Mahabharata is a Sanskrit poem that is commonly referred to as an epic.

However, Hindus think

This text contains Hindu law and history – ‘Dharma’ and ‘Itihasa’. The poem is made of 100,000
couplets and full of mythological and moral references. Its didactic nature and several stories
reflect the true nature of humans – full of flaws and yet having potential for good.

It revolves around a central storyline of struggle between two noble clans – Pandavas and
Kauravas. Though it is improbable that one individual constructed the complex web of narratives
that is Mahabharata, it’s authorship is generally attributed to Vyasa. Legend has it that Lord
Ganesha penned down the entire tale as narrated by Ved Vyasa in almost a continuous flow.
Vyasa is mentioned in the story too; he was the grandfather of the Kaurava brothers.

Mahabharata is a powerful text which provides an insight into traditional Hindu culture. It has
remained popular and important over the year and has even been adapted in several forms –
comic books, short novels, television shows and stage plays.

Pandavas
Definition

by Nikul Joshi
published on 29 July 2016

Pandavas were the five powerful and skilled sons of Pandu, the King of Hastinapur and his two
wives Kunti and Madri. Hastinapur is equated with the current modern Indian state of Haryana,
south of New Delhi. The Pandavas - Yudhistira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva - are the
central characters in the most applauded epic in Hinduism, the Mahabharata. The brothers were
famously involved in the Kurukshetra War with their cousins the Kauravas over who would
control the throne of Hastinapur, and were, ultimately, victorious.

The birth of the Pandavas is supposedly traced back to 3229 BCE when Yudhistira was born, and
to 3226 BCE when Nakula and Sahadeva were born. The most engaging story of the Pandavas
can never be dissociated from the formation of social structures and political decisions of current
India, due to the influence it has had in the way of functioning and inheriting the values of
Dharma established during their reign. The story of the Pandavas influences many cultures,
especially of India, in the way many Hindu households makes decisions, assess and implement
the moral conclusions of their actions.
Birth of THE Pandavas

The story of their birth is rather interesting and beyond the general notions of belief. Pandu had
two wives, Kunti and Madri. A king was legally allowed to have multiple wives in those times.
Interestingly, while hunting in the forest of Hastinapur, Pandu happened to hit with an arrow a
copulating deer couple, who were in fact humans disguised as deer in order to enjoy making love
in the open. The male deer was Rishi Kidamba who, having being pierced by the arrow, cast a
curse on Pandu that he would die the moment he advanced to be intimate with a women. This
seriously affected the two wives who were then not able to bear a biological child of their own
through Pandu. Pandu then renounced his kingdom and lived in the forest as an ascetic, after
giving the throne to his cousin/brother Dhritarashtra, the father of the 100 Kauravas, with whom
the Pandavas would wage a war later.

All five Pandavas inherited divine qualities from their celestial fathers.

Surprisingly, Kunti had received a boon in her early adulthood from a fierce and renowned Rishi
Durvasa that she could call any of the divine Gods and bear a child. This proved to be very
useful and, through the use of mantras given to her by Durvasa, Kunti called upon Yama, the
God of Death and Dharma, through whom she gave birth to Yudhistira. She then invoked the
Wind God, Vayu, through whom she brought Bhima to the world, later she called Indra, who
gave her Arjuna as another Pandava. She then felt pity for Madri, who would otherwise have no
child if she did not help her, so with the help of the mantras Madri called upon the twin Ashvins,
who bore her Nakula and Sahadeva. Thus, the five Pandavas were born through the combined
grace of the curse on Pandu, the boon to Kunti, and the coming of the Gods who helped the two
wives bear five children. All the Pandavas inherited divine qualities from their celestial fathers.

Arjuna wins Draupadi

Contest For Draupadi

The Pandavas were human in nature but had divine qualities which they nurtured and built with
the help of their preceptor Guru Drona, a Brahmin Rishi, who was the head teacher of all their
education, along with those of the 100 Kauravas, the cousins of the Pandavas. Lord Krishna, who
was the son of Kunti’s brother, plays an equally central role in supporting the Pandavas during
their exile imposed cunningly by the Kauravas. During the Pandavas exile, the King of Drupada
organised a contest, called Swayamvar, where his daughter, Draupadi, would marry the one who
won the contest. The contest was to hit the eye of the circularly rotating fish in the sky - an
imaginary construction - with a bow and string, by looking down on the image of the fish in a
water pond below. To add a surprise, there was a sixth Pandava, Karna, who had been born when
Kunti, while being single, had called the Sun God Surya to test the mantra, who gave her this
magnanimous son. But being single and to save her identity from being maligned, Kunti
reluctantly had to abandon Karna who was picked up by a childless couple who worked as a
charioteer in Hastinapur. Karna was unmatchable in vigour, knowledge, deeds, charity, and skills
of all kinds. Arjuna was the only match for him. Karna too turned up at the contest, but having
been denied entry by Draupadi for being a son of unknown parents and a son of a charioteer,
Arjuna was the only one to accomplish the feat and win the contest.

