Yudhishthira

Yudhishthira (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, romanized: Yudhiṣṭhira, lit. 'one who is steady in battle'), also known as Dharmaputra (lit. 'Son of Dharma') and Dharmaraja (lit. 'King of Dharma'), was the eldest among the five Pandavas, and is also one of the central characters of the ancient Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was the son of Kunti, and Yama, the Hindu god of death and justice. He was the king of Indraprastha and later the King of the Kuru kingdom in the epic.

Yudhishthira was the son of Kunti, the first wife of King Pandu, fathered by the god of death and dharma, Yama, due to a curse preventing Pandu from having children. Yudhishthira held a strong belief in dharma (morals and virtues) and was chosen as the crown prince of Kuru. However, after the Lakshagriha incident, he was presumed dead and his cousin Duryodhana was appointed as the new heir. The kingdom was split in half due to a succession dispute between Yudhishthira and Duryodhana. Yudhishthira received the barren half, which he later transformed into the magnificent city of Indraprastha.

Yudhishthira and his brothers, the Pandavas (lit. 'Descendants of Pandu'), had a polyandrous marriage with Draupadi, the princess of Panchala, who became the empress of Indraprastha. After Yudhishthira performed the Rajasuya Yagna, he was invited to play a game of dice by his jealous cousin, Duryodhana and his uncle, Shakuni. Shakuni, a master at the game, represented Duryodhana against Yudhishthira and manipulated him into gambling his kingdom, wealth, the freedom of his brothers, Draupadi, and even himself. After the game, the Pandavas and Draupadi were sent into exile for thirteen years, with the last year requiring them to live incognito. During his exile, Yudhisthira was tested by his divine father Yama. During the last year of the exile, known as Agyaata Vaasa, Yudhishthira disguised himself as a Brahmin named Kanka and served as the King of Matsya Kingdom.

Yudhishthira was the leader of the successful Pandava faction in the Kurukshetra War and defeated many venerable warriors such as Shalya. He then ruled the Kuru Kingdom for 36 years before announcing his retirement. At the end of the epic, he was the only one among his brothers to ascend to heaven while retaining his mortal body.

The word Yudhiṣṭhira is an aluk compound (meaning it preserves the case ending of its first part). It means "one who is steady in battle". It is composed of the words, yudhi (masculine locative singular) meaning "in battle"—from yudh (युध्) meaning 'battle, fighting'—and sthira (स्थिर) meaning 'steady' or 'stable'. His other names are:

According to Buddhist sources, by the late and post-Vedic periods, Kuru had become a minor state ruled by a chieftain called Koravya and belonging to the Yuddhiṭṭhila (Yudhiṣṭhira) gotta.

According to the Mahabharata, Yudhishthira was born under extraordinary circumstances, fathered by the god Dharma (the god of righteousness) through the practice of niyoga (levirate), as detailed in the narrative of the Adi Parva. Pandu, the king of Kuru, was married to Kunti and Madri. His life changed abruptly after a hunting accident led to a curse: intimacy with his wives would mean instant death. Choosing celibacy and asceticism, Pandu abdicated his throne, abandoned hunting, and pursued moksha (liberation), while his elder blind brother Dhritarashtra took over the reins of the kingdom. Pandu's devoted wives joined him in this mountain retreat, despite his initial reluctance. Though initially unconcerned with heirs, Pandu later fixated on his childlessness. When he sought to ascend to heaven with his wives, sages halted them, citing his lack of children became a profound personal failure.

Kunti, Pandu's first wife, had received a boon from the sage Durvasas in the form of powerful mantras, which allowed her to summon any god to grant her a son. As Gandhari, Dhritarashtra’s wife, neared the birth of her own children, Pandu grew anxious and requested Kunti to apply her boon and suggested to call Dharma to get a truthful, knowledgeable and justice knowing son who can rule Hastinapur (capital of Kuru). Meditating on Dharma, she recited one of the mantras, and a son was born to her through this divine intervention. The child arrived at midday on the eighth day of the month of Jyeshtha, on the fifth lunar day (Panchami), during the auspicious Abhijit hour. At his birth, a celestial voice declared, "This boy will grow to be a highly righteous and courageous king, the finest among the virtuous. He will be known as Yudhishthira." Following this divine proclamation, the child was named Yudhishthira.