Pandava - WikiHQ

thumb|A print by [[Raja Ravi Varma|Ravi Varma Press depicting the Pandava brothers—Yudhishthira (centre), Bhima (bottom left), Arjuna (bottom right), Nakula, and Sahadeva (both standing beside the throne)—with their common consort, Draupadi]]

The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a patronymic referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who are central figures of the ancient Hindu epic Mahabharata. They are acknowledged as the sons of Pandu, the King of Kuru, but were fathered by different Devas (gods) due to Pandu's cursed inability to naturally sire children. In the epic, the Pandavas married Draupadi, the princess of Panchala, and founded the city of Indraprastha after the Kuru Kingdom was split to avoid succession disputes. After the split, the other part of the kingdom was ruled by their cousins, the Kauravas. However, the Pandavas lost their kingdom to Duryodhana (eldest and king of the Kauravas) when Yudhishthira gambled it away during a game of dice. The bet Yudhishthira agreed to was that the Pandavas would hand the kingdom over to the Kauravas and go into exile for 12 followed by an year in hiding. After this time the Kauravas refused to return the kingdom. As a result, the Pandavas waged a civil war against their extended family, and this conflict is known as the Kurukshetra War. With the help of the god Krishna, the Pandavas eventually won the war with the death of the Kauravas, albeit at great cost.

Etymology

The word Pandava (, ) is derived from Pandu (, ) and means "descendants of Pandu". Other epithets given to the Pandavas are:

Pāṇḍuputra (Sanskrit: पाण्डुपुत्र) – sons of Pandu
Pāṇḍavakumāra (Sanskrit: पाण्डवकुमार) – young Pandavas
Kaunteya (Sanskrit: कौन्तेय) – sons of Kunti (Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna).
Mādreya (Sanskrit: माद्रेय) – sons of Madri (Nakula and Sahadeva)

Description of the Pandavas

The Pandava brothers had a polygamous marriage to Draupadi. In Section 268 of Vana Parva of the epic, Draupadi describes the Pandavas to Jayadratha after he abducted her and the Pandavas are in pursuit.

Yudhishthira was slender, and had a prominent nose, large eyes and a complexion like that of "pure gold". He is also described as a just man, who had correct knowledge of the morality of his own acts and was merciful to surrendering foes. plump, long-armed and tall as a full-grown Sala tree. He is also extolled to be strong, well-trained, endued with great might and his superhuman feats had earned him great renown. In a display of ferocity, he bit his lips, and contracted his forehead to bring the two eyebrows together. Bhima is also described to be frightful, who never forgot a foe and was not pacified even after he wreaked his vengeance. and Madri accompanied Pandu and together they lived in a forest.

Before her marriage, Kunti was blessed with a boon by the sage Durvasa, that she could have a son by any god whom she respects without having any marital affair. After Pandu learned of this, he asked her to perform niyoga and bear him sons using the boon. The first three of the Pandavas were the sons of Kunti, while the younger two were born to Madri after Kunti shared her mantra with her at Pandu's request. The divine fathers of the Pandavas were:

Upbringing and rivalry with the Kauravas

A few years later after the birth of the Pandavas, Pandu died after trying to have a union with Madri and the latter immolated herself out of remorse. Kunti brought the Pandavas back to Hastinapura, the capital of Kuru, and they were raised together with their cousins, the Kauravas, who were the hundred sons of Dhritrashtra. The Pandavas were guided and taught by Bhishma, Vidura, and Kripa. Simon Brodbeck theorizes that these marriages might have taken place after the Kurukshetra War, as these unnamed wives not mentioned elsewhere.]]

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 is 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.

Exile and incognito period

During the 12 years of exile in the forest, they prepared for war. Arjuna performed penance and won the entire gamut of celestial weapons (Divyastras) as boons from the gods. They spent the 13th year in ajnatavasa masquerading as peasants in the service of the royal family of Virata, the king of Matsya. Upon completion of the terms of the last bet, the Pandavas returned and demanded that their kingdom be rightfully returned to them. Duryodhana refused to yield Indraprastha. For the sake of peace and to avert a disastrous war, Krishna proposed that if Hastinapura agrees to give the Pandavas only five villages named Indraprastha (Delhi), Swarnprastha (Sonipat), Panprastha (Panipat), Vyaghrprastha (Baghpat) and Tilprastha (Tilpat) if these five villages given they would be satisfied and would make no more demands. Duryodhana vehemently refused, commenting that he would 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.

