Pandavas

**The** **Pandavas** (Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakul, and Sahadeva) are five brothers, demigod warrior princes, and the heroes of the ancient Sanskrit epic Mahabharata poem. *The Pandava Quintet* revolves around the reincarnations of those five brothers. The current reincarnations refer to themselves as the "Potatoes" due to Aiden and Rudy technically not being Pandavas.

## History

### Birth

Kunti, daughter of a Yadava chief who born under the name Pritha, 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 who wore sacred armor and golden earrings. But Kunti was unsure of how the public would react to this, so she put her newborn son in a basket and sent him up the Ashvanadi river. He was found by Radha, the wife of a charioteer named Adhiratha Nandana, and was named Vasusena but would later be known as Karna.

The Pandavas were born to Pandu and his wives, Kunti and Madri by the boon given to Kunti by Durvasa, that she could have a son by any god whom she respects without having any marital affair. After Madri's marriage, Pandu voluntarily renounced royal life as penance for having accidentally killed the sage Rishi Kindama and his wife. At his death, Rishi Kindama cursed Pandu that he would surely die if he attempted to have sexual relationships with his wives. Because of this curse, Kunti had to use her boon to get sons. She bore him three sons: Yudhishthira by the god of Dharma, Bhima by the god of Wind, and Arjuna by Indra. At the request of Pandu, she shared this boon with Madri to get her sons, the twins Nakula and Sahadeva from the divine Ashvini twins.

One day, Pandu forgot about this curse and suddenly filled with lust for Madri and embraced her. After the act, his curse fulfilled and he died. His dead body was cremated in the forest itself. In grief that her husband died because of her, Madri committed *sati* after handing her children to Kunti.

### Childhood

Years after her suicide, Madri's brother, King Shalya brought Nakula and Sahadeva to his kingdom each year. He intended to make them his heirs to the Madra kingdom instead of Hastinapur. But the twins pointed out that he was only doing this because they were children of the gods, he was avoiding his own children. Their own brothers and Kunti would never do that to them, they loved them. Through some deliberation, the twins agreed to Shalya on they condition that they will stay with the other Pandavas.

After the death of Pandu and Madri, Kunti brought the Pandavas back to Hastinapur. As children, the Pandavas and Kauravas often played together. However, Bhima was always at odds with the Kauravas, particularly with Duryodhana, who refused to accept the Pandavas as his kin. This usually led to much tension between the cousins. Insecure and jealous, Duryodhana harboured an intense hatred for the five brothers throughout his childhood and youth and following the advice of his maternal uncle Shakuni, often plotted to get rid of them to clear his path to the lordship of the Kuru Dynasty.

Once, Duryodhana tried to kill Bhima by giving him his favourite dessert, but it was spiked with a poison. After eating it, Bhima fell asleep. Then, Duryodhana and his brother Dushasana carried Bhima and threw him into a river. Little did they know that under that specific river was situated the Naga Realm. The then king of Naga Realm, Vasuki was aware of Bhima's valour and that he was the son of a god. So, for his betterment, King Vasuki gave Bhima a magical potion. The potion not only saved Bhima's life from the poison, but it also gave him the strength of a ten thousand elephants.

### Tutelage

While at Hastinapur, Dronacharya came across the Kuru princes at play, and was able to use his abilities to help the princes solve some of their problems. He used grass to take out the ball from which they were playing. Amazed, the princes went to their grand uncle Bhishma. Bhishma instantly realized that this was Drona, and asked him to become the Guru of the Kuru princes, training them in advanced military arts.

Of all the Kaurava and Pandava brothers training under Drona, Arjuna emerged as the most dedicated, hard working and most naturally talented of them all, exceeding even Drona's own son Ashwatthama. Arjuna assiduously served his teacher, who was greatly impressed by his devoted pupil. Arjuna surpassed Drona's expectations in numerous challenges.

One day, when Drona assembled the Pandavas for a session, he tied a wooden bird to a tree branch. He instructed the brothers to shoot an arrow at the bird's eye. Dronacharya asked Yudhisthira what he saw, he responded "the sky, the tree, the bird," but the teacher told him not to shoot. Bhima said "the branch of the tree, the bird," but he was asked not to shoot too. Arjuna said "the eye of the bird," only he was allowed to shoot.

### In Varanavrata

Duryodhana's plan was the peaceful annihilation of his cousins the Pandavas princes, by setting fire to the house he had ordered to be built for them. The architect Purochana, who was also one of his ministers, was ordered to build the house, and for it to be made using lacquer (wax), which is highly flammable. This was duly built at Varanavat, and when finished the Kauravas invited their cousins to visit a fair held there and also to live in the house for some time. Before the start of the journey, Vidura tactfully, in the presence of the Kauravas, warned the Pandavas about the imminent danger, thus saving them from their deaths.

