The mighty Pandavas, renowned for their valor, had once conquered the peoples of the east, the Sauviras, and the southerners. Their heroic deeds had proclaimed their manliness throughout the three worlds. At Arjuna’s birth, both Kunti and the powerful Pandu were freed from sorrow, for Jishnu, Arjuna, stood equal to Indra himself. Yet now, how had he come under the sway of time? It was a mystery how these two great warriors—strong as bulls and moving with the stride of lions, whom even Yama’s attendants could not restrain—had come under the law of mortality. With a heavy heart, the old king Dhritarashtra lamented, "Where have my sons gone, leaving me, old and deeply afflicted, behind? O daughter-in-law of the Vrishni line, you have left sorrow lodged in my heart. What omens appeared on the road during their journey to Varanavata? In this world of brief lives, the sons of Pritha will meet their fate." In his grief, the king cried out, "If you are truly unslain, O Pritha, show my sons to me! The Pandavas are my protectors, my eyes, my only refuge. Alas, my Pandavas! Alas, my sons! Alas, my lion-cubs! Alas, my mighty elephants! Alas, my exalted ones, my bringers of joy! Bereft of you, all the worlds are shrouded in darkness for me. When shall I see the sons of Kunti again, radiant as young suns? Not seeing you, my strong-armed children, who are as dear as sons to me—where is my path, where shall I go, from where will I see my boys? Alas, Yudhishthira! Alas, Bhima! Alas, Arjuna! Alas, the twins! Do not go, turn back, release your anger towards me." As the king poured out water in sorrow, Vidura, wise and discerning, seeing the time and place, spoke to him: "Do not grieve, tiger among men; cast off your sorrow, steadfast one. Death does not touch them; their destined time has not come, I assure you. Do not offer water to them, O Bharata," Vidura said to Bhishma, as the Kauravas listened. Approaching Vidura, his voice choked by tears, the king spoke slowly, "How do the mighty sons of Pandu still live, dear Kshatta? How is it that, for my sake, Pandu’s line has not been destroyed? How were all my kinsmen, led by me, saved from great danger? How were the Kurus rescued, like a mother by Garuda?" Thus addressed, Vidura, righteous and wise, reported everything to Bhishma in the presence of the Kauravas. He revealed, "A firm resolve was made for the destruction of the sons of Pandu by Dhritarashtra, Shakuni, the king, and Duryodhana. Knowing the wicked intention of that one, I too, wishing to slay him, remained among them with their consent. Then, when the house of lac was set on fire by the order of Dhritarashtra, Kunti with her sons went there. Summoning the digger, they made a tunnel and a hidden passage; having constructed it well concealed, the sons of Pandu did so with Kunti. I had exited first; do not let your mind be troubled with grief. Then, placing Pritha together with her sons onto the boat, I departed. Having given assurance to Kunti and her sons, I set fire to the house. Therefore, let no sorrow befall you; the Pandavas are freed from evil." Vidura continued, "The Pandavas, O King, departed together with their mother, scorning danger; through my stratagem, they escaped the terrible fire. Do not let this grief afflict you; the Pandavas are alive. They will wander in concealment until the appointed time passes. At that time, people on earth will see Yudhishthira, pure and radiant, appearing at the end of the dark fortnight like the moon rising over the world. I see no destruction for him whose brother is Dhananjaya, and Bhimasena, both formidable, and the two sons of Madri, the twin Yamās." Hearing these words, Bhishma’s whole body was delighted. He spoke to Vidura joyfully, "By fortune, by fortune!" and honored the wise one. "What you have done, dear one, is proper and fitting; by your auspicious act, we are freed from sorrow, and the Pandu side is not destroyed." Having spoken thus, the patriarch Bhishma entered the city, crowded with hundreds of people, together with the Kurus and the townsfolk. Meanwhile, the son of Ambika, Dhritarashtra, with his ministers, Karna, Saubala, and his own son, remembering the destruction intended for the Pandavas, became aged in spirit. But Bhishma, the formidable one, and Vidura, the wise, rejoiced, recalling the Pandavas’ escape from the house of lac fire. Through truthfulness, virtue, conduct, and the qualities arising from the people, Drona and others, by their righteousness, knew that the Pandavas had been rescued. For their valor, beauty, greatness, form, and strength of life, the citizens and country people regarded the Parthas as safe. Yet, among ordinary people and many women at that time, doubt lingered: "Were they burned, or do they live, or not?" Elsewhere, Bhima, advancing through the forest, stirred the trees and branches with the force of his mighty thighs, so that the whole forest seemed to whirl about. A wind blew upon his legs, as in the pure season of the bright fortnight; the mighty one made a path, bending the trees and creepers. He broke through blossoming and fruit-laden forest trees, proceeding toward the thickets near his path. Enraged as if in wrath, he broke great trees in the forest—Bhima, the elephant-king in his prime at sixty years, with three streams of flowing ichor. As he went with the speed of Garuda or the wind, the sons of Pandu, carried by Bhima, felt as if they were losing consciousness.