The House of Lac

Yudhishthira was made crown prince, and the people praised his goodness and kindness. Duryodhana feared the kingdom would belong to the Pandavas forever. He persuaded his father Dhritarashtra to send the Pandavas for a while to the town of Varanavata, where a fair was to be held. Blinded by love for his son, Dhritarashtra agreed.

Duryodhana had already sent his minister Purochana to Varanavata. There Purochana built a beautiful palace for the Pandavas. But it was made of lac, ghee, hemp and other things that burn easily. The plan was that one night Purochana would set it on fire, and the Pandavas and Kunti would burn to death, while everyone believed it was an accident.

The wise Vidura learned of the plot. As they left, he warned Yudhishthira in a language others would not understand: 'One who knows the way out of fire and how to hide in a burrow will survive.' Yudhishthira understood. When they reached Varanavata, he knew from the very smell of the house that it was built to burn.

Vidura sent a skilled miner, who quietly dug a tunnel beneath the palace. For a year the Pandavas lived as if they knew nothing. Then one night, while Purochana slept, Bhima himself set the palace on fire. The whole family escaped through the tunnel into the forest. A woman and her five sons who had stayed there that night also died in the blaze.

Beyond the tunnel a boat sent by Vidura was waiting, and it carried them across the Ganga. In the morning people found burnt bodies in the ashes and believed Kunti and the five Pandavas were dead. Hastinapur went into mourning. Duryodhana showed grief on the outside but was glad within. The Pandavas now lived in the forests in disguise.