Pandavas

Spoiler Alert! Warning! This page contains spoilers for Aru Shah and the Song of Death.

Not part of Riordanverse The following article/section is from the Pandava Quintet continuity under Rick Riordan Presents and not the Riordanverse canon.

The Pandavas (pronounced "PAN-dah-vah") (Arjuna, Yudhistira, Bhima, Nakula, and Sahadeva) are five brothers, demigod warrior princes, and the heroes of the ancient Sanskrit epic Mahabharata poem. The Pandava Quartet revolves around the reincarnations of those five brothers.

History

Kunti, daughter of a Yadava chief, offered many comforts, patience, and devotion to Sage Durvasa. Extremely pleased, he gave her a boon that would invoke any god of her choice and bless her with children. Out of curiosity, she invoked Surya and had a son she named Karna. Then she met and chose her husband, King Pandu of Hastinapur, at a swayamvara organized by her cousin. However, he got cursed to die when he slept with a woman by another sage named Kindama for shooting him as a deer while he was performing his copulation. Kunti found him upset that he couldn't have children because of this and took pity on him. So she used her boon to invoke Dharma Raja, Vayu, and Indra. This resulted in Yudhistira, Bhima, and Arjuna being born. Nakula and Sahadeva were born to Queen Madri, the second wife of King Pandu, from the Ashvins after Kunti gave her a portion of her power. However, Pandu slept with Madri and died due to forgetting about the curse.

Mini, the reincarnation of Yudhistira

Arjuna was a devoted student learning under a guru named Drona. One day, when Drona assembled the Pandavas for a session, he tied a wooden fish to a tree branch. He instructed the brothers to shoot an arrow at the fish’s eye, but they could only aim by looking at the reflection of the wooden fish in the water below them. Dronacharya asked Yudhistira what he saw in the reflection, he responded "The sky, the tree, the fish," but teacher told him not to shoot. Bhima said "The branch of the tree, the fish," but he was asked not to shoot too. Arjuna said "The eye of the fish," only he was allowed to shoot. Arjuna was passionate about his archery skills, he witnessed Ekalavya ("eh-KUH-lav-yah"), the son of a tribal chief, make an impossible shot. This made him very jealous and scared that he wouldn't be the best archer anymore like Drona promised. The nervous guru took notice and Ekalavya asked him to be his student, but Drona refused due to his lower status. Ekalavya meditated on Drona anyway and even built a statue of him out of mud. So Drona demanded guru daksina, a way of honoring a teacher, and Ekalavya agreed to give him his right thumb so no one would be better than Arjuna. The act of Arjuna shooting the eye of a fish was later redone in a competition winning the heart of Draupadi. But the virtuous and beautiful princess married all five brothers. She spent a year as the wife of each, it was a rule among the five brothers that you couldn’t barge in on Draupadi’s privacy when she was with her husband-of-the-year.

Brynne Rao, the reincarnation of Bhima

On the advice of Lord Krishna, the Pandavas burned down the Khandava ("KUHN-duh-vuh") Forest for Agni, the god of fire, to consume. All the inhabitants were killed except a snake named Takshaka who fled, and an asura named Mayasura who agreed to build the Pandava brothers the most beautiful palace the world had ever seen. It came with illusions that befuddled the mind and heightened the senses. They were so convincing that when an enemy prince (who was also the Pandavas' cousin) came to visit, he fell through a floor tile that was actually water, and he nearly broke his foot jumping into a pool that turned out to be cleverly polished sapphires. This palace was named Maya-Mahal, Palace of Illusions, and became sentient. Yudhistira liked to read but had trouble choosing a room, so the palace made sure his bed could float anywhere and books could be brought to him. Nakula liked to admire himself, so it made sure there were plenty of places where he might catch glimpses of his beauty. Sahadeva liked the sciences, so the palace made sure there was always an abundance of living things to study. Bhima liked to test his strength, so it made sure he had challenging arenas. Arjuna liked a little of everything, so it made sure nothing escaped his interest. Draupadi wanted peace most of all, but the closest the palace could muster was light.

Aru Shah, the reincarnation of Arjuna

One day, Arjuna was called to fight off a bunch of demons. He had to answer the call, because that’s what heroes do. The only problem was, he’d left his special bow and arrow in the dining room where Princess Draupadi was eating with one of his brothers. The penalty for barging in on their privacy was exile. Rather than let innocent people get hurt by demons, Arjuna chose to break the rule, he had to go into the forest for twelve years. Draupadi had realized what had happened and did not want Arjuna to be exiled, but being a honorable warrior, Arjuna agreed to keep his word. During these years of exile, he was pulled inside a riverbank where he was performing his rituals. He met Uloopi, one of the serpent queens, who was responsible for this because she thought he was cute. After offering his rites to the fire in the Naga Realm, Uloopi confesses her love to him, they marry and have a son named Iravan. Pleased by Arjuna, Uloopi gifted him with being invincible underwater and communication with all sea creatures, but he had to go back and fight.

