Balarama: Leader of the Yadava clan, an idealistic dreamer who wishes to bring prosperity to his people and belives in the equality of all men. He sees the path to progress as lying in farming and trade. A pacifist at heart, he builds an ideal city on the west coast of Bharatavarsha, where he puts his ideas into practice. He longs to prove one can rule without compromising one’s principles. Krishna and Subhadra’s elder brother, he is also Suyodhana’s Guru-mentor, and inspires men like Karna to reach beyond the limitations of caste.
Bhishma: Grand Regent of the Kuru clan and granduncle to both the Pandavas and Kauravas. Also known as Gangadatta Devavrata. Referred to here as the Grand Regent or Bhishma, a name acquired after he took a vow of celibacy and relinquished his claim to the throne, as a precondition to his father marrying Satyavathi, a fisherwoman (who had another son, Krishna Dwaipayana Vedavyasa, prior to this marriage).
Dhaumya: An ambitious and unscrupulous Priest, he is Parashurama’s eyes, ears and arm in Hastinapura. His aim is a perfect society where Priests will decree and the rest follow. He is Kunti and Yudhishtra’s chief advisor.
Dhritarashtra: Son of Vedavyasa, he is the legitimate, though blind, King of Hastinapura, and father of the Kauravas. Denied the Kingship due to his blindness, Pandu (his albino younger brother), reigns instead; on his death, Dhritarashtra assumes the Kingship nominally, with Bhishma as Grand Regent.
Draupadi: The wife shared by the five Pandava brothers. Dhristadyumna is her brother, and Shikandi (a eunuch), is an adopted sibling. She is spirited and does not take insults quietly. Fiercely determined, she is perhaps the real ‘man’ in the Pandava camp.
Durjaya: A man of the gutters, he rules the dark underworld of Hastinapura. A crime lord, he engineers riots and is in the pay of the Gandhara Prince, Shakuni.
Ekalavya: A tribal youth who desperately wants to become a warrior, he is ready to give his life to achieve some dignity for his people.
Gandhari: Princess of Gandhara, Bhishma forcibly carries her off to marry his blind nephew, Dhritarashtra. She voluntary chooses to bind her eyes to share her husband’s blindness. She is the mother of Crown Prince Suyodhana and his brothers, the Kauravas. Her brother is Shakuni.
General Hiranyadhanus: Father of Ekalavya and Commander-in-Chief of Jarasandha’s army, he has risen from the lowliest Nishada caste by dint of his own merit and the friendship of King Jarasandha.
Guru Drona: Teacher to both the Pandavas and Kauravas; and Aswathama’s father, he will do anything to make Arjuna the greatest warrior in the world. His love for his disciple is legendary, exceeded only by his love for his son. Orthodox to the core, he believes in the superiority of his caste and that no low castes should have the privilege of knowledge. The poverty of his early life haunts him.
Indra: The last king of the Deva Empire, he lives in penury in the forest. He wishes to make a secret weapon for Arjuna, without which he fears his son is doomed.
Iravan: Son of Arjuna and the Naga princess Uloopi. In the north Indian versions of the Mahabharata, Iravan is a minor character who dies a heroic death on the 18th day of the war. In the south Indian versions of the epic, Iravan is the epitome of sacrifice, who gives his life before the war to aid victory for the Pandavas. He is worshipped as a major village deity in the South.
Jarasandha: The King of Magadha. In his kingdom, merit rules instead of caste.
Jayadratha: King of Sindh, he is Suyodhana’s brother-in-law.
Karna: A low-caste Suta and son of a charioteer, he is willing to travel to the Deep South to become a warrior par excellence. Generous, charitable, exceptionally gifted, he is Suyodhana’s answer to Arjuna’s challenge. He is spurned for his low birth and insulted by Draupadi, but Suyodhana staunchly stands by him.
The Kauravas: The legitimate scions of the Kuru clan that holds suzerainty over all the kingdoms north of the Vindhya ranges. Crown Prince Suyodhana and his siblings are determined to hold on to what is rightfully theirs.
ƀ Suyodhana: Meaning ‘one who cannot be easily conquered’, the eldest Kaurava (Dhritarashtra and Gandhari’s firstborn), is the legitimate Crown Prince of Hastinapura. This book narrates his fight to claim his birthright. Perhaps the most celebrated villain in Indian mythology after Ravana of the Ramayana, we see him here as loyal, generous, brash and arrogant, his mind set against the taboos and convoluted arguments of orthodoxy.
ƀ Sushasana: Suyodhana’s next sibling, more famous as Dushasana.
