After being exiled, it was but natural that the rest of the Pandavas were filled with anger. Yudhishthira himself had every reason to be angry for the deceit and even more so, on himself for falling prey to it. This simmering anger could have led to instant war even if he had allowed Bhima to. But Yudhishthira’s nature was one that pulled his wisdom above anger and strength A certain degree of practical ocrrectness was also part of it, which prevented him and the Pandavas from letting their emotions get the better of them.
As they had lost everything including all financial and military strength, and the kingdom of Hastinapur had gained all of it, Yudhishthira drew the attention of his brothers to the reality that waging war at this time was not in their interest. It would probably be saner, he advised, to build their strength and prowess, by bagging military weapons as well as alliances over the next few years so that they could pursue getting back what they had lost if it wasn’t returned.
Narada the great sage had once advised Yudhishthira when he had asked him what his duty as a householder king was. Öh King,” Narada had said. “Are you balancing Dharma, Artha and Kama – the three duties of a householder king – in equal measure. Don’t pursue Dharma at the cost of Artha and Kama, don’t pursue Artha at the cost of Dharma and Kama, and don’t pursue Kama at the cost of Dharma and Artha.” Yudhishthira remembered this advice and realised that while he had pursued Artha before the Rajasooya sacrifice, the exile was the time to pursue Dharma. The rishis in the forest including their priest Dhaumya Rishi acknowledged that Yudhishthira was right and the Pandavas set about the task in right earnest.
He started building his military prowess and at the same time wanted to ensure that the Brahmins in the forest were never left without food so that they could give him all the spiritual knowledge that he needed. He prayed to the Sun and at that time, he was blessed with the Akshaya Patra – a benediction that ensured that every day till the last member of their family and whoever else they wanted to feed had their heart’s fill, the food would never run out. Markandeya Rishi told Yudhishthira about similarity of his situation to Ram. Yudhishthira was Brahminical, but Draupadi and Bhima weren’t happy and wanted revenge. But due to Yudhishthira’s wisdom, they used the time in exile to arm themselves militarily with Arjuna going to the heavens and bagging weapons that would serve him during the war of Kurukshetra later.
There are many stories about the Pandavas in exile which demonstrate the victory of Yudhishthira’s wisdom over Bhima’s anger or Arjuna’s heroism.
A popular one is the one of the snake Nahusha. Nahusha was once a rajarishi (saintly king) who made the mistake of letting his pride overtake him. In one such instance, he pushed the sage Agastya to move fast. Angered by his pride, the sage cursed him that he would become an immobile snake and would only be released from it when someone wise answers his questions on Dharma. Nahusha the snake captured Bhima who had boasted of his strength to him and was about to eat Bhima when Yudhishthira arrived at the scene. Negotiating with Nahisha, Yudhishthira found that the only way to save Bhima was by answering Nahusha’s questions on Dharma. Not only did Yudhishthira answer Nahusha’s questions but also exchanged questions with him to give and get more wisdom, relieving Nahusha from the curse and releasing Bhima.
Austerity of tweleve years in exile did not dim the flame of revenge and anger in the Pandavas. It gave them the impetus to work hard and prepare adequately for the impending war after the thirteenth year incognito. At the end of the twelve years, they searched for a place to spend their thirteenth year undetected. In that process, there is a story of a brahmin who asked them to find a deer, whom they chased. Tired of the chase and still unable to catch the deer, they went in search of water went to the lake. Here again the wisdom of Yudhishthira saved the brothers who were over eager in their bravery.
Each of the other four Pandavas went to the lake to search for the preceding missing Pandava. Each of them were challenged by a crane to not drink water as it was his lake. Each of them tried to be too brave, challenged the crane and drank water. And one by one, each of them fell unconscious.
Yudhishthira finally came there and found the four of them there. On being challenged by the crane and seeing his brothers caught between life and death, he realised that the crane was not a normal crane. It turned out that the crane was a Yaksha (a heavenly being) who challenged Yudhishthira with many profound questions, each of which he answered faultlessly.
Among those was a question that asked what the world was, to which he said that the world was a pot in which all living entities are being cooked by the slow flame of time. Another one was when the Yaksha asked him what was the most surprising thing in the world, to which he replied that it was that everyday people die, but people still live thinking as if they will not die. Eventually the crane was pleased and asked Yudhishthira for one benediction, to which he asked that Nakula to be revived. On being asked why he chose Nakula, Yudhishthira explained that his sense of justice dictated that with him alive and Nakula also alive, both Kunti and Madri had one son alive and that would be fair. This sense of justice forced the Yaksha to reveal that he was Dharma, the father of Yudhishthira. He said he was also the deer and advised them to stay in Virata in their last year. The final blessing Yudhishthira asked from Dharma was for his mind to be free from avarice, anger and folly, and sway towards charity and truth, further demonstrating the value of his wisdom over anger and strength.
***