After the mourning period is over, Krishna leads Yudhishthir to the throne. Yudhishthir crowns Bheem the Yuvraj and appoints Vidur as the Prime Minister of Hastinapur. Arjun is made the commander of the army, Nakul is made Arjun's assistant and Sahadev is made the personal protector of the King. After the affairs of the state are in order, Krishna takes the Pandava brothers to Bheeshma. Bheeshma gives them a discourse on Dharma and his soul leaves for the Heavens.

King Bharat sows the seed of democratic thinking by appointing a commoner as his successor. Many generations later, King Shantanu risks the tradition when he marries Ganga and promising never to question her for anything she does.