mayasabha

- Anju Soman

Arjuna, the great archer among the five Pandava brother had saved the asura Maya from the burning Khandava forest.

Maya was grateful to him and asked "How shall I repay your kindness Arjuna?

Maya wanted to do something extraordinary for Arjuna as a token of his love and gratitude for him.

“It is enough that you give me credit for saving your life, and express your gratitude thus you need not actually do anything for me," said Arjuna.

Mayasura , however, made this request again and again till at last Arjuna told him to do whatever Lord Krishna instructed him to do.

Mayasura was a great architect and sculptor

Therefore, Lord Krishna asked Maya to build a unique Hall of Assembly for the Pandavas

The Pandavas at that time were building their capital of Indra-prastha and this hall would be the crowning glory of the capital.

Mayasura agreed readily, This was something he would be happy to do it.

He set to work immediately and made a detailed plan of the proposed Hall.

He chose an extensive plot of land in a beautiful location

The plot was so situated that one could experience all the six seasons simultaneously in its different parts

Maya had stored heaps of selected precious stones, powdered jewels and other precious building materials in a lake called Vindu near the Mainak mountain to the north of the Kailas in the Himalayas

It was a marvel that at once dazzled and pleased the spectators

It was as wide and so high that it seemed to reach the skies

It was built in crystal with emeralds and diamonds adorning its doors

The vast expanse of the hall was interspersed with trees of gold

At the centre of the hall, Maya had created a beautiful pool in which one could see plenty of lotuses blooming and leaves were designed from indra-neel gems and the flowers themselves from padma-rag gems. The stems were carved from other precious stones

Golden fish and turtles moved among the delicate leaves and flowers and there was not even speck of dust to be seen anywhere

Indeed, the water of the pool was so clear that you could directly see the crystal bottom beneath

it was difficult to distinguish which was water and which was floor

The crystal and the water both reflected the ornamental birds, gold fishes and flowers so clearly that the images and the real things were totally indistinguishable

When Mayasura showed the hall to the Pandavas for the first time, he explained to them how to move through it

The hall was surrounded by beautiful gardens stretching far and wide

There were hundreds of fragrant evergreen trees and plants in the garden

There were a number of pools and lakes in which real lotuses bloomed throughout the year

The surroundings were perfumed with the scent of the lotus flowers and the blossoms on the trees

Colourful birds roamed freely in the garden and swans and geese sailed in the pools and lakes

Mayasura had devised a band of eight thousand rakshasas to guard the marvellous hall

When Prince Duryodhona, the jealous cousin of the Pandavas, saw the Hall of Assembly for the first time, he was consumed with envy

Even before he entered the hall he was bedazzled with its grandeur and splendour

Upset and disturbed in his heart of hearts, he entered into hall

As he walked down the corridors, he saw the beautiful pool in which lotuses bloomed and goldfish gleamed .

He gathered the folds of his garments before stepping into what he thought was water only to discover that it was the hard crystal flooring

Bhima laughed aloud to see him thus confused

However, Duryodhana suffered his humiliation in silence, and moved ahead

When he came to the pool in the middle, he decided he wouldn't make the same mistake twice and took a bold step ahead

But alas, he landed straight into the pool!

Arjuna, and to make matters worse even Draupadi along with her friends joined in the laughter

Fuming and raging within, Duryodhana came out of the pool

Attendants rushed to him with dry clothes

Duryodhana decided to leave the Hall of Illusions and walked in a huff to an open door

He barged ahead only to discover that it was no door and he had bumped hard against a wall

thoroughly disgusted but unfortunately could not find a proper door

The Pandava twins Nakula and Sahadevo rushed to his help, but their kind words only served to add insult to injury

When Duryodhana left the Hall of Assembly after the ceremony, he vowed to revenge on the Pandavas, and to destroy them forever

The wonderful, magical mystical Hall of Illusions only added fuel to the fire of the feud between the Pandavas and Kauravas.