The story of Nakula
Characters/Persons from Mahabharata
In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Nakula was the son of king Pandu and queen Madri. He and his twin brother Sahadeva are in the image of the Ashwini Gods. He was one of the five Pandavas whose story is told in the MahÄbhÄrata - the youngest two.
According to record, the twins have special abilities of caring for horses and cows. Nakula is described as extremely attractive. He is also quite observant and keeps a watchful eye on his elder brother Bhima's mischievous and often dangerous pranks.
Nakula was chosen by Yudhishtara as the one brother to be brought back to life during the exile in forest, when all the other four brothers had died after drinking water from a lake. This was because he was the son of Madri, and Yudhishtara, being the son of Kunti, wanted to be fair to both mothers
The story of Pandu, father of Pandavas
Characters/Persons from Mahabharata
In the Mahabharata epic, Pandu is the son of Vichitravirya and his second wife, Ambalika from Vyasa. He is more popularly known as the father of the Pandavas.
After Vichitravirya's death his mother Satyavati sent for her first born, Rishi Veda Vyasa. According to his mother's wishes, he visited both the wives of Vichitravirya to grant them a son. Ambalika was instructed by Satyavati to keep her eyes open lest she would bear a blind son like Ambika (Dhritarashtra). She did keep her eyes open but she became pale after seeing the formidable form of the Sage. Therefore, Pandu was born pale.
Pandu was an excellent archer. He became the commander of King Dhritarashtra's army and also ruled the kingdom for him. Pandu conquered the territories of Dasarnas, Kashi, Anga, Vango, Kalinga, Magadha etc. and thus re-established their superiority over all the kings.
Pandu got married to Madri, daughter of the King of Madra, and Kunti, daughter of King Kuntibhoja of Vrish. While hunting in a forest, Pandu shot a Rishi (who was engaged in sexual intercourse with his wife), so the Rishi cursed him that, when he approaches his wife with love he will die. Upset, Pandu renounced his kingdom and lived like a hermit with his wives.
Kunti used her boons given by Sage Durvasa to bear three sons—Yudhishtira (by Lord Yama), Bhima (by Lord Vayu), and Arjuna (by Lord Indra). Also Kunti gave birth to Karna through Surya. She also gave her boons to Madri, who bore Nakula and Sahadeva twins from the physicians to the gods, Ashwini Kumar twins.
Thus the Pandavas of Pandu were born.
Pandu was suffered by some sexual diseases.After 15 years of celibacy, when Kunti and his sons were away, Pandu suddenly became strongly attracted to Madri. Because of the curse, he died after attempting to touch her, and Madri, out of repentance and grief, burned herself alive on her husband's funeral pyre.
Characters/Persons from Mahabharata
The story of Kunti
Characters/Persons from Mahabharata
Kunti is the mother of the eldest three of the Pandava brothers from the Indian epic Mahabharata. Her story is also told within the Srimad Bhagavatam, wherein she speaks on the philosophy of devotion of Krishna, known as Bhakti yoga. Kunti is thus held as a figure of great importance within many Hindu traditions and especially with worshippers of Krishna (Vaishnavas).
Her father was Śũrasena of the Yadu clan, and she was named Pritha (Pŗtha). She was thus the sister of Vasudeva, father of Krishna. She was given in adoption to the childless King Kuntibhoja, after which she became known as Kunti. After her arrival, King Kuntibhoja was blessed with children. He considered her his lucky charm and took care of her until her marriage.
When she was young, the rishi Durvasa told her a mantra with which Kunti could summon any deva and have a child by him without a pregnancy. When Kunti asked why he gave her this mantra, he told her that it would be useful to her later in life.
Kunti could not believe the mantra, so she tried to use it. The god Surya, appeared. She asked him to go back, but Surya said he was compelled to fulfill the mantra before returning. Kunti then abandoned the child in a basket in a river. This child was later found and adopted by a chariot driver and his wife, and was named Karna. He went on to become an important character in the MahÄbhÄrata. The ambiguous emotions Karna felt about his birth mother play an important role in the MahÄbhÄrata.
Later on, Kunti married Prince Pandu of Hastinapura. He took a second wife Madri, but was unable to father children. Grief-stricken, he left for the forest with his wives, to live in self-imposed exile. Then, Kunti revealed her secret mantra. She used it three times, first receiving a son, Yudishtira, from the god Yama, then Bhima from the god Vayu, and thirdly Arjuna, from the god Indra. Kunti revealed the mantra to Madri, who bore twin sons, Nakula and Sahadeva, from the twin gods the Asvins. The five together are known as the Pandavas.
After the death of Pandu and Madri, Kunti was left to tend for all five sons. After the great battle and in her old age, she goes in exile to the forest, with her brothers-in-law Dhritarashtra and Vidura, and Dhritarashtra's wife Gandhari where they die together in a forest fire.
