The Yaksha was coming to the end of his questions. He realized that Yudhishthir had been very patient and asked the final set of questions.
The Last Set
The Yaksha asked:
Who is truly a man?
And what man truly possesses every kind of wealth?
To the first question Yudhishthir replied that if the report of the good deeds of a person spread all over the earth and reach the heavens then that person is truly a man. The question obviously implies who is a noble or a good person. To the second question Yudhishthir replied that the person who does not differentiate between the agreeable and the disagreeable, between fortunate times and unfortunate ones and between the past and the future is said to possess every kind of wealth.
The Difficult Choice
The Yaksha was truly impressed and told Yudhishthir that he would restore only one of his brothers. His final question was, “Which of your brothers do you want me to revive?”
Yudhishthir answered, I choose this one who is dark skinned, whose eyes are red, who is tall like a large Sala tree and whose chest is broad and arms are long. Yaksha, please revive Nakul.”
All along the Yaksha had accepted Yudhishthir’s answers without explanation but this time he was puzzled. He was compelled to ask, “Bhim and Arjun are your own brothers and you are so dependent on both of them. Then why did you choose this step brother of yours over Bhim whose strength is equal to that of ten thousand elephants and over Arjun whose mastery in archery is revered by all?”
Yudhishthir explained, “My choice has been determined by the answers I have given to your questions. If a persons sacrifices virtue then he himself is doomed. But if a person upholds virtue then virtue ensures that the person is rewarded. Therefore I never forsake virtue. Abstaining from hurting others is an even greater objective than attaining liberation from rebirth. I have therefore chosen the path of virtue that will cause no hurt to anyone. My father, Pandu, had two wives, Kunti and Madri. I, the eldest son of Kunti, am alive. But both the sons of Madri, Nakul and Sahadeva are dead. I do not differentiate between my two mothers. I do not wish to hurt the soul of Madri by doing injustice towards her sons. Therefore I want the eldest son of Madri to be revived. My mother Kunti would have wished the same.”
The Pandavas Revive
The Yaksha was impressed not only with Yudhishthir’s theoretical wisdom but also his courage to put this knowledge to practice. He therefore revived all the four Pandavas who had died because they had drunk water from the lake without answering his questions.
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