ArjunaFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, searchFor other uses, see Arjuna (disambiguation).

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Arjun (pronounced [ɐrˈɟunɐ] in classical Sanskrit) (lit. 'bright' or 'silver' (cf. Latin argentum)) is the third of the Pandavas, the sons and princes of Pandu, who, with Krishna is considered as the main hero of Mahabharata. In his role in the Mahabharata, Arjuna is a key part of the Bhagavad Gita, which is perhaps the best known sacred Hindu text in the West.[1][2][3][4]

Arjuna was considered the finest archer and a peerless warrior by many notable figures in the Mahabharata, such as Bhishma, Dronacharya, Krishna, Vidura, Sage Narada and Dhritarashtra. According to his rival Karna, only Shiva would not fear the sight of Arjuna bearing down on him. He played a key role in ensuring the defeat of the Kauravas in the Kurukshetra War. He was considered to be an undefeated hero, claimed to have never tasted defeat until losing the dice game to his cousins. Arjuna was an avatar of Nara, who along with the avatar of Narayana, Krishna, established Dharma in the Dvapara Yuga.[5]

He was the student of Drona. He also learned archery with Kirats of Nepal in a disguise as Kirats were renowned archers of that time.

His grandson, Parikshit, ends up being the sole heir to Hastinapur. Married multiple times, Arjuna married Draupadi, Subhadra, Uloopi, and Chitrangada. His children included Shrutakirti, Abhimanyu, Babruvahana, and Iravan.

Contents[hide]

1 Etymology and other names 2 Birth and early years

3 Tutelage under Drona

4 Marriage to Draupadi

5 Burning of Khandava Vana

o 5.1 Saving Mayasura

6 Arjuna's Tirtha-yatra and Indraprastha

o 6.1 Meeting Uloopi

o 6.2 Chitrangadaa at Manipura

o 6.3 Reaching Dwarka and Subhadra

7 Conquest for Rajasuya

8 Exile

o 8.1 Penance for Pashupatastra

o 8.2 Urvashi's curse

o 8.3 Trial with Devastras: slaying Rakshasas at heaven

o 8.4 Meeting Hanuman

o 8.5 Eunuch at Virata's Kingdom

9 Kurukshetra War

o 9.1 Bhagavad Gita

o 9.2 Battles fought at Kurukshetra

10 Conquest for Ashvamedha

11 Death

12 Character of Arjuna

13 Modern references

14 Notes

Etymology and other names[edit]The Mahabharata refers to Arjuna by twelve different names.

In the story, these names are conveyed to the reader when Prince Uttar of Matsya asks Arjuna to prove his identity. The names and their meanings are as follow:.[6][7][8]

Arjun - one of taintless fame and glow like silver Phalgun - one born on the star of Phalguna

Jishnu - conqueror of enemies

Kiriti - one who wears the celestial diadem, Kiriti, presented by Indra

Shwetavahana - one with white horses mounted to his chariot

Vibhatsu - one who always fights wars in a fair manner

Vijaya - victorious warrior

Paarth or Paartha - son of Pritha or Kunti. Incidentally his father is the Lord of Heavens, Indra.

Savyasachi - skillful in using both arms, ambidextrous

Dhananjay - one who conquers bows (dhanush) referring to his skills as an archer

Gudakesh - One who has conquered sleep (gudaka "sleep")

Kapi Dhwaj - Having flag of Kapi (Monkey) in his chariot (Arjuna's flag displayed an image of Hanuman from a previous encounter)

Parantap - one who concentrates the most, destroyer of enemies from his concentration

Gandivi - one who possessed the mighty bow - Gandiva given by Agni

Birth and early years[edit]

Pandu Shoots the Ascetic Kindama

Once, a Brahmin sage named Kindama and his wife were making love in the forest when Arjuna's father Pandu accidentally shot at them, mistaking them for a deer. Before dying, Kindama cursed the king to die when he engages in love making with his wife . Due to this curse, Pandu was unable to father children. As an additional penance for the murder, as well as his own declining health, Pandu abdicated the throne of Hastinapura and retired to the forest. His blind brother Dhritarashtra, the original heir, took over the reins of the kingdom.[9]

After Pandu's disability, the Pandavas were conceived in an unusual way. His mother, Kunti, had in her youth been granted the power to invoke the devas by the sage Durvasa. Each deva, when invoked, would impregnate her with a child. Urged by Pandu to use her boons, Kunti gave birth to Arjuna by invoking the Lord of Heaven, Indra. According to popular legend, no other birth in the Mahabharata except Krishna's was celebrated by the devas, sages and apsaras. Arjuna was the third Pandava, after Yudhishthira and Bhima. Younger to him were Pandu's twin sons begotten of Madri, Nakula and Sahadeva. Like Arjuna, all of them were devakin.

After the death of Pandu (and Madri's subsequent suicide), the Pandavas and their mother returned to Hastinapur. With Duryodhana's status as the Kuru heir now contested, there was a lot of fighting between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Along with his brothers, Arjuna was trained in religion, science, administration and military arts by the Kuru-guru Kripacharya and "Grandsire" Bhisma.

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 using divine weapons. When Arjuna related the story to Bhishma, Bhishma realized that the stranger was none other than Dronacharya. Bhisma tracked down the sage and asked him to become the Kuru princes' teacher. Seeking asylum from Panchal, Drona agreed.

Tutelage under Drona[edit]Under Drona's tutelage, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, along with the princes of Hastinapur'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.[10]

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 tricked him into cutting off the thumb of his hand(needed to string the bow) so that he kept his promise to Arjuna.

As part of his gurudakshina, Arjuna and his brothers, with no other soldiers, 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. Due to his low birth, Karna is not allowed to compete and gets insulted by the Pandavas for being a sutaputra; this 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 Yudhisthira cooled them down. Under his orders, Arjuna, Kunti, and the Pandavas faked their deaths and went into hiding.

Marriage to Draupadi[edit]

the Swayamvara of Panchala's princess, Draupadi

Still in hiding, the Pandavas disguised themselves as brahmins and attended the Swayamvara of Panchala princess Draupadi. Out of all of the great kings and other Kaurava princes, Arjuna was the only one able to pass the established challenge: lift, string, and fire Pinakin to pierce the eye of a golden fish whilst only looking at its reflection. This test demanded concentration, sense of timing, and precision of an archer. Drupada had designed this test with Arjuna in mind.

In some versions of the story, Arjuna is forbidden by Kunti to attend the Swayamvara. Kunti's reasoning is that Yudhishthira or Duryodhana would be the only 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. Dismissingly and without looking, Kunti, per habit, asked him to share it with his brothers. Holding his mother's orders as a divine command(or in some cases, because of Arjuna's promise to God), Arjuna unquestionably agreed, and even refused to back down when his brothers and Kunti attempted to talk him down. Draupadi had to marry all five of the Pandavas. Her five sons, one each from a Pandava brother are known as the Upapandavas.[11] Srutakirti was the son of Arjuna.

The brothers followed 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 Mahabhartha, the Pandavas revealed that they were alive. With both Duryodhana and Yudhishthira being crown princes, tension were high. Under Bhisma's advice, the kingdom was split, with the Kauravas getting Hastinapur and the Pandavas getting Khandavaprastha. With Khandavaprastha being very underdeveloped and having infertile soil,

requiring tilling, the Pandavas set to work rebuilding the land. Their second-cousins Krishna and Balarama gave them aid.

Burning of Khandava Vana[edit]In some versions of the story, this was the first time Arjuna meets Krishna. In any case, Khandavaprastha was where Arjuna and Krishna's friendship is truly forged. Once when roaming in the Khandava Vana, Arjuna and Krishna met the god of fire, Agni. Agni was in great hunger and needed to burn down the entire Khandava Vana to quench his hunger. But Takshaka, the serpent-king lived in the same forest and was a friend of Indra's. So the latter brought down heavy rains to thwart Agni's plans to burn the woods. Agni requested Krishna and Arjuna to help him realize his goal.[12]

The three of them then invoked Varuna, the God of the oceans, who blessed Arjuna with the Gandiva – the moon bow created by Brahma. In this way, Arjuna came into possession of his famous bow. Agni also gave Arjuna an incandescent chariot with four horses yoked, and bearing a flag that would one-day be occupied by Hanuman. Arjuna also obtained his famous conch.[13]

With Krishna using the Sudarshana Chakra granted to him by Vyasa(or in some versions, Agni),[13] Arjuna and Krishna waged a successful battle against Indra and helped Agni burn down the entire Khandava Vana including all its demons and evil spirits. Indra's anger was metered by his pride in his son.

Saving Mayasura[edit]

Srikrishna offer to build a palace, to mayasura

In their demolition of Khandava Krishna and Arjuna had saved one demon, Mayasura.[12] Owing Arjuna a boon, Mayasura told that he would build a palace for Yudhishtra. As Mayasura was a great architect of the Asuras, he soon constructed the Maya assembly hall – a gigantic palace for the Pandavas, filled with ancient books, artifacts, and jewels. Thus, Khandavaprastha was renamed Indraprastha.[14]

Arjuna's Tirtha-yatra and Indraprastha[edit]

During an incident where dacoits are attacking some farmers, Arjuna was forced to violate Yudhishthira and Draupadi's privacy, as he had left the Gandiva in their room. Despite the understanding of all and being forgiven by both Yudhishthira and Draupadi, Arjuna accepted the punishment agreed with Narada and set off on a twelve-year tirtha-yatra.

Meeting Uloopi[edit]

Ulupi meets Arjuna

Arjuna started his pilgrimage by visiting the source of river Ganga. It was here that he accidentally met the Naga princess, Uloopi. She was deeply infatuated by him and the couple were drawn into days of passionate love-making (in some stories Uloopi hits Arjuna with love potions). Before departing, Ulupi granted him the boon of invincibility in water bodies. Iravan was Arjuna's son with Ulupi.[15][16]

However, Arjuna was reluctant to marry Uloopi, as because of all the magic Uloopi had used to keep him in the netherworld, Arjuna would remember none of what had happened. After he learns of her pregnancy, he consents to the marriage.