### Guru Dakshina

After Drona completed the formal training of the Kuru princes, he demanded that they invade Panchala and bring him Drupada as their Gurudakshina. Arjuna succeeds in defeating Drupada and brings the captured king to Drona. Drona reminds Drupada about their days of friendship and his false promise before taking away half of the Panchala kingdom. Drona would make Ashwatthama the king of the annexed half of the Panchala kingdom.

### Marriage to Draupadi

Drupada intended to wed his daughter to Arjuna. Upon hearing of the Pandavas' supposed death at Varnavata, he set up a Swayamvara contest for Draupadi to choose her husband from the competitive contest. The test was to lift and string a bow, and fire arrows to pierce the eye of a golden fish only by looking at its reflection in the water. At the Swayamvara, almost all the assorted monarchs were unable to complete the challenge.

In the end, Arjuna succeeds in the task, dressed as a Brahmin. The other attendees, including the Kauravas and Karna protest at a Brahmin winning the competition and attack Draupadi and Arjuna. Arjuna and Bhima together protect Draupadi by defeating all attendees and are able to retreat. Arjuna, along with Draupadi and his brothers, runs home to tell Kunti of his success, shouting "look what we have found". Kunti thought he was referring to alms found in the forest or to some great prize unknown to her. She tells Arjuna that the find must be shared with his brothers, as they had always shared such things in the past. This misunderstanding, combined with a motherly command, leads to an agreement that all five brothers marry her.

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. A year was allotted to each Pandava and during that year only that Pandava could enter Draupadi's private chambers.

### In the Khandava Forest

When Dhritarashtra heard that the five brothers were alive, he invited them back to the kingdom. However, in their absence, Duryodhana had succeeded in being made the crown prince. Upon the return of the Pandavas, the issue of returning Yudhishthira's crown to him was raised. Dhritarashtra led the subsequent discussions into ambiguity and agreed to a partition of the kingdom "to do justice to both crown princes". He retained the developed Hastinapur for himself and Duryodhana and gave the barren, arid and hostile lands of Khandavaprastha to the Pandavas. The Pandavas successfully developed their land and built a great and lavish city, which was considered comparable to the heavens, and thus came to be known as Indraprastha.

### The Palace of Illusions

On the advice of Lord Krishna, Mayasura 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, it was extremely convincing. 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 soft light.

### Arjuna's Exile

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 naga princess, who was responsible for this because she thought he was cute. After offering his rites to the fire in the Naga Realm, Uloopi confessed her love to him and told him that she wouldn't live anymore if Arjuna didn't not marry her. Agreeing to Uloopi's wishes, Arjuna and Uloopi married and had 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.

During this time, he also eloped with Krishna's sister Subhadra, on her brother's request.

### The Game of Dice

Duryodhana, came to visit the Palace of Illusions. 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. On seeing the crown prince of Hastinapura fall into the pool, Bhima laughed at him and taunted him. Jealous of the Pandavas' wealth, he had his uncle, Shakuni, orchestrate the infamous game of dice between the Pandavas and their cousins, the Kauravas. Yudhisthira gambled away the whole kingdom resulting in his family being exiled for into the forest for twelve years, plus an extra year in anonymity.

### Exile

During their exile, the 4 other Pandavas happened upon a lake, which was haunted by a Yaksha. The Yaksha challenged the brothers to answer his moral questions before drinking the water; the four Pandavas laughed and drank the water anyway. As a result, they choked on the water and died. Yudhishthira went in last, answered many questions put forth to him by the Yaksha and revived his brothers. He asked for any other wish as he was impressed and told him he could ask for wealth, strength, power, anything he wished. Yudhishthira said he already got the strength, wealth and power when all his four brothers were revived and said he could not ask for any other wish. Sahadeva said if you do not use this wish, we might be in trouble in the future. Arjuna knowing that his brother Sahadeva knows the future told Yudhishthira to ask another wish. Bhima and Nakula also knew that Sahadeva and Arjuna were very smart and told him to use his wish. Later Yama, his father told him to ask for a wish. Yudhishthira said, "Asking for 1 or 2 boons is not being greedy but asking for 3 or more boons is being greedy and it is one of the gravest sins. My brothers are insisting me to ask for a wish and the person who is ready to give me a boon, my father also wants me to ask for another boon. I do not ask for being the wealthiest man nor being the most powerful man. All I ask is that me, my brothers and Draupadi should not be recognized during the 13th year of exile."This story is often cited as an example of Yudhishthira's upright principles.[19] The Yaksha later identified himself as Yudhishthira's father, Dharma and pointed them to the kingdom of Matsya to spend their last year in exile anonymously.

