After the Great Kurukshetra War ended, the Pandavas emerged victorious in that fearsome war. Then, they handed the throne to King Parikshit and began their final journey towards Svarga (Heaven). But not all of them made it. One by one, Draupadi and 4 other Pandavas, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, fell on their path, unable to proceed further. In the end, only Yudhisthira remained, walking silently with a dog that had followed him faithfully.
At the gates of heaven, Indra himself appeared and invited Yudhisthira to enter his divine chariot. But, Indra stopped him and said, ‘The dog cannot come inside.’
Yudhisthira calmly replied, ‘If this creature, who trusted me till the end, is denied entry, then I myself refuse heaven.’
But, the King of the Heaven, Indra, argued. Because the dog was unclean. Rules could not be broken.
Yudhisthira didn’t waver. “Abandoning one who seeks refuge is Adharma. I will not commit it, even for heaven.”
At that very moment, the dog, transformed into Dharma (Yama), his divine father. The test was complete. Yudhisthira had proved that true dharma is compassion, not reward.
Lesson:- If morality collapses for personal gain, then heaven itself loses meaning.
That is why Yudhisthira alone entered heaven alive.