Yudhisthira with Dog

A  rare and important collector's item for me. It is related to the statue of Arjuna with the dog, which you can also see in my collection. Both representations show great similarity in their elaboration, especially the depiction of the dog is very similar.

Yudhishthira was one of the Pandava  brothers. You can read his story in the Mahabharata Epic. When he, his brothers and Draupadi (she was the wife of all five brothers) embarked on their final journey to Nirvana, Yudhishthira was tested by the gods. A dog accompanied the group but as such was not allowed to enter heaven at the behest of Indra, the supreme god. Yudhishthira did not want to go any further, he did not want to leave the poor dog, which was the god Yama in another form, behind. With such an act of kindness to this creature Yudhishthira solved his last task. After further trials, not only Yudhishthira but also his brothers and Draupadi were allowed to enter Nirvana.

Almost the statue here never came to me, so at this point a story. When I discovered the figure, it was already sold and I was very, very sad about it. However, the original buyer dropped out for certain reasons, and so I got my chance a few days later. The parcel was supposed to arrive quickly, but it seemed to have been lost in the post. Again I was devastated. But two weeks later I was able to recieve the statue.

This anecdote shows that where there is hope, there is light. And some things seem to be predestined. Yudhistira simply had to find his place next to his brother Arjuna. And against all odds, I found two rare statues that belong together at completely different times in different marketplaces.