ƀ Sushala: The only girl child among the Kauravas, she is known as Dushala in popular lore, she is also the loving wife of Jayadratha, King of Sindh.
Khatotkacha: Son of Bhima and Rakshasi Hidumbi.
Kripa: A maverick genius as well as a learned Brahmin warrior, he does not believe in caste. He is Drona’s brother-in-law (his opposite), and Aswathama’s uncle. He believes Suyodhana has a point. A carefree soul without boundaries, he is outspoken to the point of arrogance but kind-hearted beneath his rough exterior. He believes knowledge ought to be shared freely.
Krishna: A Yadava Prince who many consider an avatar of Vishnu – one of the Hindu Trinity. He believes he has come to save the world from evil. He is also Arjuna’s brother-in-law and mentor. He sees the Great War as an inevitable conflict for dharma to be reinstated. His greatest challenges come from men like Jarasandha, Suyodhana, Karna, Ekalavya and Carvaka.
Krishna [black] Dwaipayana [born on an island] Vedavyasa [chronicler of the Vedas]: The great scholar-author of the Mahabharata, the Mahabhagavatha (the longest epic in the world), and 18 Puranas. He codified and edited the Vedas and is considered the patron saint of all writers. Son of Satyavathi, a fisherwoman and Parashara, a Brahmin saint, he is the Grand Regent’s stepbrother. He is also the biological father of Pandu, Dhritarashtra and Vidhura, and hence the grandfather of all the main protagonists of the Mahabharata.
Kunti: First wife of Pandu and collective mother of the Pandavas, she has an illegitimate son as well. Ambitious, ruthless, and self-righteous, she is determined to ensure Yudhishtra succeeds to the throne of Hastinapura.
Mayasura: A great architect and a low-caste Asura.
Pandu: Dhritarashtra’s younger brother and briefly King of Hastinapura until his premature death. Cursed never to have marital relations, his two wives, Kunti and Madri, are impregnated by sages and Gods. There are, however, enough hints in the Mahabharata that their five sons were not, in fact, of divine origin. The sons, called the Pandavas, are recognized as Pandu’s sons though he did not father them. He dies attempting sexual union with Madri, who commits sati, leaving Kunti to care for all five boys.
The Pandavas (Five Sons of Pandu):
ƀ Yudhishtra (Dharmaputra): The eldest, was born to Kunti, fathered by Dharma or Yama, the God of Death. His claim to the throne of Hastinapura rests on the fact that he is considered Pandu’s son, has divine lineage, and is older than Crown Prince Suyodhana by a day. The whole Mahabharata hinges on this accident of birth.
ƀ Bhima: Kunti’s next divine progeny is the Crown Prince’s archenemy. Renowned for his brute strength, he is ever ready to use it on his brothers’ behalf.
ƀ Arjuna: Youngest of Kunti’s three divine sons, he is a great archer and warrior, and Yudhishtra’s only hope of winning against the Kauravas.
ƀ Nakula & Sahadeva: Madri’s twins, also of divine lineage, play minor roles in the epic as sidekicks to their three older siblings.
Parashurama: Drona, Kripa and Karna’s Guru, friend-turned-foe of the Grand Regent, and the supreme spiritual leader of the Southern Confederate. A fanatical Brahmin and the greatest living warrior of his time, he curses Karna for duping him about his caste. He yearns to defeat Hastinapura and bring all of Bharatavarsha under his sway. He rues the peace treaty he signed with the Grand Regent years ago and awaits the opportunity to ignite a great war.
Parshavi: Vidhura’s wife.
Purochana: A corrupt but efficient bureaucrat in league with Shakuni.
Samba: Son of Krishna and the Vanara woman, Jambavati, he
is credited with starting the civil war that destroyed the Yadavas, and is often portrayed as irresponsible and impulsive.
Shakuni: Prince of Gandhara, Queen Gandhari’s younger sibling and maternal uncle to the Kauravas, his only ambition is the destruction of the kingdoms of Bharatavarsha, in order to avenge himself against Bhishma for sacking Gandhara, killing his father and brothers, and abducting his sister. Skilled at dice and intrigue, he always carries the loaded dice made from the thighbones of his slain father.
Subhadra: Suyodhana’s first love, and later wife of his greatest foe, Arjuna.
Takshaka: Leader of the rebel Nagas, who wishes for a revolution whereby the Shudras and Untouchables will become the rulers and the high castes their slaves. He is a fierce warrior and a megalomaniac dictator in the making.
Uluka: Son of Shakuni.
Vasuki: Deposed Naga king, he is old and frail, but desperately wants the leadership back. He believes Takshaka is leading his people to destruction.
