Death of Draupadi - Illustrations from the Barddhaman edition of Mahabharata

The Mahaprasthanika Parva () ("Book of the Great Journey") is the seventeenth of the eighteen ''parvas'' (books) of the Indian epic ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

''. It traditionally has three chapters, as does the

critical edition Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts (mss) or of printed books. Such texts may range i ...

.Ganguli, K.M. (1883-1896)
Mahaprasthanika Parva
in ''The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa'' (12 Volumes). CalcuttaDutt, M.N. (1905) ''The Mahabharata (Volume 17): Mahaprasthanika Parva''. Calcutta: Elysium PressDebroy, B. (2010) ''The Mahabharata, Volume 1''. Gurgaon: Penguin Books India, pp xxiii - xxvi It is the shortest book in the epic. Mahaprasthanika Parva recites the journey of the

Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, aɳɖɐʋᵊ IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a group name referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who are central figures of the Hindu epic ''Mahabhara ...

s across India and finally their ascent towards Himalayas, as they climb their way to heaven on

Mount Sumeru Mount Meru (Sanskrit/Pali: मेरु)—also known as Sumeru, Sineru or Mahāmeru—is a sacred, five-peaked mountain present within Hindu, Jain and Buddhist cosmologies, revered as the centre of all physical, metaphysical and spiritua ...

. As they leave their kingdom, a dog befriends them and joins their long journey. On their way, Draupadi dies first. Four of the Pandava brothers also die midway. Only

Yudhishthira Yudhishthira (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, ud̪ʱiʂʈʰiɾᵊ IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira''), also known as Dharmaputra, is the eldest among the five Pandavas, and is also one of the central characters of the ancient Indian epic ''Ma ...

and the dog reaches

. Their conversations, and reasons for not reaching heaven are described in Mahaprasthanika Parva.John Murdoch (1898), The Mahabharata - An English Abridgment, Christian Literature Society for India, London, pages 132-137

Structure and chapters

The Mahaprasthanika Parva has 3 ''adhyayas'' (chapters) but no secondary ''upa-parvas'' (parts, little books). It is the smallest book of the epic.Bibek Debroy, The Mahabharata : Volume 3, , Penguin Books, page xxiii - xxiv of Introduction

Background

At the end of

Mausala Parva The Mausala Parva ("Episode of Flails") is the sixteenth of the eighteen ''parvas'' (books) of the Indian epic ''Mahabharata''. It traditionally has nine chapters.Ganguli, K.M. (1883-1896)Mausala Parva in ''The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana V ...

, Vyasa advises Arjuna and his brothers to retire and renounce their kingdom as the purpose of their life has been served. Arjuna informs Yudhishthira of Vyasa's advise. Draupadi and his brothers agree.

Summary

King Yudhishthira crowns

Parikshit Parīkṣit (, ) was a Kuru king who reigned during the Middle Vedic period (12th–9th centuries BCE). Along with his son and successor, Janamejaya, he played a decisive role in the consolidation of the Kuru state, the arrangement of Vedic ...

as the king of Hastinapur, in care of

Yuyutsu Yuyutsu () is a character in the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is the son of King Dhritarashtra of the Kuru dynasty, born to a Vaishya-class concubine who serves as a maid to Dhritarashtra's queen, Gandhari. This makes Yuyutsu the p ...

. In

Indraprastha Indraprastha (Sanskrit: इन्द्रप्रस्थ, n̪d̪ɾɐpɾɐst̪ʰə (lit. "Plain of Indra" or "City of Indra") is a city cited in ancient Indian literature as a constituent of the Kuru Kingdom. It was designated the capit ...

, the Yadava prince Vajra is crowned as the king. Then they start their journey of India and the Himalayas. As the Pandavas leave, a dog befriends them and they take him along for the journey. The Pandavas first 'set out with their faces towards the east', reaching the ''lauhityaṃ salilārṇavam'' (literally the red waters, possibly the river

Brahmaputra The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Southwestern China, Northeastern India, and Bangladesh. It is known as Brahmaputra or Luit in Assamese, Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, and ...

, one of whose names is 'Lohit'). There, the god

Agni Agni ( ) is the Deva (Hinduism), Hindu god of fire. As the Guardians of the directions#Aṣṭa-Dikpāla ("Guardians of Eight Directions"), guardian deity of the southeast direction, he is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu temples. ...

appeared before them, commanding Arjuna to return the bow Gandiva, that he had borrowed from the god Varuna for the burning of the Khandava forest. Agni says that this bow was asked by him from Varuna for the use of Partha. Urged by his brothers, Arjuna threw both the bow and the inexhaustible quivers into the waters. They turn south, reaching the sea, then proceed up the west coast of India until they reach Dwaraka. They see it submerged under the sea, as described by Arjuna in the

. The sight of a beautiful city submerged and dead, makes them depressed. They turn north, stop at

Rishikesh Rishikesh, also spelt as Hrishikesh, is a city near Dehradun in the Indian state Uttarakhand. The northern part of Rishikesh is in the Dehradun district while the southern part is in the Tehri Garhwal district. It is situated on the right bank ...

