The SoP and the Pandavas are reconciled. Y recants his errors, while the SoP is ruing the loss of a major foothold due to its internal conflicts.
Bhima falls in love with Hidimbi. Her brother, Hidimba a Dravidian ruler, objects and attacks Bhima. Bhima kills Hidimba, and marries his sister. He then forges an alliance with his successor Ghatotkacha.
Arjuna goes north and spends time in a Buddhist monastery.
The new rulers of Indraprastha are not particularly wise or good. Famines continue to rack the country as monsoons fail for a fifth year.
The new rulers are thrown out. With the SoP working in the background, the Pandavas are invited back in. Luckily, the monsoons are on time the next year.
Krishna-Vyaasa has been traveling through the land during the years of famine. He has seen the effect and noted that the families that saved their cows and bulls survived the bad years and recovered economically. Those that saved cows but killed their bulls survived the bad years but never recovered their former wealth. Those that killed and ate their cattle generally were impoverished after even after the famine years were over.
Vyaasa proposes cow-protection laws to the Pandavas. These are popularly accepted. The old draconian laws about fuel are dropped.