Monday, September 6, 2010

Dushasana

When Dhritarashtra's queen Gandhari's pregnancy continues for an unusually long period of time, she beats her womb in frustration and envy of Kunti, the queen of Pandu, who had given birth to three of the five Pandavas. Due to her actions, a hardened mass of grey-colored flesh emerges from her womb. Gandhari is devastated, and calls upon Vyasa, the great sage who had blessed her with one hundred sons, to redeem his words.
Vyasa divides the flesh ball into one hundred equal pieces, and puts them in pots of ghee, which are sealed and buried into the earth for one year. At the end of the year, the first pot is opened, and Duryodhana emerges. The next one to emerge is Dushasana. Dushasana is devoted to his older brother Duryodhana, and is also closely involved in the various schemes and plots to kill the Pandavas. [more]

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Draupadi

In the epic Mahabharata, Draupadi, also known as Devanagari is the adopted daughter of King Drupada of Panchāla and the wife of the five Pandavas. When Yudhisthira becomes the king of Hastinapura at the end of the war, Draupadi becomes his queen. She is sometimes called Krishnaa as also Panchali, (one from the kingdom of Panchāla). She had five sons by each of the Pandavas: Prativindhya, Sutasoma, Shruthakeerti, Satanika, and Srutasena. [more]