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Concept
Pandava
Summary
The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a group name referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva, who are central characters of the 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 inability to naturally conceive 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 Yudhishtira gambled it away during a game of dice. The bet Yudhishtira agreed to was that the Pandavas would hand the kingdom to the Kauravas and go into exile for 13 years. 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 was 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.
The word Pandava (पाण्डवा, ) is derived from Pandu (पाण्डु, ) and means "descendants of Pandu". Other epithets given to the Pandavas are:
Pāṇḍuputra (Sanskrit: पाण्डुपुत्र) - sons of Pandu
Pāṇḍavakumāra (Sanskrit: पाण्डवकुमार) - young Pandavas
Kaunteya (Sanskrit: कौन्तेय) - sons of Kunti (Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna).
Mādreya (Sanskrit: माद्रेय) - sons of Madri (Nakula and Sahadeva)
The Pandava brothers had a group marriage to Draupadi. In the Section 268 of Vana Parva of the epic, Draupadi describes the Pandavas to Jayadratha after he abducted her forcefully and the Pandavas pursuit them.
Yudhishthira was slender, and had a prominent nose, large eyes and a complexion like that of "pure gold". He is also described as a just man, who had correct knowledge of the morality of his own acts and was merciful to surrendering foes.
Official source
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