Arjuna

Arjuna

Arjuna meets Krishna at Prabhasakshetra

Devanag
अर्जुन
ari
Draupadi, Subhadra, Ulupi,
Consort
Chitrangada and many.
Srutakirti, Abhimanyu,
Children
Babruvahana, Iravan and many.

Arjuna (pronounced [ɐrˈɟunɐ] in classical Sanskrit) is the third of the

Pandava brothers. He is considered as the protagonist of the Mahabharata
with Krishna and plays a key role in the Bhagavad Gita.[1][2][3][4] He was
married multiple times, to Draupadi, Subhadra (Krishna's sister), Ulupi, and
Chitrangada. His children included Shrutakirti, Abhimanyu, Babruvahana, and
Iravan.

I. Contents
 1 Etymology and other names
 2 Birth and youth
 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 Blasting of Arjuna's Chariot
 11 Conquest for Ashvamedha
 12 Death
 13 Character of Arjuna
 14 Modern references
 15 Notes

II. Etymology and other names

The name means "bright" or "shining" (lit. "bright" or "silver" (cf. Latin
argentum)).[5]

The Mahabharata refers to Arjuna by twelve different names. In the story,

these names are given when Prince Uttara of Matsya asks Arjuna to prove his
identity. The first ten names are spoken by Arjuna himself, while the name
"Kapi Dhwaja" is also used to refer to his chariot, the "Nandi Ghosha" The
names and their meanings are as follow:.[6][7][8]

 Arjuna - shining or famous like silver

 Phalguni - 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
 Bhibatsu - one who always fights wars in a fair manner
 Vijaya - always victorious
 Paartha - son of Pritha, another name for Kunti.
 Savyasachi - skillful in using both arms, ambidextrous
 Dhananjaya - one who brings prosperity and wealth in the land he goes
to
 Gudakesha - One who has conquered sleep (gudaka "sleep")
 Kapi Dhwaja - Having flag of Kapi (monkey) in his chariot (Arjuna's flag
displayed an image of Hanuman from a previous encounter)
 Parantapa - one who concentrates the most, destroyer of enemies from
his concentration
  Gandivdhanava - one who possessed the mighty bow

III. Birth and youth

Arjuna was born in the royal family of Hastinapura. He was acknowledged a
son of Pandu by his first wife Kunti, though he was fathered by the grace of
the god Indra, rather than by Pandu who was unable to father children.
Arjuna was the third son, after Yudhishthira and Bhima. Younger to him were
the twin sons born of Pandu's second wife Madri, Nakula and Sahadeva.

After the death of Pandu (and Madri's subsequent suicide), the Pandavas and
their mother lived in Hastinapura, where they were brought up together with
their cousins, the Kaurava brothers. Along with his brothers, Arjuna was
trained in religion, science, administration and military arts by Drona and
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 Drona ordered Arjuna to call
the sage and asked him to become the Kuru princes' teacher. Seeking refuge
from Panchala, Drona agreed.

IV. Tutelage under Drona

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.[9]

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, 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. Karna matched Arjuna's feats. But
due to his low birth, Karna is not allowed to compete and gets insulted by
Bhima and the others for being a sutaputra; this incident 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.

V. Marriage to Draupadi

the Swayamvara of Panchala's princess, Draupadi

Still in hiding, the Pandavas disguise themselves as brahmins and attend the
Swayamvara of Panchala princess Draupadi. Out of all of the great kings and
other Kaurava princes, only Karna and Arjuna are able to do the established
challenge. The test is to 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. At first Karna is able to lift and string
the bow, but when he is aiming to fire the shot, Drupadi rejects Karna
(sometimes with Krishna's prodding) for his low-birth. Then, the disguised
Arjuna comes forward and accomplishes the task.

In some versions of the story, Arjuna is the only prince (of the
Kaurava/Pandava party) to have interacted with Draupadi before. When
attacking/kidnapping Drupada, Draupadi, trained in martial arts due to
Panchal's attitudes towards gender neutrality, ambushes Arjuna with the
bow-and-arrow, only to have Arjuna easily disarm her, sheepishly sparing her
life before withdrawing with Drupada in-hand.

In some versions of the Swayamvara, 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. Dismissively, and without looking because she was
preoccupied, Kunti asks him to share it with his brothers. Holding his
mother's orders as a divine command(or in some cases, because of Arjuna's
earlier promise), Arjuna unquestionably agrees, and even refused to back
down when his brothers and Kunti attempt to talk him down. Draupadi had to
marry all five of the Pandavas. Her five sons, one each from a Pandava
brothers, are known as the Upapandavas.[10] Srutakirti is the son of Arjuna.

The brothers follow 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, tensions
are high. Under Bhisma's advice, the kingdom is 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 cousins
Krishna and Balarama give them aid.

VI. Burning of Khandava Vana

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. [11]

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.[12]

With Krishna using the Sudarshana Chakra [12] 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.

VII. Saving Mayasura

Srikrishna offer to build a palace, to mayasura

In their demolition of Khandava Krishna and Arjuna had saved one demon,
Mayasura.[11] 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. This hall was
famous for visual illusions. Thus, Khandavaprastha was renamed
Indraprastha.[13]

VIII. Arjuna's Tirtha-yatra and Indraprastha

During an incident when some thieves stole a Brahmins cows, 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.

IX. Meeting Uloopi

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.[14][15]

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.