Vidhura: Youngest of Bhishma’s three nephews, he was born of a lowly dasi and the sage Vedavyasa. A renowned scholar and gentleman, but of low caste, he is the Prime Minister of Hastinapura, and the conscience-keeper of the Grand Regent.
Yuyutsu: The son of Dhritarashtra and the Vaishya woman, Sugadha. He is older than both Yudhishtra and Suyodhana, but never lays claim to the throne. The merchant-warrior is a master strategist and one of the survivors of the Great Mahabharata war.
And finally, the most important of them all:
Jara and his blind dog, Dharma: A deformed beggar, Jara lives on the dusty streets of Hastinapura, and sometimes Dwaraka, accompanied by his blind dog, Dharma. Illiterate, ignorant, frail and dirt poor, he is one of the many who believe in the divinity of Krishna. He is a fervent devotee of the avatar. An Untouchable, rejected by all and spurned by most, still Jara rejoices in the blessings of his beloved God and celebrates life.
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Prelude
ROLL O F THE DICE
HASTINAPURA, THE MOST POWERFUL EMPIRE in Bharatavarsha, is faced with political strife. King Dhritarashtra is blind and rules but in name. His younger brother, Pandu, is dead. Pandu’s widow, Kunti, arrives at the palace with her three sons – Yudhishtra, Bhima and Arjuna, as well as Nakula and Sahadeva – the sons of her co-wife, Madri, who has committed sati. Together, the five brothers are known as the Pandavas, or the sons of Pandu. However, it is an open secret that Pandu was cursed by a sage never to have marital relations. The Pandavas are thus not his biological children.
But Kunti is determined to make her eldest son, Yudhishtra, the next King. Dhritarashtra’s foreign-born Queen, the beautiful and imperious Gandhari, believes otherwise, and sees her own firstborn, Suyodhana, as the legitimate successor. Crown Prince Suyodhana and his 99 brothers, scoff at the Pandava claims and call them bastards. In desperation, Kunti claims her sons are of divine lineage and aligns herself with the orthodox elements of the clergy. Dhaumya, an ambitious and cunning priest, dons the role of her chief advisor. Meanwhile, Suyodhana, a headstrong, idealistic and generous-hearted youth, disregards the caste system, believing that only merit matters.
The new martial arts Guru of Hastinapura, Drona, is a supporter of Kunti; Arjuna, the third Pandava prince, is his favourite student. Drona arrives to replace the maverick Kripacharya, as the royal Guru, making young Suyodhana’s life miserable by openly favouring the Pandavas. However, Aswathama, the Guru’s son, becomes Suyodhana’s close friend.
As rivalry between the cousins escalates, there are attempted murders, allegations and counter allegations. The air is thick with intrigue. Civil war looms. Holding the empire together is the noble patriarch, the Grand Regent of the Kurus – Bhishma Pitamaha. He rules the country with an iron hand, with the help of his scholarly and able Prime Minister, Vidhura, who is also step-brother to Dhritarashtra and Pandu, but born of a palace maid, hence considered of lowly birth.
When Bhishma attacked Gandhara years ago and forced Gandhari to marry his blind nephew, Dhritarashtra, the patriarch, had committed a grave error in sparing the life of the young Gandharan prince, Shakuni – Gandhari’s brother. Shakuni has vowed to destroy Bharatavarsha (India, as he calls it). He is a foreigner, despised by many, but works his way through the politics of the Hastinapura court, moving his pieces dexterously to foment trouble.
As the orthodox elements impose a crushing caste system on the populace, a revolution brews in the forests of Bharatavarsha under the charismatic leadership of the Naga leader, Takshaka. Shakuni secretly helps the elements of destabilization, bringing the crime lord, Durjaya, back into action.
Ekalavya and Jara are untouchable Nishadas. Ekalavya yearns to become an ace archer, but Guru Drona rejects him as a pupil because of his caste. He learns archery by secretly watching the Guru teaching the Hastinapura princes. In time, his skill excels even that of Arjuna, Drona’s favourite. When Ekalavya finally musters the courage to demonstrate his archery to the Guru, Drona asks him to cut off his bow thumb as his gurudakshina, so that Arjuna remains unchallenged. Ekalavya burns with hatred and vows to become the better archer despite his handicap.
Jara becomes an accomplice of the crime lord, Durjaya. His life would have ended in the gutters but for a chance encounter with a pious Brahmin, when Jara arrives to loot his house. Jara has a change of heart when he discovers that the Brahmin and his family have been mercilessly killed by Durjaya’s men. He becomes a staunch devotee of the Yadava Prince, Krishna, whom many believe to be an avatar of Lord Vishnu. Thereafter, Jara roams the streets of Hastinapura with his blind dog Dharma, singing paeans to Lord Krishna.