, then cross the Himalayas. As they cross the Himalayas, Yajnaseni is the first person to die. Bhima asks Yudhishthira why Draupadi died early and couldn't continue the journey to heaven. Yudhishthira claims that though they all were equal unto her she had great partiality for Dhananjaya(Arjuna), so she obtained the fruit of that conduct today. The remaining Pandavas continue their journey. Next, Sahadeva dies on the way. Yudhishthira explains Sahadeva like his other brothers was virtuous in every respect, except he suffered from the vice of

pride Pride is a human Emotion, secondary emotion characterized by a sense of satisfaction with one's Identity (philosophy), identity, performance, or accomplishments. It is often considered the opposite of shame or of humility and, depending on conte ...

and

vanity Vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness compared to others. Prior to the 14th century, it did not have such narcissistic undertones, and merely meant ''futility''. The related term vainglory is now often seen as ...

, thought none was equal to him in wisdom. The brothers continue on their way to Mount Meru. Nakula dies next. Yudhishthira explains that

Nakula Nakula () is a major character in the ancient Indian epic, the ''Mahabharata.'' He is the elder twin brother of Sahadeva and the fourth of the five Pandava brothers. He is the son of Divine twins, twin physician gods, Ashvins, and Madri, the ...

also suffered from the vice of pride and vanity, thinking he was the most handsome person in the world. Arjuna is the next person to die without completing the journey. Yudhishthira explains to Bhima, Arjuna too suffered from the vice of pride and vanity, thinking he was the most skilled, most powerful hero in the world, disregarding others. Yudhishthira, Bhima and the dog continue forward. Bhima tires and falls down. He asks his elder brother why he, Bhima, is unable to complete the journey to heaven. Yudhishthira explains his brother's vice of

gluttony Gluttony (, derived from the Latin ''gluttire'' meaning "to gulp down or swallow") means over-indulgence and over-consumption of anything to the point of waste. In Christianity, it is considered a sin if the excessive desire for food leads to a ...

, who used to eat too much without thinking about the hunger of others and he also used to boast of his strength. It is for that he has fallen down.C Rajagopalachari (2008), Mahabharata, 52nd Edition, Bhavan's Book University. Yudhishthira and the dog continue their journey. In Chapter 3 of Mahaprasthanika Parva, as the dog and Yudhishthira continue their walk up Mount Meru, Indra appears in his chariot with a loud sound, suggesting he doesn't need to walk all the way, he can jump in and together they can go to heaven. Yudhishthira refuses, says he could not go to heaven with Indra without his brothers and Draupadi. Indra tells Yudhishthira, all of them after their death, entered heaven. Yudhishthira asks if his friend, the dog, to jump into the car first. Indra replies that the dog cannot enter his chariot, only Yudhishthira can. Yudhishthira refuses to leave the dog. He claims the dog is his friend, and for him to betray his friend during his life's journey would be a great sin. Indra says that after abandoning his brothers and wife, he had acquired great merit, then why be stupefied by a dog, he is renouncing everything. Yudhishthira said that there is neither friendship nor enmity with those that are dead. When his brothers and Draupadi died, he was unable to revive them, hence he abandoned them. However, he cannot abandon the one who is alive beside him. Indra urges him to consider his own happiness, abandon the dog and hop into his chariot. Yudhishthira refuses to go into the chariot, explaining he cannot abandon the dog who is his companion, for his own happiness, while he is alive. The dog, watching Yudhishthira's commitment for his friend, transforms and reappears as deity

Dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...

. The deity Dharma then praises Yudhishthira for his virtues. Dharma tells him that formerly, during their exile in the woods, where his brothers of great pride met with death, disregarding his love for his brothers, he asked him to revive Nakula, and passed his trial. Again on this occasion, thinking the dog to be devoted to him, he had renounced the very chariot of the celestials instead of renouncing him. Hence, there is no one in heaven equal to him, and had earned regions of great felicity. Then they all proceed to heaven. On their way they meet Narada who tells them that Yudhishthira had transcended the achievements of even the royal sages. He had heard none else other than him to achieve this, attaining to heaven with a human body. The righteous-souled king, saluting the deities, proceeded forward. Yudhishthira enters heaven on Indra's chariot.

English translations

Mahaprasthanika Parva was composed in Sanskrit. Several translations in English are available. Two translations from 19th century, now in public domain, are those by Kisari Mohan Ganguli and Manmatha Nath Dutt. The translations vary with each translator's interpretations. Debroy, in 2011, notes that updated critical edition of Mahaprasthanika Parva, after removing verses generally accepted so far as spurious and inserted into the original, has 3 ''adhyayas'' (chapters) and 106 ''shlokas'' (verses). The entire parva has been "transcreated" and translated in verse by the poet Dr. Purushottama Lal published by Writers Workshop.

Quotes and teachings

Mahaprasthanika Parva, Chapter 3:

References

External links

Mahaprasthanika Parva
English Translation by Kisari Mohan Ganguli
Mahaprasthanika Parva
English Translation by Manmatha Nath Dutt
Mahaprasthanika Parva in Sanskrit
by Vyasadeva with commentary by Nilakantha - Worldcat OCLC link
Mahaprasthanika Parva in Sanskrit and Hindi
by Ramnarayandutt Shastri, Volume 5
PDF and eBook of Ganguli’s translation, with Sanskrit PDF.

"Yudhishthira and His Dog", A4 PDF, tablet version (Ganguli’s version annotated) and Sanskrit text links.
{{Mahabharata Parvas in the Mahabharata