Overview
Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, IAST: Arjuna) is one of the central characters of the ancient Hindu epic Mahabharata. He is the third of the five Pandava brothers and is widely regarded as the most distinguished among them. According to the tradition, he is the son of Indra, the king of the gods, and Kunti, the wife of King Pandu of the Kuru dynasty, which gives him the status of a divine-born hero. He is renowned for his extraordinary prowess in archery and his mastery over celestial weapons.
From an early age, Arjuna distinguishes himself as an exceptional student under the warrior-sage Drona. In his youth, he wins the hand of Draupadi, the princess of Panchala, by excelling in an archery contest. Following a temporary exile arising from a breach of a fraternal agreement among the Pandavas, he undertakes a journey during which he enters into matrimonial alliances with three princesses: Ulupi, Chitrangada and Subhadra. From these unions, he fathers four sons—Shrutakarma, Iravan, Babhruvahana and Abhimanyu.
Arjuna plays a major role in establishing the sovereignty of his eldest brother Yudhishthira, subduing numerous kingdoms and participating in the burning of the Khandava forest. After the Pandavas are deceitfully made to forfeit their kingdom to their cousins, the Kauravas, and sent into exile, Arjuna vows to kill Karna, a key Kaurava ally and his principal rival, who is later revealed to be his elder half-brother. During the exile, he travels to acquire divine weapons and obtains the favour of the god Shiva. Apart from martial skills, Arjuna is also depicted as accomplished in music and dance, which enables him to disguise himself as a eunuch teacher of princess Uttarā of Matsya during the final year of exile, in the course of which he is also said to defeat the entire Kuru army.
Throughout the epic, Arjuna shares a close friendship with his maternal cousin Krishna, who serves as his spiritual guide. Their dialogue on the eve of the