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| Kurukshetra and After |
When the news of the slaughter of her sons was brought to Draupadi, she wept aloud and swore to kill herself if Ashwatthama were not slain. And so the Pandavas chased him over the wastes of the earth into his secret hiding-places. But even then they could not subdue him for his power was so great that out of a blade of grass, he made a weapon of death and sent it against them. When they evaded it, it went like a curse and struck at the womb of Abhimanyu's pregnant wife Uttara. But Krishna stretched out his hand and protected the unborn child. In course of time Uttara gave birth to a son, Pariksheet, who eventually ascended the throne of Hastinapura and claimed the empire of the Kurus. But Ashwatthama went wandering for many years, bitter, lonely and unhappy, till death released him.
Thus ended the war of Kurukshetra and the bitter rivalry between the sons of the Kuru clan. The blood of the innocent, the brave and the good, mingled with that of the wicked and the guilty.
A few days after the war the Pandavas went back to the battlefield at Kurukshetra along with Krishna. Bhishma still lay on his bed of arrows. After they had touched his feet, Krishna spoke. "Pitamah, Yudhishthira is sunk in a sea of sorrow on account of the killings. Advise him on the right course so that his mind may be freed from grief." And Krishna with his powers gave the dying Bhishma the strength to speak. Bhishma then spoke at length to Yudhishthira, on matters of statecraft and the duties of a king. When he had finished speaking, Bhishma gave up his life.
After performing the last rites for Bhishma and others who were killed in battle, the Pandavas returned to Hastinapura. And at long last Yudhishthira was crowned king. Dhritarashtra was heartbroken at the loss of his sons, and the Pandavas treated him with the utmost respect and consideration.
Yudhishthira ruled with wisdom and goodness over the domains he had won. As the days passed, men began to forget the sorrows of the war, and the wounds in their heart healed. As for Dhritarashtra and Gandhari, who had been bereaved of their hundred sons, Yudhishthira treated them with love and kindness till the end came.
Yudhishthira and his brothers lived for many years, until the time came for them to leave the earth. Thus, led by Yudhishthira, the four brothers and Draupadi went to heaven.
As they went on their very last journey, they found themselves followed by a stray dog. The journey was rigorous and, one by one, Draupadi, Nakula, Sahadeva, Arjuna and Bhima fell by the wayside. Yudhishthira, still followed by the dog, finally reached the gates of heaven. There he was confronted by the gatekeeper who declared that the dog, being a lowly, unclean animal, was barred from entering heaven's gates.
When Yudhishthira heard this, he turned away, and would not go in, saying that he would not forsake the dog who had sought his protection and had followed him so faithfully. He would rather be in hell with the dog than be comfortable in heaven without him. His virtuous answer pleased the gods, and they allowed him to enter heaven in his mortal form. The dog was now revealed to be Dharma, Yudhishthira's heavenly father. But this was not the end of Yudhishthira's trials. As he entered heaven, he looked in vain for Draupadi and his brothers, and found them in unbearable torment, in a torturous place. Heart bursting with grief, he declared to the gods that he would live eternally in that place of torture, giving his wife and brothers what comfort he could.
It was Yudhishthira's final test. The scenes of torment vanished as if blown away, and his wife and brothers stood revealed before him whole and joyous, while the gods welcomed them all. Draupadi and the Pandavas lived a long time in heaven enjoying the bliss until at last they ascended to the final level of happiness, in which man becomes one with the eternal, and is free from the mortal cycle of birth, death and rebirth. | |
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