181. Yudhishthira Becomes King of Hastinapura

After the war, Yudhishthira decided to renounce the world. “I will live in the forest, eating only roots and fruits. I will make no judgments. I will issue no commands.”

But his brothers and Draupadi protested, insisting that he must become king.

“Stop indulging yourself and your feelings,” Krishna told him. “You will become king; it is your dharma.”

So Yudhishthira was crowned king, as Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva stood beside him, along with their wife Draupadi and their mother Kunti.

He appointed Yuyutsu, Dhritarashtra’s only surviving son, to care for the old king and attend to his needs.

182. Bhishma Instructs Yudhishthira

The mighty Kaurava generals were all dead… except one: Bhishma. Fatally wounded, he was still alive, lying on the bed made by the arrows that pierced his body.

Bhishma had the power to choose when to die, and he was waiting until after the winter solstice: he wanted to die on the first day of Uttarayana, when Surya turns north.

Bhishma thus waited fifty-eight days, the days growing ever shorter.

Yudhishthira came, and Bhishma instructed him in the ways of kingship, telling him stories of long ago.

Bhishma also taught Yudhishthira to chant the Sahasra-Nama, the Thousand Names of God.

183. Bhishma Departs This World

The Pandavas gathered around Bhishma on his bed of arrows, waiting for the moment when he would choose to die.

They had known this old warrior all their lives, and he had been like a father to them: Bhishma, the son of Shantanu and of the goddess Ganga. Bhishma, who had no sons of his own.

They waited with him.

They wept.

Finally, he breathed his last.

Yudhishthira lifted Bhishma up off the bed of arrows and cremated his body on the bank of the Ganges. The goddess then arose from the river and escorted her son’s soul into heaven.

184. Dhritarashtra Stays in the Palace

Dhritarashtra continued to live in the palace, advising his nephew Yudhishthira, who was now king.

Bhima, however, didn’t make it easy. When the family ate together, Bhima would crack his knuckles and reminisce about killing the Kauravas one after another. Whenever anybody broke open a bone to eat the marrow, Bhima would shout, “That reminds me of the sound Duryodhana’s thigh made when I smashed it!”

Dhritarashtra’s brother Vidura urged him to renounce the world. “Brother,” he said, “It’s time to go live in the forest!”

Dhritarashtra wanted to go, but he was attached to the luxuries of palace life.

185. The Elders Go into the Forest

Eventually, Dhritarashtra left Hastinapura, together with Kunti and Gandhari. They lived in the forest.

One day there came a forest fire.

Even then, Gandhari didn’t remove her blindfold. She had removed her blindfold only once, attempting to use the power of her gaze to make Duryodhana invincible. “Come to me naked,” she told him. Duryodhana, however, was embarrassed and wore a loincloth. All that Gandhari saw became invincible, but Duryodhana was still vulnerable.

She had not been able to save him, and she had no wish to save herself.

“Run!” Dhritarashtra shouted.

“Why?” replied Gandhari.

They died in the fire.

186. The Yadavas Quarrel

Time passed.

Then, a fight began in Dwaraka: some Yadavas defended the Pandavas, while others defended the Kauravas.

“The Kauravas ambushed Abhimanyu!” shouted the Pandava allies.

“The Pandavas deceived Drona!” retorted the Kaurava allies.

Back and forth they argued.

Fearing violence, Krishna and Balarama hid every weapon, but the quarreling citizens of Dwaraka then grabbed reeds from the seashore. These were no ordinary reeds: their edges were as sharp as any iron weapon.

Thus the Yadavas destroyed themselves.

Satyaki and Kritavarma, who had both survived the war, killed one another in that fight.

Such was the power of Gandhari’s curse.

187. The Story of the Reeds

Long ago, Krishna’s son Samba wanted to trick the forest rishis, so he dressed up as a pregnant woman. “Is my baby male or female?” he asked.

The angry rishis replied, “You bear no baby but an iron bar that will destroy the Yadavas.”

Samba tried to laugh it off, but an iron bar eventually emerged from his thigh. Horrified, Samba ground the bar into dust which he threw into the sea.

