Vaishampayana continued:  “Hearing these words of king Yudhishthira the just, (the dog became transformed into) the deity of Righteousness, who, well pleased, said these words unto him in a sweet voice fraught with praise.

“Dharma said:  Thou art well born, O king of kings, and possessed of the intelligence and the good conduct of Pandu.  Thou hast compassion for all creatures, O Bharata, of which this is a bright example.  Formerly, O son, thou wert once examined by me in the woods of Dwaita, where thy brothers of great prowess met with (an appearance of) death.  Disregarding both thy brothers Bhima and Arjuna, thou didst wish for the revival of Nakula from thy desire of doing good to thy (step-) mother.  On the present occasion, thinking the dog to be devoted to thee, thou hast renounced the very car of the celestials instead of renouncing him.  Hence.  O king, there is no one in Heaven that is equal to thee.  Hence, O Bharata, regions of inexhaustible felicity are thine.  Thou hast won them, O chief of the Bharatas, and thine is a celestial and high goal.”

Vaishampayana continued:  “Then Dharma, and Shakra, and the Maruts, and the Ashvinis, and other deities, and the celestial Rishis, causing Yudhishthira to ascend on a car, proceeded to Heaven.  Those beings crowned with success and capable of going everywhere at will, rode their respective cars.  King Yudhishthira, that perpetuator of Kurus race, riding on that car, ascended quickly, causing the entire welkin to blaze with his effulgence.  Then Narada, that foremost of all speakers, endued with penances, and conversant with all the worlds, from amidst that concourse of deities, said these words:  All those royal sages that are here have their achievements transcended by those of Yudhishthira.  Covering all the worlds by his fame and splendour and by his wealth of conduct, he has attained to Heaven in his own (human) body.  None else than the son of Pandu has been heard to achieve this.

“Hearing these words of Narada, the righteous-souled king, saluting the deities and all the royal sages there present, said, Happy or miserable, whatever the region be that is now my brothers, I desire to proceed to.  I do not wish to go anywhere else.

“Hearing this speech of the king, the chief of the deities, Purandara, said these words fraught with noble sense:  Do thou live in this place, O king of kings, which thou hast won by thy meritorious deeds.  Why dost thou still cherish human affections?  Thou hast attained to great success, the like of which no other man has ever been able to attain.  Thy brothers, O delighter of the Kurus, have succeeded in winning regions of felicity.  Human affections still touch thee.  This is Heaven.  Behold these celestial Rishis and Siddhas who have attained to the region of the gods.

“Gifted with great intelligence, Yudhishthira answered the chief of the deities once more, saying, O conqueror of Daityas, I venture not to dwell anywhere separated from them.  I desire to go there, where my brothers have gone.  I wish to go there where that foremost of women, Draupadi, of ample proportions and darkish complexion and endued with great intelligence and righteous of conduct, has gone.”