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Pandavas

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

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or the descendants of Pandu, is the name of the five princes whose contest for regal supremacy with their cousins, the Kuirus, the sons of Dhritarashtra, forms the foundation of the narrative of the great epic poem, the Mahabharata (q.v.). Their names are Yudhishthira, Bhima, Ajunna, Nakula, and Sahadeva — the former three being the sons of Pandu by one of his wives, Pritha; and the latter two by his other wife Madri. But though Paindui is thus the recognized father of these princes, the legend of the Mahabharata looks upon him in truth merely as their father by courtesy; for it relates that Yudlushthira was the son of Dharma, the god of justice; Bhima, of Vfyu, the god of wind; Arjuna, of Indra, the god of the firmament; and Nakula and Sahadeva, of the Aswins, the twin-sons of the sun.