Yaksha Prasannam ( Part 1) : The Enchanted Pool

 In Hinduism, there are many sects, and the Vedas and Puranas contain both similarities and differences in their narratives. Yet, the Dharma they teach remains essentially the same. There is no real difference in the moral principles they convey. Among all the scriptures of Dharma that I have read and heard so far, the portion that deeply touched my heart is the Yaksha Prashna found in the Mahabharata, written by Sage Vyasa.

The Mahabharata is often called the great epic of India. I truly realized how meaningful that statement is when I read the Yaksha Prashna. This is a remarkable section that beautifully teaches what Dharma really means. All of us wish to walk on the path of righteousness. But when we ask ourselves whether we are truly following the path of Dharma, we often find ourselves unable to answer. This is a story that every one of us must know. For that, we must journey into the Dwaita Forest.

The mighty empire of Hastinapura had five Pandava princes and their cousins, the hundred Kauravas. The eldest among them was Yudhishthira, the eldest of the Pandavas. Born by the grace of Dharma Deva (Yama), he was known as Dharmaputra. The Kauravas, who had nurtured jealousy and deceit toward the Pandavas from a young age, defeated them in a game of dice, seized their kingdom, and sent them into exile for twelve years, followed by one year of life in disguise. Humiliated and stripped of their kingdom, the Pandavas vowed to defeat the Kauravas and reclaim Hastinapura. Along with their wife Draupadi (Panchali), they went into exile and lived for some time in the Dwaita forest.

One day, a Brahmin living nearby came to the Pandavas’ hut seeking help. In ancient times, fire for rituals such as homas and yagnas was produced by rubbing wooden sticks together. The Brahmin explained that his fire sticks had gotten entangled in the antlers of a large deer with long curved horns, and requested the Pandavas to retrieve them.

Performing yajnas and rituals for the welfare of the world was considered the duty of Brahmins and sages. It was the duty of Kshatriyas to help remove any obstacles in such tasks. Therefore, the five Pandavas set out to chase the deer. However, despite pursuing it for a long distance, they could not catch it. The deer ran at lightning speed and disappeared. Exhausted and thirsty, the five brothers stopped running and sat under a banyan tree. Reflecting on how they were suffering despite following Dharma, they felt distressed. 

Yudhishthira then asked his third brother Nakula to climb the tree and check if there was any water source nearby. Nakula spotted a small pond at some distance. Yudhishthira sent him to fetch water. Nakula reached the beautiful, green pond and stepped in to drink water. Suddenly, a voice from the sky warned him:

“Stop, O warrior. This is my pond. Answer my questions before drinking the water.”

Overwhelmed by thirst, Nakula ignored the voice and drank the water. Immediately, he fell dead. When Nakula did not return, Yudhishthira sent the youngest brother Sahadeva. Seeing Nakula lying dead, Sahadeva wept in grief, but soon he too attempted to drink water. The same fate befell him. When both did not return, Yudhishthira sent Arjuna. Shocked to see both brothers lying dead, Arjuna searched around. As he stepped into the pond, the mysterious voice sounded again. Angered by the warning, Arjuna shot arrows in the direction of the voice, but to no avail. Overcome by thirst, he drank the water and also fell dead. Next, Bhima went. Seeing his brothers dead, he cried out in anguish, but he too drank the water and collapsed.

Worried that none of them had returned, Yudhishthira himself went to the pond. Seeing all four brothers lying lifeless, he wept in sorrow. Unable to understand what had happened, he was overcome with grief. But thirst troubled him too. As he stepped into the water, the voice spoke again.

The voice revealed that it was a Yaksha and that the pond belonged to him. He explained that the others had died because they drank water without answering his questions. If Yudhishthira answered his questions, he could drink the water. Yudhishthira agreed. The questions asked by the Yaksha and the answers given by Yudhishthira form the famous Yaksha Prashna. This section contains more than a hundred questions and answers. I am happy to share some of them with you.

We will continue in the next post.

Shanmugapriya K Sambathkumar