A house
The Five Pandavas
Pandu cannot father children. The gods do it for him. Draupadi marries all five. That is the house this war is fought in the name of.
The Pandavas are Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva — five brothers, two mothers, one pale king. Kunti calls Dharma, Vayu, and Indra. Madri, using Kunti’s mantra once, calls the twin Ashvins together. Pandu is their recognized father. The divine parents are also recorded.
Karna is Kunti’s first child, born before the marriage and raised outside the house. This graph keeps him in the Pandava kula as blood and in Duryodhana’s camp as allegiance. He is why ‘five brothers’ is already a count that hides someone.
Draupadi, born of Drupada’s fire, marries all five after Kunti says to share what they have brought. Their five sons, the Upapandavas, are murdered in the night raid. Abhimanyu, Arjuna and Subhadra’s son, dies earlier, in the wheel. Parikshit continues the line.
Named figures in this house
- PanduThe pale king. Cursed not to embrace a woman; the Pandavas are his by the gods.
- KuntiPritha, Vasudeva’s sister. Mother of Karna in secret, then of the three elder Pandavas.
- MadriShalya’s sister. Second wife of Pandu. Mother of the twins. Burns on Pandu’s pyre.
- KarnaKunti’s first child, raised by Adhiratha and Radha. Duryodhana’s friend. Arjuna’s other self.
- AdhirathaSuta charioteer. Finds the basket. Karna is ‘his’ son in the world’s mouth.
- RadhaKarna’s foster-mother. He is Radheya after her.
- YudhishthiraEldest Pandava, son of Dharma. The dice, the exile, the half-lie to Drona, the dog on the mountain.
- BhimaSecond Pandava, son of Vayu. The appetite and the vows: Duhshasana’s blood, Duryodhana’s thigh.
- ArjunaThird Pandava, son of Indra. Nara to Krishna’s Narayana. The Gita is spoken to him.
- NakulaFourth Pandava. Twin by the Ashvin Nasatya. Handsomest; keeps the horses.
- SahadevaFifth Pandava. Twin by the Ashvin Dasra. The one who knows and is told to be silent. Slays Shakuni.
- PrativindhyaDraupadi’s son by Yudhishthira. Killed in the night slaughter.
- SutasomaDraupadi’s son by Bhima. Killed in the night slaughter.
- ShrutakarmaDraupadi’s son by Arjuna. Killed in the night slaughter.
- ShatanikaDraupadi’s son by Nakula. Killed in the night slaughter.
- ShrutasenaDraupadi’s son by Sahadeva. Killed in the night slaughter.
- AbhimanyuArjuna and Subhadra’s son. Learns the chakravyuha in the womb — only the way in.