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55-532: It discusses the 13th year of exile which the Pandavas must spend incognito to avoid another 12 years of exile in the forest. They do so in the court of Virata. They assume a variety of identities. Yudhishthira assumes the identity of game entertainer to the king and calls himself Kanka, Bhima of a cook Ballava, Arjuna teaches dance and music as eunuch Brihannala and dresses as a woman, Nakula tends horses as Granthika, Sahadeva herds cows as Tantipala, and Draupadi in

110-513: 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. 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

165-483: 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, Duryodhana ordered that Draupadi, who was now a slave to him, be brought to the court. None of the Pandavas fought for their wife's honour. Duryodhana's younger brother Dushasana dragged Draupadi to

220-651: A critical edition of Virata Parva appears in Volume 4 of his series. Clay Sanskrit Library has published a 15-volume set of the Mahabharata that includes a translation of Virata Parva by Kathleen Garbutt. This translation is modern and uses an old manuscript of the Epic. The translation does not remove verses and chapters now widely believed to be spurious and smuggled into the Epic in 1st or 2nd millennium CE. The entire parva has been "transcreated" and translated in verse by

275-551: 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 Varnavart, secretly built by incorporating flammable materials like oil, ghee etc. into

330-598: 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

385-501: A slave girl has no rights. The elders and warriors in the audience were shocked but did not intervene. As Dushasana began to disrobe her, she prayed to Krishna to protect her honour. Krishna, using his divine powers, protected her by providing her garments with an unending length. Dushasana, shocked and tired, gave up on disrobing Draupadi. Finally, as the blind king Dhritarashtra realized that this humiliation could prompt Draupadi to curse his sons, he intervened, apologizing to Draupadi for

440-437: A son: 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

495-465: Is and where she comes from. She has brought me to subjection by grinding my heart. I think there is no other medicine to heal me, except her. Kichaka-vadha Parva , Chapter 21: That wicked-souled Kichaka is war like, proud, outrager of female modesty and engrossed in all objects of pleasure. He steals money from the king. He extorts money from others, even if they cry in woe; he never stays in paths of rectitude nor does he even feel inclined to virtue. He

550-513: Is derived from Pandu ( Sanskrit : पाण्डु , IAST : Pāṇḍu ) and means "descendants of Pandu". Other epithets given to the Pandavas are: The Pandava brothers had a group marriage to Draupadi . In the Section 268 of Vana Parva of the epic, Draupadi describes the Pandavas to Jayadratha after he abducted her forcefully and the Pandavas pursuit them. According to the Adi Parva of

605-760: Is not only known from the Mahabharata. It is also mentioned as "Indapatta" or "Indapattana" in Pali -language Buddhist texts, where it is described as the capital of the Kuru Kingdom , situated on the Yamuna River. The Buddhist literature also mentions Hatthinipura ( Hastinapura ) and several smaller towns and villages of the Kuru kingdom. Indraprastha may have been known to the Greco-Roman world as well: it

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660-623: Is not the practice of the brave; death in battle is preferable to flight in fear. Pandavas The Pandavas ( Sanskrit : पाण्डव, IAST : Pāṇḍava) is a group name referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira , Bhima , Arjuna , Nakula and Sahadeva , who are central figures of the 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 conceive children. In

715-738: Is thought to be mentioned in Ptolemy 's Geography dating from the 2nd century CE as the city "Indabara", possibly derived from the Prakrit form "Indabatta", and which was probably in the vicinity of Delhi. Upinder Singh (2004) describes this equation of Indabara with Indraprastha as "plausible". Indraprastha is also named as a pratigana (district) of the Delhi region in a Sanskrit inscription dated to 1327 CE, discovered in Raisina area of New Delhi. D. C. Sircar , an epigraphist , believed Indraprastha

770-609: Is wicked-souled, of sinful disposition, impudent, villaneous and afflicted by Cupid's shaft. Although I have repeatedly rejected him, he will, I am sure, outrage me, whenever he happens to see me. Go-harana Parva , Chapter 38: Uttara said: Let the Kurus take away the profuse riches of the Matsyas as they like; let men and women laugh at me, O Vrihannala. Let the kine go any where, let my city be desolate, let me fear my father, but I shall not enter into battle. Vrihannala said: To fly

825-407: 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. Indraprastha Indraprastha (lit. "Plain of Indra " or "City of Indra") is a mythological city cited in ancient Indian literature as a constituent of the Kuru Kingdom . It was designated

880-561: The 14th-century CE. The modern form of the name, Inderpat, continued to be applied to the Purana Qila area into the early 20th century; in a study of ancient Indian place-names, Michael Witzel considers this to be one of many places from the Sanskrit Epics whose names have been retained into modern times, such as Kaushambi /Kosam. Purana Qila is certainly an ancient settlement but archaeological studies performed there since

