Week 5 Storytelling: Palace of Fire

The Pandavas and their mother, Queen Kunti rode to the top of the hill, where an enormous palace stood, its magnificence matched nowhere else on Earth. It was a malevolent masterpiece of Prince Duryodhana, but the Pandavas did not yet realize the Prince's cruel intent.  They entered the Great Hall.  Above them was a vaulted wooden ceiling.  Emblems of all the great families lined the ceiling, and statues of fierce warriors watched over the vast space.  Despite their royalty and wealth, the Pandavas had never gazed upon any palace as grand.  They looked forward to spending the next few months in the place.

The Great Hall (in a strange gothic style)

Image from Wikipedia

Now Yudhishthira had received a warning from Prince Vidura about Duryodhana's treachery.  He soon realized that the entire palace was built with wood and soaked in oil.  His rage was immediately inflamed and he desired to leave the castle at once and kill Purochana, the guard Duryodhana had sent along with them.  Yudhishthira realized that Purochana had been sent to set the palace ablaze.  However, he realized that killing Purochana would seem unjustified and anger his people.  Instead, as he calmed down, he concocted a different plan to enact his revenge.  He counseled with his mother and the rest of his brothers, and they set to work at once.

The next day they announced their plans to hold a grand banquet to celebrate the completion of the palace.  As a reward for overseeing its completion, the Pandavas invited Purochana and all the other guards to attend this feast.  Yudhishthira went into the city hire additional kitchen staff and make the necessary arrangements.  Unbeknownst to Purochana, he also found a miner to help him complete a special project.  For the next fortnight, the Pandavas kept Purochana under a keen eye to make sure he did not set the palace on fire.

Finally, the day of the feast arrived.  The tables were decorated to their finest and there was enough food to feed an entire army.  Near the end of the meal, Yudhishthira accidentally knocked over a candle while raising his glass.  The table immediately burst into flame.  At the same time, all around the palace, servants set fire to the building and left with great haste.  The Great Hall stirred with commotion as the guards rushed to leave.  In their hurry, none of them realized that the royal family had disappeared.  The entire palace was engulfed in flames and the guards had no means of escape.  They all perished.

The next morning, the townspeople saw the heap of ashes and began to mourn the loss of the royalty.  At that time, the Pandavas arose from the underground shelter which the miner had built.  When the people saw the Pandavas arise from the ashes they shouted, "Masters of the Flames!"  Thus the Pandavas had their revenge and their glory was doubled throughout their kingdom.

Author's Note:  This story was particularly difficult to write.  I enjoyed the story about the "House of Fire" especially because of the tunnel.  However, building a tunnel seemed somewhat pointless since the Pandavas could have just walked out of the house.  I wanted to retell the story where the Pandavas are in the house when it catches fire so an underground passage is needed.

Bibliography:
"The House of Fire" by C.A, Kincaid, from The Indian Heroes (1921).  Web Source: PDE Mahabharata.