Chitrangadaa at Manipura[edit]

Arjuna visited other Tirthas in India, including Kalinga and the ashrams of the Saptarishis, Agastya, Vasishta and Bhrigu. Finally he reached the palace of Manipur. Here he met king Chitravahana's daughter, Chitrangadaa. He fell in love with her and requested the king for his daughter's hand in marriage. Upon discovering Arjuna's true identity, the king readily agreed. Since Chitrangadaa was his oldest child and Manipur practiced equal primogeniture, which Hastinapur did not practice, the king sought a promise from Arjuna that Chitrangadaa and any of her and Arjuna's children would remain in Manipur as Chitravahana's heirs. Arjuna agreed, and later spent time in the palace until the birth of his son, Babruvahana.[17][18]

Reaching Dwarka and Subhadra[edit]

Arjuna and Subhadra.Painting by Raja Ravi Varma.

Arjuna moved to other Tirthas, including the southern regions in Kerala. Finally he reached Dwarka, the place where his cousin Krishna resided. Arjuna had, in his childhood, heard about Krishna's beautiful sister, Subhadra. Krishna, wishing to further tie their families, knew of Arjuna's visit and devised a plan to arrange their meet. Accordingly, Arjuna disguised himself as a “yati” and stayed at Subhadra's palace. Soon, the couple managed to fall in love. Because Balarama had already promised Subhadra to his favorite disciple, Duryodhana, Arjuna had to steal Subhadra way. Per Krishna's suggestion, Subhadra was Arjuna's charioteer, proving to all who witnessed that Subhadra was departing of her own free will.

They spent a year together in Dwarka. Later, they moved to a small ashram in Pushkara where they stayed for another year, before moving to Indraprastha after Arjuna's penance had ended. After a few years Abhimanyu was born to Arjuna and Subhadra.[19][20]

Conquest for Rajasuya[edit]

Possible route taken by Arjuna for the Rajasuya sacrifice.

Arjuna was sent north by Yudhisthira to subjugate kingdoms for the Rajasuya Yagya, so that he could be crowned Emperor of Indraprastha. The Mahabharata mentions several kingdoms to the east of Indraprastha which were conquered (or otherwise peacefully bent-the-knee) by Arjuna. Some of them are:[21]

Bhagadatta of Pragjyotisha Vrihanta , the king of Uluka

Modapura, Vamadeva, Sudaman, Susankula, the Northern Ulukas, and the kings of those countries and peoples

Devaprastha, the city of Senavindu

Viswagaswa of Puru's race

Seven tribes called Utsava-sanketa

Kshatriyas of Kashmir and also king Lohita along with ten minor chiefs

Trigartas , the Daravas, the Kokonadas, and various other Kshatriyas

town of Avisari

Rochamana ruling in Uraga

Singhapura adi

Regions Suhma and Sumala

Valhikas

Daradas along with the Kambojas

Robber tribes that dwelt in the north-eastern regions

Lohas, the eastern Kambojas, and northern Rishikas

country of the Limpurushas ruled by Durmaputra

Harataka

Various lakes and tanks sacred to the Rishis

regions ruled by the Gandharvas that lay around the Harataka territories. Here the conqueror took, as tribute from the country, numerous excellent horses called Tittiri, Kalmasha, Manduka.

North Harivarsha

city of Sakraprastha

Exile[edit]After Yudhisthira succumbed to Shakuni's challenge in the game of dice, the Pandavas were forced to be in exile for 13 years, which included one year in anonymity.

Penance for Pashupatastra[edit]

Kiratarjuniya

Indra had promised Arjuna to give him all his weapons sensing an impending war with the Kauravas, on the condition that he obtain the Pashupatastra from Lord Shiva. Following the advice of Sage Vyasa to go on a meditation or "tapasya" to attain this divine weapon, Arjuna left his brothers for a penance.

Arjuna traveled for a while before reaching the mountain Indra keeladri, Vijayawada. Here he sat in meditation in the name of Lord Shiva. Shiva appeared soon enough in the guise of a hunter, who challenged Arjuna to a fight. While being thoroughly dominated by Shiva, Arjuna became confused as to how an ordinary hunter could best a warrior like himself. He prays to Shiva for strength, and then sees the offerings he made to Shiva around the hunter's neck. Shiva was very pleased with the bravery and prowess of the prince. Consequently, Shiva transformed himself to show his real avatar and blessed Arjuna with the Pashupatastra. Other devas like Kubera, Yama, Varuna and Indra followed suit and blessed each of their potent weapons to Arjuna. Indra also invited his son to his palace in heaven. Arjuna was amazed at the splendor of his father's palace at Amaravati. Dancers like Urvashi, Tilottama, Rambha and Menaka entertained him. There was a huge banquet serving different varieties of heavenly dishes. Arjuna learnt song and dance from the Gandharva, Chitrasena. Indra himself taught him to wield the divine weapons and also gave him his own Vajra.

Urvashi's curse[edit]

Urvashi's curse

Indra noted the passionate glances exchanged between Arjuna and Urvashi during his stay. However, Arjuna refuses her advances, alleging that he had heard of her relationship with his ancestor Pururava, and hence she had the status of a mother, equal in respect to Kunti.[22] Urvashi, annoyed at this, cursed him that he would become a eunuch who would have to live among women, singing and dancing. On Indra's request, and regretting her anger, Urvashi reduced her curse to a period of one year of Arjuna's choice. In some versions of the story, Urvashi curses Arjuna with womanhood, but always reduces the curse to a year's length.

Trial with Devastras: slaying Rakshasas at heaven[edit]

Arjuna gets the opportunity to test his skills with the divine weapons at Indra's palace itself. Arjuna was taken to the palace of the Nivatakavachas, a tribe of Rakshasas who had a magnificent palace under the oceans. Arjuna used the mohini-astra and the madhava-astra to demolish these asuras.

He was also taken to Hiranyapuri, a palace in the sky created by a witch Puloma and his asura tribe of the Kaalakeyas. Here Arjuna uses the Pashupatastra and annihilates the demons.

Meeting Hanuman[edit]

Continuing his quest, Arjuna visits the site of Rama Setu in Dhanushkodi. There, he openly questions why, if Rama had been such a great archer, he hadn't simply built the bridge out of arrows. Hearing this, Hanuman gets angry and challenges Arjuna to prove his superiority by building such a bridge, which Hanuman would try to destroy. Tensions escalate until Arjuna pledges to defeat Hanuman or kill himself, going so far as to frivolously use divine weapons to

build the bridge, while Hanuman uses his god-given strength and ability to increase his size to destroy Arjuna's bridge. Eventually, Krishna intervenes, criticizing Arjuna for his excessive pride and Hanuman for allowing his love of Rama to overcome his pacifism. Regaining his sense, Hanuman pledges to reside in Arjuna's standard(flag) during the Kurukshetra war.[23]

Eunuch at Virata's Kingdom[edit]

Brihannala - Eunuch at Virata's KingdomMain article: Brihannala

Along with his brothers, Arjuna spent his last year of exile in the kingdom of Virata, Hastinapura. This is the place where Urvashi's curse is implemented and Arjuna becomes a eunuch called Brihannala (within themselves Pandavas called him Vijaya).[24] At the palace, he teaches song and dance, qualities he had learnt from Chitrasena, to the King Virata's daughter, Uttarā. Later, Arjuna arranges for Uttara to become his daughter-in-law by marrying his son Abhimanyu to her. At the same time, he prevents Subhadra from marrying Abhimanyu to Balarama's daughter Vatsala, as the Kurus find cousin-cousin marriages taboo.

Hearing about the death of Kichaka, Duryodhana surmises that the Pandavas were hiding in Matsya. A host of Kaurava warriors attack Virata, presumably to steal their cattle, but in reality, desiring to pierce the Pandavas' veil of anonymity. Full of bravado, Virata's son Uttar attempts to take on the army by himself while the rest of the Matsya army has been lured away to fight Susharma and the Trigartas. Per Draupadi's suggestion, Uttar takes Brihannala with him, as his charioteer. When he sees the Kaurava army, Uttar loses his nerve and attempts to flee. There, Arjuna reveals his identity and those of his brothers'. Switching places with Uttar, Arjuna takes up the Gandiva and Devadatta. Eager to defend the land that had given him refuge, Arjuna single-handedly defeats this legion of Kaurava warriors, putting them to sleep using divine weapons. He takes their scarves to present to Uttara as a gift.

Kurukshetra War[edit]

Bhagavad Gita[edit]

A statue of Arjuna and Lord Krishna, with Krishna as the sarathi or charioteerMain article: Bhagavad Gita

As the battle draws close, Arjuna is overcome with self-doubt about the righteousness of the war against his own kith and kin. He is aggrieved at the thought of having to fight with his dear teacher, Drona and the fatherlike Bhishma. It was then that Krishna took charge and explained the necessity and inevitability of the war to Arjuna. This conversation is a key part of the Mahabharata known as Bhagavadgita, and is considered as a holy scripture of Hinduism.

Arjuna plays the role of the reader in the Bhagavad Gita. As Krishna dispenses the advice, Arjuna asks the questions.

The Bhagavad Gita primarily takes the form of a philosophical dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna.