Kunti's character within the MahÄbhÄrata is accorded much respect within the Hindu tradition. Her activities were that of a very pious and loyal wife and of a person with a great deal of self-control. Kunti was given a special boon which enabled her to bear the sons of great celestial devas as many times as she wished. However Kunti did not misuse her boon, limiting herself to three sons only. In spite of Pandu's pleas for more sons, Kunti held onto the Shastras which state that one should not have more than 3 children when the children are not conceived in the usual manner (in the case of Kunti she was granted sons instead of she conceiving them the normal way). And when requested by Pandu, she shared this special mantra with Madri, Pandu's other wife.
The story of Madri
Characters/Persons from Mahabharata
Madri was a princess of the Madra kingdom and the second wife of Pandu.
On his way to Hastinapur, King Pandu encountered the army of Shalya, King of Madra. Very soon, Pandu and Shalya became friends and Shalya gave his only sister, Madri to Pandu, as a gift of their friendship. Looking at her beauty, Pandu accepted the lady willingly and took her to Hastinapur.
She, alongside Kunti, faithfully accompanied Pandu in his hermetical retreat following his abdication as the king of Hastinapura. Both Kunti and Madri were directly affected by the curse on Pandu because they were denied the opportunity to bear Pandu's children. However, a boon was given to Kunti which enabled her to bear Yudishtira, Bhima, and Arjuna. This boon was passed on to Madri, who then bore twins from Ashwins named Nakula and Sahadeva. Madri apparently made a misuse of the boon. The boon was to be used only with a single God (the word God being used loosely) at a time and Madri invoked the presence of twin Gods (the Ashwin twins). Hence Kunti took the boon back from Madri.
One fateful day, Pandu desired Madri and the memory of the curse briefly eluded him. Death struck Pandu immediately. Madri, filled with remorse, self immolated on Pandu's funeral pyre. Kunti became a single mother of the five children.
The story of Kripa
Characters/Persons from Mahabharata
Kripacharya), also often called Kripa, was the chief priest at the court of Hastinapura, in the Mahabharata.
He was the son of Sharadvan and Janapadi. His twin sister Kripi married Drona, the weapons master to the court.
He fought in the great battle of Kurukshetra for the Kaurava side. Afterwards, he was appointed to be the teacher and preceptor of Parikshita, the grandson of Arjuna.
Maharishi Gautam had a son called Shardwan. Shardwan was born with arrows and was a born archer. He was from his early childhood, more interested in archery than in the study of the Vedas. He meditated and attained the art of all types of warfare. He was such a great archer that no one could defeat him. This created panic amongst the gods and specially Indra, the king of the gods felt the most threatened. He then sent a beautiful divine nymph from the heaven to distract the celibate saint. The nymph called Janpadi came to the saint and tried to seduce him in various ways. Shardwan was distracted and the sight of such a beautiful woman made him lose control. As he was a great saint he still managed to resist the temptation and controlled his desires. But his concentration was lost and he dropped his bow and arrows. His semen fell on some weeds by the wayside and divided the weeds into two from which a boy and a girl were born. The saint himself left the hermitage and his bow and arrow and went to the forest for penance. Coincidentally, King Shantanu, the great-grandfather of the Pandavas was crossing from there and saw the children by the wayside. One look at them and he realised that they were the children of a great archer Brahmin. He named them Kripa and Kripi and decided to take them back with him to his palace. When Shardwan came to know of this he came to the palace and revealed the identity of the children and performed the various rituals which are performed for the children of Brahmins. He also taught the children archery, Vedas and other shashtras and the secrets of the Universe. The children grew up to become experts in the art of warfare and this boy Kripa came to be known as Kripacharya who was now assigned the task of teaching the young princes all about warfare.
The story of Kritavarma
Characters/Persons from Mahabharata
Kritavarma was an important Yadava warrior and chieftain, and a contemporary of Krishna. He finds mention in several ancient Sanskrit texts including the Mahabharata, the Vishnu Purana, the Bhagavata and the Harivamsa.
He was born in the Andhaka clan of the Yadavas, and some sources describe him as a brother of Hrithika, who was the great grandfather of Krishna, but this seems unlikely. Though he is depicted as a devotee of Krishna in the Vishnu Purana, apparently he was not in good terms with Krishna, and was one of the conspirators who plotted to kill Satrajit, Krishna's father-in-law during the Syamantaka Jewel episode.
During the great battle at Kurukshetra, Kritavarma was an ally of the Kauravas against the Pandavas and lead the Yadava army (also called the Narayani Sena). He was one of the three survivors of the entire Kaurava army and had helped Ashwatthama in carrying out his heinous night time massacre of Panchala warriors, in which the latter had slaughtered among others, Dhrishtadyumna (the Pandava commander-in-chief), Shikhandi and the five sons of Draupadi. The event is described in the Sauptika Parva of the Mahabharata. He returned to his kingdom after the war and was later killed by Satyaki in Dwarka during the final destruction of the Yadavas, as we find in the Mausala Parva of the MahÄbhÄrata.
