What Happened After Mahabharata War? Untold Truths

Introduction

After 18 days of intense fighting in the Mahabharata War, the Pandavas were close to winning. They had defeated all the Kauravas except one – Duryodhan. Afraid of his death, Duryodhan hid from the Pandavas. However, they eventually found him, and Bheem fought him to keep his promise of defeating him. Despite Bheem’s strength, he could not defeat Duryodhan.

At that moment, Shri Krishna signaled Bheem to attack Duryodhan’s leg. Bheem struck Duryodhan’s leg with all his might, causing him to fall. Many believe that this marked the end of the Mahabharata war. After this, the Pandavas ruled Hastinapur for 36 years. In the end, both the Pandavas and Shri Krishna left the earth, and the age of Kali Yuga began.

But the story didn’t end there. After the war, many events occurred, and some secrets remain hidden to this day.

The Curse on Duryodhan

Duryodhan didn’t die immediately after Bheem’s attack on his leg because of a curse. Instead, he lay in great pain on the battlefield. After some time, the Pandavas left, and Ashwathama, Duryodhan’s friend, arrived. Seeing Duryodhan’s suffering, Ashwathama became very angry and vowed to kill the Pandavas.

In the middle of the night, Ashwathama entered the Pandavas’ camp and killed everyone he found, thinking they were the Pandavas. He then brought the heads of those he had killed to Duryodhan, proudly announcing that he had killed the Pandavas. However, when Duryodhan looked at the heads, he realized they were not the Pandavas but their five sons. In despair, Duryodhan told Ashwathama that he was the cause of his death, not Bheem, and then he died.

With Duryodhan’s death, the divine vision of Sanjay disappeared, and the sun set on the 18-day-long Mahabharata war.

The Journey to Heaven

It is said that even though the Pandavas fought for dharma (righteousness), they did not reach heaven directly. After ruling for 36 years, Shri Krishna left his earthly form and returned to his divine abode, Vaikuntha. The Pandavas handed over their kingdom to their grandson, Parikshit, and then set off on a journey to heaven with their wife, Draupadi.

As they climbed the Himalayas, the journey became increasingly difficult. Draupadi was the first to fall because she had always loved Arjun more than her other husbands. Next were Sahadev and Nakul, who fell because of their pride—Sahadev in his knowledge and Nakul in his appearance. Arjun, who was very proud of his skills, also fell. Bheem, despite his strength, could not complete the journey because of his greed for food.

In the end, only Yudhishthir, who had always followed dharma, managed to complete the journey and reach heaven.

The Beginning of Kali Yuga

After the Pandavas, their grandson Parikshit became the king of Hastinapur. A prophecy had foretold that the Kali Yuga would begin after Krishna’s departure. Kali, a demon representing the age of darkness, had been trying to enter the earth for a long time.

One day, Parikshit saw a man beating a cow and a bull with a stick. The bull, which represented dharma (religion), stood on only one leg because the other three legs had been broken. The cow symbolized the earth, suffering under the weight of sin after Krishna left the world. Parikshit realized that the man was none other than Kali, who was trying to destroy dharma and the earth.

Parikshit drew his sword to kill Kali, but Kali fell at his feet and begged for mercy. Parikshit allowed him to live but only in five places: gambling, alcohol, immorality, murder, and gold. Parikshit thought that limiting Kali to these places would save the world, but Kali began to spread his influence through these vices, marking the start of Kali Yuga.

The Curse of Parikshit

Despite being a great king, Parikshit’s life ended because of his anger. One day, while wandering in the forest, he came across the ashram of Maharishi Samig, who was deep in meditation and did not notice Parikshit’s presence. Angry at being ignored, Parikshit placed a dead snake around the sage’s neck.

When the sage’s son, Shringi, saw this, he cursed Parikshit to die from a snake bite in seven days. Accepting his fate, Parikshit made his son, Janamejaya, the king and awaited his death. On the seventh day, Takshak, the king of snakes, disguised as a Brahmin, bit Parikshit, and he died.

The Ritual of Janamejaya

After Parikshit’s death, his son Janamejaya decided to take revenge on the snakes. He performed a snake sacrifice to destroy all the snakes in the world. However, a wise sage named Aastik Muni convinced Janamejaya to stop the ritual, explaining that it would upset the balance of the world. Janamejaya agreed and spared the life of Takshak, the snake king. This event is now celebrated as Nag Panchami, a day to honor and protect snakes.

The Mahabharata war changed many things, but the events that followed were just as important. The era we live in today, Kali Yuga, is deeply connected to those times.

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