Saugandika Quest

A divine wind carried a Saugandika lotus to Draupadī while the Pāṇḍavas lived in Gandhamādana. She asked Bhīma to bring more of these flowers. Bhīma went alone through the dangerous forest, met Hanumān, reached the divine lake of Kubera, defeated the yakshas who guarded it, and gathered the lotuses. Kubera then came to him. He did not punish the Pāṇḍavas but blessed them. The Mahābhārata tells this in the Vana Parva, Chapters 146–155.

The lotus arrives

The Pāṇḍavas were living in the forests of Gandhamādana and waiting for Arjuna to return from Indra’s svarga (heaven). Draupadī was sitting outside. A divine wind passed by and brought a flower of great beauty, a Saugandika lotus. Its fragrance was not of this world. It was white and shining, and its scent filled the forest. It fell in front of Draupadī. (Vana Parva, Chapter 146)

Draupadī was charmed. She picked up the lotus and went to Yudhishṭhira. She showed it to him and said that she wanted more. She wished to gather a thousand of them as an offering and to send some to Yudhishṭhira’s mother Kuntī. Yudhishṭhira agreed and sent Bhīma to find where these flowers grew.

Bhīma’s journey through Gandhamādana

Bhīma set out alone. He roared as he went, and his steps shook the earth. The sound of his passing and his power drove the animals away. He went deeper into Gandhamādana, following the direction from which the divine wind had come, through land that grew more beautiful and more strange. (Vana Parva, Chapter 147)

His way led through the kadalīkhaṇḍa, a grove of banana trees, and there he met Hanumān. That meeting made Bhīma humble. Hanumān taught him about yuga dharma (the dharma of the ages) and gave him a vara (a boon). After the meeting Bhīma went on to the north.

The lake guarded by yakshas

Further on, Bhīma came to the region of Kubera’s domain, in the divine northern lands. Here the Saugandika lotuses grew in a divine lake (pushkariṇī) that belonged to Kubera, the king of the yakshas. The lake was full of golden and white lotuses. Its water was fragrant and pure, and divine birds and trees of the devas stood around it. Kubera’s yakshas and rākshasas guarded it, and they stood as sentries to stop anyone who came in without leave. (Vana Parva, Chapter 153)

The yakshas challenged Bhīma. They told him that this was Kubera’s sacred lake and that no human being could enter it without Kubera’s permission. Bhīma replied that the law of dharma allowed anyone to pick flowers freely from a lake or a forest, and that no one could claim water as his alone. Words did not settle the matter, and the yakshas attacked.

The battle with the yakshas

Bhīma fought the yakshas with his bare hands and with his gadā (mace). He was far stronger than they were. Although they were beings of great power, they were no match for the son of Vāyu at the height of his strength. He struck them down, threw them aside, and defeated them completely. (Vana Parva, Chapter 153)

Into the lake

With the yakshas beaten, Bhīma plunged into Kubera’s divine lake. He swam among the Saugandika lotuses and gathered great armfuls, and he was filled with their scent. He brought out as many as Draupadī had wanted. (Vana Parva, Chapter 154)

Kubera’s blessing

The beaten yakshas reported to Kubera. Kubera is the king of the yakshas, one of the Ashṭadikpālas (the guardians of the directions), and the guardian of the north. He came in his divine vimāna, the Pushpaka, with his followers. He did not come in anger. He came with understanding.

Kubera told them the whole background. The yaksha captain Maṇimanta had long ago wronged the great ṛshi Agastya, who was then in tapas (austerity). Maṇimanta had passed water on him. Agastya had given him a śāpa (a curse): a human being would kill him. Bhīma had been the means by which that curse was fulfilled. (Vana Parva, Chapter 159)

Kubera blessed the Pāṇḍavas fully. His servants would bring them food. His yakshas would protect them. The Saugandika lake was open to them for as long as they stayed. He also told them that Arjuna would soon return with divine weapons. The Pāṇḍavas were comforted.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 146–155 (the lotus, the journey, the lake, the battle and the gathering of the flowers)
• Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 159 (Kubera and the curse on Maṇimanta)