Pandavas
Arjuna
अर्जुन
The Supreme Archer
Who was Arjuna?
Arjuna (अर्जुन): The Supreme Archer, one of the Pandavas in the Mahabharata. The third Pandava, born to Kunti and Indra, the King of Gods.
Quick Facts
| Sanskrit name | अर्जुन |
|---|---|
| Title / Epithet | The Supreme Archer |
| Faction | Pandavas |
| Key traits | Archer, Heroic, Focused |
| Featured in | 474 stories |
About Arjuna
The third Pandava, born to Kunti and Indra, the King of Gods. The greatest archer of his time and a peerless warrior.
In Their Words
He will be the greatest among those endowed with valour and he will be invincible.
Arjuna
Traits
- Archer
- Heroic
- Focused
Stories Featuring Arjuna
474 tales on this site name Arjuna, in canonical reading order.
- The Epic ComposedVyasa at Badarikashrama, Astika at the Snake Sacrifice, and the Story First Told
- Chitraratha at the GangaThe Gandharva at the Night Ford
- The Terrible VowThe Sacrifice of Devavrata
- The Birth of the PrincesChildren of the Gods and the Iron Womb
- The Curse That Killed a KingPandu's Arrow, Kindama's Curse, and the Birth of the Pandavas
- The Divine ChildKrishna's life is the Mahabharata's answer to the question: What does God look like when God walks among us? The answer...
- A Royal Childhood at HastinapuraPandavas, Kauravas, and the Lessons of Drona
- Drona and DrupadaThe Broken Friendship
- The Bird's Eye and the CrocodileDrona's Tests of Arjuna
- The Price of ExcellenceEklavya's story is deeply troubling - it reveals how caste discrimination denied a brilliant student his potential. Was...
- The Tournament of ChampionsThe Rise of Arjuna and the Arrival of Karna
- Escape from the FlamesThe lac house episode teaches that evil, no matter how carefully planned, cannot triumph over righteousness...
- The House of Lac and the DemonsThe Pandavas' First Exile
- Bhima and HidimbiThe Birth of Ghatotkacha
- Bakasura of EkachakraThe Debt of Bread
- The Fire-Born and the Woman Who Became a ManDrupada's Children, Drona's Old Feud, and Amba's Vow Across Lives
- Draupadi's SwayamvaraThe Choosing of Her Husband
- The Impossible ChallengeDestiny works in mysterious ways. The rejected princes of Hastinapura, believed dead, revealed themselves as the...
- The Brothers and the ApsaraSunda, Upasunda, and the Making of Tilottama
- Arjuna's Wandering YearThree Wives in Three Kingdoms
- Ulupi, the Serpent QueenArjuna's Bride Beneath the Ganga
- Chitrangada of ManipuraThe Bride Whose Son Stayed Home
- When Gods Made WarSometimes destruction is necessary for creation. The burning of Khandava, terrible as it was, led to the creation of...
- The Ascetics at the GateThe morning five orphans were handed to Hastinapura
- The Twins in the HeathIndra's dancer, a sage's dropped bow, and the children a king carried home
- The Heir ApparentA crown promised, a second fee demanded, and the conquests that frightened a blind king
- The Watch Under the BanianOne brother awake while the rest of the Kurus sleep on bare ground
- The Widow at the FireA curse spoken before the flames took her, and the heir it forced
- The Cattle and the Closed DoorA rule kept by breaking it, and a pardon refused
- The King Who Made Fire SickTwelve years of butter and the appetite it ruined
- The Bow Out of the WaterWhat Varuna kept until two men needed it
- Kunti Knows Her SonThe mother who recognised Karna in the arena and stayed silent
- The Priest of DrupadaThe envoy, the guarded answer, and the weapons laid out to catch a king's sons
- Vidura's Embassy to PanchalaThe envoy sent to bring the Pandavas home from Drupada's court
- The Boons After the BurningIndra comes down onto the ashes of Khandava and offers Arjuna and Krishna each a boon no man can obtain
- The Weighing of the BharataThe gods put the epic in a balance against the four Vedas, and Sauti recites the eighteen books
- The Lineages of Gods and DemonsVaishampayana recites the descent of every creature from Brahma and the daughters of Daksha
- Kunti's BlessingA mother-in-law names seven wives, a throne nobody owns yet, and a son not yet born
- The Fire in the SeaRevenge the dead never asked for
- The Moon's SonThe sixteen-year loan of Abhimanyu
- The Stranger at the WellHow the Kuru princes got their teacher
- The Five IndrasThe hidden design behind one bride, five husbands
- The Five Fords of the ApsarasAbandoned pools and what was waiting in them
- The Chariot at RaivatakaAn abduction the bride drove herself
- The Imperial SacrificeIndraprastha, Jarasandha, and the Rajasuya Yagna
- The Palace of IllusionsMayasura's Masterpiece and the Laughter That Started a War
- The Fall of JarasandhaBhima's Fourteen-Day Duel at Girivraja
- The Imperial CeremonyThe Rajasuya story contains a profound teaching about divine patience and justice. Krishna endured ninety-nine insults...
