Arjuna (pronounced [ərˈd͡ʑun] in classical Sanskrit) was the 3rd of the Pandava brothers. He is considered the protagonist of the Mahabharata with Krishna and plays a key role in the Bhagavad Gita.he was greatest archer of all times[1][2][3][4] He was married multiple times, to Draupadi, Subhadra (Krishna's sister), Ulupi, and Chitrangada. His children included Srutakarma, Iravan, Babruvahana, and Abhimanyu.
Contents
1 Etymology and other names
2 Birth and youth
3 Tutelage under Drona
4 Marriage to Draupadi
5 Burning of Khandava Vana
5.1 Saving Mayasura
6 Arjuna's Tirtha-yatra and Indraprastha
6.1 Meeting Uloopi
6.2 Chitrangadaa at Manipura
6.3 Reaching Dwarka and Subhadra
7 Conquest for Rajasuya
8 Exile
8.1 Penance for Pashupatastra
8.2 Urvashi's curse
8.3 Nivata-kavachas and Hiranyapura
8.4 Meeting Hanuman
8.5 Eunuch at Virata's Kingdom
9 Kurukshetra War
9.1 Bhagavad Gita
9.2 Battles fought at Kurukshetra
10 Conquest for Ashvamedha
11 Death
12 In popular culture
13 Modern references
14 In Modern Television
15 Notes
16 Bibliography
Etymology and other names
The name Arjuna means "bright" or "shining" (lit. "bright" or "silver" (cf. Latin argentum)).[5] Arjuna in Sanskrit is also interpreted as 'na arjayate Arjuna' which translates to the 'one who is not un-victorius'
The Mahabharata refers to Arjuna by twelve different names. In the story, these names are given when Prince Uttara of Matsya asks Arjuna to prove his identity. The first ten names are spoken by Arjuna himself, while the name "Kapi Dhwaja" is also used to refer to his chariot, the "Nandi Ghosha" .The names and their meanings are as follow:[6][7][8]
Arjuna (अर्जुन) - shining or famous like silver.
Phalguna (फाल्गुन) - one born under the star named 'Uttara Phalguni'.
Jishnu (जिष्णु) - triumphant.
Kiritin (किरीटिन्) - one who wears the celestial diadem, Kiriti, presented by Indra.
Shwetavahana (श्वेतवाहन) - one with white horses mounted to his chariot.
Bibhatsu (बीभत्सु) - one who always fights wars in a fair manner.
Vijaya (विजय) - always wins on war.
Partha (पार्थ) - son of Pritha, another name for Kunti.
Savyasachin (सव्यसाचिन्) - ambidextrous
Dhananjaya (धनञ्जय) - one who brings prosperity and wealth in the land where he goes to.
Gudakesha (गुडाकेश) - someone who have control over sleeps
Kapidhwaja (कपिध्वज) - having flag of Kapi (monkey) in his chariot (Arjuna's flag displayed an image of Hanuman from a previous encounter).
Parantapa (परन्तप) - one who concentrates the most, destroyer of enemies from his concentration.
Gandivadhanvan (गाण्डीवधन्वन्) - one who possessed the mighty bow named 'Gandiva' which was created by Lord Brahma.
Gandivadhara (गाण्डीवधर) - Gandiva holder
Madhyapandava (मध्यपाण्डव) - the third of Pandavas, younger to Yudhishthira and Bhima and elder to Nakula and Sahadeva.
Birth and youth
Boon of Indra to Kunti
Arjuna was born into the royal family of Hastinapura. He was acknowledged as a son of Pandu by his first wife Kunti, though he was fathered by the grace of the god Indra, rather than by Pandu who was cursed that he would die if he tried to father children. Arjuna was the third son, after Yudhishthira and Bhima. Younger to him were the twin sons born of Pandu's second wife Madri, Nakula and Sahadeva.
After the death of Pandu (and Madri's subsequent suicide), the Pandavas and their mother lived in Hastinapura, where they were brought up together with their cousins, the Kaurava brothers. Along with his brothers, Arjuna was trained in religion, science, administration and military arts by Bhishma.
One day, when the princes were playing a game, they lost their ball in a well. When the rest of the children gave up the ball as being lost, Arjuna stayed behind trying to get it. A stranger came by and extracted the ball for him by making a chain of "sarkanda" (a wild grass). When an astonished Arjuna related the story to Bhishma, Bhishma realized that the stranger was none other than Drona. Bhishma asked Drona to become the Kuru princes' teacher. Seeking refuge from Panchala, Drona agreed.
