The son of Arjuna by Subhadra. He is killed at a young age in the great
battle, but his wife, Uttara, bears him a child, Pariksit, who carries
on the Kuru lineage.
Arjuna
The name means "White." Arjuna is the son of Indra.
He is also known as the "left-handed archer," and "Partha."
Ashwatthama
The son of Drona. He is the world's greatest spear-man.
He is highly skilled in warfare, trained by his father in the use of mantras
that can unleash weapons of mass destruction. He misuses
this magical power in his haste to avenge the deceitful killing of
his father.
Bhima
Son of Vayu, the Wind God. He is renowned as the strongest man in the world.
He is the most emotional of the Pandavas.
Bhishma
The name means "awe-inspiring." The son of Santanu and the goddess Ganga,
he was born as Devavrata, but was renamed Bhishma after his vow of celibacy.
brahmin
The priestly class. Beginning in Vedic times (900 B.C.), the brahmins were
the only people empowered to conduct sacrifices and Hindu rituals. This
tight brahmanical stranglehold on Hinduism, has frequently been countered
by populist religious movements, but is still part of "orthodox" Hinduism,
if there is such a thing as orthodoxy in a religion that has so many diverse
sects and practices. Traditionally, they are regarded as the highest caste.
The traditional caste hierarchy, of four castes, still persists in the
villages in India.
Dhristadyumna
The brother of Draupadi and the eventual killer of Drona. He was born from
a sacrifical fire his father had lit, when praying for the death of Drona.
Dhritarashtra
Dhrita(grasp) + rashtra(nation) = "he who firmly grasps the nation."
The name is an ironic reference to Dhritarashtra's role as a sort of caretaker
or lame-duck ruler (the name might also be "he who chokes the nation").
Born blind as Vyasa predicted, Dhritarashtra lives through the deaths of
his sons and the dreadful carnage of the war. His tragedy is he had the
power and authority to prevent the disasters that befell his nation, but
he lacked the discipline or will to act.
Drona
The tutor of the Kuru princes. A brahmin who teaches use of weapons.
Draupadi
The wife of the Pandavas. The unusual thing about her is that she has a
polyandrous marriage; polyandry is absent in any other work of ancient
Indian literature. Perhaps, this was a custom of the indigenous Dravidians
when the Aryans invaded around 2000 B.C. The battle of Kurukshetra in the
Mahabharata is a result of her desire for vengeance on the Kauravas.
Drupada
The father of Draupadi. He is childless for many years and prays for a
son. He is told by Shiva he will have a son that year. When a daughter,
Shikandini is born to his wife, he decides to take Shiva's word for it,
and treats her as a son. She later becomes a man, Shikhandi. Drupada at
some point becomes a bitter enemy of Drona. He prays for Drona's death,
and sends burnt offerings to Shiva. He is asked to light a fire: from this
fire, his daughter Draupadi and son Dhrishtadyumna emerge, fully grown
adults.
Duryodhana
The name means "Difficult to conquer." He is the eldest Kaurava, the chief
antagonist of the Pandavas.
Dushasana
One of Duryodhana's brothers. He is malicious and high-handed throughout.
Unlike his brother Duryodhana, he lacks any redeeming features.
Gandhari
The daughter of the King of Gandhara. She was betrothed to Dhritarashtra.
Upon finding out that her husband-to-be was blind, she swore never to enjoy
what he could not and blindfolded herself. For the rest of her life, she
wore the blindfold. Supposedly, she was so faithful and devoted to her
husband, that she never so much as mentioned any other man's name (except
her sons of course).
Hastinapura
The semi-mythical capital city of the Kurus throughout their reign. The
city was supposedly near what is now the modern city of Delhi in Northern
India.
Indra
One of the gods. The God of Rain and Thunder--the Vedic equivalent of Zeus
and Thor--he is the father of Arjuna. He is known as the "Soma-drinker,"
soma being the intoxicating drink favored by gods and ecstatic mystics.
