THIRTY-SIX
The yaksha said, "Your brother Arjuna shot arrows at me, but they did not harm me. I said to him, 'Answer my riddles'. He would not and he drank the water and perished. But you are different; you are humble. I am pleased with you and if you are ready I will ask my riddles."
Yudhishtira bowed to indicate he was ready. The yaksha allowed the Pandava no time between riddles to collect himself and Yudhishtira answered as quickly as the questions flashed at him. Only occasionally, when the yaksha was pleased with an answer, he would laugh.
"What makes the sun rise?"
"Brahma."
"Who are the sun's companions?"
"The Devas."
"Why does the sun set?"
"Dharma makes him set."
"In whom does the sun dwell?"
"In the Truth."
"What makes one learned?"
"The study of the Srutis."
"How does a man achieve greatness?"
"By tapasya."
"Does a man always have a friend?"
"Yes. His intelligence."
"How is intelligence acquired?"
"By serving one's elders."
"Where does the brahmana's divinity lie?"
"In his knowledge of the Vedas."
"What diminishes a brahmana's divinity?"
"He is mortal."
"What confers divinity on a kshatriya?"
"His weapons."
"What diminishes him?"
"Fear."
"Tell me about yagnas. What is Sama? And Yajus? And what is the refuge of a yagna?"
"Life is Sama, the mind is Yajus. Rik is the sanctuary of the yagna."
"A man breathes, he enjoys every sensual pleasure and the world holds him in esteem. Yet, he is not truly alive. Why?"
"Because he makes no offerings to the Devas or the Pitrs."
"What is more important than the earth itself?"
"One's mother."
"What is higher than heaven?"
"One's father."
"What is swifter than the wind?"
"The mind."
"More numerous than blades of grass?"
"The thoughts in the mind."
"What is the highest sanctuary of dharma?"
"Liberality."
"Of fame?"
"A gift."
"Of heaven?"
"The truth."
"What is a man's soul?"
"His son."
"Who is the friend the Gods give a man?"
"His wife."
"His support?"
"The clouds."
"What is the most praiseworthy thing of all?"
"Skill."
"The most valuable possession?"
"Knowledge."
"The greatest treasure?"
"Health."
"The greatest happiness?"
"Contentment."
The riddles came breathlessly now and Yudhishtira hardly paused before answering.
"What is the highest dharma?"
"To injure none of the living."
"What must be controlled?"
"The mind."
"What renounced, to make a man agreeable?"
"Pride."
"And what renounced to make a man wealthy?"
"Desire."
"And what can be renounced with no regret?"
"Anger."
"And what may be relinquished to gain happiness?"
"Greed."
"What makes the way?"
"The good make the way, indeed, they are the way."
"Who is the ascetic?"
"He who remains faithful."
"What is true restraint?"
"That of the mind."
"And what, true forgiveness?"
"He who endures enmity, truly forgives."
"What is real knowledge?"
"The knowledge of God."
"What is tranquillity?"
"When the heart is still."
"Mercy?"
"When one desires the happiness of all creatures."
"Simplicity?"
"When the heart is tranquil."
"Who is the invincible enemy?"
"Anger."
"What disease has no cure?"
"Covetousness."
"Who is the honest man?"
"He who desires the happiness of all the living."
"And the dishonest one?"
"The one who has no mercy."
"What is ignorance?"
"Not knowing one's dharma."
"And pride?"
"When a man thinks that he is the one who is the doer in life."
By now, Yudhishtira was so engrossed he had quite forgotten his predicament. He was enjoying himself, answering the yaksha's profound riddles.
"What is grief?"
"Only ignorance."
"How does a man become patient?"
"By subduing his senses."
"Which is the true ablution?"
"When the heart is washed clean."
"What is charity?"
"Protecting all creatures."
"Wickedness?"
"Speaking ill of others."
"Who is a brahmana? One who studies the Veda, or one who is born a brahmana?"
"Neither. The true brahmana is he whose life is pure."
"How is a man agreeable?"
"When he speaks agreeably."
"How does he get what he wants?"
"When he acts with discernment."
"How is he happy?"
"When he has many friends."
"And how does he find bliss in the next world?"
"By being virtuous in this one."
"What is truly amazing in this world?"
Yudhishtira thought for just a moment. Then he said, smiling, "Every day, countless lives enter into the temple of death. Yet, those who remain in this world think themselves immortal. What could be more amazing?"
The yaksha laughed appreciatively. He asked, "Which is the path?"
"Debate and philosophy lead to no conclusions. The Srutis all differ about the nature of Truth. There is not a rishi, whose opinion is infallible. Yet, the path is within us: the way of dharma, the golden trail the great have trodden through all time."
"What is the news?"
"This world of ignorance is like a cook's pan. The sun is the fire. The days and nights are the fuel, the seasons are the ladle. Time is the cook, who stirs us all in the pan. That is the news, what else?"
"Who is a real man?"
