The arrangement proposed by
Narad seemed to be working fine
until one day when an unfortunate problem arose.
Arjun was in his balcony when he
suddenly heard the painful cries of a Brahmin.
When Arjun asked him what the matter was,
the Brahmin told him that a group of thieves had broken into his hut in broad daylight
and stolen his cows.
Arjun was shocked to hear that
there were thieves in Indraprasth.
No sooner did Arjun promise help to the Brahmin
than he was reminded that his
weapons were in Yudhishthir’s chambers.
According to the arrangement set by Narada,
it was Yudhishthir turn to have
Draupadi as his wife for a year.
Arjun knew that stepping into Yudhsithir's
chambers would mean twelve years of exile
but dharma was above all and
he had to help the Brahmin immediately.
Arjun rushed into Yudhishthir’s
chambers to fetch his bow.
From outside the door he
heard Yudhishthir and Draupadi together.
After mustering his courage,
he spoke from the door and told Yudhishthir
that the Brahmin needed his help
and that he has come to fetch his bow.
Without waiting for a response,
Arjun walked in to collect his
weapons and rushed to help the Brahmin.
Arjun knew that he had sentenced
himself to twelve years of exile.
He asked the Brahmin
to guide him the way to the forest.
Both Arjun and the Brahman
sped their way into the forest and followed the thieves.
In no time Arjun attacked the thieves
and rounded up the cows
and handed them over to the Brahmin.
Upon returning to Indraprastha,
Arjun was filled with shame.
He was ready to leave Indraprasth
when Yudhishthir stopped
him and asked him to stay.
He told Arjun that he was only performing his duty
and that he should not punish
himself by leaving Indraprasth.
Arjun bowed to Yudhsihthir and told him
that it would be wrong for him to stay back.
Thus, Arjun took leave of his brothers.
Kunti and Draupadi begged
him to reconsider his decision
but he would not listen.
Arjun took leave of his mother and set out for exile
with a group of brahmins.
After saving the Brahmin’s cows, Arjun leaves Indraprasth with a group of Brahmins.
Arjun along with the group of Brahmins set
forth on his journey towards the Himalayas.
Upon reaching the Himalayas, Arjun decided to stay by the lake that formed the source of the river Ganga.
The brahmans together built simple shelters for themselves and lit fires to keep themselves warm.
In the morning, Arjun would bathe in the waters of the holy river and meditate in the night.
Arjun spent
months this way without any desire or any temptations.
One day when Arjun was bathing in the lake, he was suddenly pulled down by a hostile force.
The force rendered him unconscious and he could do nothing to resist it. When Arjun opened his eyes, he saw before him a young
woman with eternal grace
She introduced herself as Ulupi, the daughter of Naga Kauravya who was the king of Naaglok
She even told Arjun that she loves Arjun and that she wants to marry him.
Arjun told her about Draupadi and that he had sworn to be a brahmachary.
It would be wrong to give in to temptation.
However, Ulupi’s eternal beauty and grace
made Arjun give in to temptation.
Arjun and Ulupi spent months together in the lake until one day when Arjun realised that it was time for him to leave
He bade farewell to Ulupi and dived out of the lake.
After returning to his companions, Arjun told them that it was time for them to leave for their next destination.
Before leaving, they offered their last prayers to the Ganga and ascended mountain.
On their way, they visited the ashrams of Agatsya, Vasishta and Bhrigu.
The long journey had taken its toll on their appearance.
By now they had grown long beards
and looked like sannyasis.
Upon reaching Kalinga, the brahmanas grew weary of the journey and bade farewell to Arjun
Arjun, however, continued his travels as he was determined to see the whole of Bharatvarsh
His journey soon took him to the kingdom of Manalur.
In Manalur, King Chitrasen welcomed Arjun to his palace.
Arjun stayed in the palace
disguised as a Brahman.
It was during his stay there that he fell in love with Chitrasen’s daughter, Chitragandha.
After much thought, Arjun asked Chitrasen his daughter’s hand in marriage.
Arjun was married to Chitragandha after which he spent three years in Manalur.
Arjun, however, could not stop his heart from wanting to go back to Indraprasth.
After Chitragandha bore Arjun a child, he decided to leave Manalur and go back to his brothers.
One night after everybody had fallen asleep, Arjun stole out of the city and set out towards Indraprasth.
Arjun travelled through harsh lands and visited all the shrines and ashrams that came his way.
After travelling for days, Arjun finally reached Prabhasa, the city which lay at the outskirts of the kingdom of Dwarka.
When Krishna heard of Arjun’s arrival, he went to meet him at Prabhasa.
They embraced each other with joy.
Krishna and Arjun spent a few days together at the Rivaataka Mountain.
Together they feasted and engaged in revelry.
During their stay, Arjun told Krishna all about his adventures and his visits to the shrines.
Krishna told Arjun that all his experiences were destined to happen.
One of the reasons for Arjun’s visit to Dwarka was to confess his feelings about Krishna’s sister, Subhadra
Stories of Subhadra’s untold beauty and elegance had aroused curiosity in Arjun who was determined to marry her.
Krishna, however, was not unaware of Arjun’s feelings towards Subhadra.
Thus, when Arjun confessed his feelings towards Subhadra and sought his permission to marry her,
Krishna happily agreed.
However, there was a problem.
Krishna told Arjun that his alliance with Subhadra might anger Balram since he had planned for Subhadra to be wedded to Duryodhan.
Seeking Balram’s consent for the marriage might be difficult.
Krishna devised a plan for Arjun. A well-known custom among Kshatriyas was to abduct the girl and marry her
Krishna, thus, asked Arjun to make Subhadra fall in love with him and then abduct her.
Having agreed on the plan, Krishna and Arjun set forth towards Dwarka.
Arjun had disguised himself as a sanyasi so as to keep suspicions away.
At Dwarka, Arjun met Balaram. Balaram, who was fond of entertaining saints and hermits,
was extremely happy upon meeting Arjun.
He even arranged for his stay and for Subhadra to serve him so that she would be blessed.
This worked in favour of Arjun as he could
now spend time with Subhadra.
Over the coming weeks, Arjun saw Subhadra everyday as she would attend to his needs.
With time, the attraction between them grew.
One day Subhadra confessed to Krishna her feelings towards the sanyasi and told him that she wanted to marry him
Kirshna then revealed the truth to Subhadra saying that the Sanyasi was none other than Arjun.
Subhadra was overjoyed upon learning that Arjun had come to Dwarka for the purpose of marrying her.
Knowing very well that Balaram would not approve of Arjun’s and Subhadra’s union, Krishna
told Arjun to abduct Subhadra on the day of the festival which would be held at the Rivataka Hill.
As planned, on the day of the festival,
Krishna arranged for a chariot.
Arjun mounted the chariot and headed straight towards Subhadra who was surrounded by her relatives.
He pulled Subhadra into the chariot and raced out of the gates.
Before anybody could reach them, they had already escaped.