Sages and subjects of Indraprastha too followed Dharmaraja, and he could not send them back. The Pandavas were worried as they had only a little to eat and weren’t capable of feeding the sages. Yudhishthira was devastated as he could not bear not keeping his followers well fed and satisfied. So he requested the sages to return to Indraprastha, to which the sages commanded him to perform penance to the Sun God, Surya. Dharmaraja performed meditations and prayed Surya with utmost devotion which pleased the Sun God who appeared before him. Yudhishthira was so dedicated that he did not realise the presence of Surya and was still indulged in the penance. Pleased by the everlasting devotion of the eldest Pandava, the Sun God provided him the marvellous Akshaya Patra.