Indraprastha and the Maya Sabha

News that the Pandavas were alive stirred Hastinapur. Bhishma, Drona and Vidura said they should receive half the kingdom. Dhritarashtra called them and gave them the region of Khandavaprastha. It was a wasteland: thick forest all around and barren ground. But the Pandavas did not complain.

With Krishna's help, the Pandavas built a new city there. By the grace of Vishwakarma, architect of the gods, wide roads, gardens, palaces and tall walls rose up. The city was so beautiful that it was named Indraprastha, as if it were Indra's own city. Yudhishthira ruled there with dharma, and the people were happy.

One day Agni, the fire god, came to Krishna and Arjuna in the form of a brahmin. 'I must consume the Khandava forest,' he said, 'but every time, Indra puts me out with rain.' Agni gave Arjuna the divine bow Gandiva and two quivers that would never run empty, and gave Krishna the Sudarshana chakra. Together they held off Indra's rain, and the forest burned.

From that fire an asura came running: Maya, a great master builder. He begged Arjuna for his life, and Arjuna granted him safety. In gratitude Maya said, 'I want to build something for you.' At Krishna's suggestion he built a wondrous assembly hall for Yudhishthira, which became famous as the Maya Sabha.

There was no building like the Maya Sabha anywhere on earth. Its pillars were set with jewels. In places the floor was so smooth it looked like water, and in others a pool was so clear it looked like floor. Here a doorway seemed to stand in a wall, but did not. Everyone who came was amazed. And this beautiful hall would soon set a much bigger story in motion.