Reading Notes: Mahabharata, Part B – Burning of the Forest
Krishna and Arjuna in battle with Indra, as they help Agni burn down the Khandava forest.
When Krishna and Arjuna were sitting by the river at the party that the Pandavas threw him, a Brahmin appeared and out of respect, the Krishna and Arjuna instantly stood up to hear what the Brahmin had to say. The Brahmin said that after walking a long a distance, he needed to eat something. Krishna and Arjuna tried to usher him inside, offering a meal made by Draupadi and Subhadra, the Brahmin said “Nom it is not ordinary food that I want to eat. I am Agni, the god of fire. I do not eat the food that the mortals consume. For these past two years, all I have eaten is ghee for my twelve year sacrifice and this has made me weaker and weaker as each day passes. I need to eat a forest, the Khandava forest to be exact. If you two are as noble as they say, you will help me eat the forest and restore me of my strength and help me maintain my duty of overseeing the element of fire on this earth.”
Agni had tried to eat the forest multiple times before, it for some reason, Indra would never let it happens and he would make rains fall from the sky to extinguish the fire of Agni. Krishna and Arjuna said that they would help Agni eat the forest if Agni offered them celestial weapons in exchange and Agni agreed immediately. Agni gave Arjuna a bow from the god Varuna that shot arrows that would pierce his enemies with the strength of all of the gods combined. With the bow, he also got a quiver of bows that gave him an unlimited supply of bows with tips that were made out of the sharpest and strongest diamonds. Agni gave Krishna a mace that was light as a feather but would make his enemies feel like they were being hit with a boulder. Agni also gave him a celestial discus that would allow him to take out an enemy at any range.
Arjuna and Krishna walked with Agni to the forest and Agni grew up in a giant flame and started to eat the trees one by one, burning them to complete ash. Indra, from the heavens, saw what was happening so he sent down storms of rain. Arjuna shot an arrow at the clouds, making them all disintegrate, ceasing the rain. Ultimately, Indra was defeated and Agni was able to eat the whole forest.
Source: The Mahabharata, A Summary by John Mandeville Macfie (1921).
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