Book 3 of 18 · The Mahabharata

Vana Parva

वन पर्व

Vana Parva

The Book of the Forest

What is the Vana Parva?

The Vana Parva (वन पर्व) is the third of the eighteen books of the Mahabharata. Its name means “Book of the Forest”, and this site tells 120 stories drawn from it.

Vana Parva Summary

The longest span of the exile, twelve years spent in the forests of the Kamyaka, the Dvaita woods and the Himalayan slopes. Arjuna climbs to Indra's heaven and to Shiva himself to win celestial weapons, Bhima meets Hanuman on a mountain path, and Yudhishthira answers the questions of a yaksha at a poisoned lake to bring his brothers back to life. Sages who visit the exiles fill the book with the epic's greatest inset tales - Nala and Damayanti, Savitri and Yama, Rama's war for Sita, the churning legends and the pilgrimage stories of the sacred fords. It is the Mahabharata's treasury of teaching stories, and the forge in which the Pandavas are remade for war.

What This Book Is About

  • exile
  • austerity
  • pilgrimage
  • inset tales
  • endurance

Sub-Books (Upaparvas) of the Vana Parva

The Mahabharata divides itself into one hundred upaparvas; 16 of them belong to this book.

  1. Aranyaka ParvaThe Forest BookSub-book 29 of 100
  2. Kirmira-vadha ParvaThe Slaying of KirmiraSub-book 30 of 100
  3. Arjunabhigamana ParvaArjuna's Departure for AusteritiesSub-book 31 of 100
  4. Kairata ParvaThe Mountain HunterSub-book 32 of 100
  5. Indralokabhigamana ParvaThe Ascent to Indra's HeavenSub-book 33 of 100
  6. Nalopakhyana ParvaThe Story of Nala and DamayantiSub-book 34 of 100
  7. Tirtha-yatra ParvaThe Pilgrimage of the Sacred FordsSub-book 35 of 100
  8. Jatasura-vadha ParvaThe Slaying of JatasuraSub-book 36 of 100
  9. Yaksha-yuddha ParvaThe Battle with the YakshasSub-book 37 of 100
  10. Ajagara ParvaThe PythonSub-book 38 of 100
  11. Markandeya-samasya ParvaThe Colloquy of MarkandeyaSub-book 39 of 100
  12. Draupadi-Satyabhama-samvada ParvaThe Dialogue of Draupadi and SatyabhamaSub-book 40 of 100
  13. Ghosha-yatra ParvaThe Cattle-Herd ExpeditionSub-book 41 of 100
  14. Mriga-svapna-bhaya ParvaThe Fear from the Deer's DreamSub-book 42 of 100
  15. Vrihidraunika ParvaThe Story of the Drona of RiceSub-book 43 of 100
  16. Draupadi-harana ParvaThe Abduction of DraupadiSub-book 44 of 100

Stories from the Vana Parva

120 stories on this site are told inside this book, in canonical reading order.

