Arjuna
Pandava archer-hero of the Mahabharata and listener of the Gita
- Known from
- The Mahabharata
- Family
- Third of the five Pandava brothers; son of Kunti by the god Indra
- Teacher
- Drona
- Weapons
- Bow Gandiva; celestial weapons including the Brahmashira
- Known for
- His dialogue with Krishna, the Bhagavad Gita
The Pandava archer who hears the Bhagavad Gita from Krishna and, after the war, fires and then withdraws the Brahmashira weapon.
What is Arjuna known for?
Arjuna is one of the five Pandava brothers in the Mahabharata, a son of Queen Kunti fathered by the god Indra. Trained in archery by Drona, he is the epic's greatest bowman, able to shoot with either hand, and he acquires celestial weapons, including the Pashupata from Shiva.
Before the Kurukshetra war he hesitates to fight his own relatives. His charioteer Krishna answers his doubts in the dialogue known as the Bhagavad Gita, one of Hinduism's most important texts. After the war, when Ashvatthama fires the Brahmashira at the Pandavas, Arjuna fires his own in reply. When the sages Narada and Vyasa intervene, Arjuna is able to withdraw his weapon, while Ashvatthama cannot.
Arjuna is a figure of epic literature. The Mahabharata as we have it was composed over centuries, roughly between 400 BCE and 200 CE according to Britannica.
He fires the counter-Brahmashira in the site's account of the epic's 'ultimate weapon'.
Mentioned on these pages
- Rabbit holeBrahmashira
- PassageArjuna's trip to Indra's heaven (Mahabharata, Vana Parva)
- PassageThe Brahmashira burns the unborn (Mahabharata, Sauptika Parva)
- PersonAshvatthama
- PersonParikshit
- PersonVyasa
- PlaceKurukshetra
Sources
- The Mahabharata, trans. Kisari Mohan Ganguli, sacred-texts.comPrimary text
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'Arjuna'Reference
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