- The Dice GameThe Game That Changed Everything
- The Fateful GameAddiction blinds even the wisest of men. Yudhishthira, known for his righteousness, lost everything - his wealth, his...
- The Infinite SariIn our darkest hour, when all worldly help fails, surrender to the Divine is our last and most powerful refuge...
- The Fall of DharmaThe Fall of Dharma teaches the most terrifying lesson of the Mahabharata: that evil does not triumph through its own...
- The Lake Called BinduWhere Maya found Bhima's club and Arjuna's conch
- The Hundred Questions of NaradaA sage audits an emperor before he lets him boast
- The King Made of Two HalvesA mango, two queens, and the demoness who put a child together
- The Fire That Loved a PrincessWhy no army could take Mahishmati
- The Vow of the Soft TongueVyasa's warning, and the promise Yudhishthira made instead
- What the Blind King Was ToldDuryodhana's inventory of the rajasuya, and the quarrel it started
- The Honey-Gatherer on the CliffVidura's last warnings, and the answer he got
- The Second ThrowOne cast of the dice for thirteen years
- The Road Out of HastinapuraWhat Vidura read in the way they walked
- The Kingdom Given BackDhritarashtra releases the Pandavas and returns everything they lost
- The Vows Sworn Before ExileFour brothers name their killings on the way out of the dice hall
- Krishna Takes Leave of IndraprasthaThe farewell on the road to Dwaraka, and the promise to return
- Indraprastha, the City the Pandavas BuiltFrom burned forest to imperial capital
- Magadha and the Fortress of GirivrajaThe empire of Jarasandha
- The Conquest of the NorthArjuna's road for the rajasuya
- Adventures in the ForestTwelve Years of Pandava Exile
- Thirteen Years of FireThe exile teaches that suffering, accepted with dignity and used as a forge, transforms weakness into strength. The...