Indra plays a pivotal role before the battle, when he strikes a deal with
Karna.
Indraprastha
The capital of the Pandavas, the name means "city of Indra". It was located
in the swampland of the Khandava tract, the least fertile region of the
Kuru kingdom. The Pandavas cultivated and cleared the land and built their
magnificent capital.
Karna
The name means "One who Shines (like Gold?)." The son of Surya, the Sun
God, and Kunti, Karna was born encased in armor (which
he later relinquishes)and with gold earrings. His birth was embarrassing
to Kunti, who was merely fifteen at the time, so she quietly slipped him
downstream in a boat. The boat was found by Adhiratha, a charioteer, and
his childless wife, who brought him up. Karna's status as the son of a
charioteer (charioteers were typically of mixed-class parentage, so they
were scorned by the rigid caste-based society of Northern India) leads
the Pandavas, particularly Bhima, to spurn his challenge to Arjuna
at the martial skills exhibition, though he is an extremely skilled warrior.
He allies himself to Duryodhana and hopes to kill Arjuna in combat, perhaps
in a battle. He does take on Arjuna on the battlefield, but the
result is not to his liking.
the Kauravas
The hundred sons of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari.
The Kauravas are bitter rivals of the Pandavas.
Duryodhana, the eldest, is jealous of his cousins, because they are looked
upon as heroes by the people in the kingdom. Incited by the second brother,
Dushasana, Duryodhana constantly tries to kill, harrass, and deceive, the
Pandavas. Vikarna, the third brother plays a minor role, while the other
brothers are quite unimportant. In addition to the hundred sons, Gandhari
has a daughter, Duhsala. Also, Dhritarashtra had an illegitimate son, Yuyutsu,
by a servant-woman. Yuyutsu twice publicly opposes Duryodhana: after the
dice game, and just before the
great battle.
kshatriya
The warrior class. Kings and rulers were almost always kshatriyas. They
were the Indian equivalent of feudal barons and samurai. The kshatriya
caste is the second highest in the traditional caste hierarchy, that is,
unfortunately, still adhered to in many parts of India.
Kurukshetra
Kuru + kshetra = the "field of Kuru." The semi-mythical battlefield.
the Kurus
The direct descendants of the legendary Kuru. Both the Pandavas and Kauravas
belong to the Kuru line.
Mahabharata
Meaning either "The Great [story of] the Bharata dynasty" or "The Great
[story of] India," Mahabharata (pronounced "ma-haa-bhaa-rat-a") is the
title of this epic.
The pale king, younger brother of the blind Dhritarashtra. His paleness
is most likely some sort of skin disease (leukodermia? leprosy?).
Sanjaya
The son of a mixed-caste bard, Sanjaya is a figure who pops up throughout
the Mahabharata. He is a member of the Kuru court; he is also a prophet
of sorts. He is gifted with the power to see through illusions. He also
can observe the battle of Kurukshetra without being injured, remember everything,
and then report on the events to the blind king, Dhritarashtra.
Subhadra
The sister of Krishna, she marries Arjuna and has a son--Abhimanyu--by
him. She is thus a key figure in preserving the Kuru line.
Vidura
The wise younger brother of Dhritarashtra and Pandu. Fathered by Vyasa
on a servant girl, he is considered the incarnation of Dharma, the god
of Ultimate Justice. From this, one might conjecture that he is in fact
the father of Yuddhistira, though that would seem a bit thick. Had Vidura
not been denied the right to kingship because of his low birth, the Kurus
might well have been better off: one could read this as an indictment of
the hide-bound caste system.
Vyasa
The legendary author.
Yuddhistira
The name means "unswerving (stira) in battle (yuddh." The
son of the god Dharma, he is the leader of the Pandavas. His devotion to
Truth and Justice is so exemplary that his chariot rides a few inches off
the ground, as a tribute to his greatness. However, the chariot goes along
the ground after Yuddhistira
tells a white lie during the battle.
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