The story of Karna
Characters/Persons from Mahabharata
Karna is one of the central figures in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was the first son of Kunti, and was thus half brother to the Pandavas, and the eldest of them. Although Duryodhana of the Kauravas appoint him king of Anga, his role in the legend far exceeds the importance of a king. He fought for the Kauravas in the great battle at Kurukshetra. As such, the name Karna (and various other spellings) is a common Indian first name.
The princess Kunti attended to the sage Durvasa for a full year, while he was a guest at her father's palace. The sage was pleased with her service and granted her a boon whereby she could call upon any god of her choice, and beget a child in his image. Unsure of whether the boon would actually be granted, Kunti, while still unmarried, decided to test the boon and called upon Surya the sun god. Bound by the power of the mantra, Surya granted her a son as radiant and strong as his father, although she did not want a child (wishing only to test the power). Through his divine power, Kunti retained her virginity. Thus Karna was born. Surya gifted Karna with an armour ('Kavacha') and a pair of earrings ('Kundala') which dipped in Amrit, which were attached to him from birth.
Unwilling to face the world as an unwed mother, Kunti abandoned Karna, setting him afloat in a box in a river.
The child Karna was borne down the river and picked up by King Dhritarashtra's charioteer, Adhiratha, a sudra. Karna was raised by him and his wife Radha (not the same Radha who was Lord Krishna's Companion at Mathura) as their son and named Vasusena (born with wealth), due to his natural set of armour and earrings. They knew something of his parentage by the jewellery he was found with, and never hid from him the fact that he was not their biological child. He was also known as Radheya because of the name of his mother Radha.
The bond between Karna and his foster family was one of pure love, respect and affection despite the lack of blood relationship. Adhiratha was honored by Karna in front of all the warrior kind, and Karna lovingly performed his duties as a son and brother within his foster family, despite his rise as king of Anga and the eventual revelation of his true birth.
As he grew into adulthood, Karna sought to be a warrior. He approached Dronacharya, who at that time had established his school and was training the Kuru princes, requesting admission into his school. Drona refused to teach him, as he was a 'sutaputra' or the son of a charioteer. Karna realized his caste would continue to be a barrier in his quest for knowledge. He decided eventually to approach Parashurama, who was known to teach Bramhins alone. Karna appeared to Parashurama as a Brahmin and wanted to learn the arts of war from Parashurama and would use them to maintain order as Parashurama had done, and was accepted as his student. Karna is described as a diligent student. Parashurama trained him to the point where Parashurama declared Karna to have surpassed him in the arts of war.
As Karna's training came to completion, Parashurama learnt the truth about Karna's origin. One afternoon, he requested Karna to bring a pillow for him to sleep outside in the shade. Karna instead offered him his lap as a pillow. While Parashurama was asleep, an insect came by and alighting on Karna's thigh, bit him. Despite the pain, Karna did not move as it would disturb his Guru. The insect bit deep into Karna's leg, causing blood to flow out, the warmth and feel of which woke up Parashurama. He deduced at once that Karna was a kshatriya as only a warrior could withstand such pain without flinching. He cursed Karna, stating that when he required an astra (divine weapon) the most, he would be unable to recall its incantation. Radheya pleaded with him and told him he was not a kshatriya (even though he was, he did not know it yet) and this would have been the act of any student towards his guru. After a Parashurama heard his plea Parashurama said his curse was irrevocable, he would gift to him the Vijaya, Parashurama's personal bow, and that in the end, Karna would achieve what he wanted the most, everlasting honor.
Departing from Parashurama's ashram, Karna wandered for some time. Mistaking a cow for a wild animal, he shot an arrow and killed it. Incensed, the brahmin who owned the cow cursed Karna, stating that when Karna would fight the most crucial battle of his life his wheel would get stuck in the mud, rendering him vulnerable to his enemy.
Returning home, Karna informed his family of his training, keeping the curses a secret. He susbequently decided to seek out a position in the Hastinapura court.
Drona held a tournament at Hastinapura, to display the skills of the Kuru princes. Arjuna emerged in this tournament as a particularly gifted archer. Karna arrived at the tournament and after surpassing Arjuna's feats, challenged him to a duel. However, Kripacharya refused Karna his duel, asking first for his clan and kingdom - according to the rules of dueling, only a prince may challenge Arjuna who is a prince of the Kuru house. Duryodhana, the oldest of the Kauravas, offers Karna the throne of Anga (today's Bhagalpur in Bihar), so that Karna would be a king and thus be more than eligible to duel his cousin. When Karna, who is emotionally overcome at this, asks him what he can do to repay him, Duryodhana tells him all he wants is his friendship. "I want your heart" he tells Karna, to which Karna says it is already his.
This event establishes key relationships in the MahÄbhÄrata, namely, the strong bond between Duryodhana and Karna, the intense rivalry between Karna and Arjuna, and the enmity in general between the Pandavas as a whole and Karna.
