Yudhishthira
Eldest Pandava brother and king in the Mahabharata
- Known from
- The Mahabharata
- Parents
- Kunti and the god Dharma (Yama)
- Known for
- Losing the kingdom in a rigged dice game
- Reign
- King after the Kurukshetra war
- End
- Reaches heaven in his bodily form, with a dog
The eldest Pandava, famed for honesty and for losing everything at dice, to whom Krishna tells the story of the flying city Saubha.
What is Yudhishthira known for?
Yudhishthira is the eldest of the five Pandava brothers in the Mahabharata, a son of Kunti by Dharma, the god of righteousness. He is known for his devotion to truth and duty.
His great failing is gambling. In a rigged dice game against his cousins, the Kauravas, he loses his wealth, his kingdom, his brothers and their shared wife Draupadi, leading to thirteen years of exile. In the Vana Parva, Krishna visits the exiled brothers and explains to Yudhishthira that he could not prevent the game because he was away defending Dwaraka from King Salva and his flying city, Saubha.
After the Kurukshetra war, Yudhishthira becomes king. In the epic's final books he sets out for heaven with his brothers, Draupadi and a dog that turns out to be Dharma in disguise. He is a figure of epic literature.
He is the listener when Krishna tells the story of Salva's flying city Saubha in the Mahabharata.
Mentioned on these pages
- Rabbit holeSaubha, the flying city
- PersonKing Salva (Shalva)
Sources
- The Mahabharata, Vana Parva, trans. Kisari Mohan Ganguli, sacred-texts.comPrimary text
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'Mahabharata'Reference
- Wikipedia, 'Yudhishthira'Reference
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