Mahabharata Charecters brief

Maha.Misc.001

Since there are a lot of characters in Mahabharata, I will add a brief description of the characters for your reference. I will add a short note on characters as and when their name comes, till the point that they seem very familiar. You can also access this page and get a brief description on them. I will be adding about characters as and when they appear in the text.

Kunti is the mother of the eldest three of the Pandava brothers (actually considered mother by all five pandavas) from the Indian epic Mahābhārata. Her story is also told within the Bhagavata Purana, wherein she speaks on the philosophy of devotion of Krishna, known as Bhakti yoga. Kunti is a figure of great importance.

Her father was Śũrasena of the Yadav clan, and she was named Pritha by him. She was the sister of Vasudeva, Lord Krishna's father. She was given in adoption to the childless King Kuntibhoja, after which she was 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. When Kunti asked why he gave her this mantra, he told her that it would be useful to her later in life.

Pandu is the son of Ambalika and Rishi Ved Vyasa. He is the father of the Pandavas.

Dhritarashtra was the son born to Vichitravirya's first wife Ambika. He was the blind king of Hastinapura. He was father to a hundred children by his wife Gandhari. These children are known as the Kauravas. Duryodhana and Dushasana were the prominent among them.

The Pandava are the five sons of Pandu, by his two wives Kunti and Madri. They are Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva.

Together, the brothers fought and won in a great war against their cousins i.e., the Kauravas, which is known as the Battle of Kurukshetra. Their half-brother Karna fought against them and was eventually slain by Arjuna.

Draupadi, also known as draupadī is the daughter of King Drupada of Panchāla and the wife of the five Pandavas. When Yudhisthira becomes the king of Hastinapura at the end of the war, Draupadi becomes his queen. She is sometimes called Krishnaa, which means dark complexioned. She is also known by her demonym Pānchālī, the one from the kingdom of Panchāla.

Vidura was half-brother to Dhritarashtra and Pandu. He was the son of a maid-servant who served Ambika and Ambalika (The queens of Hastinapura)and sage Vyasa. As neither of his parents were of royal blood, Vidura was never considered for, or had any chance of obtaining the throne of the kingdom. He served as a chancellor to his brothers(who were kings).

Bhishma was the grandfather of both the Pandavas and the Kauravas. He was a prime charecter in the epic. Bhishma was born as the youngest son of the illustrious King Shantanu and Ganga. He was known as 'Bhishma Pitamaha' (Pitamaha meaning the grandfather or grandsire) among the Pandavas and the Kauravas. He was one of the Ashtavasus (The eight prime demigods, who were attendents in court of Indra- The Lord of Devas or demigods).

Drona or Dronacharya is the royal guru to both the Kauravas and the Pandavas. He was a adept master in advanced military arts, including the devastras. Arjuna was his favored student. Drona's love for Arjuna was second only to his love for his son Ashwatthama. He was a partial incarnation of Brihaspathi(The Guru of Devas). Drona implies that he was not gestated in a womb, but outside the human body in a droon (vessel).

Kripa or Kripacharya or Krupacharya, was the chief priest at the royal court of Hastinapura, in the Mahābhārata. He was the son of Sharadvan and Janapadi. His twin sister Kripi married Drona. He fought in the great battle of Kurukshetra for the Kaurava side. He was appointed to be the teacher and preceptor of Parikshit, the grandson of Arjuna. He is one of the seven Chiranjivin(Immortals, who will live till the end of time, ofcourse have to die at the end of time!!).

Sanjaya (means "victory") is Dhritarashtra’s (the father of the Kauravas) advisor and also his charioteer. Sanjaya, had the gift of seeing events at a distance granted by the sage Vyasa, narrates to Dhritarashtra the events in the battle of Kurukshetra, including the Bhagavad-Gita. He is brutally frank in his recital of battle events with his own opinions, predicting the destruction of the Kauravas at the hands of Pandavas and Krishna.

Shakuni was the personification of Dvapara Yuga (a period of time), was the brother of Gandhari. He was portrayed as an extremely intelligent but devious old man, who was very fond of his nephew Duryodhana, yet wished the destruction of the entire Kuru family. He won the kingdom of the Pandavas' for his nephew, as a wager in a rigged game of dice. The dice that were used were made with Shakuni's father's thigh bones and would always do his bidding. Saubala here means Shakuni.

Karna is one of the central characters in Mahabharata. He was made the King of Anga by Duryodhana. Karna is considered to be one of the greatest warriors of Mahabharata by authorities including Krishna and Bhishma, as stated in the original text by Rishi Vyasa. He was the son of Surya (the Sun god) and Kunti. He was born to Kunti, before her marriage with Pandu. He is the closest friend of Duryodhana. Karna fought on his behalf against his own brothers the Pandavas at the Kurukshetra war. He was considered as the epitome of generosity.

Jarasandha was a great and powerful king of Magadha, and son of Brihadratha, a Vedic king. He is generally held in negative light owing to his enmity with the Yadav clan in the Mahabharata.

Virata was a king in whose court the Pandavas spent a year in concealment during their exile. He was married to Queen Sudeshna and was the father of Prince Uttara and Princess Uttara.