The Pandavas (so called because they were the sons of Pandu) were the heroes of the great epic Mahabharat, who defeated the Kauravas to regain their kingdom and spread the message of dharma on earth. However, there are some lesser known and engrossing facts about the five brave brothers concerning their personal lives and   valor in the great battle of Kurukshetra :

 

 

1) Pandu has asked his sons to eat his flesh after his death. But out of love for him, they could not         bring themselves to do it. Only Sahadev, who noticed ants carrying his father’s flesh tasted it, and     therefore was gifted with prophetic powers.

 

 

2) Sage Ved Vyasa has devised a marriage agreement for the Pandavas and Draupadi to ensure that        justice was done to all the brothers. She would live as the wife of each of the Pandavas for a year       in turn, starting with Yudhisthira.  Draupadi was also given two boons by the Sage- first, that she       would become a virgin every time she started the year with the next brother; and second, that she     would forget the memories of the previous years at each turn.  Also, any of the brothers intruding      the privacy of the couple would have to go on a tirtha yatra (holy pilgrimage)for 12 years. When       Takshak stole their cows, Arjun was forced to violate this treaty because he had left his Gandiva         (his special bow made by Brahma which only Arjun could pick up) in Yudhisthira and Draupadi’s         room. Although everyone forgave him since it wasn’t done purposely, Arjun sill went on a 12               year tirtha yatra.

 

3) All the Pandavas practiced polygamy as it was common practice of those times. However due to       marriage agreements, only Draupadi could live with them and all the other wives of the Pandavas       weren’t allowed within the kingdom. But the brothers could visit their wives when Draupadi               wasn’t spending the year with them.

 

4) Once when Arjun visited his father Indra, Urvashi (one of the apsaras in Indra’s court) was                    attracted to him. Arjun rejected her advances and she cursed him to live as a eunuch for a year.          Arjun opted for this when they were living in anonymity at Virat’s kingdom and acted as Princess        Uttara’s dance instructor.

 

5) Yudhisthira was skilled in using the spear and driving the chariot. Due to his piety, his chariot              never touched the ground.

 

6) After Draupadi’s insult at the hands of the Kauravas, Bhim vowed to kill all the 100 Kaurava                 brothers and Sahadev vowed to kill Shakuni (the maternal uncle of the Kauravas). They completed     their vows at the battle of Kurukshetra.

 

7) Before the battle of Kurukshetra, Karna had promised Kunti that after the battle she would still           have five sons, since he was determined to fight with Arjun and only one of them would be alive         after the battle. Because of his promise, he spared the life of the other four Pandavas after                   defeating them one by one in the battle.

 

8) When Kunti revealed that Karna was her son and the eldest of the Pandavas, Yudhishthira,                    overcome with anger at his mother and the guilt of fratricide, cursed all women, which rendered        them unable to keep any secrets.

 

9) After the battle of Kurukshetra, the Pandavas went to meet Dhritarashtra and Gandhari (parents       of the Kauravas). Dhritarashtra, angry with Bhim for killing his sons had planned to crush him             under the pretext of giving him a hug. Krishna sensed this beforehand and when Bhim’s turn               came, a statue of Bhim was kept in his stead which the blind king crushed into pieces. He then           repented and on knowing that Bhim was alive, readily forgave him. Also, Gandhari was blessed           with a boon which enabled her to burn anyone she wanted, on merely looking at the person on           taking off her blindfold. She, angry with the Pandavas for her sons’ death, had wanted to burn             them all. She peeked from the edge of her blindfold and saw Yudhisthira’s toe which was burned         to ashes immediately. Her anger melted away at this sight and she too, forgave the Pandavas.

 

10) The Pandavas along with Draupadi and a dog undertook a journey to the Himalayas. On the way,          Draupadi fell because of her partiality with Arjun; Nakul fell due to his pride in his beauty;                    Sahadev’s fall was due to pride in his learning and wisdom, Arjun’s fall was due to his pride in his        archery skills and Bhim’s fall was due to his gluttony. Only Yudhisthira managed to reach heaven        in his mortal body.