76 Religious Books, The Ramayana, And The Mahabharata(18) Swargarohana-parva:
Devaraj Indra could read the mind of Yudhishthira. He ordered the
angels to take Yudhishthira to his wife and his brothers. They were
in the hell. One will have to go to the hell if one commits a sin. They
committed sins. The angels proceeded towards the hell taking
Yudhishthira with them. Fire was burning there. The sinners were
screaming as they were being fried in the boiling oil. Yudhishthira
wanted to return from there at the sight of this. They said, "O great
Yudhishthira, all our sufferings in the hell have stopped because of
your presence. A gentle breeze is blowing." Yudhishthira wanted to
know their identity. They started introducing themselves. He got the
identity of Draupadi, Shahadeva, Nakula, Arjuna and Vima along
with many others. He said to the angel, "I won't go to the heaven
without my relatives."
Then Devaraj Indra said to Yudhishthira, "It has been established
that no one is as pious as you are. You don't want to enjoy heavenly
bliss without your relatives. You are great. You take a bath with me
in the holy water of the river Mandakini."
Yudhishthira was blessed with divine body by taking a bath in the
holy water of the river Mandakini. Then he was amazed to see
Draupadi, Shahadeva, Nakula, Arjuna and Vima there. He also saw
Kunti, Madri, Pandu, Vishma, Drona and many others. He met
Krishna with all of them. They all started dwelling in the heaven.
We have learnt the story of the Mahabharata in brief. This story is as
good as ambrosia. The main theme of the story is that truth prevails
over false. Truth prevails in the long run. Religion is victorious
everywhere.
We will read the Mahabharata and follow the advice therein. This
will benefit us a lot