Urvashi, the most beautiful of all the apsaras, made romantic advances towards Arjuna when he visited his father, Indra, during the last year of this 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.

### At Virata's Court

Arjuna spent the last year of exile as a eunuch named Brihannala at King Virata’s Matsya Kingdom. He taught song and dance to the princess Uttarā. After Kichaka humiliated and tried to molest Draupadi, Arjuna consoled her and Bhima killed Kichaka. When Duryodhana and his army attacked Matsya, Uttar, Uttarā's brother, with Brihannala as his charioteer went to the army. Later that day, the year of Agyatavasa was over. Arjuna took Uttar away from the army to the forest where he had kept his divine bow, Gandiva and revealed his identity to Uttara. Later when he revealed his identity to everyone in the Matsya, Uttarā was married to Arjuna's son Abhimanyu.During their last year in exile, they went and hid themselves in the kingdom of Matsya, which was under the rule of King Virata.

Yudhisthiraevents occured whilst the Pandavas resided in the Kingdom of Matsya. Kichaka, the brother of the queen and the commander of Virata Army fell for Sairandhri and tried to attain her by force. This ultimately lead to him being killed by Vallabha (Bhima).

Arjuna posed as a eunuch, took the name Brihannala, and taught song and dance to Uttara, the princess of the kingdom of Virata.

Meanwhile, Bhima disguised himself as a chef named Vallabh.

Yudhisthira took the role of the king's advisor due to his extreme wisdom and took the name of Kanka. Bhima took the role of the head chef due to the fact that he loved food and could also cook it well, and took the name of Vallabha. Having learned the arts of dance and music from the celestial apsaras themseves, Arjun took the role of an eunuch and named himself Brihannala. Nakula became a equine expert and renamed himself Granthika. Sahadaeva identified as a tender of cows and assumed the name of Tantipala. Finally, Draupadi assumed the role of maid/assistant of Queen Sudeshna and was known as Sairandhri/Maalini.

Several events occured whilst the Pandavas resided in the Kingdom of Matsya. Kichaka, the brother of the queen and the commander of Virata Army fell for Sairandhri and tried to attain her by force. This ultimately lead to him being killed by Vallabha(Bhima).

The Kauravas tried to find out the hidden pandavas and send out their spies to weed them out. Only Dronacharya and Bhishma argued that Pandavas should be welcomed back with respect now that they had served their exile. The king of Trigartas, Susharma who was an ally of the Kauravas attacked and pilfered the Matsya kingdom. Bhishma set out to defeat him and gain back the bounty.

At the same time, Kauravas attacked the kingdom from the other side and the Prince Uttarakumara was sent out in defense. He feared war and was encouraged by Arjuna who eventually battleed the whole Kaurava army alone and defeated them.

At the end, Pandavas revealed their true identities and the Princess Uttare/Uttara was married to Arjuna’s son Abhimanyu. Pandavas left for Hastinapura having completed the 13 year period of total exile.

### The Kurukshetra War

Duryodhana refused to yield Indraprastha. For the sake of peace and to avert a disastrous war, Krishna proposed that if Hastinapur agrees to give the Pandavas only five villages named Indraprastha (Delhi), Swarnprastha (Sonipat), Panprastha (Panipat), Vyaghrprastha (Baghpat) and Tilprastha (Tilpat) if these five villages given they would be satisfied and would make no more demands. Duryodhana vehemently refused, commenting that he would not part even with land as much as the point of a needle. Thus the stage was set for the great war, for which the epic of Mahabharata is known most of all.

The war was intense and lasted 18 days, over the course of which both parties worked around, bent and even broke rules of warfare. In the end, all 100 Kaurava brothers and their entire army was slain, with only three surviving on their side. The Pandavas too lost several allies but the five brothers survived. After having won the war, Yudhishthira was crowned the king. At the end of the war, only 10 survived the war on both sides, namely Ashwatthama, Kripacharya and Kritverma on the Kaurava side and the five Pandavas, Krishna and Saatyakee on the Pandava side.

### Aftermath of the War

The Pandavas ruled Hastinapur for 36 years and established a righteous kingdom. Shortly after Krishna left the Earth, they all decided that the time had come for them to renounce the world, as the age of Kali had started.

So the five Pandavas and Draupadi left to the path of liberation.

### Final Days

For this purpose, they all climbed Mount Kailash, which leads to the Swarga Loka. On their way, all except Yudhishthira slipped and died one by one. Yudhishthira was accompanied by a dog who was none other than God Yama himself.