  1. Adventures in the ForestTwelve Years of Pandava Exile 30 min
  2. Thirteen Years of FireThe exile teaches that suffering, accepted with dignity and used as a forge, transforms weakness into strength. 27 min
  3. The Ghosha YatraDuryodhana Goes to Mock the Exiles and Is Saved by Them 21 min
  4. Draupadi's Trials in ExileThe Sari, the Sage, and a Question to a Queen 24 min
  5. The Divine ArsenalArjuna's Ascent to Indraloka 19 min
  6. The Pilgrimage of the FordsLomasa Leads the Pandavas
  7. The Meeting of BrothersThe Lesson in Humility 19 min
  8. Krishna and the Flying CityThe Fall of Saubha 7 min
  9. Draupadi and SatyabhamaThe Secret That Is No Secret 5 min
  10. Nala and DamayantiThe King Who Lost Everything at Dice and Won It Back 24 min
  11. Savitri and the Lord of DeathThe Wife Who Argued Yama Into Defeat 28 min
  12. The Story of RamaThe Tale Markandeya Told in the Forest 16 min
  13. The Wife Turned to StoneAhalya, Gautama, and the Touch of Rama 9 min
  14. The Child Who Leapt for the SunThe Birth and Boons of Hanuman 9 min
  15. The Sage Who Drank the OceanAgastya, Lopamudra, and the Demon Vatapi 13 min
  16. The Warrior With the AxeParashurama, Jamadagni, and the Long Vengeance 11 min
  17. The Descent of the RiverBhagiratha and the Sons of Sagara 11 min
  18. The Sage Whose Blood Was SapShiva humbles Mankanaka's pride with a touch of his thumb 9 min
  19. The Sage and the PrincessChyavana, Sukanya, and the Ashvins 11 min
  20. The Knowledge Not EarnedYavakri and the Handfuls of Sand 9 min
  21. The Price of a Hundred SonsA king who would not let his priest suffer alone 10 min
  22. The Slayer of the Sand-DemonKuvalashva and the Demon Dhundhu 8 min
  23. The King Born of a KingMandhata, Whom Indra Suckled 8 min
  24. The Hawk and the DoveKing Shibi's Sacrifice 10 min
  25. The Hermit Who Brought the RainRishyasringa and the Drought of Anga 12 min
  26. The Boy Bound for SacrificeFreed from the stake by prayer and a sage's compassion 9 min
  27. The King Who Hung Between WorldsTrishanku and the New Heaven 10 min
  28. The Birth of the War-GodSkanda and the Slaying of Taraka 10 min
  29. The Birth of the Wind-GodsDiti, Indra, and the Maruts 8 min
  30. The Sun's Wife and the ShadowSurya, Sanjna, and the Forging of the Weapons 9 min
  31. The Fish and the FloodManu and the Great Deluge 9 min
  32. The Child on the Cosmic WatersMarkandeya's Vision of the World's End 11 min
  33. The Sage Who Defeated DeathMarkandeya, Shiva, and the Conquest of Death 9 min
  34. The Turning of the AgesMarkandeya on the Four Yugas and the End of the Kali Age
  35. The Frog PrincessMarkandeya's Tale of Sushobhana
  36. The King Who Was ForgottenA search among the oldest beings for one who remembers 9 min
  37. The Chaste Wife and the Three GodsAnasuya and the Test of the Trimurti 9 min
  38. The Righteous ButcherThe Wisdom of the Vyadha 13 min
  39. The Sage of Eight BendsAshtavakra and the Court of Janaka 13 min
  40. The Gleaner Who Refused HeavenMudgala and the Test of Durvasa 10 min
  41. The Elephant and the CrocodileGajendra's Surrender 9 min
  42. The Boy Who Became the Pole StarDhruva's Penance 12 min
  43. The Abduction of DraupadiJayadratha's Crime and the Five Tufts of Shame 19 min
  44. The Python's QuestionsThe Curse of Nahusha 12 min
  45. The Questions of the YakshaThe Test of the Lake of Death 18 min
  46. The Ones Who Would Not Turn BackThe city walks out with its kings, and a sage answers the weeping 21 min
  47. The Cow Who Wept for the Weaker CalfIndra learns why a mother's love is not divided equally 16 min
  48. The Curse on Duryodhana's ThighA sage asks politely once, and is answered with a scratched foot 17 min
  49. The Promise Made in the Kamyaka WoodsThe allies arrive, and Draupadi asks Krishna what her friendship is worth 17 min
  50. The Court of Sages at the Dvaita LakeAn exile that filled up with brahmanas instead of soldiers 17 min
  51. When Forgiveness Is Not a VirtueAn angry queen quotes an asura grandfather at a patient king 17 min
  52. The Queen Who Put God on TrialA bird on a string, and a child breaking its toys 18 min
  53. The Blind King Counts the OddsA father adds up his enemies and hears whose fault it was 17 min
  54. Damayanti Alone in the ForestHalf a garment, a hunter, and a road out through strangers 21 min
  55. The Mountain That Answers SpeechWhere a sage's temper made silence the price of passage 16 min
  56. Rudra's Share and the Sinking EarthTwo quarrels over what may be given away, on the Kalinga shore 16 min
  57. The Two Pots of RiceA mother and daughter exchange their bowls and exchange their sons 16 min
  58. The Council at PrabhasaThe Yadavas find the exiles on the shore and argue about ending the exile by force 19 min
  59. The Sage at the LimitA skeleton ascetic marks the line mortals may not cross 21 min
  60. The Map of the WorldsA priest naming the four quarters of the cosmos from a mountain shoulder 17 min
  61. The Weapons That Must Not Be ShownA demonstration the three worlds could not survive 16 min
  62. The Muni Who Would Not Stay DeadA hunting accident, a vanished body, and an answer about fear 16 min
  63. The Horses of VamadevaA loan not returned, and two kings undone by the same refusal 17 min
