वैशंपायन उवाच
ततो दुर्योधनो राजा सर्वास् ताः प्रकृतीः शनैः ॥
अर्थमानप्रदानाभ्यां संजहार सहानुजः ॥
धृतराष्ट्रप्रयुक्तास् तु के चित् कुशलमन्त्रिणः ॥
कथयां चक्रिरे रम्यं नगरं वारणावतम् ॥
अयं समाजः सुमहान् रमणीयतमो भुवि ॥
उपस्थितः पशुपतेर् नगरे वारणावते ॥
सर्वरत्नसमाकीर्णे पुंसां देशे मनोरमे ॥
इत्य् एवं धृतराष्ट्रस्य वचनाच् चक्रिरे कथाः ॥
कथ्यमाने तथा रम्ये नगरे वारणावते ॥
गमने पाण्डुपुत्राणां जज्ञे तत्र मतिर् नृप ॥
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca
tato duryodhano rājā sarvās tāḥ prakṛtīḥ śanaiḥ ||
arthamānapradānābhyāṃ saṃjahāra sahānujaḥ ||
dhṛtarāṣṭraprayuktās tu ke cit kuśalamantriṇaḥ ||
kathayāṃ cakrire ramyaṃ nagaraṃ vāraṇāvatam ||
ayaṃ samājaḥ sumahān ramaṇīyatamo bhuvi ||
upasthitaḥ paśupater nagare vāraṇāvate ||
sarvaratnasamākīrṇe puṃsāṃ deśe manorame ||
ity evaṃ dhṛtarāṣṭrasya vacanāc cakrire kathāḥ ||
kathyamāne tathā ramye nagare vāraṇāvate ||
gamane pāṇḍuputrāṇāṃ jajñe tatra matir nṛpa ||
Vaishampayana said: 'Then King Duryodhana, together with his younger brothers, gradually won over all those subjects with gifts of wealth and honors. And certain skilled counselors, sent by Dhritarashtra, began to extol the beautiful city of Varanavata: "Here has arrived a great festival, the most delightful on earth, in honor of Pashupati (Shiva) in the city of Varanavata, in a land full of every treasure, delightful to people." Thus, at the word of Dhritarashtra, they carried on these speeches; and as the beautiful city was thus being extolled, the sons of Pandu conceived a desire to go there.'
e9244fc2da27 · published Jul 12, 2026, 5:03:08 PM UTC
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Here the trap is baited with the lure of piety and festivity. It is telling that a festival of Shiva is chosen as the instrument of deceit: even the sacred is used as bait to draw the Pandavas to their doom. Here appears the usual cunning of evil -- to dress itself in what looks fair: a deadly plot is covered over with joyful pilgrimage. It is also telling that the hired men praise the city 'at the word of Dhritarashtra': the king, knowing the sinfulness of his design, himself sets falsehood in motion through the mouths of hired counselors. Thus the scripture shows how skillfully the snare is laid: bribing the subjects, cunning speeches, and the lure of a festival prepare the road to the house of lac for the unsuspecting brothers.