- The Ghosha YatraDuryodhana Goes to Mock the Exiles and Is Saved by Them
- Draupadi's Trials in ExileThe Sari, the Sage, and a Question to a Queen
- The Divine ArsenalArjuna's Ascent to Indraloka
- The Pilgrimage of the FordsLomasa Leads the Pandavas
- The Meeting of BrothersThe Lesson in Humility
- Nala and DamayantiThe King Who Lost Everything at Dice and Won It Back
- The Story of RamaThe Tale Markandeya Told in the Forest
- The Abduction of DraupadiJayadratha's Crime and the Five Tufts of Shame
- The Questions of the YakshaThe Test of the Lake of Death
- The Ones Who Would Not Turn BackThe city walks out with its kings, and a sage answers the weeping
- The Curse on Duryodhana's ThighA sage asks politely once, and is answered with a scratched foot
- The Promise Made in the Kamyaka WoodsThe allies arrive, and Draupadi asks Krishna what her friendship is worth
- The Court of Sages at the Dvaita LakeAn exile that filled up with brahmanas instead of soldiers
- When Forgiveness Is Not a VirtueAn angry queen quotes an asura grandfather at a patient king
- The Queen Who Put God on TrialA bird on a string, and a child breaking its toys
- The Blind King Counts the OddsA father adds up his enemies and hears whose fault it was
- The Mountain That Answers SpeechWhere a sage's temper made silence the price of passage
- Rudra's Share and the Sinking EarthTwo quarrels over what may be given away, on the Kalinga shore
- The Council at PrabhasaThe Yadavas find the exiles on the shore and argue about ending the exile by force
- The Sage at the LimitA skeleton ascetic marks the line mortals may not cross
- The Map of the WorldsA priest naming the four quarters of the cosmos from a mountain shoulder
- The Weapons That Must Not Be ShownA demonstration the three worlds could not survive
- The Muni Who Would Not Stay DeadA hunting accident, a vanished body, and an answer about fear
- The Horses of VamadevaA loan not returned, and two kings undone by the same refusal
- The Measure of a King's GivingThree short tests of what a gift is worth
- Who Falls From Heaven FirstNarada rides with four kings and ranks their generosity
- The Road to Yama's CountryWhat each gift becomes on the walk after death
- The Fire That ResignedTwo gods each insisting the other keep the office
- Devasena and the Husband Not Yet BornA rescue on the Manasa hills and a promise the gods had to invent someone to keep
- The Golden PloughThe sacrifice a king held because the one he wanted was forbidden him
- The Warning in the DreamA father begs his son to live, and the son chooses to be remembered
- The Feast Shibi CookedA brahmana demands the king's son as his meal, and Shibi obeys without changing colour
- Indra Comes to GandhamadanaMatali brings Arjuna home from heaven, and the king of the gods follows him down
- Amaravati, City of IndraThe capital of heaven in the epic
- Badari, Hermitage of the Twin SagesWhere Nara and Narayana practice forever
- The Curse of UrvashiRestraint turned into a shield
- Chitrasena, Friend in Two WorldsThe arts master of heaven
- The Argument in the ForestA vow kept, or a vow used as an excuse
- The Dream of the DeerSubjects who could not petition, and did
- The Four Quarters of the Sacred LandA priest reciting the map of Bharatavarsha
- The War Beneath the SeaThe fee Indra charged for the divine weapons
- The Year of MasksThe Virata Parva shows that even the mightiest must sometimes hide and endure. The Pandavas could have fought - but...
- The Year of DisguiseThe Pandavas Hidden at Virata's Court
- The Northern Cattle RaidBrihannala Turns the Chariot
- The Wedding at UpaplavyaAbhimanyu and Uttaraa
- What Dhaumya Told Them About KingsThe rules for living inside another man's palace
- The Goddess on the Road to MatsyaA king with nothing left prays walking
- The Hands Marked With CornsA night in the kitchen, and everything she had not said
- The Pyre and the Uprooted TreeA hundred and five kinsmen and one bound woman
- The Ten Names of ArjunaA frightened prince demands proof at the burning ground
- The Quarrel Before the CattleAshwatthama tells Duryodhana what his kingdom is made of
- The Day Karna RanThe boast in the dice hall, answered at last
- The Grandsire Under the Golden PalmCelestial weapons, and Indra dropping flowers
- The Sleep Weapon and the Robes for the DollsSix great warriors disarmed, and a promise kept to some girls
- Five Men on the ThronesThe morning the servants stopped pretending
- The Lineage of GandivaBrihannala names five sets of weapons and the six who held the great bow
- Brihannala, the Dancer in the Guarded QuartersArjuna's year in disguise
- The Corpse in the Shami TreeHow the weapons slept for a year
- Trigarta, the Land of Three RiversThe kingdom that swore to die fighting Arjuna
- The Princess Who Became DeathAmba's story reveals how injustice, even unintentional injustice, creates cycles of suffering. Bhishma meant no harm -...