  64. The Measure of a King's GivingThree short tests of what a gift is worth 16 min
  65. Who Falls From Heaven FirstNarada rides with four kings and ranks their generosity 18 min
  66. The Road to Yama's CountryWhat each gift becomes on the walk after death 19 min
  67. The Fire That ResignedTwo gods each insisting the other keep the office 17 min
  68. Devasena and the Husband Not Yet BornA rescue on the Manasa hills and a promise the gods had to invent someone to keep 16 min
  69. Swaha and the Six DisguisesThe wives who were punished for a child that was never theirs 20 min
  70. The Thunderbolt and the Seizers of ChildrenWhat came out of the wound, and the bargain that followed 21 min
  71. The Golden PloughThe sacrifice a king held because the one he wanted was forbidden him 18 min
  72. The Boons of Visrava's SonsThree brothers ask Brahma for different things 17 min
  73. The Arrow From Behind the TreeA wife who read the omens, and a king who would not listen 16 min
  74. The Grove of Ashoka TreesA captive refuses, and a rakshasi tells her dream 16 min
  75. The Bird With the Burnt WingsA search that ended at a cliff, and the brother of Jatayu 16 min
  76. The Sleeper WokenRavana spends his brothers one after another 16 min
  77. The Testimony of the ElementsWhat Rama said when she was brought back to him 16 min
  78. The Warning in the DreamA father begs his son to live, and the son chooses to be remembered 18 min
  79. The Mole and the CharioteerHow Damayanti Was Found in Chedi and Nala in Ayodhya 18 min
  80. The Five Lakes of BloodParashurama's oblation to the fathers at Samantapanchaka 19 min
  81. The Bow at the FrontierParashurama Tests Rama of Ayodhya and Loses His Energy 14 min
  82. The Feast Shibi CookedA brahmana demands the king's son as his meal, and Shibi obeys without changing colour 15 min
  83. The Gods Ask for RamaAgni pleads before Brahma, and the answer is a king's son and an army of monkeys and bears 12 min
  84. The Friend of DasarathaA vulture fights Ravana in the sky, and a headless Rakshasa points the way to Sugriva 14 min
  85. Nala's BridgeThe Ocean refuses to part and names a workman instead, and the monkey army walks to Lanka 17 min
  86. Sakamvari and the Ford of GoldThe goddess who fed the sages on herbs, and the tirtha where Vishnu knelt to Rudra 21 min
  87. Indra Comes to GandhamadanaMatali brings Arjuna home from heaven, and the king of the gods follows him down 11 min
  88. Tarkshya Asks SaraswatiWhat a gift is worth, and the one merit a man with nothing can still earn 13 min
  89. The Children of AgniMarkandeya names the whole family of fires, from the daughters of Angiras to the rivers who mothered them 18 min
  90. How the Krittikas Took Abhijit's PlaceA star leaves the sky in envy of her elder sister, and Skanda's six nurses are raised into the empty station 19 min
  91. Amaravati, City of IndraThe capital of heaven in the epic
  92. Badari, Hermitage of the Twin SagesWhere Nara and Narayana practice forever
  93. Lanka in the MahabharataRavana's island as the epic remembers it
  94. Dhaumya, the Quiet PriestThe greatness of those who only serve
  95. The Terrible GuestDurvasa and the single grain of rice
  96. The Night Among the DanavasDespair flattered into destiny
  97. Karna's Conquest of the WorldGreatness spent on an unworthy debt
  98. The Curse of UrvashiRestraint turned into a shield
  99. Bhima at Kubera's LakeViolence as an instrument of release
  100. Chitrasena, Friend in Two WorldsThe arts master of heaven
  101. Ghatotkacha Between Two WorldsThe half-blood's uncounted service
  102. The Copper Vessel of the SunHow the exile was fed for twelve years
  103. The Brother Who Was BlamedA slander answered by raising the dead
  104. The Argument in the ForestA vow kept, or a vow used as an excuse
  105. The Dream of the DeerSubjects who could not petition, and did
  106. The Four Quarters of the Sacred LandA priest reciting the map of Bharatavarsha
  107. The Ford of the FathersWhat a son is for, learned before Kurukshetra
  108. The Brahmin Who Was a DemonThe guest who asked for nothing for months
  109. The Boon Bought With a HeadA small favour saved for one day of the war
  110. The Rakshasa at the Gate of KamyakaThe first night of the twelve years
  111. The War Beneath the SeaThe fee Indra charged for the divine weapons
  112. The King of FordsWhere two rivers and a third nobody sees meet
  113. Pushkara, the First FordThe lake that undercuts its own promises
  114. Why the Moon WanesA household injustice repaid in the sky
  115. The Children Sent AwayWhat exile costs in other people's growing up
  116. The Counselor Sent AwayThrown out of the court, and back the same week
  117. Dvaitavana, the Lake of QuestionsThe exile forest of hermits and reckonings
  118. Gandhamadana, Mountain of FragranceThe Himalayan ascent of the exile
  119. Kamyaka, the Forest of the ExilesFirst refuge of the twelve years
  120. When Fire Hid From the WorldMarkandeya's tale of the god who carried everything and was thanked for nothing

Where This Book Sits

The Vana Parva is book 3 of the eighteen parvas. It follows the Sabha Parva, the book of the assembly hall. The Virata Parva, the book of virata, comes next.

See all eighteen parvas of the MahabharataFollow the epic as a timeline