Week 9: Fire Escape (Storytelling)

I had been quietly watching my sons since we began our quest for this “House of Joy”. That was what the King had named our retreat home, the most ridiculous title he’s came up with to date. The way he rushed all of my sons and I out was strange, especially since he had just named my eldest son, Yudhistira, the heir to his throne.

I walked near the front of our group with Yudhistira and one of the kingdom’s advisors, Vidura. We walked in tense silence, lost in our own thoughts as the younger brothers chatted merrily behind us. Yudhistira seemed suspicious of the king's intentions as well.

Vidura walked with us until we were over halfway through our journey. All of the other elders and advisors turned back hours ago.

In hushed tones, Vidura began speaking to Yudhistira. He spoke of enemies and weapons not made of steel. Then even quieter, Vidura whispered about wood and straw, followed by jackals, earth, and stars. His words were unintelligible to me, but Yudhistira listened intently.

Before Vidura left to return to the king, Yudhistira nodded and said he understood. Well at least someone did.

After thinking about the strange encounter I had witnessed I approached my son. “Yudhistira,” I whispered, “What were you and Vidura saying? I couldn’t understand a word of it.”

Yudhistira glanced around nervously. He relaxed again when he saw our servants were paying us no mind and his brothers continued their chatting and games a safe distance behind us. “I’ll explain later. But I fear in the next couple of days it will all become clear.”

I let the topic drop as we continued on our journey.

***

It wasn’t long after when we arrived at our destination, Varanavata. The crowds cheered at the sights of their princes. I smiled as I watched Yudhistira greet some of the elders with a wide smile. He looked so grand, so official, and rightly so. Someday my son would be King.

When arrived at the Joy House, his smile instantly disappeared. The home was spacious, plenty of room for my five sons and myself. There was an unusual smell but I didn’t think much about it. The architect of the home, Purochana, showed us around and helped us get settled.

I couldn’t focus on anything but Yudhistira’s dark expression as he inspected the house and watched Purochana suspiciously. As soon as the architect was gone, Yudhistira pulled me aside.

“I thought I was just paranoid,” he said, “but I fear I’m not. Mother, we are in danger here.” Yudhistira then began to tell me about the message from Vidura and what he noticed in the Joy House.

Short version: the king was scared and wanted my sons and I out of the picture. Yudhistira had been warned by Vidura that the king planned for Purochana to set fire to the Joy House one night while we were sleeping. The walls of the home were filled with straw and oil which would easily go up in flames.

I had worried about the king’s intentions but never had I thought he would try to have me and his nephews killed. Yudhistira obviously saw the panic in my face as he quickly continued. “We have a plan,” he whispered. “A man is going to come and build a tunnel for us to escape in. It will make it appear as though the king succeeded but we will be free. But we must not let Purochana know. We have to act as though nothing is wrong.”

I nodded and Yudhistira left me to give the information to his brothers. It would take all of us to keep the plan secret. And keeping it secret was the only way we would survive this trip.

***

For more than a week after, a man snuck into the Joy House. In the room furthest from Purochana’s he dug a hole and a tunnel from there. That would be our escape route when the time came. As the date approached, Yudhistira became more and more anxious as he tried to figure out how to keep Purochana from discovering our planned escape.

Yudhistira’s solution was we act sooner and dramatically. He instructed me to throw a huge dinner feast for as many people as we could fit into the Joy House. My sons kept Purochana drinking, hoping he would be oblivious enough not wake until we were gone tonight.

After everyone went home and Purochana was asleep, we made our way down to steep steps into the tunnel. I was behind my three youngest boys. Above me I heard the urgent whispering of Yudhistira and the second oldest, Bhima. 

Bhima had a torch in his hand and Yudhistira was watching him and pointing around the house. I had frozen on the stairs. Within a minute, the smoke was nauseating and the fire crackled all around. Yudhistira and Bhima both came rushing down the stairs, sealing the hole above us.

“Mother,” Bhima said, “you should have kept going.” They hurried me down the tunnel where the younger boys were waiting.

“There’s a boat,” Yudhistira said, “at the end. Vidura arranged it. It will take us somewhere safe.” We continued making our way down the tunnel, the smell of smoke clinging to the three of us even as we left the blazing fire behind.

Pandavas Escape the Fire. Wikimedia

Author's Note: For this week's storytelling assignment, I wrote about the Pandavas and their mother when they were sent away and their uncle, the King Dhritarashtra, sends them away under the guise of having them enjoy a festival but really tries to have them quietly killed. The King's plan was to house the brothers and their mother in a home made of straw and oil and then have someone set a fire in the dead of night. The boys found out about the plot and with the help an adviser, Vidura, they escaped and temporarily faked their own deaths.

I wrote my story in Kunthi's perspective, who was the mother of the Pandavas. I kept most of the story the same but added some details particularly because of Kunthi's perspective as she watches her sons deal with the threat and find a way to escape.

Story Source: Narayan, R. K. (1978). The Mahabharata.