Battles fought at Kurukshetra[edit]

Defeat of Jayadratha

Arjuna was a key Pandava warrior and played a huge role in the Kurukshetra war. His flag bore the symbol of Hanuman.[25]

Some of the crucial battles fought by Arjuna are as follows:

Death of Bhagadatta: On the thirteenth day when Abhimanyu was slayed. Arjuna was busy fighting Bhagaddata the king of Pragjyotisha who came with a thousand elephants and attacked him. During the battle Bhagaddata shot an irresistible arrow Vaishnavastra

which could kill Arjun but he was saved by Krishnas timely intervation. Which fell on Krishna nd formed a garland. Bhagadatta was later killed by an arrow shot by Arjun

Defeat of Bhisma: Throughout the first nine-days of battle, Arjuna was unable to defeat Bhisma. At times, the most he was able to do was drive Bhisma's chariot away. This was partially due to his own reluctance to fight his grandsire, as well as Bhisma's terrific skill. As Krishna became frustrated with Arjuna, he took up arms against Bhishma himself, at least twice. Not wanting history to blame Arjuna for forcing Krishna to break his vow of non-aggression, Arjuna managed to talk Krishna down and fought with renewed vigor. On the tenth day of the war, after asking Bhishma himself how to best defeat him, Arjuna took Shikhandi in his chariot. As Bhishma would not raise weapons against a woman, Arjuna was able to attack Bhisma unimpeded. Tears flowing from his eyes, Arjuna pierced Bhishma's entire body with arrows, eventually forcing Bhisma to fall down with Arjuna's arrows acting as a bed. Per Bhishma's request, he provided a pillow of arrows for his head, as well as water by piercing the earth and allowing Ganga to nourish her son.[26]

Killing of the Trigartas: Attempting to distract him so that Dronacharya could capture Yudhishthira, Susharma and the Trigarthas challenged Arjuna to a fight to the death. On the twelfth and thirteenth days of battle, Arjuna killed them to a man.[27]

Defeat of Jayadratha: Arjuna held Jayadratha responsible for Abhimanyu's death on the thirteenth day of the war. He vowed to kill him the very next day before sunset, failing which he would kill himself by jumping in a pyre. The Kauravas hid Jayadratha from Arjuna, knowing that Arjuna's death would result in a Kaurava victory. However, Krishna created an artificial eclipse by using his Sudarshana Chakra to hide the sun, forcing Kauravas to believe the day was over and Arjuna's death was imminent. Wishing to mock Arjuna, Jayadratha went to the head of the army in joy, even as the sun emerged from the eclipse. Arjuna promptly used one of his most powerful weapons, Vayavastra (wind weapon) to slaughter Jayadratha. This was difficult because Jayadratha had a boon from his father that whoever would be responsible for his head falling to the ground would have his own head blown up. That is why Arjuna used the Vayavastra to carry the decapitated head of Jayadratha to his father, who was awaken from his meditation by the sudden landing of a decapitated head on his body and since he ended up dropping it to the ground, he had his head blown up.

Arjuna Slays Karna, page from a copy of the Razmnama, Mughal period Defeat of Karna: Karna and Arjuna were sworn enemies in the epic, each having taken

an oath to kill the other in the battle. On the seventeenth day of battle the two foes faced each other once more. This battle between Arjuna and Karna is perhaps the most cataclysmic and awesome of the great epic. Krishna anticipated a likely battle to the death between Karna and Arjuna. The warriors on the battlefield and the devas in heaven watched the battle in speechless amazement and terrified admiration of the strength and skill of these greatest of warriors. The epic states that initially, the battle was even between the two foes, but then Karna's chariot wheel became stuck in the mud. Further, owing to a curse Karna received from his guru Parasurama, Karna forgot the mantra to invoke the Brahmastra. The epic stated that Arjuna, always righteous, hesitated to attack his foe at this juncture. Reminding Arjuna of all the atrocities that Karna committed against the Pandavas, such as his instigation and participation of their wife Draupadi's public humiliation and disrobing and his participation in the treacherous and cowardly killing of Arjuna's son Abhimanyu, Krishna commanded Arjuna to attack. Krishna reminded Arjuna that Karna sided with adharma and had no right at this point in his life to hide behind the rules of engagement. Arjuna decapitated Karna using the Anjalika weapon. Later, when it was revealed that Karna was actually Arjuna's older brother, Arjuna's Gandiva slipped from his grasp for the first time. Arjuna became haunted by Karna's killing, and took it upon himself to treat Vrishakethu, Karna's only remaining son, with great care.

Conquest for Ashvamedha[edit]After the conclusion of the war, the Pandavas take charge of Hastinapura, the undivided realm of their ancestors. Yudhishira appointed Arjuna as the in-charge for the army and security forces of Hastinapura.[28]

Yudhisthira decided to hold the Ashvamedha Yagna, or "horse sacrifice", to grant them the title of Chakravarti ("Emperor"). Arjuna led the armed forces which followed the horse around its random wanderings. He received the submission of many kings, either without or following an armed confrontation. He was thus instrumental in the expansion of the Pandava domains. Some of the campaigns are as under:

Uttarapatha , including those of Pragjyotisha, Uluka, Modapura, Vamadeva, Sudaman, Susankula, Northern Uluka, Puru kingdom of Viswagaswa, Utsava-Sanketa, Lohita, Trigarta, Darava, Abhisara, Kokonada, Ursa, Simhapura, Suhma, Sumala, Balhika, Darada, Kamboja.

Transoxiana region (Sakadvipa or Scythia), the Lohas, Parama Kambojas, Northern Rishikas (or Parama Rishikas), Limpurushas, Haratakas, Gandharvas and the Uttarakurus.

Trigarta : Ketuvarman and Dhritavarman

King Vajradatta, son of Bhagadatta

Saindhava

Manipura and death by Babruvahana:

Arjuna is killed by his son Babhruvahana in battle - a composite Razmnama illustration circa 1616

Arjuna went to Manipura, where the king was Babruvahana, his own son with Chitrangadaa. Seeing his father Babruvahana came all the way to receive Arjuna. Arjuna was very upset that Babruvahana did not respect the duties worthy of a King and did not ask for war. He cursed his son as a coward and asked him to prepare for war. In the fight between father and son Babruvahana killed Arjuna, but Ulupi, the snake-princess used the Mritasanjivani, a boon from Ganga Devi to bring Arjuna back to life. It is later stated that the defeat was because of Arjuna's using Shikhandi to plot Bhishma's death.[29]

Magadha , Rajagriha and King Meghasandhi

Chedi and other kingdoms

Kasi, Anga, Kosala, Kirata and Tanga kingdoms. Arjuna accepted due honors from respective rulers.

Dakarna

Nishada: Arjuna was able to defeat the Nishada King, the son of Eklavya.

Andhra people led by Mahishaksha, tribes of Kolwa hills

Saurashtra , Gokarn city and Prabhaska

Dwarvati and Vrishni race

Punjab

Gandhara

Death[edit]Upon the onset of the Kali yuga and the departure of Lord Krishna, Arjuna and other Pandavas retired, leaving the throne to their only descendant to survive the war of Kurukshetra, Arjuna's grandson Parikshita. Giving up all their belongings and ties, the Pandavas, accompanied by a dog, made their final journey of pilgrimage to the Himalayas. It is also to be noted that the listener of the Mahabharata is Janamejay, Parkishit's son.

Except for Yudhishthir, all of the Pandavas grow weak and die before reaching heaven (only Yudhishthir is allowed to keep his mortal body). When Bhima asks Yudhishthira why Arjuna isn't permitted the same, the reason given is Arjuna's extreme pride in his skills as an archer and his vain belief that no one would ever be a better archer than him. Also, Draupadi falls because while she claimed to love all the Pandavas equally, she had a soft spot for Arjuna.

Character of Arjuna[edit]

This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: Lack of citations/clarity; reads like a general essay; needs fresh write-up. Please help improve this section if you can. (July 2012)

Arjuna meets Krishna at Prabhasa teertha

The character of Arjuna is described as one whose mind is spotless and clean of all impurities. Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita refers to Arjuna as Anagha, which means pure of heart or sinless. Arjuna's nobility is manifested in his magnanimity in victory and compassion towards adversaries. He bears all the injustice of the Kauravas with stoicism and yet hesitates to kill them just before the war.

As Nara of Nara Narayana (an avatar of Vishnu), Arjuna embodies Kshatriya manhood. Krishna being Narayana of the Nara Narayana avatar, symbolizes the atman, and hence the two are inseparable. Arjuna was chosen by Krishna to be his dearest friend and disciple. In the great epic, on several occasions, Krishna reveals his great and eternal love for Arjuna. Krishna states that no one in the world is dearer to him than Arjuna and that there is nothing in the world that he wouldn't give his friend. In the epic, when Arjuna takes a vow to either kill Jayadratha before sunset or else immolate himself, Krishna remarks to his charioteer, Daruka, that neither his wives nor friends nor kinsmen nor relatives nor any other is dearer to him than Arjuna. He further states that he is unable to live in a world deprived of Arjuna for even a moment. Krishna refers to Arjuna as Purusharshva, which translates to best of men.

Modern references[edit]

The Arjuna Award presented every year by the government of India to one talented sportsman in every national sport

Arjuna's extraordinary talent and skills have made him a common name in popular culture.

The American astronomer Tom Gehrels named a class of asteroids with low inclination, low eccentricity and earth-like orbital period as Arjuna asteroids.[30][31]

The Arjuna Award is presented every year in India to one talented sportsman in every national sport.

Arjun is a third generation main battle tank developed for the Indian Army.

Mayilpeeli Thookkam is a ritual art of dance performed in the temples of Kerala. It is also known as Arjuna Nrithyam (lit. Arjuna's dance) as a tribute to his dancing abilities.

There have been a serial and a film based on Arjuna's life and exploits.

Earth Maiden Arjuna is a Japanese animated television series created by Shoji Kawamori. This series is based on Arjuna and the Mahabharata. Arjuna: Into the Another World is the soundtrack produced for the series.

Arjun: The Warrior Prince is a 2012-mythological action film narrating the events in Arjuna's life.

Additionally, the protagonist in Steven Pressfield's book The Legend of Bagger Vance, Rannulph Junuh, is based in part on Arjuna (R. Junuh).[32]

Notes[edit]1. Jump up ^ "The Mahabharata". Retrieved 3 November 2013.2. Jump up ^ "The Bhagavad Gita". Retrieved 3 November 2013.

