Chapter 146

“Vaisampayana said, ‘The wicked Duryodhana became very pleased when theking, O Bharata, had said so unto Pandavas. And, O bull of Bharata’srace, Duryodhana, then, summoning his counsellor, Purochana in private,took hold of his right hand and said, ‘O Purochana, this world, so fullof wealth, is mine.

But it is thine equally with me. It behoveth thee,therefore, to protect it. I have no more trustworthy counsellor than theewith whom to consult. Therefore, O sire, keep my counsel and exterminatemy foes by a clever device. O, do as I bid thee. The Pandavas have, byDhritarashtra, been sent to Varanavata, where they will, atDhritarashtra’s command, enjoy themselves during the festivities. Do thatby which thou mayest this very day reach Varanavata in a car drawn byswift mules. Repairing thither, cause thou to be erected a quadrangularpalace in the neighbourhood of the arsenal, rich in the materials andfurniture, and guard thou the mansion well (with prying eyes). And usethou (in erecting that house) hemp and resin and all other inflammablematerials that are procurable. And mixing a little earth with clarifiedbutter and oil and fat and a large quantity of lac, make thou a plasterfor lining the walls, and scatter thou all around that house hemp and oiland clarified butter and lac and wood in such a way that the Pandavas, orany others, may not, even with scrutiny behold them there or conclude thehouse to be an inflammable one. And having erected such mansion, causethou the Pandavas, after worshipping them with great reverence, to dwellin it with Kunti and all their friends. And place thou there seats andconveyances and beds, all of the best workmanship, for the Pandavas, sothat Dhritarashtra may have no reason to complain. Thou must also somanage it all that none of Varanavata may know anything till the end wehave in view is accomplished. And assuring thyself that the Pandavas aresleeping within in confidence and without fear, thou must then set fireto that mansion beginning at the outer door. The Pandavas thereupon mustbe burnt to death, but the people will say that they have been burnt in(an accidental) conflagration of their house.

“Saying, ‘So be it’ unto the Kuru prince, Purochana repaired toVaranavata in a car drawn by fleet mules. And going thither, O king,without loss of time, obedient to the instructions of Duryodhana, dideverything that the prince had bid him do.”