A Summary of the Mahaprasthanika Parva
The 17th parva of the Mahabharata is the Mahaprasthanika Parva. This parva has 320 shlokas (verses) divided into 3 sections.
This parva begins with the five Pandavas and Draupadi leaving their kingdom and beginning the great journey to the Himalayas called the ‘Mahaprasthanika’.
On their way, they reached a place called the sea of red waters. On the shores of the sea, they met Agni. Arjuna worshipped Agni and returned his famous bow, Gandiva, to Agni.
Note: You may remember that the bow was given to Arjuna by Agni when Arjuna had helped the latter devour the Khandava forest with his flames.
As they ascended the Himalayas, Draupadi and four of the Pandavas dropped dead one after the other, leaving Yudhishthira alone on the journey. However, Yudhishthira being the son of Dharma continued his journey alone without looking back at his deceased family.
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