Pandava

This article is about mythohistorical figures of India. For the spider genus, see Pandava (spider).
Draupadi and the Pandavas

In the Mahabharata, a Hindu epic text, the Pandava are the five acknowledged sons of Pandu, by his two wives Kunti who was a Yadava and Madri who was the princess of Madra. Their names are Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. All five brothers were married to the same woman, Draupadi.

Together, the brothers fought and prevailed in a great war against their cousins the Kauravas, which came to be known as the Kurukshetra War.

Etymology

The word Pandava is derived from their father's name, Pandu (पाण्डु). So the meaning of the word is- descendants (sons) of Pandu, aka, Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. The other epithets of the Pandava group are-

The Pandavas

Story

The story begins with the introduction of the brothers' parents. Amongst the primary antagonists was Duryodhana (loosely translated as 'unconquerable'), the eldest of the Kauravas and the Pandavas' cousin. He was the eldest of the 100 brothers known as the Kauravas, who were born to the blind king of Hastinapura Dhritarashtra and his queen Gandhari (princess of Gandhara).

The Pandavas were born to Kunti and Madri by the boon given by Durvasa, which was given to Kunti that she can have a son of any god which she respect without having any marital affair. After the marriage of Madri, Pandu voluntary renounced royal life, in order to do penance for having accidentally killed the sage Rishi Kindama and his wife. At his death, Rishi Kindama cursed Pandu that he will surely die if he attempts to have sexual relationships with his wives. Because of this curse, Kunti had to use her boon to get sons. She gave birth to three sons, Yudhishthira from God of Dharma. Bhima from God of Wind and Arjuna from Lord Indra. At the request of Pandu she shared this boon with Madri to get her sons, the twins Nakul and Sahadev from Gods Ashvins.

After the death of Pandu and Sati of Madri, Kunti brought the Pandavas back to Hastinapura. As children, the Pandavas and Kauravas often played together. However, Bhima (one of the Pandavs) was always at odds with the Kauravas, particularly Duryodhana, who refused to accept the Pandavas as his kin. This usually led to much tension between the cousins. Insecure and jealous, Duryodhana harboured intense hatred for the five brothers throughout his childhood and youth, and following the advice of his maternal uncle Shakuni, often plotted to get rid of them to clear his path to the lordship of the Kuru Dynasty.

This plotting took a grave turn when Dhritarashtra had to relent to the will of the masses and rightfully appointed his nephew Yudhishthira as crown prince. This went against the personal ambitions of both father and son (Dhritarashtra and Duryodhana), and drove Duryodhana into such a rage, that he enthusiastically agreed to an evil ploy by Shakuni to murder Yudhishthira. Shakuni commissioned the construction of a palace in Varnavata, secretly built by incorporating flammable materials into the structure, most notably lacquer, known as Lac. This palace was known as Lakshagraha. Duryodhana then successfully lobbied with Dhritarashtra to send Yudhishthira to represent the royal household in Varnavata during the celebrations of Shiva Mahotsava. The plan was to set the palace on fire during the night while Yudhishthira would likely be asleep. Yudhishthira left for Varnavata, accompanied by his four brothers and mother Kunti. Fortunately for the Pandavas, the plan was discovered by their paternal uncle Vidura, who was very loyal to them and an extraordinarily wise man. In addition, Yudhishthira had been forewarned about this plot by a hermit who came to him and spoke of an imminent disaster. Vidura arranged for a tunnel to be secretly built for the Pandavs to safely escape the wax palace as it was set afire.

Pandavs Journeying With Their Mother

After their flight from the wax palace, the five brothers lived in the forests for some time, in the disguise of Brahmins. They heard from a group of traveling sages about a contest (Swayamvara) being held in the Kingdom of Panchaal that offered the princess Draupadi's hand in marriage to the winner. The Swayamvara turned out to rely on the skills of archery, and Arjuna, who was a peerless archer, entered the competition and won. When the brothers took Draupadi to introduce her to their mother, they announced to Kunti that they had arrived with excellent "alms". Kunti was busy with some work, and replied without turning to look at Draupadi (who was the "alms" referred to) ordering the brothers to share the "alms" equally amongst the five of them. Even when uttered erroneously, their mother's word was supreme for the Pandavas, who then agreed to "share" the princess, who was subsequently married to all five brothers.

