Seeing this, the horrified tutor separated the contestants, whom he soon after sent off separately to war against a neighboring rajah.  In this conflict the one hundred Kurus were badly worsted, while the five Pandavs scored a brilliant triumph.  They also subdued sundry other kings, thereby so rousing the jealous hatred of their uncle and cousins that these finally began to plot their death.  The five Pandavs and their mother were therefore invited to a feast in a neighboring city (Allahabad), where the Kurus arranged they should be burned alive in their booth.  But, duly warned by the God of Justice, the Pandavs had an underground passage dug from their hut to the forest, by means of which they escaped, little suspecting that a beggar woman and her five children—­who had sought refuge in the empty hut—­would be burned to death there in their stead.

Disguised as Brahmans, the five brothers and their mother now dwelt for a time in the jungle, where they proceeded to slay some demons, to marry others, and to perform sundry astounding feats of strength.  We are told, for instance, that whenever the mother and brothers were tired, the strongest of the Pandavs, Bhima, carried them all with the utmost ease.

While in the jungle they were visited by their grandfather Vyasa, who bade them attend the Bride’s Choice of Draupadi, daughter of a neighboring king, who—­Minerva-like—­came into the world full grown.

  Human mother never bore her, human bosom never fed,
  From the altar sprang the maiden who some prince will wed!

She was so beautiful that her father decided the suitor she favored would have to prove himself worthy of her by spanning a bow which no one as yet had been able to bend, and by sending an arrow through a rapidly revolving wheel into the eye of a gold fish stationed beyond it.

Owing to the extreme loveliness of Draupadi, many rajahs flocked to the tournament to compete for her hand, and the five Pandavs betook themselves thither in Brahman garb.  After the preliminary exercises, the beautiful princess—­to whom all her suitors had been duly named—­gave the signal for the contest to begin.  The mere sight of the huge bow proved enough to decide several of the contestants to withdraw, but a few determined to risk all in hopes of obtaining Draupadi’s hand.  No man, however, proved able to bend the bow until Arjuna stepped forward, begging permission to try his luck.  While the rajahs were protesting that no Brahman should compete, this Pandav spanned the bow and sent five successive shafts straight to the goal, amid the loud acclamations of all present.

  He grasped the ponderous weapon in his hand
  And with one vigorous effort braced the string. 
  Quickly the shafts were aimed and swiftly they flew;
  The mark fell pierced; a shout of victory
  Rang through the vast arena; from the sky
  Garlands of flowers crowned the hero’s head,
  Ten thousand fluttering scarfs waved in the air,
  And drum and trumpet sounded forth his triumph.