- The Messenger of PeaceThe Divine Revelation in Hastinapura
- The Secret of the SunA Mother's Plea, A Warrior's Promise
- Uluka's EmbassyThe Last Words Before the War
- The Head That Watched the WarBarbarika and the Three Arrows
- The Eve of BattleLast Embassies Before Kurukshetra
- The Choice at DwarakaTen crore soldiers on one side of the bed, one unarmed man on the other
- The Net and the Mountain HoneyTwo birds who quarrelled in flight, and a cliff nobody came down from
- How a Charioteer Came to Know GodThe blind king asks why the sight was given to a suta
- The Braid She Refused to BindDraupadi answers Bhima's peace with her own hair
- What Kunti Sent Instead of ComfortA mother counts her sons aloud, then tells them to fight
- The Choosing of the GeneralissimoFive brothers name five different men, and Krishna names the sixth
- The Cities of TentsTwo capitals raised on Kurukshetra before a single arrow
- The Consecration of the GrandsireBhishma takes command on two conditions, and the sky rains blood
- Twenty-Three Days on the SaraswatiBhishma fights his own preceptor and neither man can win
- The Question of DaysEach commander prices the enemy army in mornings
- The Tree and the ForestKrishna answers Sanjaya at Upaplavya and decides to go to the Kurus himself
- Arjuna's Message to the KurusSanjaya recites the message in open court, and names every man who will die
- The Cat Who Played the HermitDuryodhana's last message to Yudhishthira is a fable about a holy man who ate his worshippers
- The Sacrifice of BattleDuryodhana makes the coming war his own rite, and his father disowns him for it
- Poverty Is a Person's DeathYudhishthira tells Krishna why a ruined man loses his shame, and still asks for peace
- Rukmi, Whom Nobody WantedThe pride that made a man useless
- The Day Bhima Asked for PeaceKrishna goads the one brother who never flinched
- The Race for AlliesHow eighteen armies were bought before a shot was fired
- The Reckoning of the WarriorsBhishma prices every man on the field, and Karna walks out
- The Song of GodThe Bhagavad Gita teaches that we must perform our duty without attachment to results. The soul is eternal and cannot...
- The Bhagavad GitaThe Song of God
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1: Arjuna's DespairArjuna Vishada Yoga - The Yoga of Arjuna's Dejection
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2: The Yoga of KnowledgeSankhya Yoga - The Deathless Self and the Steady Sage
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3: The Yoga of ActionKarma Yoga - Acting Without Attachment
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4: Knowledge and Renunciation of ActionJnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga - The Descent of the Divine
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5: The Yoga of RenunciationKarma Sanyasa Yoga - Renunciation and Action Are One
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6: The Yoga of MeditationDhyana Yoga - The Discipline of the Still Mind
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7: Knowledge and RealizationJnana Vijnana Yoga - The Two Natures of God
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8: The Imperishable BrahmanAkshara Brahma Yoga - The Hour of Death
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9: The Royal SecretRaja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga - The Sovereign Knowledge
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10: Divine GloriesVibhuti Yoga - The Splendors of the Infinite
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11: The Universal FormVishvarupa Darshana Yoga - The Vision of the Cosmic Form
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12: The Yoga of DevotionBhakti Yoga - The Path of Love
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13: The Field and Its KnowerKshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga - Matter and Spirit
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14: The Three GunasGunatraya Vibhaga Yoga - The Three Strands of Nature
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15: The Supreme PersonPurushottama Yoga - The Tree of the World and Its Root
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 16: Divine and Demonic NaturesDaivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga - The Two Destinies
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 17: The Three Kinds of FaithShraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga - Faith, Food, Sacrifice, and Charity
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18: Liberation Through RenunciationMoksha Sanyasa Yoga - The Final Teaching
- The Science of FormationsWhat a Vyuha Is
- The Eighteen DaysWar spares no one - neither the righteous nor the wicked. The Mahabharata war ended with Pandava victory, but the price...
- Eighteen Days of DestructionThe Kurukshetra War teaches that there is no such thing as a 'clean' war. Even a war fought for the most righteous...
