Arjuna: The Third Pandava
Third Pandava, son of Indra. Nara to Krishna’s Narayana. The Gita is spoken to him.
Also called Partha · Dhananjaya · Gudakesha · Savyasachi · Kiritin · Vijaya · Jishnu · Phalguna · Krishna
Who Arjuna is
Arjuna is the third Pandava: Kunti’s son by Indra, raised as Pandu’s. The recitation gives him more names than anyone else — Partha, Dhananjaya, Savyasachi, Gudakesha — because almost every book after Sambhava needs a bow.
He is Nara to Krishna’s Narayana. The Gita is spoken to him between the two armies. His other self on the field is Karna, Kunti’s firstborn, whom he does not know as a brother until it is too late to matter.
Names and spellings
Canonical name in this graph: Arjuna. Common Mahabharat spellings and titles stay in the aliases rather than being repeated in every heading.
Pupils
In the recitation
- Karna — the rivalry the epic is built around
- Krishna — charioteer; Nara–Narayana
- Hanuman — sits in the standard
- Jayadratha — the beheading before sunset
Narrative role
Adi Parva — training and swayamvara Drona holds him above the other princes. He wins Draupadi with the bow in the air, then shares her because Kunti, not looking, said to share whatever they had brought.
Vana and Virata He wins weapons from Shiva and from his father Indra. In the thirteenth year he is Brihannala, teaching dance in Matsya, and still the man who turns the cattle-raid.
Bhishma Parva He will not shoot the grandsire until Krishna raises the chakra and Shikhandi stands in front. The Gita is the speech before the first of those arrows.
Days 13–17 Abhimanyu dies in the wheel. Arjuna vows Jayadratha will not see another sunset. On the seventeenth day Karna’s wheel sticks, and the rivalry the epic was built around ends in the mud.
How Arjuna is related
How is Arjuna related to Karna? They are half-brothers who meet as rivals. Kunti is mother to both; the tournament, the sabha, and the seventeenth day are the path a reader actually walks. Karna
How is Arjuna related to Krishna? Cousin, friend, charioteer. The Gita is their conversation. The standard has Hanuman; the reins have Krishna. Krishna
How is Arjuna related to Abhimanyu? Arjuna and Subhadra’s son. The boy learns the chakravyuha in the womb — only the way in — and dies on the thirteenth day while Arjuna is drawn off the field. Abhimanyu
How is Arjuna related to Draupadi? He wins her at the swayamvara. She marries all five; their son together is Shrutakarma, murdered in the night raid. Draupadi
Source notes
Mahabharata text (Adi, Vana, Virata, Bhishma, Drona, Karna Parvas), Ganguli. Divine parentage (Indra) is recorded beside Pandu as recognized father. Last reviewed 12 September 2026.
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