The slaying of Jatasura and Maniman

(We have used the word demon for various groups. We should, henceforth, indicate the name of the group in bracket. Many are tribes living in the slopes of the Himalayas with special traits. For example, the Gandharvas love music. The Kinnaras are great dancers.

The word Asura only means non-god. Rakshasa, like Ravana of epic Ramayana, has a gigantic and terrifying form and eats human flesh. On the contrary, the Gandharva and Kinnara are supposed to be handsome and of gentle nature.They are all supposed to have god-like qualities. They could appear and disappear at will and create illusion.

Two adventure stories of the Pandavas that are relatively unimportant are briefly discussed in this episode. The first one is of an Asura who is more like a Rakshasa here.)

The Pandavas were living in the hermitage of Nara and Narayana. There was a demon (Rakshasa) by name Jata who was living disguised as a Brahmin with them. One day Bhima was away and so was Ghatotkaca. Sage Lomasa had gone for bath along with other Brahmins. Jatasura assumed his normal form at that time, grabbed the three Pandavas and Draupadi and started running.

Sahadeva, somehow, shook himself free and shouted for help. Bhima heard the noise and came running. He fought fiercely with the demon and killed him at the end. (The short chapter on slaying of Jatasura contains only this single story)

The slaying of Maniman

The Pandavas had already spent four years without Arjuna who had promised to return within five years. Hence, all were excited with the prospects of meeting Arjuna, soon. The Pandavas decided to spend the remaining days before Arjuna’s arrival at the hermitages of sage Vrushaparva and of Ashtishena further up the Himalaya. (There is a rather long, but, beautiful description of the mountain and the forest which covers its slopes, in this context). Ghatotkaca took leave of the Pandavas at the hermitage of Arshtishena, promising that he would come again when needed.

One day, Bhima moved alone climbing one of the tall peaks of the Himalayas. He wanted show off his skill and strength to all, especially, to Draupadi. He happened to reach near the palace of Kubera (the god of wealth). The demons (Yakshas) protecting the palace attacked Bhima from all sides. Undaunted, Bhima fought fiercely with them and killed many. The agitated Yakshas called their chief, Maniman, to the scene. A fierce battle ensued between Bhima and Maniman. The chief of Yaksha was killed as a result. This was reported to Kubera who rushed to the scene in an agitated mood.

Meanwhile, the other Pandavas heard shouts and angry exchange of words from up the mountain. Finding his younger brother missing, Yudhishthira rushed to the scene accompanied by his other brothers. He rebuked Bhima for his rash act.

It was at that very moment that the god of wealth made his appearance. The Pandavas were thrilled finding Kubera appearing in person and prostrated before him. Yudhishthira apologized to Kubera on behalf of his younger brother. The sight of the Pandavas, especially of Yudhishthira, cooled the temper of the god of wealth down. He was aware of their background. He also knew that Arjuna was up in heaven for the cause of the gods.

He blessed the Pandavas and assured them that he took no offence. The Yakshas in his army, particularly Maniman, had insulted sage Agastya once upon a time. The sage was enraged and had cursed Maniman that he would meet his death at the hands of humans. Hence, Kubera thought that the Pandavas were merely an instrument making the curse of the sage true. With those words, the god of wealth disappeared from the scene.

Soon, Arjuna returned and came to the place where the Pandavas stayed. Draupadi and the other Pandavas were thrilled meeting him after the long lapse. All were eager to hear about Arjuna’s adventures and achievements in detail. It was in this context that Arjuna told them of the slaying of Nivata Kavaca and Kalakeyas. (We have covered that story earlier).

With this Vyasa completes the chapters, “fight with Yakshas (Yaksha Yuddha Parvam)” and “killing of Nivata Kavaca (Nivata Kavaca Vadha Parvam)”