Mahabharata – 210
by
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                     Aadivamsavatarana Parva
Childhood of Kauravas and Pandavas

At the instance of Duryodhana a play house was built on the Ganges. And there while feasting Duryrodhana served poisonous food to Bhima and Bhima became fast asleep.Duryodhana dragged the sleeping Bhima and threw him away into the waters.The waves of the Ganges carried Bhima into the nether land where snakes reign.Consequently Bhima did not returned to the palace of Hastinapura unlike other Pandavas and unlike Kauravas. While they were searching where Bhima could be, Bhima now carried off by the river Ganges reached the realm of snakes.The king of the snakes Vasuki recognised Bhima as his kin and Bhima was served a great quantity of nectar.After drinking nectar in abundance Bhima instantly fell asleep.  

Bhimasena awoke from that sleep on the eighth day, and felt as strong as he was before.Thanks to the nectar that he drank.It destroyed the effects of  the drug offered by Duryodhana  Seeing him awake, the Nagas began to console and cheer him, saying -------- Oh you of mighty arms, the strength-giving liquor you drank will give you the might of ten thousand elephants! No one now will be able to conquer you in fight. Bathe in this holy water and return home.Your brothers and mother are unhappy  because of your absence. Then Bhima purified himself with a bath in the said waters, and decked himself in white robes and white flowers.He ate the auspicious paramanna offered by the Nagas which destroys all the poisons. Then, decked in beautiful celestial ornaments, Bhima received the adorations and blessings of the snakes, and saluting them in return, rose from the nether region. The Nagas reached him in the same gardens and the play house near Hastinapura where he was sporting before being thrown into the Ganges. Then the snakes vanished in a flash from the sight. The mighty Bhimasena, reaching there in that sporting ground, ran with speed to his mother. He bowed down to her and to his eldest brother, and smelled the heads of his younger brothers. Affectionate to each other, they all repeatedly exclaimed --- We are fortunate today, Oh what a joy!You are again with us.

 Then Bhima narrated everything about the villainy of Duryodhana, to his brothers.He also narrated the lucky and unlucky incidents that had happened to him in the world of the serpents. Then  Yudhishthira said to Bhima  --- Observe silence on this. Do not speak of this to any one. He also said to Pandavas ---From this day, you all protect one another with great care. Thus cautioned by the righteous Yudhishthira, they all, with Yudhishthira himself, became very vigilant from that day. And when they understood that giving kalkuta poison to Bhima was the foul play of Duryodhana  they were very much cautious in keeping the secret.They  maintained silence on the unhappy incidents that happened to Bhima.The wise Vidura  counselled them continuously. When that terrible poison planned for the destruction of Bhima failed, Duryodhana  was very much depressed and  was very much speculative. Meanwhile, the king Dhritarashtra seeing  the energetic princes passing their time in idleness and growing naughty,appointed one teacher of  Gautama clan as their preceptor and sent them to him for teaching. He was known as Kripacharya. Kripacharya was well-skilled in the Vedas and it was under him that the princes began to learn the use of arms.