Parva 3 of 18 · 313 adhyayas
वनपर्व
Book of the Forest
Vana-parva
Setting: Twelve years of exile across Kamyaka, Dvaita, Badari and the forests of India
Central figure: Yudhishthira learning to bear loss without bitterness
Parva summary
The Pandavas wander the forest. Arjuna goes north for tapas, fights Shiva as the Kirata, receives the Pashupata astra and divine weapons from Indra, Yama, Varuna and Kubera. Bhima meets Hanuman who teaches him humility. Yudhishthira hears the Nala-Damayanti story, the Savitri-Satyavan story, the Rama-katha condensed, and Markandeya's puranic vistas. Jayadratha attempts to abduct Draupadi. Karna is stripped of his kavacha-kundala by Indra; Surya gives him the ekaghni shakti in compensation. The yaksha-prashna at the lake tests Yudhishthira; he answers and his brothers are revived.
Key episodes
- ●Kirata-Arjuna — Shiva as the hunter
- ●Hanuman lays his tail across Bhima's path
- ●Karna gives away his armour and earrings
- ●Yaksha-prashna at the lake
- ●Jayadratha's humiliation
- ●Savitri-Satyavan story heard by Draupadi
Central teaching
Exile is the slow forge that turns kings into sages. The forest answers what the court cannot.