When Dhritarashtra heard that the five brothers were alive, he invited them back to the kingdom. However, in their absence, Duryodhana had succeeded in being made the crown prince. Upon the return of the Pandavas, the issue of returning Yudhishthira's crown to him was raised. Dhritarashtra led the subsequent discussions into ambiguity and agreed to a partition of the kingdom "to do justice to both crown princes". He retained the developed Hastinapura for himself and Duryodhana, and gave the barren, arid and hostile lands of Khandavaprastha to the Pandavas. The Pandavas successfully developed their land and built a great and lavish city which was considered comparable to the heavens, and thus came to be known as Indraprastha.

Reeling under the loss of half the lands of his future kingdom, Duryodhana's jealousy and rage were further fueled by the Pandavas' success and prosperity. Eventually, Shakuni sired yet another ploy and got Duryodhana to invite the Pandavas over to his court for a game of dice (gambling). Shakuni was a master at gambling, and owned a pair of dice which magically did his bidding and produced numbers desired by him. Owing to this, bet after bet, Yudhishthira lost all of his wealth and eventually, his kingdom in the game. He was then enticed by Duryodhana and Shakuni to place his brothers as bets. Yudhishthira fell for it and put his brothers on stake, losing them too. He then placed himself as a bet and lost again. Duryodhana now played another trick and told Yudhishthira that he still had his wife Draupadi to place as a bet, and if Yudhishthira won, he would return everything to the Pandavas. Yudhishthira fell for the ruse and bet Draupadi, losing her too. At this point Duryodhan ordered that Draupadi, who was now a slave to him, be brought to the court. None of the Pandavas fought for their wife's honor. Duryodhana's younger brother Dushasana dragged Draupadi to the royal court, pulling her by her hair, insulting her dignity and asserting that she, like the Pandava brothers, was now their servant. This caused immense anguish to all the great warriors seated in the court, but each of them, namely, Bhishma (the grandsire of the clan), Dronacharya (the teacher/guru of Kauravas and Pandavas) and Kripacharya except Vidura remained silent. Duryodhana then ordered Dushasana to disrobe Draupadi before everyone as a slave girl has no human rights. The elders and warriors in audience were shocked but did not intervene. As Dushasana began to disrobe her, she prayed to God to protect her honour, and Lord Krishna protects her by providing her garments an unending length.Finally as the blind king Dhrithrasthra realized that this humiliation could prompt Draupadi to curse his sons, he intervened, apologizing to Draupadi for the behavior of his sons and turned the winnings of the dice game back over to the Pandava brothers, releasing them from the bondage of slavery.

Arjuna shooting at the eye of a fish to win Draupadi in marriage, Kalighat painting

Incensed at the loss of all that he had won, Duryodhana threatened suicide and coerced his father into inviting the Pandavas for one last round of gambling, the terms of which were that the loser would be condemned to 12 years of exile into forests, and a 13th year to be spent incognito, and if the cover be blown during the 13th year, another cycle of 13 years would ensue. Obeying their uncle's orders, the Pandavas played the round, and again lost to Shakuni's cheating. However, this time, their patience had been nearly pushed to its edge. During the 12 years of exile in the forest, they prepared for war. Arjuna performed penance and won the entire gamut of celestial weapons (Divyasatras) as boons from the Gods. The 13th year was spent masquerading as peasants in the servitude of the royal family of Virata, the king of Matsya. Upon completion of the terms of the last bet, the Pandavas returned and demand their kingdom to be rightfully returned to them. Duryodhana refused to turn Indraprastha over. For the sake of peace, and to avert a disastrous war, Krishna proposed that if Hastinapura agrees to give the Pandavas only five villages, they would be satisfied and would make no more demands. Duryodhana vehemently refused, commenting that he shall not part even with land as much as the point of a needle. Thus, the stage was set for the great war, for which the epic of Mahabharata is known most of all.

The war was intense and was fought for 18 days over the course of which both parties worked around, bent, and even broke rules of warfare. At the end all 100 Kaurava brothers and their entire army was slain, with only four surviving on their side. The Pandavas too lost several allies but the 5 brothers survived. After having won the war Yudhishthira was crowned the king.

