8/13/2019 Yudhisthir and Dog

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Upon the onset of the Kali yuga and the departure of Krishna, Yudhisthira and his brothers retired, leaving the throne to their only descendant to survive the war of Kurukshetra, Arjuna's grandson Parikshita. Giving up all their belongingsand ties, the Pandavas made their final journey of pilgrimage in the Himalayas.

While climbing the peaks, Draupadi, and each Pandava in reverse order of age, fell to their deaths, dragged down by the weight of their guilt for their sins. Yudhisthira reached the mountain peak, because he was unblemished by sin or untruth.

The true character of Yuddhisthira is revealed at the end of the Mahabharata. Onthe mountain peak, Indra, King of Gods, arrived to take Yudhisthira to heaven in his Golden Chariot. As Yudhisthira was about to step into the Chariot, the Deva told him to leave behind his companion dog, a creature not worthy of heaven toIndra. Yudhisthira stepped back, refusing to leave behind the creature who he had taken under his protection. Indra wondered at him - "You can leave your brothers behind, not arranging proper cremations for them...and you refuse to leave behind a stray dog!"

Yudhisthira replied, "Draupadi and my brothers have left me, not I [who left them]." And he refused to go to heaven without the dog. At that moment the dog changed into the God Dharma, his father, who was testing him...and Yudhisthira had passed with distinction. A version of this story appears in the Twilight Zone episode "The Hunt."

Yudhisthira was carried away on Indra's chariot.

On reaching Heaven he did not find either his virtuous brothers or his wife Draupadi. Instead he saw Duryodhana and his evil allies. The Gods told him that his

brothers were in Naraka (hell) atoning their little sins, while Duryodhana was in heaven since he died at the blessed place of Kurukshetra.

Yudhisthira loyally went to Naraka (hell) to meet his brothers, but the sights and sounds of gore and blood horrified him. Tempted to flee, he mastered himselfand remained after hearing the voices of his beloved brothers and Draupadi...calling out to him, asking him to stay with them in their misery. Yudhisthira decided to remain, ordering the Divine charioteer to return ... preferring to live inhell with good people than in a heaven of evil ones. At that moment the scene changed. This was yet another illusion to test him on the one hand, and on the other hand, to enable him to atone for his sin of using deceit to kill Drona. Indr

a and Krishna appeared before him and told him that his brothers were already inHeaven, along with his enemies, for earthly virtues and vices don't hold true in heavenly realms. Krishna yet again hailed Yudhisthira for his dharma, and bowed to him, in the final defining moment of the epic where divinity bowed down tohumanity.

The Moral of the Story is to be righteous and fight for it till the end. You cannever lose.