("strength in combat") Yudhishthira is the oldest
of the Pandava brothers, the epic's heroes, in the Mahabharata, the later of
the two major Hindu epics.
When Yudhishthira's mother, Kunti, performs a strong mantra
to have a son by Dharma, the deity of righteousness, Yudhishthira is
miraculously born.
Yudhishthira is his father's son in every aspect; the epic
describes him as the earthly incarnation of Dharma.
He is well-known for his steadfast allegiance to the truth,
politeness for everybody, and commitment to virtue.
His only personal flaw is a gambling addiction, which is
only matched by his complete lack of gaming skill, and this flaw has serious
consequences.
Yudhishthira is chosen as successor to the kingdom by his
uncle, Dhrtarashtra, because of his merits.
Duryodhana, Dhrtarashtra's son, is enraged by this decision.
He seeks to murder the Pandavas by constructing a highly
flammable mansion.
The Pandavas manage to escape unscathed despite the home
being set on fire.
Duryodhana decides to win Yudhishthira's right to the throne
in a game of dice later.
Yudhishthira's gambling addiction gets the better of him here,
when he is pitted against Duryodhana's maternal uncle, Shakuni, who is a
competent player.
As Yudhishthira continues to lose, he bets more and larger
amounts in an attempt to recoup his losses.
Yudhishthira bets himself and his brothers after losing
their kingdom and all their possessions.
He wagers and loses the Pandava brothers' common wife,
Draupadi, after losing this bet.
Draupadi is humiliated as a result of her miscarriage, and
Duryodhana and his brother, Duhshasana, parade her around the assembly hall,
her clothing smeared with her monthly blood.
This event accentuates the two groups' already strong enmi
relations.
Duryodhana's father, King Dhrtarashtra, is shocked by the
treatment and restores the Pandavas' freedom.
However, due to the loss in the dice game, the Pandavas
agree to go into exile for twelve years and live incognito for the thirteenth,
with the caveat that if they are discovered in the thirteenth year, the cycle
will begin all over again.
Peacefully, Yudhishthira and his siblings complete their
twelve-year exile.
They spend the thirteenth year at King Virata's court, where
they stay undetected despite Duryodhana's spies' frantic searches.
Yudhishthira and his brothers return to claim their share of
the kingdom after the thirteen years have gone.
Yudhishthira hopes for a peaceful resolution and sends
Duryodhana a note suggesting that they would be content with only five
villages, one for each brother.
Yudhishthira recognizes that they would not gain their
rights without a fight as Duryodhana says that they will not get as much land
as could fit beneath the tip of a needle.
He unwillingly enlists his siblings in the war effort.
He battles courageously in the big war, and after their
triumph, he is anointed king.
Yudhishthira, after reigning for many years, sets off
towards the Himalayas with his brothers and their bride, Draupadi, accompanied
by a little dog.
Draupadi and his brothers die one by one as they ascend the
mountains, but the dog stays with Yudhishthira.
Yudhishthira finds the deity Indra, the ruler of heaven,
waiting for him in a gilded chariot at the summit of the Himalayas.
Yudhishthira is told by Indra that he would transport him to
paradise, but that he will have to leave his dog behind.
Yudhishthira is adamant about not abandoning his loyal
buddy, even if it means he will miss out on paradise.
The dog then exposes himself to be the disguised deity
Dharma.
The moral of the narrative is that Yudhishthira never allows
himself to wander too far from righteousness throughout his life; even at the
end, he refuses to abandon it.
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