0158/QK 3

Foolish Duryodhana, maddened by greed for the throne, tried in many ways to destroy his imagined rivals, the Pāṇḍavas. Queen Kuntī recalls how he had tried to entice her sons to meet their death on the pretext of a friendly invitation for them to visit the new provincial palace at Vāraṇāvata. Duryodhana's wicked friends had intentionally constructed this building out of combustible shellac and were planning to burn it down in the middle of the night with their enemies inside. but the saintly uncle of Duryodhana, Mahātmā Vidura, gave forewarning to the Pāṇḍavas and Kuntī that they were likely to meet with danger there. Heeding his advice they excavated a hidden tunnel beneath the palace. On the night secretly designated for the massacre, he sent them the following cryptic message: "Fire can burn a man's body, but not his eternal soul." Thus advised, the brothers and mother managed to escape in time. They thereupon went into hiding to avoid further attacks from their envious cousin.