Tutelage under Drona
Under Drona's tutelage, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, along with the princes of Hastinapura's allies and vassals, learned weaponry. Arjuna became Drona's favorite and most accomplished pupil; specifically, he became a master in using the bow and the arrow. In a famous incident, Drona deemed that out of all his students, even his own son Ashwatthama, none but Arjuna had the steadfast focus to shoot the eye of a bird on a tree; he was proven right.[9]
In two other incidents, the reader sees how Arjuna's destiny is shaped. Arjuna was the only one with the skill and fortitude to save his teacher from an attack from a crocodile. In reality, the attack was a ruse Drona used to test his students. In another story, Arjuna, noticing Bhima eating in the dark, trained himself to shoot accurately without visualizing his target. Impressed by Arjuna, Drona promised his pupil that he would make Arjuna the greatest archer that ever lived or ever would live. Drona adhered to this vow so strongly, that when he discovered a Kirat prince Ekalavya of superior archery skill, Drona demands him into cutting off the thumb of his hand (needed to draw the bow) so that he kept his promise to Arjuna.
As part of his gurudakshina, Arjuna and his brothers, attacked Panchal and captured King Drupada, with Arjuna making the arrest himself. Drona requested this in order to settle an old grudge he had with Drupada. Secretly, Drupada was greatly impressed by Arjuna and wished for him to marry his daughter, Draupadi.
At the end of their training, the Kuru princes displayed their talents to their elders in an arena. There, Arjuna steals the show, using divine weapons to great effect. However, before he can be crowned as the victor of the tournament, he is challenged by Karna. Karna matched Arjuna's feats. But due to his low birth, Karna is not allowed to compete and gets insulted by Bhima and the others for being a sutaputra; this incident marks the beginning of a feud between Karna and Arjuna that lasts until the end of the story.
As the Pandavas and Kauravas grew older, a crown prince had to be named. Yudhishthira won the nomination over Duryodhana. Angered, Duryodhana plotted with his uncle Shakuni, who masterminded a plan to kill the Pandavas. The Kauravas have a house of wax built; they desired to send the Pandavas vacationing to the wax house, under some pretense, before setting the house on fire. Alerted of the scheme by Vidura, the Pandavas evaded the trap. Arjuna and Bhima wanted to declare war, but Yudhishthira cooled them down. Under his orders, Arjuna, Kunti, and the Pandavas faked their deaths and went into hiding.
Marriage to Draupadi
the Swayamvara of Panchala's princess, Draupadi
Still in hiding, the Pandavas disguise themselves as brahmins and attend the Swayamvara of Panchala princess Draupadi. Out of all of the great kings and other Kaurava princes, only Karna and Arjuna are able to do the established challenge. The test is to lift, string, and fire Pinakin to pierce the eye of a golden fish whilst only looking at its reflection; Drupada had designed this test with Arjuna in mind. At first Karna is able to lift and string the bow, but when he is aiming to fire the shot, Draupadi rejects Karna (in some depictions with Krishna's prodding) for his low-birth. Afterwards, the disguised Arjuna accomplished the stringing and shooting of the bow.
In some versions of the story, Arjuna is the only prince (of the Kaurava/Pandava party) to have interacted with Draupadi before. When attacking/kidnapping Drupada, Draupadi, trained in martial arts due to Panchal's attitudes towards gender neutrality, fights with Arjuna, but Arjuna after some while stops and evades Draupadi, saying that he cannot fight a woman.
In some versions of the Swayamvara, Arjuna is forbidden by Kunti to attend the Swayamvara. Kunti's reasoning is that only Yudhishthira and Duryodhana would be acceptable candidates for Draupadi's hand; anyone else, not set to inherit the throne, would be an insult to Panchal. She allows Bhima to attend because he is Yudhishthira's heir and could win Draupadi for his brother without controversy. When Arjuna disobeys her anyways, as he is firing the arrow, he swears to God that if wins Draupadi's hand, he would never disobey his mother's commands.
When the brothers returned with Draupadi, Arjuna joked to his mother that they had brought alms. Dismissively, and without looking because she was preoccupied, Kunti asks him to share it with his brothers. Holding his mother's orders as a divine command, he requested his elder brother to accept Draupadi. Draupadi had to marry all five of the Pandavas. Her five sons, one from each of the Pandava brothers, are known as the Upapandavas.[10] Srutakarma is the son of Arjuna.
The brothers follow Narada's advice on a sharing arrangement with regard to Draupadi: each brother would have exclusive rights over her for a year, after which the mantle will shift to the next brother. Moreover, any brother intruding on the privacy of the couple would have to go on a twelve-year Tirtha-yatra.
At this point in the Mahabharatha, the Pandavas revealed that they were alive. With both Duryodhana and Yudhishthira being crown princes, tensions are high. Under Bhishma's advice, the kingdom is split, with the Kauravas getting Hastinapur and the Pandavas getting Khandavaprastha. Khandavaprastha, however, was an extremely underdeveloped land and had infertile soil, requiring extensive tilling, so the Pandavas set to work rebuilding the land. Their cousins Krishna and Balarama gave