Karna is spoken of as a loyal and true friend to Duryodhana. While he was later party to the infamous game of dice to please Duryodhana, he was opposed to it to begin with. Karna disliked Shakuni, and advised Duryodhana continuously to use his prowess and skill to defeat his enemies, rather than deceit and trickery. When the attempt to kill the Pandavas in the house of lac fails, Karna chides Duryodhana in his despondence, telling him the ways of cowards are doomed to failure and exhorting him to be a warrior and obtain what he wants through valour.
As a king, warrior and friend of Duryodhana, Karna became part of the Hastinapura court. He went on to repeat Bheeshma's actions in bringing the princesses of Kashi to Duryodhana as wives, appearing at the Kashi court, seizing the princesses, and challenging the kings and princes to take them from him if they can.
Another instance was when Karna aided Duryodhana in marrying the princess of Chitragandha (not to be confused with Princess Chitrangada of Manipur). In her swayamvar, the princess rejected Duryodhana, who subsequently carried her away by force. The other kings present at the swayamvar pursued Duryodhana. However, Karna defeated them single-handedly. Among the kings present in the princess of Chitragandha's swayamvar were Jarasandha, Shishupala, Dantavakra and Rukmi. As a token of his appreciation, Jarasandha gifted Karna a portion of Magadha.
Karna was renowned in all the worlds for his generosity, surpassing even the Gods. Following his appointment as king, he took an oath : Anyone who approached him with a request at midday, when he would worship the Sun, would go away with his request fulfilled. He would never let anyone leave empty-handed. This practice contributed to Karna's fame as well as to his downfall, as Indra and Kunti took advantage of it.
Karna was one of the suitor for Draupadi at the famed swayamvar. Unlike other contenders, he was easily able to wield and string the bow. Before he could take aim, however, Draupadi intervened, stating she would not wed a suta.
Karna, furious over the insult, stormed out of the arena. The Pandavas were also present in the swayamvara, disguised as brahmanas. Following the failure of the other princes, Arjuna stepped into the ring and successfully tackled the target, winning Draupadi's hand. He also fought a duel subsequently with Karna, who expressed admiration for his skill.
When Arjuna's identity is later revealed, Karna's feelings of rivalry further intensify.
Karna was never happy with Shakuni's plan to defeat the Pandavas by trickery and deceit. He preferred the way of battle and repeatedly cajoled Duryodhana to choose that path. To please Duryodhana, however, he chose to be a part of the game, leading to the disturbing Cheer-haran scene.
After Shakuni had won the game of dice by trickery, the Pandavas' queen Draupadi was dragged into the court by Duhsassana who attempted to strip her, incited by Karna, Duryodhana and his wicked brothers. Karna calls Draupadi a "whore", and goes as far as to say that whores have no rights so it would not be wrong to bring her nude in front of everyone.
On the spot, Bhima vows that he will personally slaughter Duryodhana and his brothers in battle.
During the Pandavas' exile, Karna took upon himself the task of establishing Duryodhana as the World Emperor. Karna commanded an army to different parts of the country to subjugate kings and made them swear allegiance to Duryodhana, the king of Hastinapura or else die in battle. Karna succeeded in all the battles. In this military adventure, Karna is stated to have waged wars and reduced to submission numerous kingdoms including those of the Kambojas, the Shakas, the Kekayas, the Avantyas, the Gandharas, the Madarakas, the Trigartas, the Tanganas, the Panchalas, the Videhas, the Suhmas, the Angas, the Vangas, the Nishadas, the Kalingas, the Vatsa, theAshmakas, the Rishikas (i.e south-western Rishikas located in Maharashtra) and numerous others including mlecchas and the forest tribes
Indra, king of the gods (Devas) and father of Arjuna, realized that Karna would be invincible in battle as long as he had the golden armour suit and earrings that he was born with. During the Pandavas' exile, when war was imminent, Indra took it upon himself to weaken Karna. He decided to approach Karna as a poor brahmin during his mid-day worship. He knew of Karna's moral policy and that he would never refuse any request of a Brahmin or beggar at that time of the day. Karna's father, the Sun god Surya, informed Karna in a dream that Indra would disguise himself as a beggar and ask for Karna's armour and earrings as alms. Surya exhorted him not to give away his protection. Karna, who did not know that Surya was his father, does not heed the warning. As Surya had predicted, a disguised Indra approached Karna and asked for his kavacha (body armour) and kundala (earrings) as alms. Karna, despite knowing that the armour and earrings were his protection, readily gives them away. In fact, he cuts off his birthsuit armour and earrings from his body without flinching. Indra, shamed into generosity by Karna's gesture, reciprocates by giving Karna the boon to use Indra's most powerful weapon, the Vasavi shakti, but only once.