Death of the Pandavas

The Pancha Pandavas ruled Hastinapura for 36 years and established a righteous Kingdom. Shortly after the death of Lord Krishna they all decided that the time has come for them to renounce the world as the age of Kalyug had started. So the five Pandavas and Draupadi left to the path of liberation.For this purpose they all climbed the Meru Mountain which leads them to the Swarga Loka. Unfortunately on their way, all except Yudhisthira slipped and died one by one. The first to die was Draupadi, she was imperfect because she preferred Arjuna over her other husbands.Then it was Sahadeva, imperfect because he was smug about his knowledge.Followed by Nakula, imperfect because he was arrogant about his good looks.Then fell Arjuna, imperfect because he was always jealous of other archers.And then, Bhima, imperfect because he was a glutton. Only the eldest pandava, Yudhisthira, reached the door of Swarga Loka carried on Lord Indra's chariot.On reaching Heaven he did not find either his virtuous brothers or his wife Draupadi. Instead he saw Duryodhana, Bheesma, Dronacharya etc and their sons.

He wanted an explanation from Lord Yama,The lord of death. Lord Yama explained that because the Kauravas died as warriors on the battlefield they have been allowed into heaven. This earned them so much merit and credit that it wiped out all their debts. Yudhisthira demanded to know where his brothers and his wife were. He was then taken to Hell. Lord Yama explained that they were experiencing the reactions of their actions but it was temporary. Once the debt has been repaid, they will join them in Swarga. Yudhisthira loyally met his brothers, but the sight and sound of gore and blood horrified him. Though initially he was tempted to flee, he mastered himself and remained after hearing the voices of his beloved brothers and Draupadi calling out to him, asking him to stay with them in their misery. Yudhisthira decided to remain, ordering the divine charioteer to return. He preferred to live in hell with good people than in a heaven of his enemies. Eventually this turned out to be another illusion to test him.

Krishna's help to the Pandavas

The Five Pandavas in Wayang form. From left to right: Bhima, Arjuna, Yudhishthira, Nakula, and Sahadeva. Indonesia Museum, Jakarta.

Krishna, being a well wisher of the Pandavas, helped them in various ways during the time of their ordeals, as described below:

  1. Krishna protected Draupadi's honour in the court of Hastinapur when Dushasana tried to strip her sari. He extended the length of her sari while Dushasana went on pulling it. Dusshasana finally falls unconscious due to exhaustion and Draupadi is thus saved.
  2. Durvasa and his students visited Yudhishthira's hermitage during their exile and asked them to provide for a meal. The Akshaya patra was a magical bowl given to Draupadi by Surya. It would produce innumerable amount of foodstuffs and would continue to do so until Draupadi ate her meal. On this occasion Draupadi had already partaken her meal and the bowl would not produce anything more. Durvasa being an irascible sage had to be served or he would curse Draupadi and her husbands. At such an odd moment, Krishna appeared before Draupadi and Pandavas and said that he was very hungry. Draupadi wept and said she had nothing to offer him. Krishna took the patra from Draupadi and ate a grain of rice that was sticking to the Akshaya patra. Durvasa and his students hunger gets satiated immediately by this act of Krishna. Thus, Krishna saved the Pandavas from the curse of Durvasa.
  3. Sahadeva was very good in Astrology. Duryodhana, on the advice of Shakuni approached Sahadeva in order to seek the right time (muhurta) to start the Mahabharata war so that the Kauravas will be victorious. Sahadeva disclosed the same for the Kauravas in spite of knowing that Kauravas were their enemy, as Sahadeva was known to be very honest. Then, Krishna planned to create an eclipse much before the beginning of the war. In the mean time, both Sun and Moon got shocked by Krishna's thought and appeared before Krishna stating that this will create a huge imbalance in the entire Universe. Then, Krishna declared that as Earth, Moon and Sun are together in one place, this in itself was an eclipse.
  4. Krishna rescued Arjuna from Karna's shakti weapon by not exposing him to Karna, until Karna used it against Bhima's son - Ghatotkacha.
  5. When Karna shot Nagastra on Arjuna, Krishna applied pressure to the chariot by his foot and thus sunk it, as a result of which the astra missed Arjuna's head and hit his crown instead.
  6. When Ashwatthama launched the Narayanastra on the Pandavas immediately after the death of Dronacharya, Krishna rescues the Pandava Army by instructing them to put down their arms and to surrender themselves completely towards the weapon. Bhima refused to do so since it would be cowardliness on his part. Krishna protected Bhima by shielding him and showing his back to the astra.
  7. When Bhagadatta launched the Vaishnava astra on Arjuna, Krishna intervened it immediately. Consequently, this weapon turned into a garland and fell on Krishna's neck. The Vaishnava astra is an astra of Vishnu. In this way, that weapon came back to Vishnu and Arjuna was saved.
  8. Duryodhana is going to meet his mother on the last day of the battle. His mother has told him to take a bath and enter her tent naked, like an infant. On the way he meets Krishna who mocks him and instigates him to wear the leaves of banana tree in order to cover his thighs before meeting Gandhari. When Gandhari removes her blindfold and looks at Duryodhana, the skin on his body turns hard like vajra or diamond. Unfortunately his thighs remain unaffected and thus vulnerable as they were covered with the leaves. This weakness was later exploited by Bhima in order to defeat Duryodhana in Gadayuddha.
  9. Krishna saved the Pandavas when Ashwatthama ambushed the Pandava camp at night. Due to this, Ashwatthama ended up killing the Upapandavas instead of Pandavas.
  10. Krishna revived Parikshit who was killed in Uttara's womb by Ashwatthama's misuse of Brahmastra.
  11. Krishna saved Bheema from getting killed from the hands of Dhritarashtra when all the Pandavas came to meet him after the war. Dhritarashtra insists each one of the Pandavas to hug him. When, Bheema approached Dhritarashtra, then Krishna instructed him to place Bheema's iron statue that was used by Duryodhana while practicing Gadayuddha, before Dhritarashtra instead of Bhima himself hugging Duryodhana's father. Dhritarashtra crushed the iron statue into pieces. Thus, Krishna prevented Bhima from getting crushed by Dhritarashtra.
  12. Krishna helps Pandavas establish their kingdom in the Khandava Vana by asking Agni to 'eat' all the vegetation there. He also captures Mayasura who asks Arjuna to spare his life and compensates by building the fabulous Indraprastha and Mayasabha.
  13. Krishna plays an instrumental role in Jarasandha's death. He gives the vital secret to Bhima by pulling apart a straw and throwing it opposite directions thus indicating the way of killing Jarasandha.
  14. Krishna went as a peace messenger to Duryodhana to try and negotiate to settle the matter without a war. He asks Duryodhana to give the Pandavas just five villages and be in peace. Duryodhana refuses to do so and thus the War becomes imminent.
  15. When both Arjuna and Duryodhana ask for Krishna's assistance in the war, Krishna asks Arjuna first. Arjuna, naturally, chooses the unarmed Krishna leaving the Narayani Sena to Duryodhana.
  16. if it had not been for Krishna then Arjuna would have had to immolate himself, as he would not have killed Jayadratha.