The first to die was Draupadi; she was imperfect because she loved Arjuna more than her other husbands. Then it was Sahadeva, imperfect because he was overconfident about his knowledge in science. He was followed by Nakula, imperfect because he was over-enthusiastic about his good looks. Then fell Arjuna, imperfect because he was proud of his archery skills. Second last was Bhima, imperfect because he killed his enemies brutally, thus enjoying their sufferings. Only the eldest pandava, Yudhisthira, reached the door of Swarga Loka (heaven), carried on Indra's chariot. On reaching Heaven, he did not find either his virtuous brothers or his wife Draupadi. Instead, he finds Duryodhana sitting on a divine throne.

He wanted an explanation from his father, Yama, the Lord of Death. Yama explained that the Kauravas had been allowed into heaven because they died as warriors on the battlefield. This earned them so much merit and credit that it wiped out all their debts. Yudhisthira demanded to know where his brothers and his wife were. He was then taken to hell. Yama explained that they were experiencing the reactions of their actions but it was temporary. Once the debt had been repaid, they would join them in Swarga. Yudhisthira loyally met his brothers, but the sight and sound of gore and blood horrified him. Though initially he was tempted to flee, he mastered himself and remained after hearing the voices of his beloved brothers and Draupadi calling out to him, asking him to stay with them in their misery. Yudhisthira decided to remain, ordering the divine charioteer to return. He preferred to live in hell with good people than in the heaven of his enemies. Eventually, this turned out to be another illusion to test him. Yama explained to Yudhishthira that it was all illusion created by Yama himself. It was a punishment to Yudhishthira to feel sad and soak tears on seeing his beloved ones being punished. It was because Drona felt sad on hearing fake news that his son was dead. Yudhishthira the told the message incompletely due to which Drona felt sad and cried in grief. Because of this, he had to feel sad in a similar manner. Hence Yama created this illusion. In reality, the pandavas and Draupadi reached heaven just after their deaths. Yama explained everything and Yudhishthira reached heaven with his mortal body. Pandavas were the incarnation of previous Indra's. After the Duration, the lifespan of Indra, is completed Krishna assures Pandavas of offering them Moksha for their Devotion and purity.

## The Pandavas

### Yudhishthira

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**Yudhishthira** was the soul son of Dharma Raja, the Hindu God of Justice and Death. He was Queen Kunti and King Pandu's biological son.

He was the oldest brother, and was known for being noble, just and wise. Everyone went to him for advice. But he had a reputation for being morally uptight.

The current reincarnation of Yudhishthira is Mini Kapoor, who is also known for being the wisest of all the Potatoes and weaving each one of her advices with thought and wisdom.

The previous one, according to Boo, was a famous judge.

### Bhima

> *See full article→Bhima*
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Bhima was the son of Vayu, the Hindu God of Wind. He was Queen Kunti and King Pandu's biological son.

He is known to be very strong and to have acquired boons from the Naga King himself. He was the second oldest Pandava brother and is also known for for having a temper and a ridiculously large appetite.

The current reincarnation of Bhima is Brynne Rao, who is also known for being ultra-strong, having a short temper and enormous appetite.

The previous one was an Olympic athlete.

### Arjuna

**Arjuna** was the son of Indra, the Hindu God of Storms, Thunder and Lightning, and the King of the Heavens. He was Queen Kunti and King Pandu's biological son.

Arjuna is known for being the most famous, perfect and noble of all the Pandava brothers. He is the third-youngest of all the brothers and the middle child. He is known for having a huge imagination and looking at certain things from his own perspective. He is also known for being superiorly skilled with a bow and arrow, and a great friend of Lord Krishna.

Arjuna's current reincarnation is Aru Shah, who is also known for having a ginormous imagination, although she is not as perfect as her previous incarnation.

### Nakul

**Nakul,** 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. He was Queen Madri and King Pandu's biological son.

Nakula is known for his unparalleled beauty and being the most attractive of all the Pandavas. He is the second-youngest of all the brothers. Apart from being known for his beauty, Nakula is also known for being the best horserider, swordsman, and healer.

The current reincarnation of Nakul is Nikita Jagan, who is also known for her amazing sense of fashion and style.

The previous one was a famous male model who wrote fabulous best-selling self-help books and started the world’s first hot-yoga studios with Sahadeva's reincarnation.

### Sahadeva

**Sahadeva** the wise twin of Nakula, was the son of Dasra, one of the Ashvins, who were the Twin Horsemen Hindu Gods who symbolize Sunrise and Sunset and are considered the Gods of Medicine and Healing.