3. Jump up ^ The Mahabharata. New York, NY: Penguin Classics. 2009. ISBN 0140446818.

4. Jump up ^ The Bhagavad Gita. New York, NY: Penguin Classic. 2003. ISBN 0140449183.

5. Jump up ^ Menon, [translated by] Ramesh (2006). The Mahabharata : a modern rendering. New York: iUniverse, Inc. p. 72. ISBN 9780595401871.

6. Jump up ^ Fowler, Jeaneane Fowler, Merv. Bhagavad Gita : a text & commentary for students. Brighton: Sussex Academic. p. 10. ISBN 9781845193461.

7. Jump up ^ Kapoor, edited by Subodh (2002). The Indian encyclopaedia : biographical, historical, religious, administrative, ethnological, commercial and scientific (1st ed.). New Delhi: Cosmo Publications. p. 1927. ISBN 9788177552577.

8. Jump up ^ Sarma, Bharadvaja (2008). Vyasa's Mahabharatam in eighteen parvas : the great epic of India in summary translation. Kolkata, India: Academic Publishers. p. 372. ISBN 9788189781682.

9. Jump up ^ Lochtefeld, James G. (2002). The illustrated encyclopedia of Hinduism. (1st. ed.). New York: Rosen. pp. 194–196. ISBN 9780823931798.

10. Jump up ^ Parmeshwaranand, Swami (2001). Encyclopaedic dictionary of Purāṇas (1st ed.). New Delhi: Sarup & Sons. pp. 512–513. ISBN 9788176252263.

11. Jump up ^ Menon, [translated by] Ramesh (2006). The Mahabharata : a modern rendering. New York: iUniverse, Inc. pp. 220–235. ISBN 9780595401871.

12. ^ Jump up to: a b Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa. Teddington, Middlesex: The Echo Library. 2008. pp. 518–520. ISBN 9781406870459.

13. ^ Jump up to: a b Menon, [translated by] Ramesh (2006). The Mahabharata : a modern rendering. New York: iUniverse, Inc. pp. 302–304. ISBN 9780595401871.

14. Jump up ^ Verma, retold by Virendra; Verma, Shanti (1989). The Mahābhārata : (the great epic of ancient India). New Delhi: Pitambar Pub. Co. p. 28. ISBN 9788120907324.

15. Jump up ^ The Mahabharata, Book 1 of 18: Adi Parva. Forgotten Books. pp. 513–515. ISBN 9781605066110.

16. Jump up ^ "Mahabharata Text".

17. Jump up ^ Menon, [translated by] Ramesh (2006). The Mahabharata : a modern rendering. New York: iUniverse, Inc. p. 266. ISBN 9780595401871.

18. Jump up ^ "Mahabharata Text".

19. Jump up ^ "Mahabharata Text".

20. Jump up ^ "Mahabharata Text".

21. Jump up ^ "Mahabharata Text".

22. Jump up ^ Menon, [translated by] Ramesh (2006). The Mahabharata : a modern rendering. New York: iUniverse, Inc. p. 467. ISBN 9780595401871.

23. Jump up ^ "Hanuman and Arjuna".

24. Jump up ^ Kapoor, edited by Subodh (2002). The Indian encyclopaedia : biographical, historical, religious, administrative, ethnological, commercial and scientific (1st ed.). New Delhi: Cosmo Publications. p. 4462. ISBN 9788177552577.

25. Jump up ^ Menon, [translated by] Ramesh (2006). The Mahabharata : a modern rendering. New York: iUniverse, Inc. p. 563. ISBN 9780595401888.

26. Jump up ^ Ganguly, Kisari. "The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa".

27. Jump up ^ Menon, [translated by] Ramesh (2006). The Mahabharata : a modern rendering. New York: iUniverse, Inc. ISBN 9780595401888.

28. Jump up ^ "Mahabharata Text".

29. Jump up ^ "Mahabharata Text".

30. Jump up ^ S. Lewis, John (1996). Rain of iron and ice: the very real threat of comet and asteroid bombardment. Addison-Wesley Pub. Co. pp. 82–83.

31. Jump up ^ Lee, Ricky J. Law and regulation of commercial mining of minerals in outer space. Dordrecht: Springer. ISBN 9789400720398.

32. Jump up ^ Gita on the Green: The Mystical Tradition Behind Bagger Vance - Steven Rosen - Google Boeken. Books.google.com. 2002-05-30. ISBN 9780826413659. Retrieved 2013-08-09.

Longevity Of Bhishma And Vyasa Created by Jijith Nadumuri at 22 May 2010, 20:39 and updated at 30 Jul 2010, 20:56

Source: http://ancientvoice.wikidot.com/longevity-of-bhishma-and-vyasa#toc9

Mahabharata mentions Bhishma and Vyasa to be born during the time of Kuru king Santanu. Bhishma is mentioned as living to see up to the fifth generation of Santanu (Abhimanyu). Vyasa is mentioned as living to see upto 9th generation of Santanu (Janamejaya's grandson Aswamedhadatta). The lineage from Santanu upto Aswamedhadatta is as follows:- Santanu > Vichitravirya > Pandu > Arjuna > Abhimanyu > Parikshit > Janamejaya > Satanika > Aswamedhadatta.

Explanation based on a generation gap of 15 yearsSome researchers explain it by considering the gap between successive generations to be 15 years. I find this approach problematic when applied to Bhishma or Vyasa. If we consider that Bhishma was aged 20 when Vichitravirya was born, and we add 15 years for successive generations, we have Pandu born when Bhishma was at 35, Arjuna born when Bhishma was at 50 and Abhimanyu born when Bhishma was at 65. If we add 15 more years we get Bhishma's age during Kurukshetra war to be 80 and Abhimanyu's age then to be 15. In the next year Parikshit is to be born. If we consider the case of Vyasa, we get that he was aged 95 when Janamejaya was born and 110 when Satanika was born and 125 when Aswamedhadata was born. Vyasa is considered elder to Bhishma so if we add 5 years, his age when Aswamedhadatta was born becomes 130. When Janamejaya asks Vyasa to narrate Mahabharata his grandson Ashwamedhadatta was already born. These are the usual assumption many researchers make.

Problem to this assumptions are the following. Only there were a few cases where generation gap was as low as 15. This is especially true in the case of Santanu's line till Aswamedhadatta. As per Mahabharata, the only member of this lineage who became king and married early in life was Vichitravirya. Others became king and married in their prime youth. There are references in many ancient literature dealing with the age at which the successor of a king should be appointed as heir-apparent (Yuva-Raja) and later as a king (Raja). According to these, the minimum age at which one should be appointed as heir-apparent is 20 and the minimum age he should be appointed king is 25. Remember that these were the minimum ages. In case of Parikshit, he became king at the age of 36.

Phases of the life of a prince till he becomes kingTill the age of 6, a prince is considered as a child (Sishu) and lives primarily under the protection of his mother. From the age 6 to 12 he is considered as a boy (Baala). Education of a prince starts at the age of 6. He will be made familiarized with scriptures and various sciences and philosophies which were transmitted by oral traditions. From the age 12 to 24 the prince is considered as a tean-ager (Kumara). A prince become fit for military education at the age of 12. Twelve years is one revolution of the planet Jupiter (Guru) . He is then sent to Guru-Kula (the abode of the Guru) for education. Usually, military education last for 12 years (one revolution of Guru or Jupiter). During this period, his should be a bachelor (Brahmachari) and should not marry and beget children. When he comes out of Guru-kula he is already 24. From then onwards he is

considered as a youth (Yuva). If he is the eldest son, he is then installed as the heir-apparent (Yuva-Raja). After a period of time he is installed as the king (Raja). Thus he cannot be a king before he turns 25.

Sometimes the prince is declared heir-apparent before the completion of his life in Guru-kula, while he is being educated. So it is fine, for a prince to become heir apparent at the age of 20. There were also another system in which the 12 years of education (military or other) is considered as starting from the age of 6 to 18. Based on this, a prince is considered as a youth (Yuva) when he becomes 18 or 19 years of age. So the age to become a Yuva (youth) varies between 18 to 24. In any case, he becomes a king and is permitted to end his bachelor life only after his Guru-Kula and thus would have completed 18 to 24 years of his life.

Usually younger brothers of the eldest prince who was supposed to become the king was given education along with the eldest and their ages are not given much weight.

If these norms are to be violated, there should be exceptional circumstances. For example, if the throne is empty due to death of an existing king, his son, if he is beyond 12 years of age, should be immediately made heir-apparent and then king even if he has not attained the age to become king. Some times he is also permitted to marry early. This is what happened in the case of Vichitravirya. Mahabharata mention that Vichitravirya had not attained the age to become king when he was installed at the throne of Hastinapura. He was made to marry as soon as he became king. Unfortunately it was these premature kingship and marriage that contributed to his illness and early death. Since the throne was once again empty while Pandu was supposed to be next king, I guess Pandu too became king early in his life and married early, though this was not explicitly mentioned in Mahabharata, like in the case of Vichitravirya. We see that Pandu too, like Vichitravirya, died early.

Explanation based on missing generationsBelow is a table showing the probable ages of the members of the generation from Santanu upto Janamejaya's grandson Aswamedhadatta. It includes the ages of Bhishma and Vyasa. I have considered two Bhishmas (Devavrata of Santanu's time and Bhishma of Pandava's time) and three Vyasas (Vyasa who lived since the time of Santanu up to the birth of Parikshit, another Vyasa who lived since the time of Pandu up to the birth of Satanika and yet another Vyasa who lived since the time of Abhimanyu and lived to ask his disciple Vaishampayana to narrate Mahabharata to Janamejaya). I considered Yudhisthira's age when Abhimanyu was born to be 29 while many others consider Yudhisthira still older when this happened. I consider Yudhisthira's age during Kurukshetra War to be 49, while many other traditions keep his age at this time to be 70 plus which will push Bhishma's age still further to the level of absurdity.