- Kurukshetra Day 1: The Conches SoundThe First Royal Dead
- Kurukshetra Day 2: The Pandavas RallyThe Krauncha Array
- Kurukshetra Day 3: The Garuda and the CrescentKrishna's Patience Fails
- Kurukshetra Day 5: The Grandsire's HarvestThe Makara Array
- Kurukshetra Day 7: Mandala and VajraThe Day of a Hundred Duels
- The Serpent Prince's SacrificeIravan, Son of Ulupi, and the Price of Victory
- Kurukshetra Day 9: Krishna Takes Up the WheelThe Vow Almost Broken
- The Fall of Bhishma and the EarringsIndra's Gift, the Grandsire's Bed of Arrows
- The Hymn Before the ConchesKrishna sends Arjuna down from the chariot to praise the goddess
- The Walk Across the FieldThe king who laid down his armour before the first arrow
- Shveta Against the GrandsireThe Matsya prince who broke Bhishma's bow again and again
- The Grandsire Names the GodDuryodhana asks why he keeps losing and gets a theology instead
- Kurukshetra Day 8: The Rakshasa's HourIravan falls and Ghatotkacha answers for him
- The Son of RishyasringaAlambusha, the illusion-fighter the Kauravas kept for the Pandava sons
- The Pillow of ArrowsBoth armies lay down their weapons for one evening
- Karna at the Grandsire's FeetThe forgiveness that came too late to change anything
- The Herb in the Grandsire's HandA wounded Duryodhana asks Bhishma for reassurance and is given honesty, a pledge, and medicine
- Omens and the Ten Kings Around BhimaDrona reads the signs of Bhishma's last day and sends his son to fight
- The Grandsire Chooses His HourBhishma remembers Santanu's boon and refuses to die in the wrong season
- The Ten Kinsmen Against the Ten SonsDay six: Dhrishtadyumna kills two princes, ten Pandavas duel ten Kauravas, and Bhima goes into the elephants on foot
- The Seventh Day After NoonBhima and Duryodhana wound each other twice, Sanjaya tells the blind king whose fault the war is, and Satanika kills Dushkarna
- Six Duels on the Eighth DayShikhandi with a broken sword, Duryodhana on foot, and a mace that missed
- The Three ColumnsAt midday on the eighth day the Pandava army splits into three attacking bodies, Arjuna's son Iravan is killed, and Bhishma sends twelve warriors to pull Duryodhana out of the fire.
- Ghatotkacha and the Javelin of BhagadattaDuryodhana asks to kill a Rakshasa, and a Rakshasa breaks a javelin on his knee
- The Shield Around BhishmaNinth day: Satyaki trades darts with the grandsire, Abhimanyu unhorses Chitrasena, and Duryodhana orders a wall of men built round Bhishma
- The Wall Before BhishmaEvery Kaurava champion is given one Pandava to stop on the tenth day
- The Last Push on the Tenth DayTenth day: Bhishma asks Yudhishthira to kill him, and the champions of both armies pair off across the field while Dushasana alone stands between him and Arjuna
- The Evening After Bhishma FellBoth armies stop the war for a night, and Arjuna gives the grandsire the only pillow he will accept.
