The Pandavas

The Pandavas

The Pandavas were the princes of Hastinapur. The reason they were so called was because they were the sons of King Pandu, the king of Hastinapur. The first three Pandavas - Yudhishtira, Bhima, and Arjuna - were the sons of Pandu's first wife, Kunti, and the youngest Pandavas- Nakula and Sahadeva - were the sons of Madri, Pandu's second wife. King Pandu and Madri had died, so Kunti brought them up. All the five brothers had great qualities. They were brave and intelligent. They had learns many arts and mastered weaponry. Yudhisthira, the eldest, was known for his truthfulness and fond of eating. Arjuna was a great archer and was a favorite with his elders. There was a lot of love and brotherhood among them.

The Pandavas Get Half the Kingdom

The Pandavas Get Half the Kingdom

After the marriage of the Pandavas, Vidura went to Pancala and told them, Bhisma Pitamaha, Guru Drona, King Dhritarashtra and Queen Gandhari, all want them to return to Hastinapur." But the Pandavas were not sure if they would be safe near Duryodhana. Lord Krishna advised Vidura to divide Hastinapur between the Kauravas and Pandavas to ensure peace. The Pandavas went to Hastinapur and were given a warm welcome. King Dhritarashtra told Yudhisthira, "The throne of Hastinapur belongs to you. But when your father Pandu died, you were very young so I was made king. Due to this, Duryodhana wants to be king. So everybody has decided to give you half the kingdom." Yudhisthira agreed and became the ruler of half the kingdom with its capital in Indraprastha.

The Miracle- Lord Krishna saved the Honour of his devotee

 The Miracle

 Lord Krishna saved the Honour of his devotee

The Lac Palace

The Lac Palace

King Yudhisthira, the eldest Pandava, was made the  yuvaraja (crown prince) of Hastinapur as he was the eldest prince. This made Duryodhana jealous. With the help of his uncle, King Shakuni, he made a plan to kill the Pandavas. They persuaded the Pandavas to attened a grand fair in the town of Varnavat. Duryodhana had a lac palace built for them. Lac burns very easily. He had planned that when the Pandavas were sleeping in the palace, one of his men would set it on fire and they would be burnt to death. Vidura, the prime minister, came to know of this plot and warned the Pandavas to escape. The Pandavas and their mother Kunti, stayed in the palace on fire. The Pandavas safely escaped through the tunnel and Duryodhana thought that they had died in the fire .

The Journey to Heaven

The Journey to Heaven

After ruling over Hastinapur for many years, Yudhisthira wanted to leave the kingdom. Parikshita, Abhimanyu's son, was crowned the new king and the Pandavas and Draupadi set out for the Himalayas. They dressed like hermits and set out to visit many holy places across the country. Finally, they reached the foothills of the Himalayas and started climbing the mountains. Somewhere along the way, a dog started following them.
The Pandavas crossed many mountains and reached Himadri, the highest range of the mountains. The mountains were very steep and were covered with snow. The Pandavas started the difficult climb. Since it was difficult to walk on snow. Draupadi and all the Pandavas, except Yudhisthira, found it very difficult to continue on the journey. Draupadi was the first to fall to the ground and die on the way. She was followed by Sahadeva, Nakula, Arjuna, and finally Bhima. Only King Yudhisthira and the dog adamantly continued marching ahead.

The Imperial Yagna

The Imperial Yagna

Once Sage Narada visited King Yudhisthira and said, "Your father, Pandu, who is in heaven, wants you to perform the imperial yagna after which you will become samrata (emperor)." King Yudhisthira asked Sage Vyasa to guide him. Sage Vyasa sent the rest of the Pandavas in different direction to conquer the kingdoms that were ruled by the Pandavas' enemies. They came back after bravely defeating their enemies and brought a lot of wealth that could be used for the yagna. King Yudhisthira invited many guests including sages and kings. Lord Krishna also graced the occasion with his presence. Sage Dhaumya was made the royal priest for the Yagna. King Yudhisthira performed all the rituals. Offerings were made to the gods. Brahmins were given gifts and the yagna was completed successfully. All the elders blessed King Yudhisthira and he became the samrata.

