Before we return to Hastinapura where preparations for the horse sacrifice was about to start let us trace Krishna’s journey back to his home. After blessing Uttanka on the way, Krishna reached Dwaraka and paid his respect to his parents. Vasudeva and Devaki were anxiously waiting for his return so that they could learn details of the war in which their close relations were involved. Krishna briefed them about the main events, but, purposefully kept the tragic end of Abhimanyu out of his narration not to cause great sorrow to his aged parents .
But, Subhadra had come with Krishna to Dwaraka. She, choking with emotion, reminded Krishna that he had left out the killing of her dear son. Vasudeva pressed Krishna for the details. Then, Krishna described how Abhimanyu got trapped in the tricky formation of the Kaurava army led by Drona and, undaunted, how he faced all his enemies and was finally killed fighting against a large number of the veteran Kauravas, single handedly.
The detailed account of Abhimanyu’s end caused uncontrollable grief to Krishna’s parents and to all others present. Krishna consoled them and concluded the story by telling how Kunti, forgetting her own grief, pacified Draupadi, Subhadra and Uttara.
Krishna recalled the arrival of Veda Vyasa on the scene at that time. It had taken the wise words of the sage to bring relief to the grief of Yudhishthira and his brothers. It was Vyasa who persuaded the Pandavas to get past their grief and perform the last rites (sraadha) for Abhimanyu in an elaborate scale. A large number of Brahmins were fed on the occasion and were offered cattle and other valuable gifts.
Krishna concluded his narration saying how Vyasa impressed upon Yudhishthira to perform the horse sacrifice. The ceremony was a sure way to get over the grief and bring fame for the Pandava race. Vyasa, himself, suggested that the Pandavas could get all the riches left over from the ceremony of king Marutta on the slopes of the Himalayas to meet the expenses of the sacrifice. The Pandava coffers were empty after the disastrous war that had just ended.
Preparations for the Horse Sacrifice
As the Mahabharata war was being recounted by Krishna in Dwaraka, the Pandavas were getting ready for the big event, the horse sacrifice. The first step was to get all the wealth that was essential to ensure the success of the ceremony.
A large contingent of the army was made ready in support of the search party consisting of all the Pandavas. Veda Vyasa arrived on the scene just in time to lead the way. Several eminent Brahmins were included in the party for performing the rituals at the right time during the search.
It was warned that the celestial beings, Kinnaras, were keeping guard of Marutta’s wealth. Lord Siva was known to be their master. So, the Brahmins performed special prayers to Siva and offered various delicacies like milk pudding (paayasam) and rice cakes (apoopam) to him.
The auspicious day and time to start the journey were fixed after consulting the almanac and the stars. The Brahmins chanted the prayer for the successful mission (swasti sooktam). The Pandavs, then, went around the Bramins (pradakshina), paid obeisance to them and got their blessings for an auspicious journey. The chariot of Yudhishthira stood out because of the white parasol held above the monarch that gave him the appearance of the moon on the full moon day. The other chariots carrying the search party raced ahead with the Brahmins chanting auspicious prayers and the courtiers singing praise of the Pandavas. The army followed them from behind. A contingent of soldiers mounted on elephants travelled along side. Carts of various size pulled by mules and donkeys followed the entourage.
They passed through dense forests and crossed several rivers on he way and finally reached the place in Himalaya where Marutta was known to have performed his rituals. Tents were erected to house all according to their ranks.
Yudhishthira approached the Brahmins and said. “Sirs, we should not end up wasting time in search. Please come with the most auspicious day and time for us to start digging”. The Brahmins consulted the charts and the stars and said. “Tomorrow will be a good day for us. We all should fast until tomorrow morning when you can start digging”.
Accordingly, the Pandavas fasted that day and slept on grass (darbha), listening to the stories narrated by the Brahmins. Next morning the Brahmins, again, made various offerings to Lord Siva and also to His assistants, the Yakshas, Kinnaras, Gandharvas and so on. Yudhishthira then proceeded to the place indicated by Vyasa and prayed to the king of wealth, Kubera. He then ordered his people to start digging. The Brahmins stood around chanting auspicious prayers (punyaaha vacanam).
It was indeed a treasure that was uncovered on digging. Gold and silver in abundance started appearing as they dug into the ground. Utensils of all types in large numbers were unearthed. Some were earthen and others were made of silver and gold. Wooden pots were part of the collection, all required for the horse sacrifice.
Yudhishthira asked his men to tie as much as they could carry into bundles of all sizes. Some were loaded into carts and others were carried on the back of elephants, mules and horses. Then, the party prayed to Lord Siva, by way of offering thanks, and returned to Hastinapura with great joy.
