Fifteen
years have passed after the epic Kurukshetra war. Yudhistra was ruling
Hastinapur under the guidance of Dritharashtra and
Vidhura. Gandhari and Kunti were the Rajamatha of Hastinapur. Equanimity
prevailed under King Yudhistra’s rule.
Arrangements were made to send off Dhritarashtra and his
accompanies. Before leaving the palace, Dhritarashtra met Yudhistra and his
brothers and gave advice on how to rule compassionately and also about the
traditions of Kuru that’s been followed for generations. Before leaving the
palace, in front of the people of Hastinapur, Dhritarashtra apologized for
supporting his son and for not thinking about the welfare of the people and also
for being responsible for the death of the men of the families in the war.
Dhritarashtra accompanied by Gandhari and Vidhura donated food and money to the
people in memory of Pithamaha Bhishma, Dronacharya and his sons. With a heavy
heart, the Pandavas and the people of Hastinapur bid farewell to Dhritarashtra,
Gandhari, Kunti, Vidhura and Sanjaya.
Tagging along with Sage Vyasa and his disciples,
Dhritarashtra and his associates reached the banks of Bhagirathi where
Satayapu, the former king of Kekeyas lives in his hermitage. Satayapu preached
Dhritarashtra on how to live the life of sanyasa and to perform severe
austerities. Dhritarashtra performed severe austerities to liberate himself
from his sins of being selfish and for being responsible for the death of
innocent men in the war. One year passed by and the Pandavas, accompanied by Draupathi,
Subhadra, Uththara and Parikshit set out to the forest and visited the hermit of
Satayapu where Dhritarashtra was living. In their reunion, Yudhistra and others
noticed that Vidhura was missing.
Worried, Yudhistra enquired, “Uncle Dhritarashtra, Where is
uncle Vidhura? Is he not living with you all?”
Listening to Yudhistra’s concerned voice, Dhritarashtra
replied, “Son, Vidhura is not living with us. All his life Vidhura was always
walking on the path of Dharma. The sages sometimes see him wandering alone deep
inside the forest. Sometimes they say Vidhura was with the Brahmins doing
penance. I have heard them saying that Vidhura has faded in health and he roams
naked and is covered with dirt. He hardly utters a word to anyone.”
They spent their time in the bank of river Bhagirathi.
Yudhistra and others knew that Dhritarashtra and his associates will be moving
to Himalayas sooner and so with a heavy heart, they left the elderlies of the
Kuru dynasty.
Vidhura was the first to embrace moksha in Yogic trance. Two
years have passed after reaching the hermitage of Satayapu. Dhritarashtra and
Gandhari undertook severe austerities. Kunti and Sanjaya helped the old couple
by assisting them in their daily activities. Dhritarashtra’s severe penance
pleased the gods. Sage Naradha met Dhritarashtra and spoke, “Dhritarashtra! The
gods are pleased on your penance. You are forgiven for your sins. Two more years
and you all will leave this world with peace in your heart.
Listening to Naradha’s words, Dhritarashtra was pleased.
Satisfied, he conveyed his conversation with Sage Naradha to Gandhari. Accompanied
by Gandhari, Kunti and Sanjaya, Dhritarashtra left for their final journey
towards the Himalayas. While they were staying in Gangadhwara, Dhritarashtra,
along with Gandhari and Kunti attained moksha while they were engulfed by the fire
started from the ritual fire they were holding to. Sanjaya walked alone for the
rest of his final journey and reached the upper Himalayas and lived there till
he embraced death to reach heaven.
Two years have passed after visiting Dhritarashtra and his
associates. Yudhistra was not aware of their death. Sage Naradha visited
Hastinapur to convey the message and console the Pandavas. The Pandavas were surprised on the unexpected
visit of Sage Naradha. They welcomed him with respect. Yudhistra, with all due
respect, spoke, “It’s been a long time since your last visit to Hastinapur.
