The life journey of the great warrior Arjun, one of the leading heroes of the Mahabharat, an Indian epic.
Arjun, meaning bright or shining in Sanskrit, is one of the brave heroes of the epic Mahabharat. He is known as one of the best archers, a brilliant student, and a fierce warrior, Kshatriya
He was born to parents King Pandu and Kunti. King Pandu of Hastinapur was not his biological father though as he was cursed to never touch a woman or death shall befall him. His mother Kunti, had used a formula bestowed upon her by a rishi, saint, during her younger days through which she could invoke any sky god and create a child with him. For Arjun, she had called upon the mighty Indra, king of the sky and devas, gods. It was Kunti’s own choice to choose god Indra, making Arjun her favourite son. Arjun was the 3rd of five brothers, Yudhishthir, Bhim, Nakul, Sahdev and they were collectively known as Pandavas, sons of Pandu. The name Partha, son of Pritha, is also used for Arjun as his mother Kunti’s maiden name was such and other names like Dhananjay, Phalguna, Vijaya.
It was during his formative years when he along with his siblings and cousins, Kauravas, sons of Dhritarashtra, were taught by Kripacharya and Dronacharya or Drona, the royal guru of the clan. It was under Drona that Arjun acquired lessons and skills for life. Arjun was undoubtedly the brightest of the lot, and his teacher was not blind to it. Regardless, Drona had reserved certain skills which he planned on teaching just his own son, Ashwasthama. Arjun’s sharpness caught the attention of this and he followed the father-son duo everywhere they went, making it difficult for Drona to pass on his knowledge exclusively to his son. A result of this was, only Arjun and Ashwasthama were privy to superior information and during the battle of Kurukshetra, are the ones to release Brahmastra, a weapon capable of destroying the universe. It was while following Drona to learn what wasn’t taught to other students, the teacher started admiring Arjun and his quest for learning. Drona was now fixated on creating the greatest archer out of Arjun purely because of the latter’s innate determination, perseverance, focus and hard work. With sheer practice, Arjun seemed to be getting only better at archery, such that he could use both his hands perfectly to shoot the arrows.
Once at night, the wind blew out the candles at Drona’s institution, surrounding everyone in darkness. Even so, Arjun continued to correctly direct his fingers to bring the morsel of food to his mouth. It was this epiphany that he did not require light to aim for his target, that led him to practise archery even in the dark, blindfolded and succeeded in doing so. Following this, the title of Gudakesh, the one not bound by sleep, was given to him. Upon harnessing this ability, it was established that Arjun did not have to rely on his sight to hit the bullseye. In one archery test, Drona asked his students to hit the eye of a stuffed parrot and also inquired how exactly they saw their target. Unlike others who perceived either the wall atop which the parrot was placed or the blue sky above it, Arjun replied stating he just saw the eye of the parrot, the very goal. Archery requires such undivided focus and concentration on the target and target alone, a skill that Arjun had mastered. Later in his life he acquired one of the finest and most powerful bows, Gandiva, which complimented his skills. Unsurprisingly, Arjun was the star student of the batch on their graduation day.
The early reign of Pandavas didn’t last long as they had to evacuate their home in disguise when they learned of an arson planned to finish them by their own cousins and uncle, Dhritarashtra, the king of Hastinapur. The 5 sons of Pandu along with their mother resorted to the forests as they were deemed dead by everyone back in their hometown.
During their time staying away from the danger of being discovered alive, Arjun won his wife, Draupadi in an archery contest. But when he brought her home to his mother, without even glancing she ordered him to divide whatever he had brought amongst his 5 brothers, making Draupadi the wife of all Pandavas.
The tale of Mahabharat unfolds revealing how upon return to Hastinapur, the Pandavas lose their kingdom in a game of gamble played by Yudhishtir against Kauravas. They lose their wife, Draupadi too, she is violated and insulted amid the entire palace seating Pandavas, Kauravas, their grandfather, Bhishma, king Dhritarashtra, Drona and many other respectable members of the family. After the Pandavas completely lose the match, they are sent for an exile of 12 years and remain in hiding for the 13th year.
Krishna tells Gita to Arjun; Image Source: Internet Archive