Yudhistira

Yudhistira's name indicates steadfastness at all times, even at war when things are most difficult.
As he was the son of Yama, he was the most righteous and steadfast, a follower of Dharma in all
walks of life, and shining like the brilliant sun in the knowledge of law, ethics, and morality. He
was the most righteous of the brothers never having spoken a lie in his life, except during the
final war where he was made to suppress the loud truth through neutrality. He was such a
steadfast man of righteous deeds that his chariot while moving would remain a few inches above
the ground. Unfortunately, due to this fondness for righteousness, he was duped during a game of
dice with the Kauravas to gamble his wife Draupadi and lost her. His deeds are enormous and he
is the only one of two examples (the other is Lord Rama) off the practice of righteousness in all
modes and conditions of life, even if that meant killing oneself.

Bhima

Bhima was the son of the Wind God Vayu, indicating the fierce force and braveness that he
inherited. He was the mightiest of the brothers, both in physical prowess and in skill and speed.
He was fond of eating and often took the lion’s share of the shared meals of the Pandavas. He
was fond of cooking, was a great cook and employed himself as a chief cook in the last year of
the Pandavas exile where they were to supress their identity and live unknown to the world. He
was the one who took an oath to kill the 100 Kauravas as a result of losing the game of dice and
watching helplessly their only wife, Draupadi, getting disrobed by Dushashana, younger brother
of Duryodhana.

Arjuna During the Battle of Kurukshetra

Arjuna

Arjuna was the mightiest in skills, matchless in knowlegde, skills, and saintly temper, possessed
of divine weapons, and the major responsibility of winning the Kurukshetra war was given to
him, as he had Lord Krishna as his charioteer and adviser. His divine weapons, when used,
vanquished even the most renowned and skilled warrior. He was the best pal of Lord Krishna,
and the recipient of the divine knowledge from Krishna, often called the Bhagavad Gita. During
their exile, he endured the most severe austerities and sacrifices and pleased Lord Shiva to
appear, who willingly presented him with a divine weapon for his war.
Nakula

Nakula, being the son of the Ashvins, was the most skilled with animals, especially horses and
elephants. He was compared to the Lord of Love (Cupid) Kamadeva as he looked beautiful and a
woman-charmer. He was steadfast in his conduct, had superior knowledge of health and cures for
many of life's threatening diseases. He, along with Sahadeva, saved Karna’s life during the war
on Kunti’s request, when Karna donated his chest weapon to Indra, Arjuna’s father in an act of
charity. He was an excellent sword fighter, equipped with the best of knowledge pertaining to
sciences, warfare, and unusual weapons.

Sahadeva

Sahadeva was the second son of the Ashvins and Madri, and he was the wisest and most
mysterious character of the Pandavas. Pandu, while on his deathbed, requested him to eat his
flesh so that he could get all his knowledge, and thus Sahadeva was then able to foresee the
future with diminished clarity and saved the Pandavas lives on many occasions. He was the best
in cattle prevention and their growth, was a great sword fighter like Nakula, and had acquired all
requisite knowledge of Dharma and righteousness.

Karna

Karna was the eldest of the Pandava brothers and the sixth Pandava, discovered only at his
deathbed in the war by his younger brothers. He was matchless in skill, weapons, charity, and
could remain undefeated even by the gods. He took his training from Lord Parasurama, a fierce
Brahmin and the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Karna was the son of the Sun God and
likewise was most brilliant and outstanding, both in knowledge and warfare. He was the only one
who could see through the Sun for hours without disturbance, being his son. He could have been
undefeated in the war, but only the cunning advice of Lord Krishna to Arjuna to kill him while
being disarmed brought his life to an end. Throughout his life, he was called a Suta putra or a
child with unknown parents, and Radha adopted him when he grew up. He was incomparable in
charity and once also gave his entire palace away to be burned down to help the citizens of his
kingdom. Such was his merit that his power to giveaway never vanished and prosperity never left
him.