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Question - 33
Any clues in the Mahabharata to deduce the last date of the 13-year exile period of the Pandavas? If yes, what was that date? In other words, when did the Pandava-s reveal themselves?
Answer:
There are date clues in the Mahabharata for the last day of the exile period. This is deduced from a series of events that happened forcing Arjuna to reveal his identity.
· On a Krishna Saptami, Susarma, the king of Trigarta started seizing the cattle of the Matsya country where the Pandavas were living in disguise. The month name is not given.
The Matsya troops headed by the Matsya King and the Pandava brothers except Arjuna started chasing the Trigartas after the sun crossed the meridian. The fight ended on the night of Krishna Saptami by the Matsya army defeating the Trigartas. Messengers were sent to the city gate to give the victory news by the next morning.
· While the Matsya troops were away, the Kauravas started seizing the cattle of the Matsya country on the morning of Krishna Ashtami. This happened before the victory news reached the palace.
At that time Uttara (named Bhuminjaya), the Matsya prince, was in the capital. Arjuna in the guise of Vrihannala accompanied Uttara as his charioteer to challenge the Kauravas. This happened on the same day.
Arjuna revealed his true identity to Uttara on the same day, that is, on Krishna Ashtami! He also told him that he had completed one year of vrata in his (Matsya) kingdom. So according to Pandava’s time keeping, they had completed one year period of incognito by Krishna Ashtami.
Arjuna didn’t conceal his identity in the fight with the Kauravas. He hoisted his banner (dhvaja) on the chariot while fighting. This created a flutter among the Kauravas raising doubts about the exact number of days completed by the Pandava-s in exile and it was clarified by Bhishma (explained in Question -15).
Arjuna (Vrihannala), with Uttara as the charioteer successfully chased away the Kaurava-s and restored the cattle. The two returned to the palace on the same day, i.e., Krishna Ashtami.
When they entered the royal court, the king was already seated, but Arjuna didn’t reveal his identity.
· On the 3rd day after that, all the Pandava-s revealed themselves openly. It is written “tatas tṛtīye divase” (MB: 4-65-1). This can be taken as the third day counted from Ashtami. (tatas = thence, thereupon, after that)
That is the day of Krishna Dasami!
The name of the month or the
ayana is not given. However the running season at that time is revealed in the
words of Karna that their troops had come to an unknown place possessed by
enemies and in the mighty forest in the hot Greeshma season (MB: 4-42-22)
Greeshma has two solar months,
Mithuna and Kataka and the corresponding lunar months, Jyeṣtha and Ashadha. If
the date Arjuna revealed himself was Jyeshtha Krishna Ashtami, it was in the
first half of the season when the sun was at mid-Mithuna. Since exhaustion of
the troops is hinted in the verse for having travelled a long way in the
Greeshma season, it is deduced that it was peak Greeshma. This matches with the
second half of the season when Ashadha was running.
This is
further corroborated by a verse in the Mahabharata on a grand festival in honor
of Brahma that was conducted on the fourth month after the Pandava-s started
their incognito living in the Matsya country (MB: 4.12.12). This festival
participated by Bheema to show his athletic prowess continues till date by the
name “Pushkar Festival” in the month of Kartika. This month being the fourth
month after Ashadha, it confirms the beginning of the incognito period in the Ashadha
month, which
means the Pandava-s began their exile in Ashadha Krishna Dasami and ended in Ashadha
Krishna Dasami.
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