Editing Mahabharata (section)

=== The end of the Pandavas ===
[[File:Totheforest.jpg|thumb|left|Gandhari, blindfolded, supporting Dhrtarashtra and following Kunti when Dhritarashtra became old and infirm and retired to the forest. A miniature painting from a 16th-century manuscript of part of the Razmnama, a [[Persian language|Persian]] translation of the ''Mahabharata'']]

After "seeing" the carnage, [[Gandhari (Mahabharata)|Gandhari]], who had lost all her sons, curses [[Krishna]] to be a witness to a similar annihilation of his family, for though divine and capable of stopping the war, he had not done so. Krishna accepts the curse, which bears fruit 36 years later.

The Pandavas, who had ruled their kingdom meanwhile, decide to renounce everything. Clad in skins and rags they retire to the [[Himalaya]] and climb towards heaven in their bodily form. A stray dog travels with them. One by one the brothers and Draupadi fall on their way. As each one stumbles, Yudhishthira gives the rest the reason for their fall ([[Draupadi]] was partial to [[Arjuna]], [[Nakula]] and Sahadeva were vain and proud of their looks, and Bhima and Arjuna were proud of their strength and archery skills, respectively). Only the virtuous Yudhishthira, who had tried everything to prevent the carnage, and the dog remain. The dog reveals himself to be the god Yama (also known as Yama Dharmaraja) and then takes him to the underworld where he sees his siblings and wife. After explaining the nature of the test, Yama takes Yudhishthira back to heaven and explains that it was necessary to expose him to the underworld because (Rajyante narakam dhruvam) any ruler has to visit the underworld at least once. Yama then assures him that his siblings and wife would join him in heaven after they had been exposed to the underworld for measures of time according to their vices.

Arjuna's grandson [[Parikshit]] rules after them and dies bitten by a snake. His furious son, Janamejaya, decides to perform a snake sacrifice (''[[sarpasattra]]'') to destroy the snakes. It is at this sacrifice that the tale of his ancestors is narrated to him.