Assumptions on the life-expectancy of ancient peopleThere are several myths about the length of life of ancient people. Some Puranas say that in old days people lived up to a 1000 years and some times 10,000 years! There was also the concept of Chiranjeevees, viz those who live for ever!. What is the reality behind all these? Is there any truth in the belief that people live less in this modern age and lived longer in the ancient age? Some of these are pure fiction but there are some truth in the longevity of certain individuals. A few thousand years back there was no pollution. The atmosphere was clear. The air, water and food were all pure and poison free. People in those days also had to be more physically active. So their bodies were fine-tuned to live up to 120 years of age. No body died in those days due to blood pressure or diabetes. So I consider living up to 100 years was not a problem in those days. I also believe that the number of people who attained the age of 120 was higher in those days compared to what we see today. A lucky few among the ancients lived up to 130. Usually people who lead an ascetic life were able to control their body functions so that their body clock ticked

slowly enabling them to live up to 120 or 130 years. There was also practice of Yoga. Yoga is a very ancient practice and I have no doubt that it was practiced during the period of Mahabharata too. Yoga was practiced by ascetics and warriors alike. There was also an efficient system of medicine called Ayurveda which specialized in revitalizing the body when it turned old, making the body youthful again. Ayurveda and Yoga exist today also but their efficiency is reduced. Herbal medicines used in Ayurveda also is subject to pollution now. Yoga also is practiced today with less accuracy.

So I consider that a 100 year old during the Mahabharata era was as healthy as today's 70 year old. However there is danger in generalizing this to every individual. People also age faster due to constant mental agitation. People like Santanu and Dhritatashtra subjected themselves to mental agitation and aged faster. Others like Vichitravirya and Pandu died early in their life due to diseases and con-genital weaknesses in their body. Thus premature deaths due to weak body and disease also was not uncommon in those days. Chitrangada and Abhimanyu died early in battle-fields. Battles were another cause for death (premature or otherwise) of many people in those days. Epics also indicate that in those days there was high level of infant mortality. Out of eight sons of Ganga by Santanu only Devavrata, the eight, survived. Out of eight sons of Devaki only Krishna survived.

On a side note:- Mythological explanation is that mother herself killed her sons by drowning them into river as they were born and spared only the 8th one Devavrata. But the reality seems to be that they were born dead or became dead soon after their birth, so that their bodies were drowned into river. In case of Krishna, instead of the mother, the blame for killing the babies were put on their maternal uncle Kansa. For more about this see the article on Mahabharata-episode2.

Thus we can conclude that though there were high infant-mortality in those days, once people started living, they lived long. People may die due to some weakness in the body due to birth defects or if they were unlucky to catch some contagious disease. They may also die in war or in an accident. Otherwise, if left to live, they lived up to 120 years without any health problems. If the person belong to the warrior class we can discount some ten years from his life, due to wear and tear of his body, on account of the physical exertion in battles. If on the other hand the person is a sage leading an ascetic life, we can add ten more years to his normal life of 120 years, enabling him to live up to 130 years. Thus we can safely assume that the life-expectancy of Bhishma who was a warrior was a minimum of 110 years and a maximum of 120 years. Similarly we can assume that the life-expectancy of Vyasa who was a sage was a minimum of 120 years and a maximum of 130 years.

Table of Ages

Events

San tanu

Satya vati

Deva vrata

Bhishma

Vyasa

Vyasa2

Vyasa3

Chitr angada

Vichitra virya

Am balika

Pandu

Dhrita rashtra

Yudhi sthira

Abhi manyu

Parikshit

Jana mejaya

Satanika

Aswa medha datta

Santanu Weds Ganga

25

Devavrata Born

35 0

Vyasa Born

54

16

19 0

Santanu Marry Satyavati

60

22

25 6

Chitrangada Born

61

23

26 7 0

Vichitravirya Born

75

37

40

21

14 0

Santanu dea

83

45

48

10

29

22

8

d

Chitrangada King

48

51

13

32

25

11

Chitrangada Dead, Vichitravirya King

54

57

19

38

31

17

Vichitravira marries

55

58

20

39

18

17

Vichitravirya dies

62

65

27

46

25

24

Dhritarashtra, Pandu, Vidura born

64

67

29

48

26 0 0

Pandu King

82

85

47

66

16

44

18

18

Pandu Marries

84

87

49

68

18

46

20

20

Yudhishthira born

88

91

53

72

22

50

24

24 0

Pandu dies

92

95

57

76

26

54

28

28 4

Satavati retires to forest

93

96

58

77

27

55

29 5

Abhimanyu born to Arjuna

120

82

101

51

53

29 0

Kurukshetra War, Bhishm

*140

102

121

71

21

73

49

20

a dies

Parikshit born

122

72

22

74

50 0

Janamejaya born

*147

97

47

99

75

25 0

Dwaraka War

*157

107

57

85

35

10

Parikshit King

*158

108

58

86

36

11

Yudhisthira dies

*160

110

60

88

38

13

Parikshit dies; Satanika Born; Janamejaya

*172

122

72

50

25

0

king

Aswamedhadatta born

*197

*147

97

50

25 0

Recital of Mahabharata

*202

*152

102

55

30 5

*Ages that I consider as impossible or less likely to occur

Assumptions on the Ages of IndividualsBelow are some of the assumptions on ages of individuals used to arrive at these figures. This research is ongoing and so the figures shown above or below or the assumptions made are not final.

Assumptions

Santanu's age when marrying Ganga 25

Years since the marriage and birth of 8th son Devavrata 10

Satyavati's age when Vyasa was born 16

Satyavati's age when she weds Santanu 22

Devavrata's age when Santanu weds Satyavati 25

Years since the marriage and birth of Chitrangada 1

Gap between birth of Chitrangada and Vichitravirya 14

Years Santanu lived since birth of Vichitravirya 8

Age of Chitrangada when he became king 25

Years Chitrangada ruled 6

Age of Amvalika while marriage 17

Gap between Vichitravirya's coronation and marriage 1

Gap between Vichitravirya's marriage and and death 7

Gap between Vichitravirya's death an birth of Dhritarashtra 2

Pandu's age when becomes king 18

Gap between Pandu's coronation and his marriage 2

Gap between Pandu's marriage and birth of Yudhisthira 4

Gap between Yudhisthira's birth and Pandu's death 4.25

Age of Yudhisthira when he became heir-apparent 24

House of Lac; Yudhisthira's age 25

Bhima meets Hidimba; Yudhisthira's age 26

Life in Ekachakra; Yudhisthira's age 27

Marriage with Panchali; King of Indraprastha; Arjuna sets for Pilgrimage; Yudhisthira's son from Panchali born; Yudhisthira's age 28

Arjuna weds Subhadra; Bhima's son from Panchali born; Abhimanyu born; Yudhisthira's age 29

Burning of Khandava; Mayasabha construction begins; Arjuna's son from Panchali Born; Yudhisthira's age 30

Nakula's son from Panchali Born; Yudhisthira's age 31

Sahadeva's son from Panchali Born; Mayasabha complete;Yudhisthira's age 32

Jarasandha killed; Yudhisthira's age 33

Rajasuya: Yudhisthira's age 34

Game of Dice; Yudhisthira's age 35

12 year forest life and 1 year ingognito life complete; Yudhisthira's age (lunar years so actually 12 years) 47

War Preparations; Yudhisthira's age 48

Kurukshetra war; Yudhisthira's age 49

Gap between Parikshit's birth and Kurukshetra War 1

Parikshit's age when Janamejaya is born 25

Gap between Kurukshetra war and Dwaraka War 36

Gap between Dwaraka War and coronation of Parikshit 1

Gap Between Parikshit's coronation of Parikshit and death of Yudhisthira 2

Janamejaya's son Satanika born; Parikshit dies; Janamejaya become king; Janamejaya's age 25

Aswamedhadata born to Satanika; Satanika's age 25

Gap between Aswamedhadatta's birth and recital of Mahabharata to Janamejaya 5

Ages of Individuals when Satyavati married SantanuAssume that Santanu completed his Brahmacharya (bachelor life) and 12 year education at the age of 24 and then became heir-apparent (Yuva-Raja) at the age of 24 and king (Raja) at the age of 25. Assume that Santanu married Ganga at the age of 25. Ganga is mentioned as delivering 8 babies of which only Devavrata the 8th, lived as per Mahabharata. If we consider that the babies

are delivered in succession, we can assume 10 years of gap between the marriage and birth of the 8th son, allowing for 5 to 6 months of gaps between birth and conception. Thus we get Devavrata is born when Santanu was 35 years old. When Santanu met Satyavati, Devavrata was already declared heir-apparent (Yuva-Raja). He might have become heir-apparent at the age of 18 or 24 based on when his education ended. Since there was no urgency in making Devavrata, a king, (throne of Hastinapura was not empty; Santanu was still king) we can consider that Devavrata became heir-apparent at the age of 24. Then we can assume that Santanu's marriage with Satyavati happened when Devavrata was 25. This will make Santanu 60 years old. Santanu was living without a wife since Ganga left him. But his focus was now on his son Devavrata. When Devavrata became a youth, and an able future king for the throne of Hastinapura, Santanu's focus turned to himself. When he turned 60 he might have had the urge to have a life-partner. He was then attracted to Satyavati who was then youthful and beautiful.

I presume Satyavati was then a young lady at the ripe age of 22. But we know that Satyavati already had a son viz Vyasa when she married Santanu. Where was Vyasa then? We know from Mahabharata that Vyasa was educated by his father Parasara. As we have seen before, a child is usually not separated from his mother till he turns a boy (bala) or 6 years old. Till Vyasa turns 6 he was just a child (Sisu) and should live with his mother. So we can assume that Vyasa's father Parasara took him from his mother Satyavati when Vyasa was 6 years old. Thus Vyasa might have born when Satyavati was 16 years old. Thus the union between Satyavti and Parasara took place when she was just 15. This also agree with Mahabharata view that Parasara met Satyavati when she was just a girl or not of the ripe age.