935-406: The 1950s have failed to reveal structures and artefacts that would confirm the architectural grandeur and rich lives in the period that the Mahabharata describes. The historian Upinder Singh notes that despite the academic debate, "Ultimately, there is no way of conclusively proving or disproving whether the Pandavas or Kauravas ever lived ...". However, it is possible that the main part of

990-540: The Gods. They spent the 13th year in Agyaata Vaasa 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

1045-417: 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

1100-498: The Pandavas were: 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 Bheeshma , Vidura and Kripa . Duryodhana ,

1155-547: The Pandavas' success and prosperity. Eventually Shakuni sired yet another plot 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. 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 at stake, losing them too. He then placed himself as

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1210-512: The ancient city has not been reached by excavations so far, but rather falls under the unexcavated area extending directly to the south of Purana Qila. Overall, Delhi has been the center of the area where the ancient city has historically been estimated to be. Until 1913, a village called Indrapat existed within the fort walls. As of 2014, the Archaeological Survey of India is continuing excavation in Purana Qila. Indraprastha

1265-484: The area have revealed no signs of an ancient built environment. The mythical city is sometimes also referred to as Khandavaprastha or Khandava Forest , the epithet of a forested region situated on the banks of Yamuna river which, going by the Hindu epic Mahabharata, was cleared by Krishna and Arjuna to build the city. Indraprastha is referenced in the Mahabharata , an ancient Sanskrit text penned by

1320-485: The author Vyasa. It was one of the five places sought for the sake of peace, and, to avert a disastrous war, Krishna proposed that if Hastinapura consented to give the Pandavas only five villages, namely, Indraprastha, Svarnaprastha ( Sonipat ), Panduprastha ( Panipat ), Vyaghraprastha ( Baghpat ), and Tilaprastha ( Tilpat ) , then they would be satisfied and would make no more demands. Duryodhana vehemently refused, commenting that he would not part with land even as much as

1375-514: The battlefield. 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. 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 Swarga. Yudhisthira loyally met his brothers, but the sight and sound of gore and blood horrified him. Though initially he

1430-456: The behaviour of his sons, and turned the winnings of the dice game back over to the Pandava brothers, releasing them from the bondage of slavery. 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

1485-534: The capital of the Pandavas , a brotherly quintet in the Hindu epic Mahabharata . Under the Pali form of its name, Indapatta , it is also broached upon in Buddhist texts as the capital of the Kuru Mahajanapada . The topography of the medieval fort Purana Qila on the banks of the river Yamuna matches the literary description of the citadel Indraprastha in the Mahabharata; however, excavations in

1540-510: The condition was violated, the brother, who entered the room, had to go on a pilgrimage for 12 years. Arjuna was the only one to violate this condition. Each Pandava had a son with Draupadi and they were collectively referred to as Upapandavas ; their names were Prativindhya (fathered by Yudhishthira), Sutasoma (fathered by Bhima), Shrutakarma (fathered by Arjuna), Shatanika (fathered by Nakula), and Shrutasena (fathered by Sahadeva). Besides Draupadi, each Pandava had their own wife with whom they

1595-430: 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 fuelled by

1650-456: The eldest Pandava, Yudhisthira , reached the door of Svarga Loka (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

1705-475: The eldest of the Kauravas, refused to accept the Pandavas as his cousins. This usually led to much tension between the cousins. Insecure and jealous, Duryodhana harbored an 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

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1760-500: The epic of Mahabharata is known most of all. 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

1815-493: The epic, Pandu was crowned as the king of the Kuru Kingdom despite being younger than his elder brother Dhritrashtra , who was denied the throne for being blind. He married Kunti , a princess of the Yadu clan, and Madri , the princess of Madra Kingdom. Once he was hunting in a forest when he shot a copulating pair of deer. However, they turn out to be a sage named Kindama and his wife, who had used their divine powers to take

1870-557: 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 Yudhishtira gambled it away during a game of dice. The bet Yudhishtira agreed to

1925-536: 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 Ashwatthama, Kripacharya and Kritverma on the Kaurava side and the five Pandavas, Krishna and Saatyakee on the Pandava side. The Pandavas ruled Hastinapura for 36 years and established a righteous kingdom. Shortly after Krishna left the Earth, they all decided that

1980-410: The five of them. Even when uttered erroneously, their mother's word was supreme for the Pandavas, and they agreed to share the princess, who was subsequently married to all five brothers. To prevent jealousy among the brothers and identify the paternity of Draupadi's children, the Pandavas followed a condition in which one brother was given a year with her and others were forbidden to enter her chamber. If