What can I do for you? Where have you been recently?”
Sage Naradha spoke in a concerned voice, “Yudhistra! It’s
been years since we have met. I was roving through various holy places in and
around Ganga.”
Listening to Sage Naradha speaking about Ganga, Yudhistra
was impelled. “You were near river Ganga? Few of my known people informed me
that Uncle Dhritarashtra was doing penance near River Ganga. Did you get to
meet our mother, uncles and aunt? Did you see Uncle Vidhura with them? And also
Uncle Sanjaya!”
Sage Naradha was silent for a moment and replied,
“Yudhistra, listen to me with a serene mind. Vidhura attained moksha when they
were living in the hermitage of Satayapu. Your uncle Dhritarashtra, aunt
Gandhari and mother Kunti was accompanied by Sanjaya for their journey towards
the Himalayas. Your uncle and aunt did severe penance. Your mother took care of
them. She assisted them in all their activities. Sanjaya too did severe
austerities. All four of them did severe penance to please the god. While they
were living in Gangadhwara, your uncle started living life just by breathing.
Your aunt Gandhari lived only by consuming water. Your mother and Sanjaya ate
only once in a month. I hope you all remember the ritual fire that your uncle
was holding to from the day of his wedding. He carried the same fire to the
forests and also worshiped it every day. One day, the winds blew strongly that
the ritual fire that was left unattended engulfed the hermitage. Sanjaya tried
to rescue your mother, uncle and aunt but they refused. They said that they
would gladly accept the death for they know that this is their end and asked
Sanjaya to continue without them. They went into yogic trance on the advice of
Sanjaya to control their senses so that they would not feel the pain. Your
mother along with your uncle and aunt embraced death and attained moksha when
the fire consumed them. Sanjaya who was helpless and distressed described to
the Brahmins he met about what happened to the King and the Queen and he walked
towards the upper Himalayas with other sages and did penance there till he
embraced death.”
The Pandavas and Draupathi were all distressed on hearing
the tragic end of their mother, the king and the queen. Engrossed in pain and
sorrow on the death of their mother, uncles and aunt, Yudhistra cried, “How sad
and troubled is human life! My mother, who is supposed to enjoy all the wealth
and watch her sons ruling Hastinapur as a King, chose to go to forest and live
her life like how we lived during the period of exile. With five sons alive,
she met her end in this way, without any of us nearby. My uncle! He is… he is
strong like iron and has the power of thousand elephants in his muscles even in
his old age. My uncle was the ruler of Hastinapur, the king who ruled
Hastinapur big-heartedly. He also died in a fire when he was supposed to live
peacefully in the palace. And, my aunt Gandhari! She gave birth to hundred
daring sons and yet she died helplessly. All of them are supposed to enjoy the
winds of the Hastinapur from the palace garden and live their life among the
people relishing the happiness of their citizens and their sons. I should not
have let them leave the palace. I should have stopped them by all means
possible.”
Hearing to Yudhistra’s words, Sage Naradha consoled him and
spoke in a concerned voice, “Yudhistra! They embraced death with open arms. The ritual fire that one worshiped every day
should be the one used on their funeral pyre too. The funeral pyre of the
person will be lit using the same fire. The fire started from the ritual fire
that your uncle carried all through his life. Their funeral fire was the same
fire he worshiped. This means that they have met natural death. Perform their
last rites so that the souls can reach heaven with peace.”
The news of the death of the old king and the queens spread
all over Hastinapur and the people too grieved for the loss. Accompanied by
Draupathi, Uththara, Subhadra, Yuyutsu and Parikshit, the Pandavas proceeded to
the shores of River Ganga and performed the last rituals for the departed
souls. Yuyutsu performed the last rites for his father. Then, they gave offerings
to the Brahmins as a customary ritual and returned to Hastinapur after
performing the ritual rites…hoping that the souls will find peace at least in
heaven!
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