Another result of this is that Devavrata was 3 years elder to Satyavati. Mahabharata did not mention if Satyavati was younger or elder to Devavrata. But it was possible in those days for a king to have queens younger than their own elder sons. Sons were supposed to consider women married to their father as their mothers, no matter if they were younger to them or elder to them. This can also be an indirect reason why Santanu hesitated to marry Satyavati and hid it from Devavrata, apart from many other obvious reasons mentioned in Mahabharata.

Age gap between Chitrangada and VichitraviryaNext vital clue come from the fact that Chitrangada became king when he was fit to be a king. There is no mention in Mahabharata that Chitragada had to grow up to be able to become king. After Santanu dies Chitrangada is installed as the king without any complications. But in contrast, we see in Mahabharata, that Vichitravirya was not grown up enough to become a king, when need arose for him to become the king. This is possible if there is a wide gap between the two brothers. I consider Chitrangada to be 14 years elder than Vichitravirya. I also assume Chitrangada was born immediately after the marriage of Satyavati and Santanu. So when Chitrangada was born, Santanu was 61, Satyavati was 23 and Devavrata was 26. After a gap of 14 years Vichitravirya was born. Then Santanu was 75 years old, Satyavati was 37 and Devavrata was 40. For a man to have children at such old age is not impossible. Available records shows children born to men even at the age of 100 and beyond. However, for a man to have healthy children at the age of 75 is very difficult. But what prompted Santanu to have children at that age? After Chitrangada was born, Santanu's infatuation with Satyavati probably ended and he might have filled with the feeling of guilt. He had married a women younger than his own son. Not only that, he made his son to forgo the right to be the future king of Hastinapura and the right to beget children. Because of this he might have distanced himself from his wife. But as a king it is important for him to have more sons. Since Devavrata pledged he won't be king, and since only Chitrangada was there to inherit the kingdom, he might have felt the throne of Hastinapura was insecure. Satyavati too, might have felt the guilt of keeping Devavrata away from the throne, securing it for her children. But that guilt might have overcome by the insecurity that she have only one son. So she might have continuously urged Santanu for another son. This explains the long age gap between Chitrangada and Vichitravirya.

The probability for children born at old age to be unhealthy is high. It seems that Vichitravirya was unhealthy right from his birth. He never participated in any battle. He is never mentioned as supporting his brother Chitrangada when the latter was engaged in a do-or-die battle with the Gandharvas. We may excuse this by considering that Vichitravirya was probably too young for battle then. However, there were no war-songs in the name of Vichitravirya. Even for marriage, he had to depend on Bhishma's valor. No other king is mentioned as depending on others to obtain wife. Usually it was the king or warrior himself who goes to a self-choice (Swayamvara) ceremony and obtain maidens as his wife. In case of Vichitravirya, it was Bhishma who went to the self-choice ceremony to obtain wives for Vichitravirya. All these points fingers at Vichitravirya's health and his ability for physical exhaustion. He also died of a respiratory infection (Phthisis) which is the final clue for his fragile health. His early kingship and early marriage too aggravated his ill-health, which was always with him since his birth from an old-aged father.

Mahabharata mentions the cause of Santanu's death to be old age and mental grief. He did not die in battle. I consider that he was then in his eighties and not in his 120s because he died with constant mental agitation and the feeling of guilt. These always shorten a person's life expectancy. Assume Santanu died at 83. Then Satyavati would be 45, Devavrata 48, Chitrangada 22 and Vichitavirya would be 8 years of age. I consider Chitrangada became heir-apparent (Yuva-Raja) at the age of 24 and king (Raja) at the usual age of 25 after properly completing his 12 year old military education and bachelor life (Brahmacharya). There is nothing in Mahabharata indicating that he became a king prematurely unlike his brother Vichitravirya. But Chitrangada seemed to be busy as a king and a warrior and forgot to marry. As soon as he became king, he went on to military expedition subjugating many kings. Finally he was caught in a 3 year war with the Gandharvas from which he never escaped. I assume Chitrangada spent 3 years for military expansions and the remaining three years of his life engaging in the long war with the Gandharvas. Thus Chitrangada died at the age of 31, when Vichitravirya was just 17 years old. Vichitravirya was then asked to assume the the throne and become king. This matches with the reference in Mahabharata, that he had to become king before attaining the right age to do so. Soon after he became king, he was asked to marry.

There is a reference in Mahabharata at Mbh.1.100 where Santanu is mentioned as enjoying domestic life for 36 years and then retiring to woods! I have avoided this number in my calculation since this was a floating statement. Subsequently it mentions that Devavrata became king after Santanu retired to woods! Thus this is an alternative history on the life of Santanu and Devavrata. I am investigating on this as a separate research-thread, which will be updated on the article on Bhishma. Soon after these statements the Mahabharata narration returns to the main course and describes how king Santanu met the grown up Devavrata for the first time!

Why Amva won't marry Vichitravirya?I presume Vichitravirya was 18 years old (one year after he became king) when she married Amvika and Amvalika. I also assume Amvalika to be one year younger to Vichitravirya, at the age of 17, her elder sister Amvika at 18 equal in age to Vichitravirya and her eldest sister Amva at 19, one year elder to him. It was fine in those days to marry women younger or equal to your age but never those who were elder. This could be yet another reason why Amva would not marry Vichitravirya. The primary reason she mentioned was that she wanted to marry the Salwa king. If this was the only reason she could have married Vichitravirya after she was rejected by Salwa. After all, two of her younger sisters were happily married to Vichitravirya and she was abducted by Bhishma along with them for the whole purpose of marrying her to Vichitravirya. We can also see in Mahabharata that Amva proposed to marry Bhishma. So this Bhishma was certainly elder than Amva. Devavrata's pledge of life-long celibacy was not a secret. There is no doubt that this was known to Amva also. So I do not think the 'Bhishma' that Amva was referring to at this point was Devavrata. This Bhisma was somebody else who was elder than Amva but not the Devavrata, the son of Santanu.

This is where I introduce the other Bhishma who was a Gangeya like Devavrata and probably related to Devavrata, though a strong blood relation which we do not know what. For more details, please refer my analysis in the article on Mahabharata-episode2 upto episode5 and also my article on Bhishma. The summary of this analysis is that Devavrata and Bhishma were different. Bhishma was not a son of Devavrata but of his son's age, belonging to the same tribe (Gangeya tribe). Due to Devavrata and his pledge, all of the members of the Gangeya tribe were supposed to protect the throne of Hastinapura from threats. In other words, they had to server as the generalissimos of the Kuru-army. In Kurukshetra war, Bhishma indeed served as the commander-in-chief of Kuru army under Kuru king Duryodhana. Bhishma inherited from Devavrata, his objective of protecting the Kuru kings and probably decided to remain celibate like Devavrata. Being a Gangeya, protection of Kurus was mandatory for Bhishma. But I consider Bhishma's choice to remain celibate was optional, unlike the case of Devavrata. This could be the reason why Amva asked Bhisma to marry her. What was then the age of Bhishma? Since Amva choose to marry Bhishma, he is certainly elder to Amva. I consider Bhishma 2 years elder than Vichitravirya and 1 year elder to Amva. He could be older than that, but I took the lowest possible age for my analysis. Thus when this incident was happening Bhishma was 20 years old, Amva was 19 years old and Vichitravirya was 18 years old. This also explain the manner in which Bhishma abducted the brides from Kasi. He newer showed the maturity of a 58 year old (Devavrata would be 58 then, as per our calculations). What he exhibited at Kasi was the strength and virility of a 20 year old together with the brashness and immaturity of that age. He considered abducting of the maidens, against their will and defeating and humiliating all the assembled kings as a means to display his valor. The urge of a young warrior who just want to prove himself! Probably he wanted to prove in his own immature ways, that he was worthy of the title 'Bhishma' awarded to him by Devavrata?

Why Amva became angry at Bhishma?When Bhishma proclaimed to Amva that he had pledged to remain celibate, Bhishma was reliving the terrible pledge of Devavrata once again. This was yet another terrible pledge. Thus he might have become once again worthy of the title 'Bhishma'. Amva's reaction was surprising. She was shocked by that statement and chose to become an arch-enemy of Bhishma. It is as if that Amva never knew that Bhishma had made such an oath. If it were Devavrata, then the whole world knew that he had pledged to remain celibate. So there was no need for Amva to propose marriage with him and get shocked to know that he was a celibate. This also strengthen our theory that Amva was indeed speaking to a new Bhishma. May be it was the first time the new Bhishma openly proclaimed his intention to follow the footsteps of Devavrata. Perhaps this was needed to remove the fears of Vichitravirya. Since Bhishma was a different person from Devavrata he had a choice not to become a celibate, and beget children though he may be bound due to his tribal roots as a Gangeya, to protect the throne of Hastinapura, on the basis of Devavrata's old pledge. When Amva asked to marry Bhisma, he removed all the fears from the Kuru house, by revitalizing his predecessor Devavrata's pledge of life-long celibacy. Though this terrible pledge would have made Vichitravirya and Satyavati happy, it would have shattered Amva. She knew her only future was in becoming the wife of Bhishma. She was banished both by her lover Salwa and her father, the king of Kasi, since she was abducted by Bhishma in a brash and immature display of valor. She had all the right to demand Bhishma to marry her. But Bhishma shattered all of this in one blow.