Kunti, fearing the war, approached Karna and revealed her identity as his mother to him. The two share a touching moment together, when she tells him to throw aside the name 'Radheya' and call himself 'Kaunteya' (Kunti's firstborn) instead, and he replies that that is the day he has wanted all his life. Upon her requesting him to come with her however, a request that Surya himself reinforces from the sky, Karna refuses. He tells Kunti, that, had she been willing to call him Kaunteya many years ago, when he appeared at the tournament, things might have been different, but now it is too late. He owes Duryodhana too much, is Duryodhana's friend first and foremost, and must fight the Pandavas. However, he promises her that he will not kill any of the five, save Arjuna. He and Arjuna have sworn to kill each other, and one of them must die. He tells Kunti she can only dream of six sons. She will always have five sons, either him or Arjuna. He agrees to Kunti that he will use naga-astram only once against Arjuna.
Karna requests his mother to keep their relationship and his royal birth heritage a secret until his death. Only then she may reveal to the world that he was actually her first born. It is noteworthy that Karna denies to reveal this secret which makes him, the eldest of the Pandavas, rightful emperor.
Before the start of the war, Bhishma, the commander-in-chief of the Kaurava force, does not pick Karna as one of his key generals and instead assigns him to a less significant position (to curb his undue hatred of the Pandavas). Insulted, Karna rebels against Bhishma, and refuses to fight under Bhishma's authority. He is aghast when Duryodhana does not intervene to reinstate him. Duryodhana, the astute politician that he is, knows fully well the advantage of having Bhishma on his side even though the grand patriarch of all the warriors, undefeated for several generations, has openly declared that the Pandavas are also dear to him and that he would not kill them.
Karna only enters the battlefield on the 11th day, after Bhishma was struck down the previous day. It is also interesting to note that he does not capture any of the Pandavas even though he had defeated them and had the opportunity of doing so.
On the thirteenth day of the battle, Dronacharya (Drona) organized a special formation for the phalanxes called the Chakravyuha/Padmavyuha. (Chakravyuh and Padmavyuha are 2 different military formations. While Chakravyuh denotes a circular arrangement, Padmavyuh means a lotus formation). Only Krishna and Arjuna on the Pandavas' side knew how to break the scheme; however both were purposely taken away from the battle field by two kings on Duryodhana's side. Abhimanyu, Arjuna's son had partial knowledge of the formation having heard it when he was in his mother's womb when Arjuna, his father, was narrating the Chakravyuha arrangement to his mother, Subhadra, but could not hear all the information as his mother fell asleep in Arjuna's lap. Hence he could enter the Chakravyuha, but did not know how to exit it. It was decided that Abhimanyu would lead the Pandavas into the Chakravyuha and then they would fight their way out. No one that day was able to defeat Abhimanyu, who had entered the Chakravyuha a circular arrangement of soldiers. But Jayadratha, a king in the Kaurava army, prevented the other Pandavas from entering the formation. Abhimanyu was left all alone in the middle of the enemy formation. Once inside, he fought valiantly and single handedly defeated almost all reputed generals of the Kauravas including Karna, Drona and Duryodhana. Duryodhana and Karna chose to assist to eliminate Abhimanyu as per the instructions of Drona. Karna shot arrows that broke Abhimanyu's bow and the reins of his chariot, while the Kauravas overwhelmed him. The battle ends with Abhimanyu's death. His father, Arjuna takes up a terrible pledge to kill Jayadratha the next day before the sunset, or he would sacrifice his own life by self-immolation.
On the fourteenth day, the battle uncharacteristically spilled over into the night and Ghatotkacha, the half-asura son of the Pandava Bhima began decimating the Kaurava forces (Asuras became extraordinarily powerful at night). Duryodhana and Karna bravely stood and fought with him. Finally when it semmed that Ghatotkacha would decimate all the Kaurava forces that very night, Duryodhana requested Karna to salvage the situation.Thus,he was forced to use the Shakti weapon on Ghatotkacha. This had been granted to him by Indra as a mark of respect for his peerless generosity. However, Indra allowed Karna to use the weapon only once, after which it would return to Indra. Karna was now without that weapon and his impregnable armour and earrings. Now Karna did not have a divine weapon that was a serious threat to Arjuna and would have to rely primarily on his skills and prowess to take on Arjuna, who was equipped with a wider range of divine weaponry. Still, Karna knew that he must face Arjuna in battle and one of the two would certainly die.
On the fifteenth day of battle, Dronacharya, the guru of the warriors on both sides, is killed by unfair means. Yudishtra, who could not tell a lie, names an elephant ashwathatmma, the son of Drona and kills the elephant. He then announces that Ashwathama, the elephant has been killed, with the word elephant drowned out. Drona is killed in his sorrow and Karna is appointed as the commander-and-chief of the Kaurava forces. In individual confrontations on the battlefield, Karna defeats all the Pandavas, except Arjuna, but chooses to spare their lives, keeping his promise to his mother Kunti.
