3. Vana Parva
The Book of the Forest · 324 adhyayas
The longest parva — twelve years of the Pandavas in the forest. Arjuna performs penance, wins the Pashupatastra from Shiva, and goes to heaven for divine weapons. Sages tell them the stories of Nala and Damayanti, and of Savitri and Satyavan. At the end comes the Yaksha's interrogation, where Yudhishthira's answers win back his brothers' lives.
Key Episodes
- Arjuna's penance, his duel with Shiva in the guise of a hunter, and the Pashupatastra
- The tales of Nala and Damayanti, and of Savitri and Satyavan
- Draupadi's Akshaya Patra, the vessel that never empties
- Bhima's meeting with Hanuman — both sons of the Wind
- Jayadratha's attempt to abduct Draupadi
- The Yaksha's questions, and the revival of the four brothers
Shlokas
Vana Parva
अहन्यहनि भूतानि गच्छन्ति यममन्दिरम् । शेषाः स्थावरमिच्छन्ति किमाश्चर्यमतः परम् ॥
ahany ahani bhūtāni gacchanti yama-mandiram / śeṣāḥ sthāvaram icchanti kim āścaryam ataḥ param
Day after day, beings depart for the house of Yama; yet those who remain behind live as though they will stay forever. What is more astonishing than this? Yudhishthira's answer to the Yaksha's question, 'What is the greatest wonder?'