Why Devavrata and Bhishma did not help Chitrangada in his three year long battle?What ever be the impression Bhisma left on others by his impulsive act of abduction, he then became famous as the new and young commander-in-chief of Hastinapura. The intelligent and gentle Devavrata (the old Bhishma and the old commander) gave way to the young and brilliant Bhishma, the new commander! One doubt remain why Devavrata or Bhishma was not mentioned

in the three year war of Chitrangada with the Gandharvas. The answer is that when this war started Bhishma was just 16 years old and was undergoing his military training. Chitrangada's obsession with territory expansion and military expedition started much before the three year war with the Gandharvas. It started since he became king. Then Bhishma, as per our calculations, was just 13 years old. But Devavrata was 51 then. When Chitrangada died he would be at 57. These were certainly not the prime ages for a warrior but they were also not the age for a warrior to retire, during those periods. The answer is that Devavrata was never a great warrior who can fight in the front-line of battle. He probably stayed in Hastinapura defending it from any surprise attacks from the enemies. This was probably needed to protect the king's younger brother viz. Vichitravirya from threats. Remember Santanu chose Devavrata to be a king (Raja), not a commander (Senapati), seeing his intelligence, gentleness and his deep filial devotion. The only example for Devavrata's skill in archery, found mentioned in Mahabharata, was not an achievement in battlefield, but an achievement in engineering field. He impressed Santanu by constructing a dam made of arrows in the course of river Ganga.

What happened to Devavrata of Santanu era if he is not Bhishma of Pandava era?What happened to Devavrata, the old Bhishma? After witnessing the death of his father he might have felt life meaningless. His filial devotion was very strong. After all, Santanu had no problem in accepting Devavrata as his long lost son. He did not question his wife Ganga, if the son that she was returning to him after many years of separation was indeed his own son. People of the kingdom might have doubted on the validity of Ganga's claim, but Santanu never doubted Ganga or his son. Contrast this with Dushyanta, who doubted his wife Sakuntala and son when Sakuntala came to reunite with him along with their son Bharata. Santanu's faith in Devavrata and his mother was returned by Devavrata in the form of his strong devotion to his father. This filial devotion was the motivation for the whole of his life. It is what made him to make the terrible promise by which he sacrificed his right to throne and the right to beget children at one blow. He might have lost the will to live after his beloved father's death. But his sense of duty and his pledge of protecting his father's sons and there by the throne of Hastinapura might have urged him to live on. But when Chitrangada died in battle, Devavrata's promise was part broken! He could not prevent the death of Chitrangada. He might have considered this as his failure. He failed in protecting the throne of Hastinapura! Probably he might have chosen to retire. Probably he installed Vichitravirya at the throne of Hastinapura and retired to woods transferring his title and his pledge to another member of his tribe, viz. the new and young Bhishma.

Another possibility is based on a clue in the form of a boon that Santanu is mentioned as giving Devavrata. In response to Devavrata's terrible pledge that enable him to marry Satyavati, he gave his son the boon to die whenever he wished to do so (Swachanda-Mrtyu). In simple terms, this was the right to commit suicide. Devvrata might have exercised this right after the coronation of Vichitravirya. A third possibility is that he died an infamous death in the war between Chitrangada and the Gandharvas, which the bards won't talk about or sing war-songs about. This will require that Vichitravirya was installed at the throne by the 19 year old Bhishma. Because of this I don't put much weight on this possibility. But if we consider that it was not Bhishma, but some others like a priest who installed Vichitravirya, there is no problem. But Mahabharata explicitly mentions Bhishma's role in the installation of Vichitravirya at the throne and no other than the old Bhishma viz. Devavrata fits into that role.

Ages of individuals during the birth of PanduIt is mentioned in Mahabharata that Vichitravirya lived 7 years of fruitless married life and died. So his age at the time of death was 25. It was too young an age to die! Then Satyavati would be at 62, Devavrata if alive would be at 65, Bhishma as per our calculation would be at 27, Amva at 26, Amvika at 25 and Amvalika at 24. As per Mahabharata, Satyavati was alarmed by the empty

throne of Hastinapura and wanted new heirs for the kingdom as quickly as possible. After one year of mourning, Satyavati would have asked Bhishma to beget children upon the wives of Vichitravirya. But Bhishma stuck to his pledge or remaining a celibate. Then she might have invited her elder son Vyasa for the same task. Based on our calculations, Vyasa then would be aged 47. This explain the strange behavior exhibited by Amviaka and Amvalika when Vyasa entered their rooms. They were used to see Vichitravirya who was at his prime youth. Though Mahabharata mention Vichitravirya as weak-bodied he was mentioned as extremely handsome and very young. Instead they were seeing a 47 year old sage! At most they might have expected that it would be the youthful Bhishma of 28 years of age. But Vyasa at the age of 47 with his matted locks and sage like primitive outlook might have been terrible for them. Since Vyasa impregnated the three ladies, viz, Amvika's servant (Dasi), Amvika and Amvalika within a weeks time, the children viz. Vidura, Dhritarashta, and Pandu might have born more or less during the same year. There is an interesting article about the birth of the three viz. Vidura, Dhritarashtra and Pandu by a writer named Indaajeet here. I tend to agree with most of his findings. The major point of his analysis is that Vidura was the elder than Dhritarashta and Pandu. In any case, age gap between them was a few days. Assuming that they were born two years after Vichitravirya's death, due to urgency of the situation, Satyavti would be then at 64, Bhishma at 29 and Amvalika at 26.

Ages of Individuals during the death of PanduSince Dhritarashtra was blind and since Vidura was born of a servant (Dasi), among the three of them, Pandu was chosen as the king. I presume that Pandu too became king at an early age like Vichitravirya, urged by a vacant throne. Vichitravirya became king at 17 and married at 18. Pandu, however had the mindset of a conqueror like Chitrangada (unlike Vichitravirya). Considering that Pandu became king at the tender age of 18 and spend some time in military expeditions and territory expansion like Chitrangada, he might have married at the age of 20. He won Kunti in a self-choice ceremony as his first wife. But he remained childless even after one year. Bhishma might have sensed some problem and chose Madri as second wife for Pandu. When Pandu was at 20, Bhishma would be at 49 and no longer an immature teen-ager when he abducted the Kasi maidens. He was now mature. He went to Madra kingdom and bought Madri by paying money to Madra king Shalya the brother of Madri, as that was the custom prevailed in Madra kingdom. This time there were no battle and it was a peaceful affair. But his basic character remains the same, which is, if a maiden cannot be abducted by force, buy her! He also brought Gandhari from the Gandhara Kingdom as wife for the blind Dhritarashtra. Both Madra and Gandhara were Bahlika kingdoms and lied very close to each other. Their cultures were same. Bhishma probably bought Gandhari by paying money to Sakuni, the brother of Gandhari, the same way he bought Madri by paying tribute to Shalya. We can accept that Bhishma bought a wife for Dhritarashtra since he was blind and there was no other way he could get a wife from a decent royal family. Why did he bought Madri for Pandu? Perhaps Madri was Bhishma's choice for Pandu while Kunti was Pandu's own choice. But when there was no son born to Pandu even in his new wife Madri, after one year of their marriage, Pandu too sensed trouble. This was going like the 7 year long fruitless marital life of Vichitravirya!

This could be the reason why Pandu left to live in a forest-retreat along with his two wives. Assume that Pandu married Madri at the age of 21, after the 1 year long married life with Kunti became fruitless. Assume that 1 year long life with Madri too became fruitless. Then he was at 22. He might have left to the forest-retreat with his two wives at this time. Pandu did not went to forest for performing penance, because he took his wives too. So, in the forest he was trying to mate with his two wives to beget children. Perhaps forest retreat gave him a fresh environment, where he though would make his unions fruitful. Perhaps there were some herbal medicine or a herbal treatment offered by the sages that could cure Pandu's apparent impotency. After 1 year of trials, Pandu (age: 23) might have frustrated and finally opted to follow the route of Niyoga for begetting children. This was the same practice by which Pandu was born. It was the practice prevailed in royal palaces when a king becomes issue-less, his wife was impregnated by other able men. Thus we can assume that Yudhisthira was born when Pandu was 24 years of age.

Assume that gap between the birth of Yudhisthira and Bhima was 1.5 and between Bhima and Arjuna was 1.5. The gap between Arjuna and the twins (Nakula and Sahadeva) could be 8 months or less. A gap of 1.5 years are needed for healthy pregnancies of a mother in succession. Since the twins were born to Madri, and Arjuna to Kunti, gap between Arjuna's birth and the birth of the twins can be shorter. When the twins were born, Pandu was thus aged at around 28. There is an interesting article on the birth of Pandavas written by Indrajeet here. The important point I take from Indrajeet's analysis is that Arjuna was Pandu's own son. Though Yudhisthira and Bhima were born of Niyoga, Pandu was finally able to cure his impotency and father Arjuna upon his wife Kunti. When Madri begged for a son, Arjuna was probably not born (may be 8 months old inside womb) and so it would not be clear to Kutni or Pandu that their union had really succeeded. So Pandu might have advised Madri for Niyoga for begetting children. Thus the twins were born by Madri through Niyoga. If Madri had conceived when Kunti's last pregnancy was 8 months old, she will deliver the twins after 9.5 months and Kunti will deliver Arjuna after 1.5 more months, both being healthy pregnancies. Thus Arjuna was only eight months older than Nakula and Sahadeva.

After six months since the birth of the twins, Madri became capable of giving birth to another child. Now it was also clear that Pandu was capable of begetting children. Madri might have wanted a child from Pandu. But their union turned to a tragedy. Pandu might have died of a heart complication probably because of some congenital illness. Mahabharata mentions that Pandu was anemic and hence whitish in complexion. He might have lacked sufficient red-blood cells in his blood. This would have prevented sufficient oxygen flow to his brain while engaged in physical exertion, leading to unconsciousness and death. This could be the reason why he was never able to beget children before and Arjuna's birth was probably a miracle or the result of concentrated medical treatment. This could also be the reason why there was so much of celebration when Arjuna was born.

In any case, we can assume that Pandu was a little above 28 years of age when he died. At that time Yudhisthira was above 4 years old , Amvalika the mother of Pandu was 54 years old Satyavati, the grandmother of Pandu was at 92. We learn from Mahabharata that, after Pandu's death, the sage in the forest sent the Pandavas and Kunti to Hastinapura and then onwards they lived there. One year after that we see that Satyavati (93), Amvika (56) and Amvalika (55) retired to woods at the advice of Vyasa who was then 77 years old. Bhishma was then 58 years old.

