| Whilst
Arjuna was away in the Himalayas in
search of the divine arrow, his brothers
and Draupadi missed him very much
and spend a long time visiting holy
places. Eventually they came to Kulinda,
the kingdom of Subahu in the Himalayas,
and visited a charming forest called
Narayanasrama, where they stayed.
One day the wind wafted a beautiful
flower near Draupadi, who was so enchanted
by its fragrance that she asked Bhima
to find some more of those flowers.
Bhima made
a good guess that the location of
the flowering plant was in the North
based on the direction of the wind
carrying the fragrannce blowing.Having
no idea where he was going to, he
set off in search of the flower,
the saugandhika. He encountered
many difficulties on his journey
and eventually came to the forest
where his step-brother, Hanuman,was
dwelling. Hanuman recognised Bhima
and wanted to help him, but felt
that he should first be humbled.
Hanuman therefore transformed himself
into a decrepit old monkey and lay
in Bhima's path. After teasing him
for some time, Hanuman told him
how to find the flower. Eventually
Bhima reached the garden of Kubera,
the home of the flower , and brought
it back to Draupadi. |