Viewing Guide. Peter Brook's Mahabharata 4. Exile in the Forest

Peter Brook's Mahabharata 4. Exile in the Forest

1 hour 38 minute mark: Amba

LINK. Amba seeks Bhima. She asks him to fight an old man, Bhishma. Bhima loves and respects Bhishma; he is invincible. Amba: "Hate keeps me young. I only live to kill Bhishma." No man will help her. Draupadi urges her to seek divine aid. The voice of Death speaks; only Death can outwit Death. Draupadi offers her food; she refuses: "All my life I walk and question; I need nothing."

1 hour 42 minute mark: Debate in the Forest

LINK. Draupadi rebukes Yudhishthira for their poverty. Yudhishthira: "Whether there is a reward or not, with all my strength I do what I must do. That is my dharma." Bhima chimes in: "You must protect the earth. That's the truth!" Nakula adds: "You can't answer lies with silence."

LINK. Arjuna announces that is going away to seek weapons.

1 hour 49 minute mark: Duryodhana Plots

LINK. Duhshasana has bad dreams about the Pandavas seeking vengeance. Duryodhana cannot attack them now because of the exile. Duhshasana urges him to stage a hunt where they can kill the Pandavas. Dhritarashtra and Gandhari worry about the Pandavas suffering in their exile; Duryodhana fears their growing strength. Dhritarashtra tries to console him, and Gandhari consoles Dhritarashtra.

1 hour 53 minute mark: Hidimbi

LINK. Bhima watches over his three brothers and Draupadi while they sleep. Hidimba the rakshasa sends his sister Hidimbi to kill them. She falls in love with Bhima and turns into a gorgeous woman; he loves her too. Hidimbi's brother approaches, and Bhima fights him and kills him.

1 hour 58 minute mark: Ghatotkacha

LINK. Hidimbi and Bhima get married, and she carries him through the air to visit places of pleasure. They have a son, Ghatotkacha, a mighty warrior and magician. Hidimbi and Ghatotkacha go away to another world, but Ghatotkacha promises that he will come if Bhima ever needs him.

2 hour 2 minute mark: Vyasa Intervenes

LINK. Bhima runs into Duryodhana in the forest; Duryodhana wants to know where Arjuna is, and he threatens Yudhishthira. Vyasa intervenes. He advises the Pandavas to visit wise men and listen to stories. He tells Duryodhana to go back to the city. The boy asks Vyasa why he does not stop the war. Vyasa: "There are some acts a word can check; others nothing can block.