Reading Notes: Mahabharata, Part D

The Pandavas Depart and The Afterlife by Donald A. Mackenzie
Vyasa, a priest, came upon the Pandavas. He told them it was time for their departure. Yudhisthira divided the kingdom. The Pandavas and Draudapi got rid of their materialistic items to prepare for their departure. Then the Pandavas, Draudapi, and a hound departed. Draudapi was the first to fall. She fell because her heart was still with Arjuna. The next one to fall was Sahadeva. Then Nakula fell. Finally, Bhima fell and Yudhisthira and the hound were the only ones left standing. Bhima fell because of his cursing, gluttony, and pride. Yudhisthira was the one who explain why each of them fell. It was weird to me that Yudhisthira was calm through all this. It is like he did not care until he came to Mount Meru where he met Indra. It was then when he pleaded with Indra to allow everyone to go to heaven with him. When Yudhisthira said everyone, he meant everyone even the hound. Yudhisthira would not abandon the hound. It turned out the hound was Dharma, the god of justice. Then Yudhisthira was moved to the eternal bliss. His enemies, the Kauravas, were there. Yudhisthira asked to be where his brothers and wife were. They fell short to be in heaven. Literally. So a celestial brought Yudhisthira to the nether regions. He learned that it was all a test. Then Yudhisthira became a celestial himself. I liked these two parts of the story compared to the earlier chapters. All of the earlier chapters were just war. It was not interesting to me. I feel like this is where the calm in the story is. I would keep the story as is if I retold it. The only thing that was weird to me was how calm Yudhisthira was when each of his beloveds fell. I think I would go more in depth in that part to explain how he was so calm. 

(Picture of  Yudhisthira and the hound Wiki)