Bheema was the only one of Yudhishthira’s brothers who often drew him into argument over his meekness and timidity. He always tried to provoke him into open battle with the Kauravas.
‘In your submission to injustice and cruelty, you behave more like a Brahmin than a Kshatriya,’ Bheema taunted him one day. ‘What the Kshatriya dharma demands of us is to fight for our rights, not retreat into inaction. It is for us to mould our destiny, not resign ourselves to it.’
But Yudhishthira always countered him, saying, ‘Don’t forget that we are bound by a code of honour. I pledged myself to certain terms before playing the second game of dice and I must abide by them. Of course, I haven’t so far been able to come to terms with my own guilt for venturing into a game I was not skilled at. But what is done cannot be undone. I only beseech my family to forgive me for the suffering I have caused. I also know that war is no solution to any problem. Dear brother, remember that we don’t stand much chance against such veterans as Bheeshma and Drona.’
‘Can any of them stand up against Arjuna’s Gandiva?’
Thus would always end their argument.
Arjuna too was for action, but out of respect for his elder brother, he never argued with him.
Bheema was very excited when Arjuna announced, one day, that he had decided to go to the Himalayas in search of some divine weapon. Arjuna sought the good wishes of Draupadi and the blessings of Yudhishthira before setting out on this quest.
It was an arduous journey through hills and valleys. When he reached the peak of a lofty mountain, he sat there to do his tapas. Then, one morning, there appeared before him Indra, the lord of the gods. With a gracious smile on his face, Indra asked him, ‘What are you seeking, my child? I am here in response to your prayers.’
Arjuna did not know that it was this god who had sired him.
‘I have been trained in archery by my guru Dronacharya,’ said Arjuna, ‘but I have come here in quest of some divine weapon that would make me invincible.’
Indra flashed another smile and said, ‘In that case, I advise you to seek out Lord Siva, the supreme archer. You will surely meet him somewhere in these hills if you pray to him with ardent devotion.’
As Arjuna bowed to touch the god’s feet, he felt a gentle hand caressing his head affectionately.
For several days and nights, Arjuna prayed to Lord Siva, but there was no sign of him. Then, one day, as he was wandering about the hills, he saw a wild boar that was about to leap at him from behind a rock. At once, he pulled out his bow and shot at the beast, right in the middle of its forehead. But, surprisingly, he noticed that another arrow that whizzed past his ears had also hit the beast at the same point. Turning around, he saw a hunter with his wife. Before he could collect himself, the hunter shouted at him, ‘Who are you? How dare you shoot at my prey?’
‘But these mountains are open to every man,’ Arjuna replied, ‘to hunt, pray or just wander about. How can you claim the Himalayas as your exclusive preserve?’
Then, challenging the hunter to a combat, Arjuna started to shower his arrows on him. But, amazingly, each arrow bounced back to him without hurting his adversary. He then took out his sword to strike him on the head, but the hunter simply wrested it out of his hand and broke it into pieces.
Now weaponless and frustrated, Arjuna braced himself to engage the hunter in a wrestling bout. But a flick of the hunter’s right hand sent him rolling on the ground. Surely he was pitted against some god, Arjuna now realized.
It was now time, he felt, to pray to Lord Siva for help against this enemy. As he muttered his prayer, he saw a third eye opening in the middle of the hunter’s forehead. Something now flashed through his mind. Was it not Lord Siva himself, who was standing in front of him, with his consort, Parvati? He then prostrated himself at the lord’s feet and sought his forgiveness.
‘No, I am not angry with you, O young man, for I admire your valour, especially the skill with which you shot at the boar’s head. You may now ask of me any boon, and I will grant it to you.’
‘I came to these hills in quest of some divine weapon that would make me invincible. So endow me, O Lord, with such a weapon, and I shall be beholden to you.’
Smiling, Siva held out a weapon in his right hand and said, ‘This is Pasupata, a weapon that will help you vanquish even the mightiest in the land.’ He paused. ‘But, remember, you also owe a debt of gratitude to your father, Indra, for directing you to me.’