Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c5.1204

c5.1204

None of the spies deputed by Duryodhana to spot out the Pāṇḍavas during their life incognito could gather any information about them. One of those days Suśarman, King of Trigarta, told Duryodhana that the Virāṭa King had lost his power and spirits due to the death of Kīcaka and it was, therefore, the proper time to attack the Virāṭa country and subjugate it thoroughly. The idea appealed to Karṇa, who prompted Duryodhana to war against Virāṭa. The army was fully mobilised. As an excuse for the war, at the instance of Duryodhana, Suśarman, King of Trigarta lifted innumerable cows of the Virāṭa King. This happened on the day on which the life incognito of the Pāṇḍavas was to have ended. And war started thus. The Virāṭa prince Uttara who spent his time in the zenana in the palace appeared in the field of war. Arjuna, under the assumed name of Bṛhannala took up the charioteership of Uttara. But, at the sight of the vast Kaurava army Uttara fainted, and Arjuna hurriedly drove the chariot over to where his gāṇḍīva was kept hidden, and with the bow in his hands Arjuna jumped into the thick of the fight. A fierce war ensued in which the Kaurava army was completely routed. The life incognito of the Pāṇḍavas was also over, and Duryodhana became naturally anxious about the future of things. (M.B. Virāṭa Parva, Chapter 65).