Mahabharata – 208
by
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                     Aadivamsavatarana Parva
Childhood of Kauravas and Pandavas

Vedavyasa is a psychologist par excellence.Childhood is very important.The truths that wake up in the child hood sink deep into the heart of the children only to persist with them throghout their life.When we learnt that the Pandavas came home at Hasthinapura we hoped that the five brothers mingling with their hundred cousins would create great fun. The palace of Hasthinapura,would be loud with the with the shouts of the children in the echoing green of the palace garden.But alas our expectations came to nought. Bhima was superior to all of them in physical strength. Instead of helping his brothers with his physical prowess what he did was to torture his brothers with his immeasurable strength.Dear readers if you had a brother as great as Hercules and if he had beaten you every day for sport how would you feel? Ourselves being weak could not hold out against Bhima or Hercules.And then what would we do?We would take to craft to out do Bhima.Although their child hood passed in the groves and grottoes of  wilderness and ashramas Bhima did not learn the art of tranquility and peace.Consequently   Duryodhana   planned that when Bhima should sleep in the garden, they had better throw him into the river Ganges. Duryodhana said to himself --- Afterwards, confining Bhima’s eldest brother Yudhishthira and his younger brother Arjuna by force, I shall be able to rule the entire kingdom without any difficulty.

Thus planne, the wicked Duryodhana and he was ever on the watch to find out an opportunity for injuring Bhima. At a beautiful place called Pramanakoti on the banks of the Ganga, Duryodhana built a palace decorated with nicely hanging colourfu clothes and other decorative materials.He built this palace for sporting in the water. Filled it with all kinds of entertaining things and delicious food. Colourful flags fluttered on the top of the mansions. The name of the house was Udakkridan or playing in the waters.It was built in a style so that the major part of it floated on the river Ganga.It was a miracle of architecture. Skillful cooks prepared various kinds of food . When all was ready, the employees gave intimation to Duryodhana. Then the evil-minded Duryodhana said to the Pandavas --- Let us all go to the banks of the Ganga furnished with trees and crowned with flowers and we will sport there in the water. Yudhishthira agreed to this. The sons of Dhritarashtra taking the Pandavas with them, mounted country-born elephants of great size and chariots, and left the capital. Leaving at the capital Bhisma and other seniors they reached the place. Observing the beauty of the gardens and the woods, they entered the palace, like lions entering in their mountain caves. On entering they saw that the architecture of the palace was appealing. Wall paintings were also admirable. The windows looked very graceful, and the artificial fountains were splendid. Here and there were tanks of transparent water in which bloomed forests of lotuses. The banks were decked with various flowers whose fragrance filled the atmosphere.