The sea cast the iron dust back onto the shore, and it grew into the reeds with which the Yadavas destroyed themselves years later, arguing about the war.

188. Balarama and Krishna Depart the World

After the Yadavas slaughtered one another, Balarama resolved to leave the world. As he meditated, his life-force emerged in the form of a white snake, which then vanished.

After Balarama departed, Krishna too was ready for his life to end. He went into the forest, sat under a banyan tree, and waited.

A hunter named Jara, mistaking Krishna’s foot for the ear of a deer, shot Krishna with an arrow.

Jara had found the arrowhead in the belly of a fish, and it was made of the same accursed iron which had killed the Yadavas.

Gandhari’s curse was now fulfilled.

189. Krishna Tells Jara a Story

Before Krishna died, he revealed to Jara the truth of his birth. “We met before, during the Treta Yuga: you were born as Vali, king of the monkeys of Kishkindha, and I was born as Rama, prince of Ayodhya. Because of a promise I made to your brother Sugriva, I shot you with an arrow from an ambush, just as you shot me now. All is as it must be.”

Krishna then left his body and returned to Vaikuntha, his heavenly abode.

Thus the Dvapara Yuga ended, and the Kali Yuga began, the final era in the cycle of time.

190. The Pandavas Depart

The sons of the Pandavas died in the war, but one grandson survived: Parikshit, the son of Uttara and Abhimanyu, who was the son of Arjuna and Krishna’s sister Subhadra. Ashwatthama had launched a weapon to kill Parkishit while still in his mother’s womb, but Krishna saved him, and Parikshit later became king in Hastinapura.

Then, after Parikshit’s coronation, Yudhishthira, his brothers, and Draupadi resolved to climb Mount Meru, seeking heaven. After the loss of Krishna and Balarama, they no longer had any desire to remain in this world.

Dressed in clothes of bark, they departed on their final journey.

191. The Pandavas Climb Mount Meru

As the Pandavas and Draupadi climbed the snowy slopes of Mount Meru, seeking to attain heaven, Draupadi was the first to fall, but the Pandavas did not stop walking.

Then Sahadeva fell, and Nakula. No one stopped.

Arjuna. Then Bhima.

Alone, Yudhishthira kept on walking up the mountain.

As he walked, he reflected on the flaws that made them fall.

Draupadi had not loved all her husbands equally; she preferred Arjuna.

Sahadeva was proud of his knowledge, and Nakula of his beauty.

Arjuna had been envious, and Bhima gluttonous.

And so Yudhishthira kept walking, wondering if he too would fall.

192. Yudhishthira Must Choose

At last, Yudhishthira came to Amravati’s gate, where the devas greeted him. “Welcome, Yudhishthira! You may enter heaven’s gate, but not your dog.”

“What dog?” asked Yudhishthira, surprised. Then he turned and saw a dog who had followed him all the way from Hastinapura.

“The dog made the ascent,” Yudhishthira protested. “His devotion is perfect! He too should enter heaven.”

“No,” said the gods. “You must come alone.”

“If so,” replied Yudhishthira, “I won’t come.”

Next, the dog vanished. Yama, god of dharma, appeared; Yudhishthira’s father was testing him. “You have done well,” he said, and Yudhishthira then entered Amravati.

193. Yudhishthira Finds the Kauravas in Heaven

As Yudhishthira entered Amravati, he saw the Kauravas mingling with the gods. Duryodhana was there, and Dushasana, happy and radiant in the light of heaven. They smiled when they saw Yudhishthira. “Welcome, cousin!” Duryodhana said.

“How can this be?” Yudhishthira cried in dismay.

“Duryodhana, Dushasana, all the Kauravas died in battle on the sacred land of Kurukshetra,” said the gods. “All warriors who fall on that field ascend to Amravati.”

“But where are my brothers?” cried Yudhishthira. “Where is my wife?”

“They are in Naraka,” said the gods.

“I must go there!” said Yudhishthira.

So Yudhishthira then descended into hell.

194. Yudhishthira Descends to Naraka

In the darkness, Yudhishthira heard shrieks and groans. He recognized his brothers’ voices. “Help us, Yudhishthira!”