On the seventeenth day of battle, the much anticipated confrontation between Karna and Arjuna finally takes place. They were evenly matched during the spectacular combat. Karna had been gifted a bow by Parashurama called Vijaya(pinakin), one designed by Vishwakarma himself. At Duryodhana's request, Shalya, who was a maternal uncle to Pandavas, reluctantly agreed to drive Karna's chariot, hence he had a charioteer to equal Krishna (Shalya had mastered the Ashwahridaya - "Art of Horses")
Without the Shakti weapon, Karna had no particular way to kill Arjuna. He had to rely upon his own garnered skill. In a wondrous, intense display of amazing archery, valour and courage, Karna and Arjuna engaged and exhausted all their brilliance, knowledge and passion. Karna devised an intelligent strategy based upon his personal prowess. He stunned Arjuna with a powerful volley of arrows that struck his chest. And the instant in which Arjuna was dazzled, Karna let loose another powerful volley intended at killing his powerful foe. King Shalya of Madra, Karna's charioteer (Shalya, who was the uncle of Nakula and Sahadeva, had been tricked into fighting on the Kaurava side, but had promised Yudhisthira that he would not allow Karna to kill Arjuna), told Karna to play safe by aiming the {naga-astram} arrow at Arjuna's chest. However, Karna refused to heed that advice and aimed the arrow at Arjuna's head. But Lord Krishna came to his friend and devotee's rescue, plunging the chariot into the earth by his power, causing the fatal arrow to miss Arjuna by a few miserable inches and strike Arjuna's crown instead.
During the course of combat, one of the Karna's chariot wheels got stuck in loose soil, apparently because of a curse put on Karna by a Brahmin whose cow Karna had mistakenly killed. King Shalya, who was his charioteer, refused to get down and remove the wheel from the mud . Hence Karna asked Arjuna to disengage in combat, while he got off his chariot and removed the wheel from the mud. Arjuna agreed. But Krishna recalled Karna's previous lapses in honourable conduct and ordered Arjuna to shoot at Karna while he was attempting to lift his wheel out of the mud. The chariot wheel remained stuck and the curse of Parashurama ensured that Karna could not recall the mantras necessary to unleash the more powerful weapons of mass destruction - The Brahmastra. Krishna reminds Arjuna of Karna's ruthlessness against Abhimanyu when Abhimanyu was similarly left without a chariot or weapons.
All of Arjuna's tears, pain and anger swelled up within him as he aimed the fatal shaft Anjalika at a desperate Karna and beheaded him.
After Karna's death, Kunti informed the Pandavas that she was Karna's mother and that he was the eldest of the Pandavas. The Pandavas grieved for Karna. Yudhisthira, particularly, was incensed on hearing that his mother had kept secret from him and his brothers Karna's true identity, whom it would have been their duty in life to serve and revere as their elder, as his four brothers had served and revered him. He cursed all women, stating that henceforth they would never be able to keep a secret.
Karna remains a tragic figure for millions of Hindus and Indians to this day. He remains a brave hero, a courageous spirit who braved impossible odds in his whole life, and died with terrific courage, valor and honor, to rise to immortality in fame. He is especially famous for his generosity. He is also an example of misjudgement and how that renders all the fine qualities of an individual futile.
The city of Karnal in Haryana, near Kurukshetra, is named after Karna.
Karna serves as an excellent example of a gifted, righteous and brave individual who was still doomed because of his loyalty towards the evil Duryodhana. Karna's blind affection for Duryodhana led him to, albeit unwillingly, assist his dear friend in all his immoral and unjust actions against the Pandavas. Karna was aware of Duryodhana's malicious plans against the Pandavas. Karna was also aware of his own imminent downfall for assisting the evil against the good. The blemish to his name is his treatment of Draupadi, and his role in the killing of the unarmed and outnumbered Abhimanyu.
Characters/Persons from Mahabharata
The story of Janamejaya
Characters/Persons from Mahabharata
Emperor Janamejaya was the son of Maharaja Parikshit and great-grandson of Arjuna the valiant warrior hero of the Mahabharata epic. He took up the Kuru throne following the death of father. His significance comes as the listener of the first narration of the Mahabharata, narrated by Vaishampayana, student of Vyasa.
Emperor Janamejaya was responsible for the retelling of the famous epic Mahabharata a story of Janamejaya's ancestors from the time of Bharata up to the great Kurukshetra war between his great grandfathers the Pandavas and their paternal cousins the Kauravas. This was recited to him by the sage Vaishampayana after he asked the sage about his ancestors.
Emperor Janamejaya ascended to the throne of Hastinapura upon the death of his father Parikshita. According to legend, Parikshita, the lone descendant of the House of Pandu, had died of snakebite. He had been cursed by a sage to die so, the curse having been consummated by the serpent-chieftain Takshak.
Janamejaya bore a deep grudge against the serpents for this act, and thus decided to wipe them out altogether. He attempted this by performing a great Sarpa satra - a sacrifice that would destroy all living serpents.
Just as he was about to begin the sacrifice, the rishi Vyasa arrived with a host of rishis. The sages told Janamejaya that to avenge himself on all Nagas, for the action of one, who was after all consummating a curse, would be unrighteous, and not worthy of one descended from the Pandavas themselves. Janamejaya desists from completing the sacrifice. Upon Janamejaya's expressed curiosity as to the lives and actions of his forefathers, Vyasa's disciple Vaishampayana then narrates the MahÄbhÄrata, at the spot where the homa was to have to have been held.