Krishna's help to Pandavas

thumb|right|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. When the Kurukshetra war was going to be held, both Arjuna on behalf of the Pandavas, and Duryodhana on behalf of the Kauravas, went to Krishna to seek help.

Duryodhana reached first and Arjuna was just behind him. They entered Krishna's room and found him sleeping. Duryodhana sat on a raised chair near Krishna's head and Arjuna sat near Krishna's feet closing his hands.

When Krishna woke up, he saw Arjuna first and asked him about the purpose of his visit. Then he found Duryodhana sitting next to him, and asked him the same question. Krishna was then told that war was going to be held and Arjuna and Duryodhana had come to him seeking his military help. To this Krishna replied that he had seen Arjuna first and so he would give him priority, and asked what he needed. He gave Arjuna two options – either his army of 100,000 soldiers or Krishna himself who shall not fight in the war. To this Arjuna immediately opted for Krishna for his help and thus Duryodhana was given Krishna's army. Duryodhana was very satisfied to have received a huge army.

The Kurukshetra War

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

At the end of the war, only 10 survived the war on both sides, namely Ashvatthama, Kripa, and Kritavarma on the Kaurava side and the five Pandavas, Krishna and Satyaki on the Pandava side.

Later life

The Pandavas ruled Hastinapura for 36 years and established a righteous kingdom. Shortly after Krishna left the Earth, they all decided that the time had come for them to renounce the world, as the age of Kali Yuga had started.

The five Pandavas and Draupadi set forth to the path of liberation. For this purpose, they all climbed Mount Kailash, which leads to Svarga. On their way, all except Yudhishthira slipped and died one by one. Yudhishthira was accompanied by a dog who was none other than Yama himself.

The first to die was Draupadi; she was imperfect because she loved Arjuna more than her other husbands. Then it was Sahadeva, imperfect because he was overconfident about his knowledge in science. He was followed by Nakula, imperfect because he was over-enthusiastic about his good looks. Then fell Arjuna, imperfect because he was proud of his skills—he challenged Hanuman and Shiva. Next was Bhima, imperfect because he killed his enemies brutally—thus enjoyed their sufferings. Only the eldest Pandava, Yudhishthira, reached the door of Svarga (heaven), carried on Indra's chariot. On reaching heaven, he did not find either his virtuous brothers or his wife Draupadi. Instead, he finds Karna sitting on a divine throne.

He wanted an explanation from Yama, the lord of death. Yama explained that the Kauravas had been allowed into heaven because they died as warriors on the battlefield. This earned them so much merit and credit that it wiped out all their debts. Yudhishthira demanded to know where his brothers and his wife were. He was then taken to hell. Yama explained that they were experiencing the reactions of their actions but it was temporary. Once the debt had been repaid, they would join them in Svarga. Yudhishthira 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. Yudhishthira decided to remain, ordering the divine charioteer to return. He preferred to live in hell with good people than in the heaven of his enemies. Eventually, this turned out to be another illusion to test him. Yama explained to Yudhishthira that it was all illusion created by Yama himself. It was a punishment to Yudhishthira to feel sad and soak tears on seeing his beloved ones being punished. It was because Drona felt sad on hearing fake news that his son was dead. Yudhishthira told the message incompletely due to which Drona felt sad and cried in grief. Because of this, Yudhishthira had to feel sad in a similar manner. Hence Yama created this illusion. In reality, Pandavas and Draupadi reached heaven just after their deaths. Yama explained everything and Yudhishthira reached heaven with his mortal body. Pandavas were the incarnation of previous Indra's. After the Duration, the lifespan of Indra, is completed Krishna assures Pandavas of offering them Moksha for their Devotion and purity.

In art

The Harivamsa Purana (8th century CE) narrates the Jain version of their story. In the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, there has been a long tradition of villagers performing the Pandav Lila, a ritual re-enactment of episodes from the Mahabharata through singing, dancing and recitation. In the performance, the actors spontaneously break into a dance when, it is believed, they become "possessed" by the spirits of their characters.

Notes

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