Pandavas Final Journey

Dadi**: Guddu beta, you know the Pandavas won the great Mahabharata war, right?

Guddu**: Yes Dadi! They defeated the Kauravas!

Dadi**: But do you know how their story ended? Tonight I'll tell you about the Pandavas' final journey - one of the most profound stories in our scriptures.

Guddu**: What happened after they won?

Dadi**: For thirty-six years, Yudhishthira ruled Hastinapura as a just and righteous king. But then Lord Krishna passed away. And with Him, something in the Pandavas also died.

Guddu**: They were sad without Krishna?

Dadi**: More than sad - they lost all interest in worldly life. Their beloved friend and guide was gone. The sage Vyasa advised them that it was time to leave everything behind.

Guddu**: Leave their kingdom?

Dadi**: Everything, beta. Yudhishthira gave his kingdom to Parikshit, their grandson. All five brothers and Draupadi put on simple bark clothes, performed their own last rites, and began walking north - toward the Himalayas, toward heaven.

Guddu**: They walked to heaven?

Dadi**: They tried to, beta. And a stray dog followed them, loyal and faithful.

Guddu**: Why did they perform their own last rites? That's strange!

Dadi**: They knew they wouldn't be coming back. They were leaving the world of the living forever. First, they traveled east, reaching the sea. There, the god Agni appeared and asked Arjuna to return the divine bow Gandiva.

Guddu**: His famous bow?

Dadi**: He threw it into the sea. Then they traveled south, then west, seeing their old capital Dwaraka now submerged under the ocean. Finally, they turned north to the mountains.

Guddu**: All six of them walking together?

Dadi**: And the dog. But as they climbed higher, one by one, they began to fall.

Guddu**: Fall?

Dadi**: Draupadi fell first. She couldn't continue. Bhima asked Yudhishthira, "Why did she fall, brother?" And Yudhishthira answered without looking back, "Because she loved Arjuna more than the rest of us. That partiality was her weakness."

Guddu**: That's so harsh! Didn't they help her?

Dadi**: They couldn't, beta. This was the law of this journey - no one could help anyone else. Each had to face their own karma alone. Next, Sahadeva fell.

Guddu**: Why him?

Dadi**: "He was proud of his wisdom," said Yudhishthira. "He thought no one was as learned as he." Then Nakula fell - "He was proud of his beauty, thinking none was as handsome."

Guddu**: Everyone had a flaw?

Dadi**: Everyone, beta. The great Arjuna fell next. "He boasted he could defeat all enemies in a single day, but couldn't. Pride was his downfall." And mighty Bhima, the strongest of all, fell last among the brothers.

Guddu**: What was Bhima's flaw?

Dadi**: "He ate too much without sharing, and was proud of his strength." One by one, five great heroes and one great queen, all fallen. Only Yudhishthira and the dog remained.

Guddu**: Yudhishthira must have been so lonely!

Dadi**: He kept walking, the faithful dog still beside him. Finally, at the peak of the world, Indra himself appeared in his chariot to take Yudhishthira to heaven.

Guddu**: Finally something good!

Dadi**: But Indra said, "Come, great king. But the dog cannot enter heaven." And Yudhishthira refused.

Guddu**: He refused heaven for a dog?!

Dadi**: He said, "This creature has been my faithful companion. I will not abandon him. If there is no room in heaven for loyalty, then I don't want heaven."

Guddu**: That's so noble!

Dadi**: And then - the dog transformed! It was Dharma himself, the god of righteousness, testing his son one final time. Yudhishthira had passed. He was truly worthy of heaven.

Guddu**: So he made it to heaven because he didn't abandon the dog?

Dadi**: The final test was compassion, beta. All of Yudhishthira's righteousness came down to this moment - would he abandon a helpless creature for his own reward? He wouldn't. That's what made him the greatest of the Pandavas.

Guddu**: What about his brothers and Draupadi?

Dadi**: Eventually, they all reached heaven too, beta. Their falls were temporary purifications. In the end, all were reunited, their karma burned away by that final walk.

Guddu**: That's a sad but beautiful ending, Dadi.

Dadi**: It teaches us, beta, that even heroes have flaws. Even the greatest must face their weaknesses. And in the end, compassion for the most humble creature matters more than all the victories of war.

Guddu**: I'll never abandon anyone who needs me, Dadi.

Dadi**: That's my good boy. That's the spirit of Yudhishthira. Goodnight, beta.

Guddu**: Goodnight, Dadi!