether any harm had come to him, but before looking into the matter further, rushed irresistibly to the water to quench his burning thirst.

The voice was heard again, 'O Sahadeva, this is my pool. Answer my questions and only then may you quench your thirst.'

Like Nakula, Sahadeva also did not heed the warning. He drank the water and at once dropped down.

Puzzled and worried that Sahadeva also did not return, Yudhishthira sent Arjuna to see whether the brothers had met with any danger. 'And bring water,' he added, for he was very thirsty.

Arjuna went swiftly. He saw both his brothers lying dead near the pool. He was shocked at the sight and felt that they must have been killed by some lurking foe. Though heartbroken with grief and burning with the desire for revenge, all feelings else submerged in a monstrous thirst, which irresistibly impelled him to the fatal pool.

Again, a voice was heard, 'Answer my question before you drink the water. This pool is mine. If you disobey me, you follow your brothers.'

Arjuna's anger knew no bounds. he cried, 'Who are you? Come and stand up to me, and I will destroy you,' and he shot keen-edged arrows in the direction of the voice.

The invisible being laughed in scorn, 'Your arrows do but wound the air. Answer my questions and then you can satisfy your thirst. If you drink the water without doing so, you will die.'

Greatly vexed, Arjuna made up his mind to seek out and grapple with this elusive foe once he had quenches his terrible thirst. So he drank the water and also fell down dead.

After anxious waiting, Yudhishthira turned to Bhima, 'Dear brother, Arjuna, the great hero, has also not yet returned. Something terrible must have happened to our brothers. Please seek them out and be quick about it. Also bring water, for I die of thirst.' Bhima, racked with anxiety, hurried away without a word.

His grief and rage can be imagined when he saw his three brothers lying there dead. He thought, 'This is certainly the work of the yakshas. I will hunt them down, but I am so thirsty, i shall first drink water so that I can fight them better.' And then he descended into the pool.

The voice shouted, 'Bhimasena, beware. You may drink only after answering my questions. You will die if you disregard my words.'

'Who are you to dictate to me?' cried Bhima, and he drank the water thirstily, glaring around in defiance.And as he did so, his great strength seemed to slip from him like a garment, and he also fell dead among his brothers.

Lone Yudhishthira  was racked with anxiety and thirst. 'Have they been subjected to a curse or are they wandering about in the forest in a vain search for water or have they fainted or died of thirst?' Unable to bear these thoughts, and driven desperate by an overpowering thirst, he started out to look for his brothers and the pool.

Yudhishthira proceeded in the direction his brothers had taken through tracts infested with wild boar and abounding in spotted deer and huge forest birds, and presently came upon a beautiful green meadow, girdling a pool of crystal clear water-nectar to his eyes. But when he saw his brothers lying there like sacred flagpoles thrown pell-mell after a festival, unable to restrain his grief, he wept.

Then a sense of mystery overcame him, for this could be no ordinary occurrence. The world held no warriors who could overcome his brothers; besides, there were no wounds on their bodies which could have let out life and their faces were faces of men who slept in peace and not of those who died in wrath. There was also no trace of the footprints of an enemy. There was surely some magic about it. Or, could it be a trick played by Duryodhana? Might he not have poisoned the water? Then Yudhishthira also descended into the poll, in his turn drawn to the water by a consuming thirst.

At once the voice without form warned as before, 'Your brothers died because they did not heed my words. Do not follow them. Answer my questions first and then quench your thirst. This pool is mine.  

Yudhishthira knew that these could be none other than the words of a yaksha and guessed what had happened to his brothers. He saw possible way of redeeming the situation. he said to the bodiless voice,' Please ask your questions.'

The voice put questions rapidly one after another.

It asked, ' What makes the sun shine every day?'

Yudhishthira reaplied, 'The power of the Supreme,'

'What rescues man in danger?'

'courage is man's salvation in danger.'

'by the study of  which science does man become wise?'

'Not by studying any sastra does man become wise. It is by association with the great in wisdom that he gets wisdom.'

The Yaksha asked, 'What is more nobly sustaining than the earth.'

Yudhishthira replied, 'The mother who brings up the children she has borne, is nobler and more sustaining than the earth.'

'What is higher than the sky?'

'The father.'

'What is fleeter than wind?'

'The mind.'

'What is more blighted than withered straw?'

'A sorrow-stricken heart.'

'What befriends a traveller?'

'Learning.'

'Who accompanies a man in death?'

'Dharma. That alone accompanies the soul in its solitary journey after death.'

'Which is the biggest vessel?'

'The Earth, which contains all within itself, is the greatest vessel.'

'What is happiness?' 

'happiness is the result of good conduct.'

'what is that, abandoning which, man becomes loved by all?'

'Pride-for abandoning that man will be loved by all.'

'What is the loss which yields joy and not sorrow?'

'Anger-giving it up,we will no longer be subject to sorrow.'

'What is that, by giving up which, man becomes rich?'

'Desire-getting rid of it, man becomes wealthy.'

'What is the greatest wonder in the world?'

'Every day, men see creatures depart to Yama's abode and yet, those who remain, seek to live forever. This verily is the greatest wonder.'

Thus, the yaksha posed many questions and Yudhisthira answered them all.

Then the yaksha said, 'I am pleased with your wisdom, Yudhishthira. I will bring all your brothers to life.' It was Yama, the Lord of Death, who had taken the form of the deer and the yaksha so that he could test Yudhishthira. He embraced Yudhishthira and blessed him.

Yama said, 'Only a few days remain to complete the stipulated period of your exile in the forest. The thirteenth year will also pass by. None of your enemies will be able to discover you. You will successfully fulfil your undertaking.' and saying this he disappeared.

The Pandavas had, no doubt, to pass through all sorts of troubles during their exile, but the gains too were not inconsiderable. It was a period of hard discipline and searching probation through which they emerged stronger and nobler men.

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (1878-1972) was part of the independence struggle, a politician and a writer. He was the last Governor General of India. Educated from Presidency College, Madras, he wrote in both Tamil and English, and received a Sahitya Akademi award for his writing in Tamil. Popular works by the author include a retelling of The Mahabharata and The Ramayana in English. 

stipulated : set down in an agreement

period of twelve years : the Pandavas had been exiled for twelve years(followed by a year of exile in disguise)

sage : wise and learned man 

fire-kindling mortar : fuelwood

decoying : misleading 

futile : pointless

dejection : sadness

degenerated : deteriorated or grown worse

quiver : a case for holding arrows

irresistibly : in a way that is very tempting

impelled : forced to do something

vexed : irritated

elusive : difficult to find

racked : tortured by

yakhshas : mythological nature spirits

glaring : staring angrily

defiance : a look of opposition, as if challenging someone

infested : present in large numbers

gridling : surrounding, encircling

pell-mell : here and there, in a chaotic way

wrath : anger

consuming : (here) very strong

redeeming : making up for

blighted : destroyed