When the pleased Yaksha offered to give him a boon of the life of his dead brothers, he asked for Nakula’s life. The Yaksha wondered why he asked for the life of his step-brother. Yudhisthira said he was Kunti’s son, so it was only right that one of Madri’s sons should live. Impressed, the Yaksha brought all the brothers to life. Yudhishthira was overjoyed. He bowed to the Yaksha who transformed himself into Dharmaraj or Yama, the god of death. He told Yudhishthira to ask for two more boons. First, Yudhishthira asked that the igniting sticks of the Brahmana should be found. Dharmaraj smilingly gave the sticks as he had been the stag who caused the whole incident. Then Yudhishthira asked that the Pandavas might be hidden safely during the thirteenth year of exile. Yama asked the Pandavas to go to Viratanagar for the last year of their exile.
The Yaksha’s Boon
