Pāṇḍava
Sign in to savethumb|A print by Raja Ravi Varma|Ravi Varma Press depicting the Pandava brothers—[[Yudhishthira (centre), Bheema (bottom left), Arjuna (bottom right), Nakula, and Sahadeva (both standing beside the throne)—with their common consort, Draupadi]]
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The Pāṇḍava are the five heroic brothers central to India's ancient epic, the Mahabharata, depicted here with their shared wife Draupadi. They are significant figures in Hindu tradition whose story of conflict, dharma (duty), and struggle has been a foundational part of Indian culture for thousands of years.
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Article
17 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Description of the Pandavas
- Legend
- Birth and parentage
- Upbringing and rivalry with the Kauravas
- Marriages and children
- Indraprastha
- The game of dice
- Exile and incognito period
- Krishna's help to Pandavas
- The Kurukshetra War
- Later life
- In art
- See also
- Notes
- References
- External links
thumb|A print by Raja Ravi Varma|Ravi Varma Press depicting the Pandava brothers—[[Yudhishthira (centre), Bheema (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, Yudhishtira, 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 Yudhishtira 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.