Parents of the Pandavas

Kunti leading Gandhari. Description: Gandhari, blindfolded, supporting Dhritarashtra and following Kunti when Dhritarashtra became old and infirm and retired to the forest. A miniature painting from a sixteenth-century manuscript of part of the Razmnama, the Persian translation of the Hindu epic Mahabharata

The first three of the Pandavas were the sons of an Yadava Kunti, (Pandu's first wife) and the younger two were the sons of Madri (Pandu's second wife). Since Pandu had been cursed to die if ever he had intercourse with a woman, the actual fatherhood of the children is traditionally attributed to various gods, in virtue of a boon that Kunti had received from sage Durvasa and had transferred to Madri. Thus-

(Karna was also born of Kunti and was the son of Surya, the solar God).

Description by Draupadi of Pandavas

Dream portrait of Nakula, the Pandava brother, circa 1725-1750

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. (Mahābhārat, Book III: Varna Parva, Section 268.)

Kerala and Pandavas

The Thrichittattu Maha Vishnu Temple in Alappuzha District is believed to have been built by Yudhishthira.[1] The Thrikodithanam Maha Vishnu Temple at Changanacherry in Kottayam District is believed to have been built by Sahadeva, the youngest of Pandavas.[2] In Malappuram District, there is a place called Edakara whose origins are believed to be from the name of a village in West Bengal called Ekachakra where Pandavas are believed to have stayed during their exile. Near Chengannur in Alappuzha district, there is a hill called Pandavanpara. It is believed that Pandavas stayed here for a while during their years in exile. The five temples included in Divyadesams are those at which the five Pandavas are believed to have worshipped- Yudhishthira at Chengannur, Bhima at Thiruppuliyoor, Arjuna at Thiruvaaranvilai, Nakula at Thiruvanvandoor and Sahadeva at Thrikodithanam. At Muthukulam near Harippad in Alappuzha District, there is a temple called Pandavarkavu whose founder is believed to be Kunti.

Gallery

References

  1. ↑ http://www.thekeralatemples.com/templeinfo/pandavas/thrichittattu_pandava.htm
  2. ↑ http://www.thekeralatemples.com/templeinfo/pandavas/thrikodithanam_pandava.htm

External links

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See also

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