Arjuna

Arjuna

"morning dawn", "silver", "white"

Arjuna is one of the main characters of the epic “Mahabharata”: an epic about the confrontation between Kaurava clan and Pandavas. Both clans are cousins to each other, going back to Rishi Vyasa and further back to the Lunar Dynasty.

Arjuna is the third oldest of the five Pandava brothers: Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. Arjuna's mother, Kunti, at one time received from Rishi Durvasa a mantra from the Atharva Veda, with the help of which she could give birth to a son from any of the gods. Thus, with help of this mantra, she conceived Arjuna from Indra, and he became the best of warriors, invincible.

At Kurukshetra, Arjuna was also opposed by one of the central heroes of the Mahabharata, his brother, Karna – Kunti’s son from god Surya – also the greatest of warriors. Krishna, the charioteer of Arjuna, told Arjuna that it was impossible to defeat Karna in a fair fight, but it could be done contrary to kshatriya code, by cunning. Indra also helps his son, Arjuna, by tricking Karna out of his golden armor, which magically grants him invulnerability. At the moment when, due to the curse of Parashurama, Karna's chariot gets bogged down on the battlefield, Arjuna, on Krishna’s advice, hastily kills Karna.

After defeating the Kauravas, Arjuna performs ashvamedha for Yudhishthira to purify from sins, and after that, all five Pandava brothers, led by Yudhishthira, reign for 36 years.