- The Pairings of the Second DayArjuna goes at the grandsire, and the field breaks into nine duels
- The Fire-Born GeneralDhrishtadyumna's command of the great war
- Shikhandi's WarThe life after the purpose
- The Ape on the BannerHanuman's unseen war
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1, Verses 1-27: The Field and the ArmiesWhat Arjuna sees before he breaks
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1, Verses 28-47: The Bow SlipsGrief argued into a philosophy of refusal
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Verses 1-38: The Teaching BeginsWhy the imperishable self cannot be killed
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Verses 39-53: Act Without the FruitSkill in action and the end of anxious wanting
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Verses 54-72: The Steady in WisdomThe portrait of a mind that no longer swings
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3, Verses 17-43: Loka-sangraha and the Enemy WithinWorking for the world, and naming desire the foe
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3, Verses 1-16: No One Can Be StillAction as sacrifice and the turning wheel
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4, Verses 16-42: Action in InactionThe many sacrifices and the fire of knowledge
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4, Verses 1-15: The Descent of the TeachingLineage, avatara, and the birth that is not birth
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5, Verses 15-29: Equal Vision, Inner JoySame sight for brahmin and dog, and peace as friend
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5, Verses 1-14: Renunciation or ActionThe lotus leaf and the nine-gated city
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6, Verses 1-23: The Seat and the LampHow to actually sit, eat, sleep and steady the mind
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 6, Verses 24-47: The Restless Mind and the Fallen YogiPractice, dispassion, and no good effort wasted
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7, Verses 15-30: Four Who Come, and Why Most Do NotKinds of devotion and the veil of yoga-maya
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7, Verses 1-14: The Two NaturesPearls on a thread and the crossing of maya
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8, Verses 15-28: Cosmic Time and the Two PathsDays of Brahma, bright road and dark
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8, Verses 1-14: Seven Questions and the Hour of DeathYou become what you remember
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9, Verses 1-19: The Sovereign SecretIn me and not in me: the great paradox
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9, Verses 20-34: Leaf, Flower, Fruit, WaterThe offering anyone can make and the promise none lose
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10, Verses 19-42: The Catalogue of GloriesWherever there is splendour, a spark of one fragment
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10, Verses 1-18: The Source of AllThe lamp of knowledge and Arjuna's hunger to hear
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11, Verses 15-34: I Am TimeThe mouths of the god and the instrument's task
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11, Verses 1-14: The Divine EyeThe request, the gift, and a thousand suns
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 11, Verses 35-55: Bear With Me as a FriendThe hymn, the apology, and the return of the gentle form
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12, Verses 13-20: He Who Is Dear to MeThe portrait of the devotee, sung as a litany
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12, Verses 1-12: Personal or UnmanifestA ladder with a rung for everyone
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13, Verses 19-35: Prakriti, Purusha, and the WitnessSeeing the imperishable in the perishing
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13, Verses 1-18: Field and Knower of the FieldBody as field, humility as knowledge
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14, Verses 14-27: Crossing the GunasThe one who watches the qualities operate
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14, Verses 1-13: The Three GunasRopes of gold, fire and lead
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15, Verses 12-20: PurushottamaThe light in the sun, the fire in the belly, the memory in the heart
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15, Verses 1-11: The Inverted TreeCut it with the axe of non-attachment
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 16, Verses 10-24: The Three GatesThe inner monologue of appetite, and how it closes
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 16, Verses 1-9: Two EstatesFearlessness first, and the world without a Lord
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 17, Verses 15-28: Speech, Mind, and GivingAusterity that heals, gifts that cost nothing back
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 17, Verses 1-14: As His Faith Is, So Is HeFaith, food and the sacrifices we choose
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Verses 1-40: Renunciation Rightly UnderstoodTyaga, the five factors, and the great threefold table
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Verses 41-66: Your Own Work, and the Final RefugePrakriti will compel you, so choose freely and surrender
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Verses 67-78: Delusion Gone, I Will Do Your WordTransmission, Arjuna's answer, and Sanjaya's last verse
- Kurukshetra Day 11: The Teacher Takes CommandDrona's Vow to Take the King Alive
- The Oath of the DoomedSusharma and the Samsaptakas - the Army That Swore to Die
- The Elephant King of the EastBhagadatta, Supratika, and the Missile Krishna Took on His Chest
- Abhimanyu and the WheelThe boy who could enter the formation but not leave it
- The Valiant SonAbhimanyu's story teaches us that true courage is not the absence of fear, but action in the face of certain death. His...