Krishna himself wants a stable society and believes Suyodhana is dangerous. Though he does not promote caste hierarchy, Krishna believes each person should follow his kula dharma, which has been predetermined. Only then can society be peaceful, happy and prosperous. He is a charismatic leader, loved by many.
Krishna’s elder brother, Balarama, is the supreme leader of the Yadavas, as well as Prince Suyodhana’s Guru. He wishes to expand cultivation, agriculture and establish new trade routes. He builds a model city, Dwaraka, on the west coast of Bharatavarsha. A pacifist, he is deeply fond of Suyodhana and wishes him to marry his sister, Subhadra as the two are in love.
The Yadava clan has migrated from the northern plains to the west coast to avoid further confrontation with the monarch of Magadha, Jarasandha, a sworn enemy of the Yadavas. He runs a tight empire based on merit. The untouchable Nishada, Hiranyadhanus, Ekalavya’s alienated father, is the Commander of his armies.
Meanwhile, Karna, son of the low-caste charioteer, Adiratha, wishes to study archery and become a warrior. Guru Drona and many other high-caste individuals of the court and clergy spurn him. However, Karna is determined. He travels on foot to the South to learn the warrior’s art under Parashurama, the supreme leader of the Southern Confederate. The Confederate, eyeing a takeover of Hastinapura, views Bhishma as a liberal who is negating caste values. Karna learns archery from Parashurama by posing as a Brahmin. He gains the supreme accolade of becoming the Dharmaveera but narrowly escapes with his life when his secret is blown, leaving Guru Parashurama prostrate and unconscious with shock.
Karna arrives in Hastinapura on the day the Kuru princes are set to display their prowess in arms. He enters the arena and outdoes Arjuna in every feat of archery, but is still ostracised by Drona and the other Brahmins because of his low caste. Prince Suyodhana steps in. Defying orthodoxy, he elevates Karna to become King of Anga on the spot, thereby earning the wrath of the Brahmins and Karna’s lifelong friendship and loyalty.
Suyodhana pays the price for his rash act when Subhadra rejects him and elopes with Arjuna, persuaded and aided by Krishna, leaving him devastated and deepening the enmity between him and Krishna.
Guru Drona demands that his students defeat and drag to Hastinapura in chains, his friend-turned-foe, King Drupada of Panchala, as his gurudakshina. Prince Suyodhana and his friends thus arrive in Panchala. To their surpri
se, King Drupada gracefully accepts his wrongdoing in humiliating Drona when the latter had approached him as a supplicant. In Panchala, Karna meets Princess Draupadi, the King’s beautiful daughter, and they fall in love. Suyodhana returns to Hastinapura bearing King Drupada’s apology to Drona as well as gifts from him. But the Guru remains adamant. He orders his favourite disciple, Prince Arjuna, to defeat Drupada. Arjuna’s men descend on an unsuspecting Panchala and wreak havoc. King Drupada and his sons, Shikandi and Dhristadyumna, are dragged to Hastinapura in chains. Bhishma intervenes to free them, but Dhristadyumna believes that Suyodhana cheated them by offering peace and then sending his cousins to destroy Panchala. He also warns Aswathama that one day he will murder Drona.
To avoid further family friction, Bhishma asks Kunti and her sons to move to Varanavata, where a new palace is built to house them. Shakuni bribes Purochana, the officer-in-charge of the project, to use inflammable materials in the construction. Shakuni leaks this secret to Kunti through a spy. The Pandavas thus believe that Suyodhana has conspired to kill them. Kunti determines to outwit Suyodhana and entices a Nishada woman and her five children into the palace, which is then set on fire. The Pandavas escape but the rumour spreads like wildfire that Kunti and her five sons have perished in the fire. The Nishada woman and her sons who are the true victims of the fire, are related to Ekalavya, causing him to vow revenge. Ekalavya believes that Krishna is the reason for all his miseries.
On the day of Princess Draupadi’s swayamvara, Karna is insulted once again for his caste when Krishna persuades Draupadi to reject him, even though he has won her fairly in the competition held for the suitors. Draupadi marries Arjuna instead. However, Kunti decides, in interests of family unity, that all the Pandavas will share Draupadi. Thus Draupadi becomes the common wife of all five brothers, and Yudhishtra, as the eldest, gains the first right to live with her for a year, followed by the others, in order of seniority.