X. Chitrangadaa at Manipura

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.[16][17]

XI. Reaching Dwarka and Subhadra

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. Arjuna fell in love with
Subhadra and desired to marry her. Because Balarama had already promised
Subhadra to his favorite disciple, Duryodhana, So Krishna asked Arjuna to
kidnap Subhadra and when Subhadra was away for worship in Raivataka hill
Arjuna abducts her. Balrama was enraged upon hearing the news and
wanted to punish Arjuna but Krishna pacifies him and convinces him to bring
them back and arrange the marriage .

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.
XII. Conquest for Rajasuya

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:[20]

 Bhagadatta of Pragjyotisha- He repelled Arjuna for eight days straight

but impressed with Arjuna's skill agreed to pay tribute. Bhagadatta was
also a great friend of Pandu.
 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

XIII. Exile
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.

XIV. Penance for Pashupatastra

Kiratarjuniya

Indra had promised Arjunan 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.

XV. Urvashi's curse

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.[21] 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.

XVI. Trial with Devastras: slaying Rakshasas at heaven

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.

XVII. Meeting Hanuman

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.[22]

XVIII. Eunuch at Virata's Kingdom

Brihannala - Eunuch at Virata's Kingdom

Main 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).[23] 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 dressed up as Brihannala encountered the legion of Kaurava warriors.
Only Bhishma from the Kaurava side recognized, Arjuna who was inturn
dressed up as Brihannala single handedly defeats Karna, Drona, Bhisma,
Aswathama, Kripacharya and host of Kuru warriors in one to one
combat.Arjuna then fires a weapon, obtained from heaven, to put enemies to
sleep. This astra called sammohana puts enemies into sleep and gave Arjuna
time to bring back the cattles. Though Bhishma knows counter to this
weapon he didn't use the counter weapon,so that he thought the war would
thus end. His victory was so complete that he took the clothes of all the Kuru
warriors before leaving.[24]

XIX. Kurukshetra War

XX. Bhagavad Gita

A statue of Arjuna and Lord Krishna, with Krishna as the sarathi or charioteer
Main 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.

XXI. Battles fought at Kurukshetra

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 and 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. Bhishma praises Arjuna for this and
asks Duryodhana to make peace with the Pandavas. [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 makes his arrows to carry away Jayadratha's head. This
was 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 carried the severed head of
Jayadratha to his father, who was awoken from his meditation by the
sudden landing of a severed 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. This battle
 between Arjuna and Karna is perhaps the most cataclysmic and
awesome of the great epic. 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, until Arjuna floods Karna with arrows after Bhima reminded
Arjuna about his oath. Mangled badly, Karna launches a Nagastra
which was possessed by the revengeful spirit of Ashwasena, a Naga
who Arjuna killed while helping Agni. But krishna saves Arjuna by
lowering his chariot by pressing it with his foot. Then Arjuna resolves
upon killing Karna and Karna's chariot wheel became stuck in the mud
due to a curse he received from a Brahmin. 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. When Karna asks for a
pause Krishna laughs and reminds him of all the atrocities he
committed against the Pandavas, such as his instigation and
participation of their wife Draupadi's public humiliation and disrobing
and how he disarmed Arjuna's son Abhimanyu from behind, which
ultimately resulted in his slaughter, Krishna commanded Arjuna to
attack. Krishna said Arjuna that Karna sided with adharma and had no
right at this point in his life to hide behind the rules of engagement.
The fight resumes and Karna makes Arjuna swoon with a celestial
weapon and Arjuna slew Karna using the Anjalika weapon in return.
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.

XXII. Blasting of Arjuna's Chariot

Arjuna, and the other Pandavas didn't visit the camp on the end of the
eighteenth day, as per Krishna's advice. When Lord Krishna stepped down,
Arjuna's chariot blasted into pieces. Krishna explained that the chariot was
protected by him from the Bramhastras discharged against it by many great
warriors and as soon he stepped down the chariot blasted into pieces
because of the blows it took during the entire war. Arjuna was the only
warrior who didn't replace his chariot even once during the entire course of
the Kurukshetra war.[28]

XXIII. Conquest for Ashvamedha

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.[29]
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.[30]

 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

XXIV. Death
Upon the onset of the Kali yuga and the departure of 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 Janamejaya, Parkishit's son.

Except for Yudhishthir, all of the Pandavas grew weak and died before
reaching heaven (only Yudhishthir is allowed to keep his mortal body). Arjuna
was the fourth one to fall after Draupadi, Sahadeva and Nakula. 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 that he had said that he
would consume all the foes of the Pandavas in a single day but proud of his
heroism he did not however accomplish what he had said. Draupadi also falls
because while she claimed to love all the Pandavas equally, she had a soft
spot for Arjuna.[31]

XXV. Character of Arjuna

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. Such was the love that
Krishna had for Arjuna that he states to Arjuna: "Thou art mine and I am
thine, while all that is mine is thine also! He that hateth thee hateth me as
well, and he that followeth thee followeth me! O thou irrepressible one, thou
art Nara and I am Narayana or Hari! We are the Rishis Nara and Narayana
born in the world of men for a special purpose. O Partha, thou art from me
and I am from thee! O bull of the Bharata race, no one can understand the
difference that is between us!"[32]

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 battle, 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.[33] Krishna refers to Arjuna as Purusharshva, which
translates to best of men.

XXVI. Modern references

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

Arjuna's extraordinary talents 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.[34][35]
 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.
 In the 2013's Mahabharat Arjun was portrayed by Shaheer Sheikh for
which he received unamious praise and world-wide fame.

Additionally, the protagonist in Steven Pressfield's book The Legend of

Bagger Vance, Rannulph Junuh, is based in part on Arjuna (R. Junuh). [36]