The fall of Guru Drona

The fall of Guru Drona

The fourteenth day of the battle of Kurukshetra was drawing to a close. Guru Drona was unhappy because neither could he capture Yudhisthira nor could he save Jaidratha. So he attacked the Pandava soldiers with more force than ever. Lord sri Krishna told the Pandavas that Guru Drona could be killed by a trick. Lord Sri Krishna asked the Pandavas to spread the false news that Guru Drona's son, Ashwatthama, had been killed. Bhima killed an elephant named Ashvattama and shouted, "I have killed Ashvatthama." When Guru Drona heard this, he was full of sorrow. He asked Yudhisthira whether it was true; he knew that Yudhsthira would never lie. Yudhisthira replied, "Yes, Ashvatthama is dead, but the elephant not your son." But Lord sri Krishna asked the drummers to beat the drums when Yudhisthira spoke the last part of the sentences, so Guru  Drone couldn't hear it. He sat mourning his son's death and Dhrishtadyumna who had been born to kill Guru Drona, cut his head off .

The Game of Dice

The Game of Dice

Duryodhana was jealous of the prosperity of the Pandavas and wanted to rob them of their wealth. His uncle, Shakuni, made a plan.

Yudhisthira loved gambling. They would invite Yudhisthira to Hastinapur for a game of dice. Shakuni was a master of the game and would throw the dice on behalf of Duryodhana and defeat Yudhisthira and win over his kingdom. Duryodhana liked this plan and asked his father King Dhritarashtra to invite Yudhisthira. When King Dhritarashtra hesitated, Duryodhana told him about the way Draupadi had insulted him and called him a blind man's son. King Dhritarashtra gave his consent. Yudhisthira gave his consent and came with his brothers to play the game. Shakuni used a charmed dice and defeated Yudhisthira again and again. Yudhisthira lost his palace, army, and the whole kingdom. Duryodhana was not satisfied at that, he encouraged Yudhisthira to stake his brothers. One by one, Yudhisthira lost all four of his brothers and then even himself. Duryodhana's joy knew no bounds.

When Yudhisthira lost everything he had, Duryodhana said, "Why don't you stake something else, maybe this time you will win and get everything back?" Yudhisthira said, "I have nothing left to stake." At this Duryodhana said, "Why, you have Draupadi, stake her. "Yudhisthira was embarrassed by his defeat; he wanted to win everything back. He took his last chance and staked Draupadi. But he even lost her. Everybody was aghast at this turn of events. The Kauravas were jubilant.

Abhimanyu The Broken Code of War

Abhimanyu The Broken Code of War

During the battle, Guru Drona had been ordered to capture Yudhisthira alive, so Arjuna always protected him. Once Arjuna had gone after the Kaurava warriors and Yudhisthira with his soldiers unprotected. Guru Drona approached Yudhisthira with his soldiers arranged in the circular formation known as chakravyuh. Arjun's son, Abhimanyu, had learnt from his father how to enter the chakravyuh but did not know how to come out of it. Only Arjuna knew how to break the Chakravyuh. But abhimanyu decided to enter the formation. 

King Jaidhratha, the king of Sindhudesha, had obtained a boon from Lord Shiva that he would be able to stop the Pandavas for one day. He stopped them from entering the chakravyuh to help Abhimanyu. Six warriors including Guru Drona, Duryodhana, and King Karna together attacked Abhimanyu. He lost all his weapons. Finally, the Kaurava warriors broke the code of war they attacked the unnamed Abhimanyu and killed him.

The Birth of the Pandavas and Kauravas

The Birth of the Pandavas and Kauravas

Bhishma wanted Pandu, the king of Hastinapur, to get married. Kunti, the adopted daughter of King Kuntibhoja, chose Pandu as her husband and was married to him. Princess Madri of Madra kingdom also wanted to marry Pandu, so she became his second wife. 

Gandhari, the princess of Gandhara kingdom, was chosen as the bride for Dhritarashtra. 

Dhritarashtra was blind, and Gandhari did not want to be better than her husband in any respect. So she tied a silk bandage on her eyes and pledged never to remove it. A suitable bride was also chosen for Vidura , the minister of Hastinapur, who was raised as a brother of Pandu and Dhritarashtra .

As time passed, Kunti gave birth to three sons Yudhistira, Bhima,and Arjuna. Madri gave birth to twins and name Nakula and Sahadeva . As these five were the sons of Pandu , they are called the Pandavas.

Gandhari wanted a hundred children so she prayed to Saint Vyasa who granted her the boon . But Gandhari gave birth to a lump of flesh. Vyasa cut this lump into hundred and one pieces, which formed hundred boys and one girl. These children of Dhritarashtra were called the Kauravas as they belonged to the Kuru dynasty. The eldest of the Kaurava brothers were called Duryodhana .