The renunciation of the kingdom

Hearing of Krishna’s departure and the end of the Yadavas, the Pandavas know their own time has come. Yudhishthira crowns Parikshit, the grandson of Arjuna, as king of Hastinapura, and the five brothers with their queen Draupadi set out northward toward the Himalayas and Mount Meru, seeking heaven in the body. A faithful dog follows them.

The falling away

One by one the pilgrims fall upon the path, each undone by a single hidden flaw. Draupadi falls first, for her partiality toward Arjuna; then Sahadeva, for pride in his wisdom; Nakula, for vanity in his beauty; Arjuna, for the arrogance of his prowess; and mighty Bhima, for his gluttony and boastfulness. Yudhishthira walks on without looking back, explaining the cause of each fall but never pausing in his grief.

The king and the dog

At last only Yudhishthira and the dog remain, climbing toward the gate of heaven. The book closes on the threshold of his final test — his refusal, in the next book, to abandon the humble creature that has shared his journey.

The Mahaprasthanika Parva is a parable of the soul’s last journey: all that we carry — even virtue tinged with ego — must finally fall away, until only naked truth and faithfulness remain to enter the gate.

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What happens in this book

The Mahaprasthanika Parva (“Book of the Great Journey”) is among the most moving books of the epic. Their work in the world complete, the five Pandavas and Draupadi renounce the kingdom and set out on a final pilgrimage toward the Himalayas and the celestial realms. One by one, as their human frailties catch up with them, they fall along the way — until only Yudhishthira walks on, accompanied by a faithful dog who proves to be the god of dharma himself.