And then he heard Draupadi. “Husband, help me!”

“Are you ready to return to Amravati now?” the gods asked Yudhishthira.

“Don’t leave us!” his brothers cried.

“Stay with me!” Draupadi begged.

“I must remain here,” said Yudhishthira, angry and confused.

Then he had a vision of God. He saw the Allness of God: everything, every being, all life, all possibilities. The killers and the killed, creation and destruction. Everything.

Enlightened, Yudhishthira ascended to the highest heaven, beyond Amravati. He entered Vaikuntha, God’s own home.

195. Parikshit Is Cursed

King Parikshit had a son: Janamejaya.

One day when King Parikshit returned from hunting, Janamejaya saw he was dismayed. “Father, what troubles you?” he asked.

“I am cursed to die within seven days of snakebite,” Parikshit replied. “In the forest, I entered a rishi’s house. I greeted him, but he said nothing. That made me angry, so I draped a dead snake over his shoulders. The rishi’s son saw me do this and cursed me.”

“No!” Janamejaya said. “We will protect you.”

They locked the king high in a tall tower. No snake could reach him, or so they thought.

196. Parikshit Hides in the Tower

King Parikshit climbed the tower and shut himself in the highest room. Guards stood around the tower and at every door. They searched everything and everyone, making sure no snake could find its way inside.

As the seventh day drew to a close, King Parikshit finally relaxed. He enjoyed his evening meal. Then, for dessert, he bit into a fruit.

There was a worm in the fruit.

The worm transformed into Takshaka, a mighty naga.

Takshaka then plunged his fangs into the king’s flesh, and seconds later the king was dead.

He didn’t even have time to call for help.

197. Janamejaya Conducts a Snake Sacrifice

Janamejaya was grief-stricken at his father’s death. “The snakes will pay for this!” he shouted. “I’ll kill them all!”

He convened the brahmin priests of Hastinapura and ordered them to conduct a Sarpa Satra sacrifice which would kill all the snakes of the earth. The priests built a huge bonfire, and they chanted the words that summoned the snakes. Swarms of serpents came slithering across the ground and flying through the air, plunging themselves into the fire where they burned to death in their thousands and millions.

Then a stranger appeared. “Stop!” the young man shouted. “This sacrifice must stop!”

198. Astika Confronts Janamejaya

“Who dares interrupt my sacrifice?” shouted Janamejaya.

“I am Astika,” the young man replied. “My father is a rishi, and my mother is a naga. I see both sides, human and snake. For the sake of both humans and snakes, stop this sacrifice! Takshaka sought revenge for your great-grandfather Arjuna burning Khandava forest, which was home to many nagas. Now you seek revenge for your father. Then there will be snakes seeking revenge against you for this sacrifice. The revenge must stop. We need peace, not fire. Not winners and losers. The world needs dharma.”

“Tell me more,” said Janamejaya.

199. Janamejaya Hears the Mahabharata Story

Astika spoke to Janamejaya about King Kuru and his ancestors, about the Pandavas and Kauravas, and about the war they fought.

“God himself was there,” Astika said.

Janamejaya did not understand. “How could God be there?”

“God took the form of Krishna,” said Astika. “Bring the rishi Vaishampayana here, and he will tell you everything. Vaishampayana heard the story from Vyasa. Vyasa was part of the story himself, and he was also an author of the story, the Mahabharata.”

So Janamejaya summoned Vaishampayana, who recited the Mahabharata as he heard it from Vyasa, and Janamejaya became enlightened. He knew dharma.

200. You Reach the End

Vyasa first recited his Mahabharata to Ganesha. He also recited it to his disciples, including Vaishampayana, who repeated what he heard to Janamejaya.

Jaimini, another disciple of Vyasa, wrote his Mahabharata after meeting some birds who were present at Kurukshetra. An arrow had struck their mother flying overhead, and her eggs landed on the blood-soaked ground. Then a war-elephant’s bell fell, covering the eggs and protecting them. The birds hatched and heard the war from inside the bell.

Alas, most of Jaimini’s Mahabharata is lost, but there are more Mahabharatas.

Many Mahabharatas.

Now you’ve reached the end of this one.