Illustrator: Ram Waeerkar

ISBN: 81-7508-315-8

Vol. No:  593

When the Kuru elders granted the arid territory of Khandavaprastha to the Pandavas, little did their hostile cousins, the Kauravas, suspect that the Pandavas would soon turn it into a flourishing kingdom. 

Indraprastha as the kingdom was called, was the envy of the Kauravas. They were bent on making it theirs – by fair means or foul. Since the Pandavas were too strong for them, they had to resort to the latter. 

They incited the Pandavas for a game of dice. The Pandavas lost as the Karavas resorted to cheating. They had to go into exile for thirteen years – twelve years to be spent in the forest and the thirteenth year incognito. The thirteenth year was the most crucial for if they were able to remain in hiding that entire year, they would be restored to their kingdom; but if they were discovered, they would have to go into exile again for another thirteen years. 

This Amar Chitra Katha, based on the Virata Parva of the Mahabharata, is the story of how in the thirteenth year, Duryodhana, the Kaurava tried to make the Pandavas betray themselves and what followed as a result.