A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature c5.132

Language: English

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ARJUNA. ‘White.’ The name of the third Pāndu prince. All the five brothers were of divine paternity, and Arjuna’s father was Indra, hence he is called Aindri. A brave warrior, high-minded, generous, upright, and handsome, the most prominent and the most amiable and interesting of the five brothers. He was taught the use of arms by Drona, and was his favourite pupil. By his skill in arms he won Draupadi at her Swayamvara. For an involuntary transgression he imposed upon himself twelve years' exile from his family, and during that time he visited Parasu-rāma, who gave him instruction in the use of arms. He at this period formed a connection with Ulūpī, a Nāga princess, and by her had a son named Irāvat. He also married Chitrāngadā, the daughter of the king of Manipura, by whom he had a son named Babhru-vāhana. He visited Krishna at Dwārakā, and there he married Su-bhadrā, the sister of Krishna. (See Su-bhadrā.) By her he had a son named Abhimanyu. Afterwards he obtained the bow Gāndīva from the god Agni, with which to fight against Indra, and he assisted Agni in burning the Khāndava forest. When Yudhi-shthira lost the kingdom by gambling, and the five brothers went into exile for thirteen years, Arjuna proceeded on a pilgrimage to the Himālayas to propitiate the gods, and to obtain from them celestial weapons for use in the contemplated war against the Kauravas. There he fought with Siva, who appeared in the guise of a Kirāta or mountaineer;

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but Arjuna, having found out the true character of his adversary, worshipped him, and Siva gave him the pāsupata, one of his most powerful weapons. Indra, Varuna, Yama, and Kuvera came to him, and also presented him with their own peculiar weapons. Indra, his father, carried him in his car to his heaven and to his capital Amarāvatī, where Arjuna spent some years in the practice of arms. Indra sent him against the Daityas of the sea, whom he vanquished, and then returned victorious to Indra, who “presented him with a chain of gold and a diadem, and with a war-shell which sounded like thunder.” In the thirteenth year of exile he entered the service of Rāja Virāta, disguised as a eunuch, and acted as music and dancing master, but in the end he took a leading part in defeating the king's enemies, the king of Trigarta and the Kaurava princes, many of whose leading warriors he vanquished in single combat. Preparations for the great struggle with the Kauravas now began. Arjuna obtained the personal assistance of Krishna, who acted as his charioteer, and, before the great battle began, related to him the Bhagavad-gītā. On the tenth day of the battle he mortally wounded Bhīshma; on the twelfth he defeated Susarman and his four brothers; on the fourteenth he killed Jayadratha; on the seventeenth, he was so stung by some reproaches of his brother, Yudhi-shthira, that he would have killed him had not Krishna interposed.

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On the same day he fought with Karna, who had made a vow to slay him. He was near being vanquished when an accident to Karna’s chariot gave Arjuna the opportunity of killing him. After the defeat of the Kauravas, Aswatthāman, son of Drona, and two others, who were the sole survivors, made a night attack on the camp of the Pandavas, and murdered their children. Arjuna pursued Aswatthāman, and made him give up the precious jewel which he wore upon his head as an amulet. When the horse intended for Yudhi-shthira’s Aswa-medha sacrifice was let loose, Arjuna, with his army, followed it through many cities and countries, and fought with many Rājas. He entered the country of Trigarta, and had to fight his way through. He fought also against Vajradatta, who had a famous elephant, and against the Saindhavas. At the city of Manipura he fought with his own son, Babhrū-vāhana, and was killed; but he was restored to life by a Nāga charm supplied by his wife Ulūpī. Afterwards he penetrated into the Dakshina or south country, and fought with the Nishādas and Drāvidians: then went westwards to Gujarāt, and finally conducted the horse back to Hastināpura, where the great sacrifice was performed. He was subsequently called to Dwārakā by Krishna amid the internecine struggles of the Yādavas, and there he performed the funeral ceremonies of Vasudeva and of Krishna. Soon after this he retired from the world to the Himālayas.

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(See Mahā-bhārata.) He had a son named Irāvat by the serpent nymph Ulūpī; Babhru-vāhana, by the daughter of the king of Manipura, became king of that country; Abhimanyu, born of his wife Su-bhadrā, was killed in the great battle, but the kingdom of Hastināpura descended to his son Parīkshit. Arjuna has many appellations: Bībhatsu, Gudā-kesa, Dhananjaya, Jishnu, Kirītin, Pāka-sāsani, Phālguna, Savya-sāchin, Sweta-vāhana, and Pārtha.