Pandava

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This article is about mythohistorical figures of India. For the spider genus known as Pandava, see Titanoecidae.

In the Hindu epic Mahābhārata, the Pandava (or Pandawa) brothers (Sanskrit: पाण्‍डव pāṇḍavaḥ) are the five acknowledged sons of Pandu (Sanskrit: पांडु), by his two wives Kunti and Madri. Their names are Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. All five brothers were married to one woman, Draupadi. Together, they fought and prevailed in a war against the party of their cousins the Kauravas, the climax of which was the Battle of Kurukshetra. Their alienated half-brother Karna fought against them and was eventually slain by Arjuna.

Parents of the Pandavas

The first three of the Pandavas were the sons of Kunti, and the younger two were sons of Madri. Since Pandu had been cursed to die if ever he had intercourse with his wives, the actual fatherhood of the children is traditionally attributed to various gods, in virtue of a boon that Kunti had received from Durvasa and had transferred to Madri. Thus, Yudhishthira was the son of Dharma the god of righteousness, Bhima the son of Vayu the wind-god, Arjuna the son of Indra the sky-god, and Nakula and Sahadeva the sons of the Ashwini Gods.

Iravati Karve has suggested in her book, Yuganta, that the actual father of Yudhishtira, or of all of the brothers, may have been Vidura, and that this was edited and hidden in the story to strengthen the claim for the kingdom by the brothers.

Iravati Karve's theory has been however rubbished by many Mahbaharata authorities like Buddhadeb Bose and Nrsimhaprasad Bhaduri on grounds that the author of Mahbharata had no need to "hide" about Yudhisthira's birth when he writes explicitly and undauntedly about all "illicit" relationships.

Draupadi's description of her husbands to Jayadratha

The Pandava brothers were collectively married to Draupadi. On one occasion, Draupadi was kidnapped and abducted from a hermitage in the forest by the wicked king Jayadratha. When her husbands learned of the crime, they came in hot pursuit. Seeing them approach, Jayadratha asked Draupadi to describe them. Angrily, Draupadi told the king his time was up, and that the knowledge would do him no good. She then proceeded to give the description. (Mahābhārata, Book III: Varna Parva, Section 268.)

According to Draupadi, Yudhishthira possessed a "complexion like that of pure gold, possessed of a prominent nose and large eyes, and endued with a slender make." He was just, had a correct sense of morality, and was merciful to surrendering foes. Draupadi counselled Jayadratha to run to Yudhishthira and to beg for forgiveness.
Draupadi described Bhima as tall and long-armed. In a display of ferocity, he was "biting his lips, and contracting his forehead so as to bring the two eye-brows together." His superhuman feats had earned him great renown. "They that offend him are never suffered to live. He never forgets a foe. On some pretext or other he wreaks his vengeance."
Arjuna she praised as the greatest of archers, intelligent, "with senses under complete control." Neither lust nor fear nor anger could make him forsake virtue. Though capable of withstanding any foeman, he would never commit an act of cruelty.
Nakula, said Draupadi, was "the handsomest person in the whole world." An accomplished swordsman, he was also "versed in every question of morality and profit" and "endued with high wisdom." He was unflinchingly devoted to his brothers, who in turn regarded him as more valuable than their own lives.
Finally, Sahadeva was the youngest of the brothers, and like the others formidable in war and observant of morality. "Heroic, intelligent, wise and ever wrathful, there is not another man equal unto him in intelligence or in eloquence amid assemblies of the wise."

References

Chakravarti V. Narasimhan; The Mahabharata. Columbia University Press, 1965.

External links

The Mahābhārata of Vyasa, translated from Sanskrit into English by Kisari Mohan Ganguli and published online at sacred-texts.com.

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Last updated on Sunday March 09, 2008 at 08:36:15 PDT (GMT -0700)
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