Sahadeva was known to be a great swordsman and a brilliant astrologer. Although more known for his wisdom, he was also beautiful. The current reincarnation of Sahadeva is Sheela, the previous one was a famous male model who wrote fabulous best-selling self-help books and started the world’s first hot-yoga studios with Nakula's reincarnation.

## Unofficial Members

### Karna

**Karna** was the secret Pandava, he given the name **Vasushena** by his adopted parents. 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.

### Draupadi

**Draupadi** (pronounced: "DRAW-puh-dee") was the wife of all five of the Pandava brothers. She was the famously outspoken and independent daughter of Drupada, king of the land of Southern Panchala. She condemned those who wronged her family and in some places, she is revered as a goddess in her own right. The current reincarnation of Draupadi is Aiden Acharya.

## *The Pandava Quintet*

### *Aru Shah and the End of Time*

When Arielle Reddy, Poppy Lopez, Burton Prater dared Aru Shah to light the Diya of Bharata, she complied and released the Sleeper, a demon bent on ending all time. Shakuni, reborn as a pigeon named Subala, comes towards the reborn Pandava and reveals the existence of the Hindu Gods. He takes her through the Door of Many to meet another reincarnated Pandava, Mini, short for Yamini Kapoor-Mercado-Lopez, they were both disappointed in her appearance. Upon arriving in the Court of the Sky, Urvashi had the two girls undergo the claiming ceremony to prove that they really were Pandava.

During the ceremony, Aru wasn't so sure about being the reincarnations of Yudhishthira or Sahadeva, she thought being wise and just was too much pressure. She didn't want to be Arjuna's reincarnation either as he was considered greatest hero out of the entire *Mahabharata* story. However, she didn't think being the reincarnation of Bhima or Nakula would be so bad, she could deal with being strong with a temper and definitely wouldn't mind being known for beauty. Aru Shah and Mini soon discovered that they were the reincarnations of Arjuna and Yudhistira respectively. Mini originally got very upset by this as she wanted be the reincarnation of one of the Ashvins' sons. Indra and Dharma Raja gave them Vajra and the latter's danda stick, but they wouldn't fully activate until later.

Urvashi gave them a quest to go to the Kingdom of Death and look for the Pool of the Past so they can stop the Sleeper before the new moon arrives. On their quest, they remember the adventures their previous incarnations had. Aru used the tale of Arjuna and the fish’s eye to escape an illusion of the Palace of Illusions. Aru and Mini were successful in their quest, but the Sleeper escaped, he was actually the reincarnation of Duryodhana as well as Aru's biological father.

Meanwhile, another Pandava, Brynne Rao, daughter of an asura, awakened when she saved her one of her uncles from an incoming car. They told her that the soul of Bhima had awakened inside of her. She waited to go on the quest, but nobody came. She found a bow and arrow, not knowing that it was actually stolen and belonged to Kamadeva, and took it to find its owner, she was unknowingly witnessed by her sisters.

### *Aru Shah and the Song of Death*

Aru Shah and Mini met up with Brynne Rao in the Night Bazaar, where they faced off against the real thief who disguised herself as Aru and escaped with the bow and arrow along with a horde of Heartless zombies she created using it. After the Council of Guardians arrived, the three girls were lifted into the air and Vayu gave Brynne Rao his celestial mace. Unfortunately, the three were blamed for the theft of the bow and arrow. Uloopi told them that if they didn't have it returned within ten days then they will be banished from the Otherworld, forget all about it, and their souls will go dormant. Takshaka said that new Pandavas would come along, he actually let the true thief steal the bow and arrow, he wanted revenge for the Pandavas burning down the Khandava Forest. Aiden Acharya, a son of an apsara, joined them on their quest as he was skilled.

Having acquired the thief's soul song, Aiden and the Pandavas learned of the bow and arrow's whereabouts. They were in the Ocean of Milk, location of the *amrita*, the elixir of immortality. The thief was Meenakshi, or Surpanakha from *Ramayana*, she wanted the elixer so she, the Sleeper who gave her the idea, and others can make their whole story immortal. But somewhat reluctantly, the Pandavas plunged the arrow in her heart, which cured the Heartless but also made her soul become a song of death causing Meenakshi to fade. Yet, the Pandavas vowed to remember her full story and were cleared when Takshaka was exposed (although he escaped later) and Uloopi received her heart jewel from them. When returning the bow and arrow to Kamadeva, the god of love revealed that Aiden Acharya was actually the reincarnation of Queen Draupadi, the Pandavas' wife.

On the night of February fifteenth, Aru Shah had a dream with Nikita and Sheela (she didn't know their identities at the time). Sheela had a vision that told her that Aru would save them from something the following year.