Vidura tells Dhritarashtra how the exiled Pandavas left. Yudhishthira’s face was covered with a cloth. Bhima walked away looking at his arms. Arjuna scattered sand all around. Sahadeva coloured his face. Nakula covered his body with dust. Vidura explains the reasons for the behaviour of the Pandavas, said Kidambi Narayanan in a discourse.
Yudhishthitra had always kept to dharma. And so he knew that if he looked at the Kauravas with anger, they would be burnt to ashes. He wanted to avoid this. So he did not want to look at them, and kept his face covered. Bhima looked at his strong arms because he knew that when the time came, he was going to kill his enemies. Arjuna scattered grains of sand to show that he would shoot his arrows in all directions against his enemies. Sahadeva painted his face, because he did not want to be recognised when his whole family had been shamed. Nakula covered his body with dust, to conceal his good looks. Draupadi departed weeping. Her tears indicated that at the end of the exile, the wives of those who had reduced the Pandavas to this state, would weep for their husbands and sons. The learned man Dhaumya went behind the Pandavas, chanting Sama Veda mantra pertaining to Yama. This was to show that when the Kauravas died, their priests would chant these mantras. In this scene, we get an idea of future events.