The mass sacrifice was started on the banks of the river Arind at Bardan, now Known as Parham, a corrupt form of Parikshitgarh, A masonry tank said to have been built by Emperor Janamejaya to mark the site of the sacrificial pit, known as Parikshit kund, still exists in Mainpuri district. Close to this village a very large and high khera containing the ruins of a fort and some stone sculptures has been found . It is said to date back to the time of Emperor Parikshita. A popular local legend is that as a consequence of the virtues of that sacrifice snakes are still harmless in this place and its neighborhood.
The day of the homa is today revered by Hindus as the Nag Panchami ritual.
The story of Jarasandha
Characters/Persons from Mahabharata
Jarasandha, the king of Magadha, is a character of the epic Mahabharata. He was the son of Brihadratha, Vedic king.
Brihadratha was the king of Magadha. His wives were the twin princesses of Kashi. While he led a content life and was a famed king, he was unable to sire children. Frustrated over his inability, he retreated to the forest, eventually serving a rishi by the name of Chandakaushika. The rishi took pity upon him and on finding the cause of his sorrow, gave him a fruit that he blessed with fertility, instructing him to give it to his wife (The sage did not know that he had two). Not wishing to displease either wife, Brihadratha cut the fruit in half and gave it to both. Shortly after, each wife brought forth half a child. The two lifeless halves were viewed with horror, and Brihadratha ordered they be cast outside his city. A witch / man-eating demoness (Rakshasi) named Jara picked them up and put them together to carry them off. On their coming in contact a boy was formed, who cried out aloud. Not having the heart to kill a living child, the demoness gave it up to the king, explaining what had happened. The father gave the boy the name Jarasandha after the witch, because he had been put together by Jara.
Chandakaushika arrived at the court, and seeing the child, prophesied to Brihadratha that his son would be specially gifted, and would be renowned as a devotee of Lord Shiva.
Jarasandha became a famed and powerful king, extending his empire far and wide. He prevailed over many kings, and was crowned emperor of Magadha. Even while Jarasandh's power continued to grow, he had concerns about his future, as he had no heirs. Therefore, upon the advise of his close friend, King Banasur, Jarasandh decided to get his two daughters, Asti and Prapti married to the Crown-Prince of Mathura, Kansa. Jarasandh also lent his army and his personal advise to Kans for creating a coup in Mathura.
Eventually, after Kansa was killed by Lord Krishna, Jarasandh developed intense hatred for him and was determined to defeat and kill him. Seeing the pitiful situations of his widowed daughters, Jarasandh vowed to attack Mathura and take over the Kingdom. However, his efforts failed in response to the recently enthroned King Ugrasena, his supporters Vasudeva, the chief military strategist Akroor and the power of Lord Krishna and Balarama.
Even though his efforts failed repeatedly, Jarasandh attacked Mathura for a total of 18 times; after his last attack, Krishna convinced King Ugrasena and his father, Crown-Prince Vasudeva to rescind the land and establish a new Kingdom at Dwaraka, due to strategic reasons.
Jarasandha had many kings in captivity, and when Krishna returned from Dwaranka, he, with Bhima and Arjuna, went to Jarasandha's capital for the purpose of slaying their enemy (as Jarasandha was perceived to be a king who would not consent to Yudhisthira becoming the Emperor by performing the Rajasuya yagna) and liberating the kings. They went in disguise of three Brahmins and told Jarasandha to choose one of them to fight with. Jarasandha chose Bheema. Jarasandha refused to release the kings, and accepted the alternative of a combat, in which he was killed by Bhima. The fight lasted long, for 27 days. Finally, on Krishna's suggestion (which was unlawful considering the laws prevalent in those days pertaining to single combat), Bhima tore apart Jarasandha in two pieces lengthwise and threw away the pieces in opposite directions.
After his death, all the imprisoned Kings were released and Lord Krishna installed his more virtuous son to succeed his throne, making him the ally of Indraprastha.
Characters/Persons from Mahabharata
The story of Hidimbi
Characters/Persons from Mahabharata
Hidimbi, in the Hindu epic Mahabharata, is a Rakshasi. She met Bhima while he was travelling in the forest with his Pandava brothers and mother Kunti. After fleeing a burning palace at Varanavat, which was set up by their cousin Duryodhana to burn them alive; the Pandavas were wandering in the deep woods at night. Hidimbi's brother, Hidimba, an alleged cannibal, had sent her to bring him manflesh, but when she saw the handsome prince Bhima sitting in the glade she fell in love with him and could not bring herself to kill him. She transformed into a tall, dark-skinned and immensely beautiful woman dressed in ornaments and garlands and approached him. When Hidimbi was late, Hidimba came to kill Bhima himself. He tried to attack Hidimbi but she was protected by Bhima, who killed Hidimba after a good fight. Hidimbi then asked Bhima to marry her, at which he was reluctant initially but finally ensued after being repeatedly insisted. He agreed to spend the time from dawn to dusk with her on the condition that during the dark hours he would remain with his brothers, and this would continue till they had a son. She eventually bore Bhima a son, Ghatotkacha. When the Pandavas left the forest, Bhima had to leave her as they were on a war campaign. It isn't clear whether they ever met again.
