page_title: Arjuna
section_title: Marriages
hierarchical_section_title: Arjuna / Marriages
caption_attribution_description: English: Author: Ramanarayanadatta astri Volume: 1 Publisher: [Gorakhpur Geeta Press] Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT Language: Hindi Call number: AAO-3248 Digitizing sponsor: University of Toronto Book contributor: Robarts - University of Toronto Collection: robarts; toronto Full catalog record: MARCXML [Open Library icon]This book has an editable web page on Open Library.
context_page_description: Arjuna is a protagonist of the Indian epic Mahabharata and also appears in other ancient Hindu mythological texts. In the epic he is described as one of the five sons of Pandu, collectively known as the Pandavas, and was born of a relationship between his mother, Kunti, and the god Indra. The family formed part of the royal line of the Kuru Kingdom.
  Arjuna is depicted as a skilled archer and wins the hand of Draupadi in marriage. She becomes his first wife and is simultaneously married to Arjuna's brothers. He is twice exiled, first for breaking a pact with his brothers; and secondly together with them when his oldest brother is tricked into gambling away the throne. One notable incident during the first exile was Arjuna's involvement in the burning of the Khandava Forest.
context_section_description: Arjuna is a central character in the Hindu epics and appears in hundreds of situations. Among the most notable is his marriage to Draupadi, a daughter of Draupada, who was the king of Panchala. Draupada holds an archery tournament to determine who should marry his daughter, whom all the Pandava brothers love, and this is won by Arjuna. Confusion arises when he runs home to tell his mother of his success, shouting "look what we have found". Commentators vary as to whether Kunti thought he was referring to alms found in the forest or to some great prize unknown to her. She tells him that the find must be shared with his brothers, as they had always shared such things in the past. This misunderstanding, combined with the protocol that the oldest of the brothers, Yudhishthira, should marry first, leads to agreement that all five brothers marry her. This is one of the rare examples of polyandry in Sanskrit literature. The brothers agreed that none should intrude if Draupadi was alone with one of the others, the penalty for doing so being a year to be spent in exile during which the culprit must remain celibate.
  Arjuna inadvertently broke the pact with his brothers, intruding as he sought to collect weapons whilst Yudhishthira, was alone with Draupadi. He felt obliged to go into exile despite Yudhishthira's attempts to dissuade him. It was this event that led to him forming a close relationship with his cousin Krishna because he ignored the celibacy condition of the pact and married three people on his travels, the first of whom was a Naga princess named Ulupi, with whom he had a son called Iravan. His second marriage was with a princess of Manipura, Chitrangada, who bore a son named Babhruvahana. The third was with Subhadra, the sister of Krishna. This last event, which took place in Dvaraka, is not the first meeting between Krishna and the Pandavas in the story but it does mark the start of a bond, sealed with the birth of the couple's child, Abhimanyu, whom Krishna adores.
caption: Arjuna wins Draupadi's Swayamvara
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