2035-492: The form of the animals. Enraged, Kindama berated the king for having killed him before he had finished the act of mating and before dying, he cursed Pandu that he would die the moment he touched his wife intending to make love. After the event Pandu voluntarily renounced royal life as penance, leaving the Kingdom under Dhritarashtra. Kunti and Madri accompanied Pandu and together they lived in a forest. Before her marriage, Kunti

2090-638: 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. 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

2145-539: The name of Malini went as Sairandhri to queen Shudeshna. This is a controversial book in the Mahabharata . In the 2nd-century CE Spitzer Manuscript found in Kizil Caves , which includes a table of contents of the Mahabharata , there is no mention of the Virata Parva and Anushasana Parva. This book traditionally has 4 sub-parvas (parts or little books) and 72 adhyayas (sections, chapters). The following are

2200-420: The poet Dr. Purushottama Lal published by Writers Workshop . Pandava Pravesha Parva , Chapter 4: A wise man should never contract friendship with the wife of the king nor with other attendants of his, nor with those whom he despises and who are hostile to him. Pandava Pravesha Parva, Chapter 14: Tell me, O lady, who is this bewitching girl of fine beauty, endued with the grace of a goddess, and whose she

2255-520: 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 Mahabharata records Indraprastha as being home to the Pandavas, whose wars with the Kauravas it describes. In Pali Buddhist literature, Indraprastha was known as Indapatta. The location of Indraprastha is uncertain, but the Purana Qila in present-day New Delhi is frequently cited and has been noted as such in texts as old as

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2310-435: The princess of Panchala Kingdom who was prophesied to bring the end of the Kauravas. The Adi Parva narrates that after their flight from the palace, the five brothers lived in the forests for some time disguised as Brahmins. They heard from a group of travelling sages about a contest ( Svayamvara ) being held in the Kingdom of Panchala that offered Draupadi's hand in marriage to the winner. The Svayamvara turned out to rely on

2365-455: 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, Bheeshma (grandsire of the clan), Dronacharya (teacher/ guru of Kauravas and Pandavas) and Kripacharya except Vidura remained silent. Duryodhana then ordered Dushasana to disrobe Draupadi before everyone, as

2420-399: 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 jokingly 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 the alms referred to) ordering the brothers to share the alms equally amongst

2475-516: The structure, most notably the lacquer known as lac . This palace was known as Lakshagraha . Duryodhana then successfully lobbied Dhritarashtra to send Yudhishthira to represent the royal household in Varnavarta 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 Varnavrata, accompanied by his four brothers and their mother Kunti. The plan

2530-746: The sub-parvas: Several translations of the Sanskrit book Virata Parva in English are available. Two translations from 19th century, now in public domain, are those by Kisari Mohan Ganguli and Manmatha Nath Dutt. The translations vary with each translator's interpretations. J. A. B. van Buitenen completed an annotated edition of Virata Parva, based on critically edited and least corrupted version of Mahabharata known in 1975. Debroy, in 2011, notes that updated critical edition of Virata Parva, with spurious and corrupted text removed, has 4 parts, 67 adhyayas (chapters) and 1,736 shlokas (verses). Debroy's translation of

2585-469: The time had come for them to renounce the world, as the age of Kali Yuga had started. So the five Pandavas and Draupadi left to the path of liberation. For this purpose, they all climbed Mount Kailash , which leads to the Swarga Loka . On their way, all except Yudhisthira slipped and died one by one. Yudhisthira was accompanied by a dog who was none other than God Yama himself. The first to die

2640-459: 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 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

2695-483: 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 Bheema , imperfect because he killed his enemies brutally—thus enjoyed their sufferings. Only

2750-537: Was a significant city in the Mauryan period, based on analysis of a stone carving found in the Delhi area at Sriniwaspuri which records the reign of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka . Singh has cast doubt on this interpretation because the inscription does not actually refer to Indraprastha and although "... a place of importance must certainly have been located in the vicinity of the rock edict, exactly which one it

2805-577: Was all illusion created by Yama himself. It was a punishment to Yudhishtira 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. Yudhishtira told the message incompletely due to which Drona felt sad and cried in grief. Because of this, Yudhishtira 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 Yudhishtira reached heaven with his mortal body. Pandavas were

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2860-413: 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

2915-409: 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 Pandavas to safely escape the palace as it was set afire. The Pandavas had polyandrous marriage with Draupadi ,

2970-437: 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 the heaven of his enemies. Eventually, this turned out to be another illusion to test him. Yama explained to Yudhishtira that it

3025-541: Was that the Pandavas would hand the kingdom to the Kauravas and go into exile for 13 years. 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 was 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. The word Pandava ( Sanskrit : पाण्डवा , IAST : Pāṇḍavā )

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