“Anger is in this world, the root of the destruction of mankind, The angry man commits a sin; the angry man murders his preceptor; the angry man insults his ciders with harsh words. The angry man cannot distinguish what should be and should not be said by him. there is nothing which cannot be said or done by an angry man.”
Yudhisthira is the eldest of the Pandavas, the sons of Kunti and Pandu. He is born through the union of Queen Kunti and Yamadharma Raja, god of death and righteousness.
BIOGRAPHY[]
Early life[]
Yudhishthir, was born to Kunti, mainly as a result of the blessing of Yama (or Dharmadeva, his spiritual father), due to the power of a special mantra. His official father Pandu, had once been the king of Hastinapur, and had left it in the care of his blind brother, Dhritirashtra. Later on, Yudhishthir got 4 younger brothers, Bhima and Arjuna through Kunti, and Nakula and Sahadeva through Pandu's 2nd wife, Madri.
Baby Yudhishthira with his parents.
Some years later, his father Pandu, died while embracing Madri, due to a curse. He was brought to Hastinapur along with his brothers to be raised by their uncle, Dhritarashtra , along with their cousins, the Kauravas, led by Duryodhana who is the eldest.
Tutelage under Drona[]
The true student[]
One day, Drona asked Duryodhana whether he knew all the lessons that had been taught so far, to which he said "Yes". But, when Yudhishthira was asked the same question, he replied saying that he had learned only the first lesson, and probably the second one. Enraged, Drona took a stick and beat him up but Yudhishthira did not react in any way. Surprised, Drona asked him as to how he was not angry and Yudhishthira explained that the first lesson was never to get angry, and that actually, he felt angry towards Drona, but had not expressed it. A proud Drona congratulated him, saying that he had learned the 1st lesson and the 2nd lesson, which was to tell the truth, and that he was the only one that had really learned well.
The tournament[]
Some years later, Drona held a tournament to display the skills of the Kuru princes. Nakula and Sahadeva lost to Duryodhana in combat, and Yudhisthira was the third to engage him. It was a spear vs mace fight (as Yudhishthira's favorite weapon was the spear) and Yudhishthiar managed to make Duryodhana fall down, but then Duryodhana attacked him from behind and pinned him down. Yudhishthira could not rise and so, Duryodhana won.
Gurudakshina - Capturing Drupada[]
Later on, all the Kuru princes were tasked with capturing King Drupada of Panchala. The Kauravas started the attack, but were captured by Drupada. The Pandavas now stepped in, but got separated in the chakravyuha that Drupada had formed. Yudhushthira used his spear to hold out against the enemy. At some point, Arjuna managed to reach him, and Yudhishthira told him to help the other Kuru princes.
After freeing the Kauravas, Yudhishthira went up to Duryodhana, asking him whether he was alright. Duryodhana grumbled about Yudhishthira butting in, but the latter assured him that everything was fine and that they were all 105 Kuru princes. An egoistic Duryodhana however, bragged about himself and his brothers, saying that they were the Kauravas and that Yudhishthira and his brothers were only 5 Pandavas.
Later on, Drupada was captured by Arjuna and the Kingdom was split between Dronacharya and Drupada. The Pandavas were allowed to watch Dronacharya crowning his son Ashwatthama as the new king of half of Panchala.
Test of justice[]
There was confusion as to who should succeed Dhritirashtra, Duryodhana or Yudhishthira. Just then, 4 people who had committed a murder were brought to court. When Duryodhana was asked as to how he would handle this situation, he said that as they had committed a murder, they should all be sentenced to death. When Yudhishthira was asked the same, he said that he needed to know the background of each person.
The 1st person was a menial worker, the 2nd was a businessman, the 3rd, a warrior and the 4th, a scholar. Yudhisthira said that a menial worker is supposed to be taught about right and wrong and so, he should be set free after getting a small punishment. The businessman was sentenced to imprisonment since he knew about right and wrong. A warrior is supposed to protect people and yet, this warrior committed a murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. A scholar is supposed to teach others knowledge and yet, this scholar committed a murder. Yudhishthira said that he himself was a warrior and couldn't sentence a scholar, who was of a higher order and so, he must decide his own punishment.
Hard times and Marriage[]
A trap and escape[]
One day, Dhritarashtra called the Pandavas and told them to stay at Varanavata for a year. Their accomodation was a lac palace which had actually been built as a trap for them by Duryodhana, who was jealous of the Pandavas. Vidura, suspecting this, gave a warning message to the Pandavas, and arranged for a tunnel to be dug for them to escape. The plan worked, and Yudhishthira, his brothers and Kunti escaped into the jungle.
At some point of time, Bhima married a demoness Hidimbi who was in love with him. Bhima also killed Hidimba, Hidimbi's man-eating brother. Soon, Yudhishthira's first nephew, Ghatotkacha was born. The Pandavas and Kunti then moved to Ekachakra and lived there for some time.
Fight with Bakasura[]
The Pandavas and Kunti lived as guests in a small Brahman house. Every day, they would go out to collect alms. One day, the 4 Brahmans in the host family were all weeping. When Kunti asked them what has happened wrong, the father of the house told Kunti about Bakasura, a Rakshasa which demands from the village, one person and lots of food each day. Then, the unfortunate man who was chosen would have to put food in a cart, and use Ox Animal to pull themselves to Bakasura. Bakasura would then eat the food, man, and ox. Kunti told the family not to worry, and had Bheema pull the cart for the family. Bheema killed Bakasura and made the village happy. [1]
Marriage to Draupadi[]
One day, the Pandavas heard about the swayamvara of Draupadi, King Drupada's daughter, which was to take place. The Pandavas went there and Arjuna won her. When they returned, they told Kunti that they had brought something which would make her happy, but Kunti, thinking that it was some food, told them to share it among themselves. Yudhishthira had to explain to Drupada about this predicament and that it would be okay since he was not going against his Mother's words. As a result, the 5 Pandavas ended up marrying Draupadi.
The Pandavas and Kauravas had a battle at Kurukshetra which was 18 days long. The Pandavas won and Yudishthir ruled for 36 years straight before handing over the crown to Pariksit, the grandson of Arjuna.
☀ Upon the onset of the Kali yuga and the departure of Krishna, Yudhishthira and his brothers retired, leaving the throne to their only descendant to survive the war of Kurukshetra, Arjuna's grandson, Parikshit. Giving up all their belongings and ties, the Pandavas, accompanied by a dog, made their final journey of pilgrimage to the Himalayas. Among the Pandavas and Draupadi, one-by-one died on the way to reach the top, starting from Draupadi. Finally, it was Yudhisthira who was able to reach the top, with the dog accompanying him.
On reaching the top, Indra asked him to abandon the dog before entering the Heaven. But Yudhishthira refused to do so, citing the dog's unflinching loyalty as a reason. Indra said he let his family die, but Yudhishthira said he could not prevent their deaths, but to abandon a poor creature was a great sin. It turned out that the dog was his god-father Dharma Deva in disguise.[21]
=== Test of Patience in Hell[edit] This one, right?
Yudhishthira loyally went to Naraka to meet his brothers, but the sight of his brothers being tortured in Hell made him really sad. But soon Sri Krishna, Indra and other gods came to Yudhishthira. Where Sri Krishna said that Yudhisthira though being man of justice didn't listen to Krishna when he asked him to lie about Ashwathama's death to his father Dronacharya. Then all of the pandavs were transported to heaven and Sri Krishna said that by not listening to him Yudhisthira was punished to have a glimpse of hell with his brothers in agony. As Sri Krishna's order is above all justice and honor.