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42.Yaksha's questions
Kunti and Madri were the
two wives of my father. I am surviving, a
son of Kunti, and so, she is not completely
bereaved. In order that the scales of
justice may be even, I ask that Madri's son
Nakula may revive." The Yaksha was
pleased with Yudhishthira's impartiality
and granted that all his brothers would
come back to life.
It was Yama, the Lord of Death, who had
taken the form of the deer and the Yaksha
so that he might see his son Yudhishthira
and test him. He embraced Yudhishthira
and blessed him.
Yama said: "Only a few days remain to
complete the stipulated period of your
exile in the forest. The thirteenth year will
also pass by. None of your enemies will
be able to discover you. You will
successfully fulfil your undertaking," and
saying this he disappeared.
The Pandavas had, no doubt, to pass
through all sorts of troubles during their
exile, but the gains too were not
inconsiderable. It was a period of hard
discipline and searching probation
through which they emerged stronger and
nobler men.
Arjuna returned from tapas with divine
weapons and strengthened by contact with
Indra. Bhima also met his elder brother
Hanuman near the lake where the
Saugandhika flowers bloomed and got
tenfold strength from his embrace. Having
met, at the enchanted pool, his father
Yama, the Lord of Dharma, Yudhishthira
shone with tenfold lustre.
"The minds of those who listen to the
sacred story of Yudhishthira's meeting
with his father, will never go after evil.
They will never seek to create quarrels
among friends or covet the wealth of
others. They will never fall victims to lust.
They will never be unduly attached to
transitory things." Thus said
Vaisampayana to Janamejaya as he related
this story of the Yaksha. May the same
good attend the readers of this story as
retold by us
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