It is suggested by the similarity of their names that Hidimba and Hidimbi were twins.
It may be noted here that in certain parts of Himachal Pradesh Hidimbi (or Hidimbaa) is worshipped as a goddess. There's a temple dedicated to her in Manali.
The story of Iravan
Characters/Persons from Mahabharata
Iravat or Iravan, in the Hindu epic Mahabharata, was the son of Pandava prince Arjuna and Naga princess Ulupi. He fought on the side of the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra war and was killed by the Rakshasa Alumvusha on the eighth day of the war.
Characters/Persons from Mahabharata
The story of Gandhari
Characters/Persons from Mahabharata
Gandharī is a character in the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. In the epic, she was the daughter of Subala, the king of Gandhara, a region spanning northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan, from which her name is derived. Gandhari's marriage was arranged to Dhritarashtra, the eldest prince of the Kuru kingdom.
Gandhari voluntarily blindfolded herself throughout her married life. Her husband Dhritarashtra was born blind, and on meeting him and realizing this, she decided to deny herself the pleasure of sight that her husband could never relish.
Gandhari bore a hundred sons, (collectively known as the Kauravas), and one daughter Dushala who married Jayadratha. The Kaurava, principally Duryodhana and Dushasana, were the villains of the MahÄbhÄrata, and were all killed in their war against their cousins, the Pandava, at Kurukshetra.
Although Gandhari's sons were portrayed as villains, the MahÄbhÄrata attributes high moral standards to Gandhari. She repeatedly exhorted her sons to follow dharma and make peace with the Pandavas. Gandhari was especially close to Kunti who respected her like an elder sister.
Gandhari made a single exception to her blindfolded state, when she removed her blindfold to see Duryodhana rendering his entire body except his loins invulnerable to any foe. This was however to prove fruitless as Bhima smashed Duryodhana's thighs in their decisive encounter on the eighteenth day of the Kurukshetra battle, a move both literally and figuratively below the belt.
Gandhari was also devout; in particular an ardent worshipper of Lord Shiva. Gandhari's sacrifice of her eyesight and her austere life was to grant her great spiritual power. Gandhari's anguish in the loss of her hundred sons resulted in her cursing Krishna in effect ensuring the destruction of the Yadavas. It is also said that through a small gap in the napkin in which her eyes were blindfolded, her gaze fell on Yudhisthira's toe. The toe was charred black due to her wrath and power. Gandhari ended her life with her husband and her sister-in-law Kunti in the Himalayas, where they died in a forest fire.
The story of Ghatotkacha
Characters/Persons from Mahabharata
Ghatotkacha (Sanskrit घटोतà¥à¤•à¤š), as per the MahÄbhÄrata epic, was the son of Bhima and Hidimbi (Hidimbaa, classically). His maternal parentage made him half-Rakshasa, and gave him many magical powers that made him an important fighter in the Kurukshetra war, the climax of the epic. He got his name from his head, which was shaped like a pot (in Sanskrit, Ghatam means pot and "Utkach" means head.
Ghatotkacha, when he was young, lived with his mother Hidimbaa, when one day he had a fight with Abhimanyu, his cousin, without knowing that Abhimanyu was Arjuna's son.[2] The telugu movie Mayabazar is based upon this fight and Ghatotkacha's subsequent help to Abhimanyu in winning the hand of Balarama's daughter, Sasirekha.
Ghatotkacha is considered to be a loyal and humble figure. He made himself and his followers available to his father Bhima at any time; all Bhima had to do was to think of him and he would appear. Like his father, Ghatotkacha primarily fought with the mace.
His wife was Ahilawati and his son was Barbarika.
In the MahÄbhÄrata, Ghatotkacha was summoned by Bhima to fight on the Pandava side in the Kurukshetra battle. Invoking his magical powers, he wrought great havoc in the Kaurava army. In particular after the death of Jayadratha, when the battle continued on past sunset, his powers were at their most effective (at night).
At this point in the battle, the Kaurava leader Duryodhana appealed to his best fighter, Karna, to kill Ghatotkacha as the whole Kaurava army was coming close to annihilation due to his ceaseless strikes from the air. Karna possessed a divine weapon, or shakti, granted by the god Indra. It could be used only once, and Karna had been saving it to use on his arch-enemy, the best Pandava fighter, Arjuna.
Loyal Karna, unable to refuse the request of Duryodhana whose cause he had pledged himself to serve, hurled the missile at Ghatotkacha, killing him. This is considered to be the turning point of the war. After his death, the Pandava counselor Krishna smiled, as he considered the war to have been won for the Pandavas now that Karna no longer had a divine weapon to use in fighting Arjuna.
