The life journey of the eldest son of Pandu and the most honest of men in the Indian epic Mahabharat.
Yudhishthir is the eldest son of Pandu in the epic of Mahabharat. Yudh translates to war and shthir is stable, meaning the one who is stable in war. The eldest Pandava is known for this virtue of honesty above the rest.
Image of Yudhisthir and other Pandavas with Draupadi; Image Source: Columbia.Edu
His father, King Pandu had been cursed to never touch a woman or he will meet his death when he accidentally shot a Bhramin and his wife making love disguised as a doe and antelope. On the other hand, his mother Kunti was blessed with a formula through which she could make a child by invoking any sky god. For Yudhishthir, Yama or Dharamdev, the lord of dharma, religion was called upon as Pandu wished to have an honest, knowledgeable king for Hastinapur, their hometown. He was indeed righteous and the most truthful of men from a young age. Following his birth, his brothers Bhim, Arjun, Nakul and Sahdev were born and together they were known as Pandavas, sons of Pandu.
Growing up, Yudhishthir along with his siblings and cousins Kauravas, the 100 sons of king Dhritarashtra, were taught by Dronacharya or Drona and Kripacharya, the royal guru of the entire clan. His grip over the quest for justice and knowledge encouraged him to master subjects like religion, administration, science, martial arts, archery and other skills to equip him for battle. He was also trained to battle thousands of soldiers all at once and the spear was his choice of weapon.
During one of Drona’s lessons, he had asked Yudhishthir whether he had learned all the lessons which were taught so far, to which he said no and he knew only the first two chapters. This made his teacher angry and invited a beating with a stick. But Yudhishthir did not show any signs of anger even after receiving such thrashing, which surprised Dronacharya. He then explained himself stating how the first lesson was not to become enraged and even though he did experience feelings of rage, he had not expressed it. Drona was impressed by his response as the ultimate lesson was to solely speak the truth, which Yudhishthir clung on to till the very end. Many such incidents took place through their formative years but it was well established that Yudhishthir possessed the patience, knowledge and true sense of justice to rule the people of Hastinapur.
The early reign of Pandavas didn’t last long as they had to leave their home in disguise when they learned of an arson planned to finish them by their own cousins and uncle, Dhritarashtra, the king of Hastinapur. The 5 sons of Pandu along with their mother resorted to the forests as they were deemed dead by everyone back in their hometown.
When his younger brother Arjun had found a bride, Draupadi, who was then ordered to be shared amongst all the brothers by their mother Kunti, Yudhishtir too got married to her.
After the Pandavas emerged from hiding, they demanded their right on the land and the elders of the family suggested giving them a portion to avoid any troubles in the future. The land of Khandavaprastha was given to them. Together, all the Pandava brothers along with Krishna, the incarnation of a Hindu deity, built Indraprastha in that land, the city of Indra, aiming to establish paradise on Earth. It was Yudhishthir’s leadership that made the moral code of dharma very deeply rooted to maintain harmony and prosperity. His definition of dharma was that sons should follow the professions of their fathers and dutifully fulfill the responsibilities pertaining to the same. Women should take ample care and support their fathers, brothers, husbands and sons to follow such a code of conduct. A firm justice system where the truth lies above all was regulated in this heavenly city which did not take long to flourish. It became the object of envy for many kinds and even their cousins, Kauravas, especially Duryodhan, the eldest of the lot. Duryodhan was not just jealous of his cousins’ success but how they built one of the wonders of that time from absolutely nothing and how he hadn’t created something even remotely booming despite having massive wealth.
Statue of Yudhisthir; Image by Ashish Bhatnagar
This envy invited the Pandavas to a game of dice, which was planned shrewdly to be lopsided. One of Yudhishthir’s weaknesses was to gamble and his cousins had hit his weak nerve there. In this game filled with deceit, Yudhishthir lost his kingdom and wealth. He was struck by such a stroke, he ended by gambling all his brothers, himself, and even their wife Draupadi. The Kaurava took undue advantage of this by trying to disrobe and humiliate their wife. Once the match was forced to an end by the elders, Pandavas are sent for an exile of 12 years and remained in hiding for the 13th year.
It was after 13 years, that a war between the Pandavas and Kauravas was declared, the bloody battle of Kurukshetra where members of the same clan were killed by their own blood relatives. Yudhishthir courageously fought this war keeping his moral code of conduct intact.
Although the Pandavas succeeded victoriously from the battle, they lost their cousins, grandfather, uncles, and even children. But they fought for what they believed in and stood for. Yudhishthir ruled over Hastinapur for decades to come.
As the Kaliyug, the 4th age of time according to Hinduism was on the corner, the Pandavas and their wife, Draupadi took a leave from their kingdom and gave up on all their belongings. They took a pilgrimage in the Himalayas. On their route, one after another, Yudhishtir’s remaining family takes their last breath in accordance with their deeds and karma, starting from Draupadi. The eldest Pandava is the only one to survive and has a stray dog with him which had accompanied him from the beginning of the journey. He is stopped at the gates of Heaven and is asked to leave the dog behind. He passes this ultimate test of this strong character when he refuses to do so, crediting the creature’s loyalty and the dog reveals to be his father, Yama in the disguise of that canine.
He lands in heaven because of his stern longing for a true code of conduct, bravery and following the dharma codes through the nick of time.