"Word of one's good deeds reach heaven and are spread from there across the earth. As long as that word lasts, one is called a man."
"Who is he, Yudhishtira, who has every kind of wealth?"
"Only he to whom joy and sorrow, fortune and misfortune, past and future, are all the same."
The yaksha's delighted laughter rang across the lake. He said, "I am pleased with your answers! Yudhishtira, you are the wisest man in the world and the most righteous one too. I grant you a boon: ask me for the life of any one of your brothers."
Unhesitatingly, Yudhishtira said, "Let my dark and handsome Nakula live."
"I am surprised. I know Bheema is dearest to you among all your brothers. You depend on Arjuna to win the coming war. Yet, you choose Nakula's life over theirs. Why?"
"I would rather sacrifice my life than dharma. O Yaksha, my father had two wives, Kunti and Madri. One of Kunti's sons already lives: I. It is dharma that one of Madri's sons should also live. So I chose Nakula."
Again the yaksha laughed. "Ah, you are a great soul indeed, Yudhishtira. I will never look upon another like you in all time. I grant you not just Nakula's life, but the lives of all your brothers!"
Yudhishtira saw Bheema, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva open their eyes and sit up groggily. He ran to them and hugged them. Arjuna said in wonder, "I am not thirsty any more."
Bheema said, "My tiredness has left me."
The yaksha materialized again over the lake, covering it from shore to shore. Yudhishtira gazed at the dark form; then he prostrated himself on the ground. The Pandava cried, "My Lord! You are no yaksha. No yaksha knows the subtleties of dharma as you do. No, you are a Deva, or at least someone who loves us dearly. I feel powerful kin with you. Are you perhaps our father Pandu? Show me your true form, whoever you are!"
There was a flash of light above the lake. The monstrous yaksha vanished and in its place stood a God, bright as the sun. His presence transformed the sylvan lake into a realm of wonder. The trees breathed, the very air seemed made of many colors, floating and of subtle music.
The splendent one smiled at Yudhishtira and spoke in a deep and beautiful voice. "I am indeed your father, Yudhishtira my son. I am not Pandu, but Dharma. I wanted to meet you and these heroic brothers of yours, so I came."
Yudhishtira breathed, "My Lord!"
The radiant one continued, "I am more pleased with you, my child, than I had ever hoped. You are as righteous as I had heard, more so. You and your brothers will conquer the world and you shall sit upon the throne of all Bharatavarsha. But, Yudhishtira, you have already conquered a far greater kingdom. You have conquered the kingdom of dharma: you have conquered yourself! What are worldly conquests, or the thrones they bring, beside this immortal one?
Your fame will live forever, not just on earth but in Devaloka. In the kali yuga, let a man but say your name and he shall be dear to me. Just four names will be so precious: the name of Nala of Nishada, of Rama's wife Sita, your name, Yudhishtira and the name of the Dark One whom you love so dearly, Krishna of Dwaraka."
Yudhishtira stood glowing before his natural father. The Lord Dharma said, "My just son, I want to give you another boon. Ask me for anything."
Yudhishtira did not hesitate. "Lord, we came into the jungle to find a brahmana's arani sticks. Grant that we may find them, or we will fail in our kshatriya dharma."
Dharma smiled, "I was the stag in whose antlers the brahmana's aranis were entangled. Here they are. But that is no boon, ask me for something else."
Yudhishtira asked wisely, "Grant, my Lord, that we are not discovered during the thirteenth year of our exile, which will soon begin."
Dharma Deva said, "Which has begun even today. I grant you that boon: go safely back into the world, disguised. No one will see through your disguises. Yet, ask me for something else."
Yudhishtira knelt before the Lord Dharma. He kissed the Deva's feet. The Pandava said, "I am the happiest man on earth today that, at last, I have met my father face to face. I want no other material boon from you, for I know we have to struggle in this life and suffer, before we achieve. But if you grant me another wish, let it be that I conquer my six deadly enemies one day."
The knowing Dharma asked, "And who are they?"
His son said, "The enemies that lurk in my heart: lust, anger, greed, possessiveness, arrogance and envy. Grant me, father, that my mind always leads me toward the Truth. I want nothing else in the world."
And his father, the great Dharma, said, "You ask for what you already have, Yudhishtira. You have long since conquered these enemies, O prince of dharma. As for the Truth, you will surely come to it in time."
Dharma Deva blessed them all. At last, he said, "Go, my sons and be joyful. I am with you and you shall be victorious. And remember, wherever dark Krishna is, there I am as well."
With that and his hand still raised over them in a blessing, he vanished. Their hearts full of fresh hope, the Pandavas walked slowly back to their asrama with the arani sticks. It was time to now seriously consider the disguises they were going to adopt for the thirteenth year of their exile, the ajnatavasa. Duryodhana's spies would be everywhere, eager to find them and send them back to another twelve years in the wilderness.
They were anxious, but Dharma Deva's assurance had put new heart in them.