Mahabharata – 203
by
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                     Aadivamsavatarana Parva

 The journey to Hastinapura after the demise of king Pandu.The godlike counsellors - the rishis, seeing the death of Pandu, consulted with one another and said --  The virtuous and the renowned king Pandu, abandoning both sovereignty, and kingdom came here for practicing ascetic austerities and resigned himself to the ascetics dwelling on this mountain. He presently ascended to the heaven, leaving his wife and infant sons as a trust in our hands. Our
duty now is to reach the dead bodies of the deceased Pandu and of Madri to Hastinapur so that their funeral rites are duly observed by their family. Here it should be mentioned that seeing king Pandu dying Madri his wife was terribly shocked. She plunged in meditation and
gave up her life. To give up life with the aid of meditation is no joke. Only those who are adept in the technology of yoga can give up life that presides over the body. In fact the Indian yogis know that the body is not the self. With the death of the body the self does not die. So the yogis be they  male or female can easily give up their body and yet they can protect their selves or souls.Does it sound absurd? We can not espy the soul leaving the body. With us common men the soul or self does not exist if there is no body housing the soul or the self. But voluntarily deaths in India still persist. One need not leave the worldly life and become a saint to become capable of giving up the body. Madri was a queen. She was not officially initiated in the lore of an ascetic. She had children and she wanted her children to be looked after. Despite that she gave up her life. In recent times there was a great political activists named Vinoba Bhave who felt that he lived for quite a long time and hence he decided to leave his body. To that end he fasted for days together and die before the eyes of the media and the world.However like Vinoba of today Madri of yesterday gave up her life. Madri was impelled by her love for deceased husband and she became a suttee .Madri’s dead body as well as the dead body of king Pandu must be shifted to Hastinapur where the royal family lived. Besides Kunti was left alone with five children to be looked after. So the rishis decided that Kunti along with her children should go back to Hastinapur their home. So those godlike rishis with great hearts ,summoning one another, resolved to go to Hastinapura with Pandu's children, desiring to place
them in the hands of Bhishma and Dhritarashtra. The ascetics set out presently, taking with them the children and Kunti and the two dead bodies. It was a long journey from mountains to Hastinapur. And though unused to hard life, the affectionate Kunti now regarded the journey as very short indeed. Having arrived at Hastinapura within a short time, the illustrious Kunti presented herself at the main gate of Hastinapura.
When they reached Hastinapura  Yudhishthira was sixteen years old, Bhima was fifteen years and Arjuna was fourteen years old. Nakula and Sahadeva were thirteen years old. They lived with  Duryodhana and others for thirteen years. Then they left for Laksha house and stayed
there for six months. Afterwards there were the marriage of Bhima with Hidimba and the birth of Ghatotkacha. Next they stayed for six months at Ekchakrapuri. And further in the house of king Drupada for one year. They returned to Hastinapura and stayed their with  Duryodhana
and others for five years. At Indraprastha they lived for twenty-three years. Afterwards they were defeated in the dice game and left the kingdom and stayed in the woods for twelve years and one year they stayed in secret. Then after the battle of Kurukshetra they ruled the kingdom for thirty six years. Then they crowned Parishkhit as the king and proceeded towards  heaven. Yudhishthira  was hundred eight years old at that time.