Vyasa1 and Vyasa2Here I make an assumption that the Vyasa of Santanu era too followed Satyavati. This Vyasa might have lived till the age of 122 due to his ascetic mode of life and might have been alive when Arjuna's grandson Parikshit was born. But I guess he was practically retired from the affairs of the world as his mother retired to the woods. Like the original Bhishma (Devavrata), followed his father Santanu in words and deeds, the original Vyasa (Vyasa1) followed his mother Satyavati in words and deeds! I consider Vyasa2 to be born when Vyasa1 was 50 years of age. It is not necessary that Vyasa2 was the son of Vyasa1, but that is also a possibility. I presume, it was Vyasa2 who interacted with the Pandavas and guided them throughout their life.

Since Vyasa1 was still alive, he might have traveled to Hastinapura to advice his son Dhritarashta on rare occasions and also when Bhishma died in Kurukshtra war. He might not have lived beyond the birth of Parikshit at which time he was 122 years of age. Since then, only Vyasa2 remained.

Age analysis though the life of the PandavasLet us analyze the crucial incidents during the life of the Pandavas, by counting the age of Yudhisthira. Yudhisthira was 4 to 5 years of age when his father died and he reached Hastinapura. Duryodhana was born to Dhritarashtra, one year after Yudhisthira was born. Thus

Yudhisthira was elder and was supposed to be the next king. But Duryodhana was the current king Dhritarastra's son. So the education of the Kauravas and Pandavas might have followed the age of Yudhisthira or that of Duryodhana. Since the difference is only 1 year let us forget about it. Counting based on Yudhistira's age, his normal education started at the age of 6 and military education at the age of 12. After 12 years military education was completed, Yudhisthira was made heir-apparent (Yuva-Raja). Yudhisthria would be then 24 years of age. Add one year each to the following incidents:- Attempted murder of the Pandavas at Varanavata, Bhima meets Hidimba in the forest, 1 year life in Ekachakra village, marriage of Panchali. Yudhisthira's age is now 28. Yudhisthira earned the right to beget the first child upon Panchali, though Arjuna had won the hand of Panchali. This was because, it was regulated that Panchali be the wife of all the five Pandavas and that she should spend one full year with each of them to determine who was the father of each of the children born to Panchali. This would lead to an unhealthy situation for Panchali whose interval between successive deliveries and conception will be as less as 2 or 3 months. However, since this is explicitly mentioned in Mahabharata, I stick to this calculation. Age 28 was very special to Yudhisthira . At this age he obtained Panchali as his queen through the bravery of his brothers Arjuna and Bhima; he became a King (of Indraprastha) and by the end of this year he also obtained a son by Panchali named Prativindhya.

Why Arjuna went for a long pilgrimage?Though it was Arjuna who won Panchali with the help of Bhima, she started living with Yudhisthira for the first year, following the rule set by Narada and approved by Vyasa. So Arjuna left the palace to search for other wives. Thus I consider there is not much truth in the story of Arjuna going for a 12 (!) year long pilgrimage(!) as mentioned in Mahabharata. Arjuna was actually searching for other women. He in his wanderings married [[[Naga]] princess Ulupi whose territories lied on the banks of river Ganga and princess Chitrangada of Naga-Dravida origin whose territories lied some where in the southern Orissa or northern Andhra Pradesh. The city of Manipura seems to be a Kalinga port-city. From there, after encountering some Apsara ladies in his wanderings he finally reached Dwaraka. There he married Krishna's sister Subhadra. When he returned with Subhadra, to Indraprastha, Panchali had already delivered a son to Yudhisthira and Bhima and by turn Panchali was now his wife and Subhadra was pregnant with Arjuna's son. By this time Ulupi and Chitrangada had already delivered Arjuna's babies. When Yudhisthira was aged 29, Arjuna's son by Subhadra, viz. Abhimanyu was born. After Abhimanyu was born, Arjuna went with Subhadra and Panchali for a pleasure trip at Khandava, along with Krishna and his wife. It was then, the Burning of Khandava happened. In the same year Arjuna's son by Panchali was born. Thus Arjuna's eldest son (excluding sons born by Ulupi and Chitrangada) was Abhimanyu. After burning of Khandava, Maya started construction of the famous assembly hall. It was completed by the time Panchali delivered babies of Nakula and Sahadeva. Then Yudhisthira's age was 32. Jarasandha was killed when Yudhisthira was 33 and Rajasuya was conducted when he was 34. Game of dice happened when he was at 35.

Age of Individuals at the time of Kurukshetra WarAfter the game of dice, the Pandavas were banished for 12 years of forest life and 1 year of incognito life. But these years were calculated by Bhishma using lunar calender while Duryodhana calculated it using solar calender, which made him believe that he discovered the identity of the Pandavas before their 1 year incognito life was completed. Thus this whole period lasted only 12 solar years or less than that. Thus Yudhisthira was 47 after the one year of incognito life. One year went in war preparations and peace talks. So when the Kurukshetra war happened, Yudhisthira was 49 years of age. At this time Bhisma's age was 102 and Abhimanyu's age was 20. Based on our general analysis about the age of people during the Mahabharata war, this age was not a hindrance for Bhishma for participating in the war and survive it for full 10 days as the commander-in-chief of the army. For a modern day 100 year old this feat might be near impossible. But considering the fact that the number of people who lived up to the age of 120 was higher in those days in comparison to modern days, Bhishma's age of 102 is acceptable.

He could have lived upto 110 years if he did not die in the battle, discounting 10 years from 120 years for the life expectancy of Bhishma, owing to his life as a warrior. But if we check the life of Devavrata, he would have turned 140 at this age if he was ever alive. Vyasa1 as per our calculation would be now 121 years nearing his death. Probably Vyasa1 might have visited Bhishma as he lay dead in battle field. Vyasa1 might have lived one more year to hear the news of the birth of Parikshit and then might have died soon at the age of 122.

Vyasa2 and Vyasa3At the time of Kurukshetra war, Dhritarashtra was aged 73. Vyasa2 was aged 71. I here introduce Vyasa3 too. Probably he was now aged 21. I assume Vyasa3 to be born when Vyasa2 turned 50. Thus Vyasa2's age was comparable to the age of Dhritarashta, Vyasa3's age was comparable to Abhimanyu.

On an average, as per my calculations, the generation gap of members of Santanu's lineage was around 25 and that of Vyasa's lineage was around 50. Even this difference in generation gap is sufficient to create an illusion that the members of Vyasa lineage were living longer or that they were Chiranjeevees (those who live for ever), especially from the point of view of a member in the lineage of Santanu. This, coupled with the fact that successive generations of Vyasas chose to identify themselves as 'Vyasa' instead of promoting their own individual identities, might have lead to the myth of a long living Vyasa, who lived for many centuries! Members of Vyasa's lineage still exist in India, so do members of Valmiki's lineage. Similarly there are Vasisthas, Bharadwajas and Gautamas too in modern day India. These surnames are still alive. Thus as a family, Vyasa is still alive!

From Parikshit to AswamedhadattaAs per Mahabharata, Parikshit was born 1 year after Kurukshetra war. We also learn from Mahabharata that 36 years since the Kurukshetra War, there was a war at Dwaraka. After this the Pandavas retired to woods and Parikshit became king. When Parikshit was born, as per our calculation, Yudhisthira was 50 and Dhritarashtra was 74. Assume that Janamejaya was born when Parikshit was 25. Then Dhritarashtra was 99, and probably now retired to woods. Yudhisthira was then aged 75. When Dwaraka war broke out Dhritarashtra was already dead. Yudhisthira was then 85, Parikshit at 35 and Janamejaya at 10. Vyasa1 was then dead (if alive was 157), Vyasa2 at 107 and Vyasa3 at 57. Soon after that Parikshit became king at the age of 36. Then Yudhisthria and brothers retired to woods. Then Yudhisthira was aged 86. He probably died after 2 years of wanderings since his retirement at the age of 88. How many years Yudhisthira lived after retiring to woods really do not affect our calculations much. Assume that Parikshit prematurely died at the age of 50 when Janamejaya was 25. Janamejaya then becomes the king. At this time Vyasa2 would be 122 years of age and nearing his death or already is dead. Vyasa1 if alive would be then 172 years of age!. Vyasa3 was then 72 years of age. Thus I consider the Vyasa who was born to Satyavati and interacted with Bhishma and fathered Dhritarashtra was Vyasa1, while the Vyasa who interacted with the Pandavas was Vyasa2 and the Vyasa who interacted with Parikshit and Janamejaya was Vyasa3. Suka was probably the son of Vyasa3. It was Suka who narrated Bhagavata to Parikshit. The nucleus of Bhagavata was probably authored by Vyasa3 which he then described to Suka. Then Vyasa4 alias Suka might have developed it further and his sons, grandsons and members down the line might have converted it into a Purana, which we now know as the Bhagavata Purana. Bhagavata is thus considered a Purana where as Jaya (Mahabharata) is an Itihasa. In the article Purana and Itihasa I have explained the difference between a Purana and an Itihasa. The former is composed several centuries after the incidents happened and the latter is composed as and when (or within a few years after) the incidents occur.

Jaya which later became Mahabharata was probably authored by Vyasa2 who always interacted with the Pandavas during their life-time. He might have taught it to Vyasa3 who then taught it to

his disciples. When Mahabharata was narrated to Janamejaya by Vaishampayana, a disciple of Vyasa3, Janamejaya's son Satanika already had his son Aswamedhadatta born. If we consider Satanika was born around the time Parikshit died and Janamejaya became king, and assume that Aswamedhadatta was born when Satanika was 25, we get Janamejaya's age at that time to be 50. Assuming that Aswamedhadatta was a 5 year old kid when Mahabharata was recited we get the age of Janamejaya when Mahabharata was recited to be 55. Then Vyasa1 if alive would be 202 years old and Vyasa2 if alive would be 152 years old and Vyasa3 would be 102 years old. Thus I consider during the recital of Mahabharata only Vyasa3 was alive.