But then, Shakhuni orchestrated the infamous game of dice between the Pandavas and their cousins, the Kauravas. Yudhistira gambled away the whole kingdom resulting in his family being exiled for into the forest for twelve years, plus an extra year in anonymity. The exile soon led to a great war between the cousins. After Arjuna was killed by his son, King Babruvahana, Uloopi used her magical gem to save his life.

Urvashi, the most beautiful of all the apsaras, made romantic advances towards Arjuna when he visited his father, Indra, during the last year of exile. Arjuna rejected her advances because Urvashi was his own ancestor, the wife of King Pururavas, so respectively called her his mother. But Urvashi grew angry and cursed him to lose his manhood for one year. So Arjuna posed as a eunuch, took the name Brihannala, and taught song and dance to the princess of the kingdom of Virata.

After the war, Arjuna's wives lived in the palace. The Palace of Illusions was really upset that they left, it ended up in the Kingdom of Death. Yudhistira ruled Hastinapur for thirty-six years until he passed it down to his Arjuna's grandson. Near the end of Yudhistira's life, the Pandavas learned of Krishna's death, they decided to go to the Himalayas with Draupadi and retire from the world, they were accompanied by a dog. But one-by-one, they fell and died due to their imperfections. Draupadi, she liked Arjuna more than the others, Sahadeva, he was smug over his knowledge, Nakula, he was arrogant about his good looks, Arjuna, he was always jealous of other archers, and Bhima, he was a glutton. Only Yudhistira managed to make it to the top. When he refused to enter heaven without the dog, Dharma Raja revealed that he took the form to kept him company.

Yudhistira

Dharma Raja's danda

Yudhistira (pronounced "yoo-diss-TEE-ruh") was the son of Dharma Raja, the Hindu god of justice and death. He was the oldest brother, and was known for being noble, just and wise. Everyone went to him for advice, he was a really good king. But he had a reputation for being morally uptight. The current reincarnation of Yudhistira is Yamini Kapoor-Mercado-Lopez. The previous one was a famous judge.

Bhima

Bhima (pronounced "BEE-muh") was the son of Vayu, the Hindu god of wind. Known as Bhima the Strong, he was known for for having a ridiculously large appetite, being superstrong, and also having a temper. The current reincarnation of Bhima is Brynne Rao. The previous one was an Olympic athlete.

Arjuna

Indra's Vajra

Arjuna (pronounced "ar-JOO-nah") was the son of Indra, the Hindu god of storms, thunder and lightning. Known as Arjuna the Triumphant, Arjuna was the most famous out of all the Pandava brothers. He had the most adventures, and was known for his incredible skill with the bow and arrow. He was best known for the way he chose to see the world around him. For example, he would form a plan/military strategy when facing a demon. He would have tried to turn the war in his favor, and part of that meant picking the battleground. The current reincarnation of Arjuna is Aru Shah. The previous one was a senator.

Nakula

Nakula (pronounced "nuh-KOO-luh") the beautiful, twin of Sahadeva, was the son of Nasatya, one of the Ashvins, the twin horsemen Hindu gods who symbolize sunrise and sunset and are considered the gods of medicine and healing. The previous reincarnation of both Nakula and Sahadeva were famous male models who wrote fabulous best-selling self-help books and started the world’s first hot-yoga studios. The current reincarnation of Nakula is unknown, for he or she hasn't been discovered yet.

Sahadeva

Sahadeva (pronounced "saw-hah-DAY-vuh") the wise, twin of Nakula, was the son of Dasra, one of the Ashvins, the twin horsemen Hindu gods who symbolize sunrise and sunset and are considered the gods of medicine and healing. The previous reincarnation of both Sahadeva and Nakula were famous male models who wrote fabulous best-selling self-help books and started the world’s first hot-yoga studios. The current reincarnation of Sahadeva is unknown, for he or she hasn't been discovered yet.

Karna

Karna was the secret Pandava. The other five Pandavas didn’t even know he was their brother until his dying moments. Karna himself knew that the Pandavas were his brothers only before the start of the war. His father was Surya, the god of the sun.

Pandava Quartet

Aru Shah and the End of Time

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Trivia

• Mahabharata is roughly ten times the length of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey combined.
• The tale of Arjuna and the fish’s eye was about focusing and peeling away distractions one by one until all that was left was the target. Sometimes, he shot the eye of a wooden bird instead of a fish. Duryodhana and Dronacharya's son, Ashwattama, are present in other versions.