Pandavas In Exile: The Third Book in the Mahabharata Trilogy

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The genius of Vedvyasa as the author of the great epic The Mahabharata is evident by the way he interrupts his narratives at various places to introduce literary gems like Srimad Bhagwat Gita just before the commencement of the war. The Vana Parva, which contains many more gems like the stories of Nala-Damyanti, Satyavan-Savitri, Harishchandra, Ashtavakra Gita, etc., is another similar example. True to his genius of introducing gems by creating situations for their introduction, Vedvyasa follows this style throughout the various Parvas of The Mahabharata particularly the Vana Parva. A huge section of the Vana Parva covers the entire period of the Pandavas exile and could, very well, have existed as a separate book; but the way Vedvyasa inserts it immediately after the game of dice that results in the exile of Pandavas integrates it beautifully with the main text of The Mahabharata. Similarly all the other gems referred to above were introduced as a consequence to the questions asked by Yudhishthira to various Rishis who visited Pandavas during the course of their long exile. This book attempts to highlight this beautiful and captivating style of writing.

Umesh Chandra Kotru, a specialist in accounts and finance of the Government of India, retired in 2010 from the Ministry of Power, after a distinguished career spanning decades of professional work in the Ministry of External Affairs; Indian Embassy in Washington; Ministry of Finance; and Ministry of Environment & Forests.

An avid reader of books on Philosophy, Religion, Mythology and Fiction, and a passionate aficionado of Sports, Umesh now divides his time between his two pursuits of the mind and the body. Living in Noida with wife, also retired from Central Government Service, they have a daughter who is a doctor and a son who is an engineer with MBA, both married.

Ashutosh Zutshi, like-minded nephew of Umesh Kotru, is a technocrat with a difference. An electronics & communication engineer, Ashutosh is working as Vice President in a Japanese MNC in Delhi. At the same time, an inner urge for self-actualisation drives him to find some time - mostly in the weekends - to pursue his other interests in music, social work and of course, in serious reading.

Ashutosh too lives in Noida with his wife, who works with the United Nations and two sons who are in school.

Mahabharata is an epic of gigantic proportions consisting of eighteen volumes or 'Parvas' with numerous sections within each volume. The core of the epic is also known as Jaya. Although every Parva has its own significance yet there are nine specific portions of the epic which are considered to be the gems and are together known as the 'Navaratnas' of Mahabharata. Among these Navaratnas, VanaParva occupies the pride of a place. The other gems like shrimad Bhagwat Gita, Shanti and Anushasan Parvas also hold positions of honour in their own right. In short it is very difficult to assign positions of importance to the various sections from either the literary or spiritual angle. Well, it is natural if some people wonder as to what happened to Pandavas during their long exile which included one year of living incognito for fear of being recognised at their peril. We have precisely tried to answer any such query through our present work. This book named "Pandavas in exile" is the third book in the Mahabharata trilogy series, the other two being "Karna the unsung Hero of the Mahabharata" and "Bhishma an Enigma". Core non- fictional material for our present book has exclusively been drawn from VanaParva referred to above.

Another unique feature about Mahabharata is its entangling nature with various intertwined stories and episodes that leave the readers confused in the beginning. There are numerous stories contained within stories that make a reader feel like having entered a maze. The key to negotiating this maze is to realize the fact that the epic actually gets unfolded in a flashback mode. Another significant feature of Mahabharata is that it begins where Shrimad Bhagvatam, the holiest of all Puranas also known as Mahapurana, ends. To elaborate this point further it is necessary to summarise how the epic got introduced to the masses.

The core of the epic known as Jaya ends when the only heir of the Kuru dynasty is saved by Lord Krishna from the impact of the Brahmastra released by Ashwathama. That miracle baby, who also happened to be son of Abhimanyu and the grandson of Arjuna, was named Parikshita. Subsequently, when Pandavas, after the departure of Krishna for his divine abode, renounced this world, young Parikshita was crowned the king in Hastinapura. After some years he was cursed by a rishi as a result of which he was doomed to die of snakebite on the seventh day after the curse was pronounced. As a consequence of the curse he renounced the world immediately and during the last week of his life muni Shukdeva recited the Maha Purana named Shrimad Bhagvatam to ensure his salvation. That is how the most sacred of Puranas came to the fore. Parikshita's son Janmejaya ascended the throne of Hastinapur after the death of his father under very tragic circumstances. He was seething with anger when he learnt the whole truth about his father's death.

**Contents and Sample Pages**