At the end of his long life, King Yudhishthira set off on a final journey to the mountains, and a stray dog began to follow him faithfully, step after step.
When at last a heavenly chariot came to carry him upward, he was told the dog could not come. “Then I will not come either,” said Yudhishthira. “I cannot abandon one who has been loyal to me.”
At that, the dog revealed itself as a god in disguise, testing his goodness. His refusal to forsake a faithful friend was his greatest honour of all.