Narada’s visit to Yudhistira’s assembly hall leads to a long conversation in which the rishi reminds the Pandava of the concepts of good governance, and also of the conduct and duties of a king. After the long lecture, delivered to him as a series of rhetorical questions, Yudhistira requests Narada to appreciate his great assembly hall, and also to provide details of divine assembly halls to which Narada, being the only rishi capable of teleporting between the three worlds, must have access to. Yudhistira believes that his own assembly hall can be compared to those extraordinary places.
Narada provides details of the assembly halls of Indra, Yama, Varuna, and finally, Brahma. The descriptions satisfy Yudhistira, but his interest is piqued by one significant detail. In Indra’s assembly hall, named Pushkarmalini, there are various divine beings and devarshis present, as expected, but there is also one mortal king who has been given access: Raja Harishchandra. Yudhistira asks Narada how Harishchandra has been allowed in Indra’s assembly hall, and the reply he receives sets in motion a chain of events that ultimately leads to the reignition of hostilities between the Pandavas and the Kauravas — hostilities which have been dormant for more than twelve years now.
Narada tells Yudhistira that Harishchandra’s special privilege is because he has successfully conducted the rajasuya sacrifice, which, among other things, means that Harishchandra proclaimed himself the universal emperor and made all other kings on earth pay tribute to him. Yudhistira covets Harishchandra’s reward in Pushkarmalini, and his desire escalates even further when Narada tells him that his father, Pandu, has urged him, from the after-life, to conduct the rajasuya sacrifice. Narada does mention the problems associated with the sacrifice to Yudhistira, one of which is that it may lead to a war (as other kings are asked to pay tribute). But by now, the idea of the supreme royal sacrifice has lodged itself rigidly in the king’s head.
The turn of events suggests that this - the instigation of Yudhistira for the sacrifice - was Narada’s sole objective for visiting the Pandava king’s assembly hall. If this is true, Narada’s agency in driving the story needs acknowledgement. He was the one who made the Pandavas establish a protocol for exclusivity with Draupadi, one which eventually led to Arjuna’s twelve year exile. And he is the one who is goading the Pandavas towards a sacrifice that will initiate a power tussle with the Kauravas.
After Narada leaves, Yudhistira calls his brothers and other court personalities for counsel. He is advised to stop reflecting on the issue and to commit to the sacrifice. He remains a skeptic, though, largely because he is astute enough to know that friends and well-wishers cannot give an advice that has been thought through from outside the paradigm of their own desires and ambitions. So, unable to take the bold step, he sends a messenger named Indrasena to Dvarka. When Krishna hears of Yudhistira’s conundrum, he decides to accompany Indrasena back to Indraprastha.
(The writer is reading the unabridged Mahabharata)