- The Sun That SetArjuna's sunset vow and Krishna's hidden sun
- The Severed ArmTwo breaches of the code in a single combat
- The Guards of the WheelsYudhamanyu and Uttamaujas
- The Spear Meant for ArjunaThe Death of Ghatotkacha
- The Weapon That Could Not Be FacedAshvatthama's irresistible astra, undone by submission
- The Fall of the GuruThe Half-Lie of the Dharma King
- Arjuna's Vow and the Fall of DronaJayadratha, the Night Battle of Ghatotkacha, and the Lie That Killed a Teacher
- The Guard Drona Had To KillSatyajit of Panchala, and the promise Arjuna left behind him
- The Banners and the BowsSanjaya names every standard on the field
- The Gandhara Brothers and the War of IllusionsShakuni fights the only battle he ever fought himself
- The Night the Sindhu King Asked to LeaveJayadratha wants his horses saddled, and Drona tells him the truth
- The Women in the TentSubhadra, Draupadi and Uttaraa on the night Abhimanyu died
- What Krishna Told His CharioteerThe night Krishna decided to break his own vow
- The Cart, the Lotus and the NeedleDrona builds an array forty-eight miles deep to hide one man
- The Blessing at the GateArjuna asks his teacher's leave to break his teacher's line
- The Mace That Turned BackVaruna's gift to a river's son, and the one rule he forgot
- The Armour of MantrasThe one day Duryodhana stood in front of Arjuna and did not fall
- The Lake and the Hall of ArrowsKrishna unyokes the horses in the middle of the battle
- Kurukshetra Day 14: The Longest DaySunset Vow, False Dusk, and a Battle That Would Not Stop at Nightfall
- The Order Yudhishthira GaveA king overrules the guard his brother posted
- The King Counts His ArmyEvery soldier paid, examined and willing, and still losing
- The Grandson of Shini Crosses the OceanOne chariot sent through the whole Kaurava host
- The Second Man SentBhima's crossing and the roar agreed on beforehand
- The Bow Tip and the BoastKarna keeps his word to Kunti and pays for it in insults
- The Arrows He Did Not Want to ShootArjuna, Kripa, and a lesson in arms turned back on its teacher
- One Man Against an Army of the NightAshwatthama burns a full akshauhini of Ghatotkacha's rakshasas
- The Oath of a Bereaved FatherThe house of Bahlika ends in a single night
- Three Men and a Drawn SwordKarna boasts, Kripa answers, and Ashwatthama draws on his own side
- The Night They Lit the FieldDuryodhana's order that turned a battlefield into a lamp-lit hall
- What Krishna Had Already DoneArjuna asks, and gets a list he did not expect
- The Dart That Was Never ThrownA blind king asks the only question that mattered
- Kurukshetra Day 15: The Day the Teacher DiedFrom the Dawn Prayers to the Half-Truth at Noon
- Held Back by Bhima's ArmsSatyaki and Dhrishtadyumna nearly finish the war for the Kauravas
- The Weapon That Would Not Burn ThemAshwatthama's fire, and why it left two men standing
- The One Who Walked Ahead of the ChariotArjuna finally asks who has been winning his battles
- The Sword That Broke on the ShieldAbhimanyu strips a king of everything, and Jayadratha comes down off his car to stop him
- The Two MacesBhima sends Abhimanyu aside and meets the king of Madra blow for blow until both men fall
- The Guard at the WheelKumara of Panchala checks Drona in front of Yudhishthira's chariot, and pays for it
- The Elephant Corps and the King of AngaBhima breaks Duryodhana's elephant division and beheads the Anga king in mid-fall
- The Sword on Drona's YokeDhrishtadyumna leaps onto his enemy's chariot to kill him, and Satyaki cuts the arrow that would have killed him first
- The King on FootDrona breaks Yudhishthira's bow, dart, mace and car, and the king escapes on Sahadeva's chariot
- The Dice That Turned Into ArrowsDrona rebukes the fleeing Dushasana, and then wakes with a sword over his neck
- The King Who Went In AloneDuryodhana charges the whole Pandava army by himself, and Yudhishthira cuts his bow
- The Stake on the TableDrona tells Duryodhana that the dice in the sabha were arrows, and that Jayadratha is what they are playing for
- The Brahma Weapon AnsweredDrona empties the celestial arsenal at Yudhishthira on the fourteenth night, and the king matches him astra for astra
- The King They Thought Was DeadBhima's mace crushes Duryodhana's chariot, and both armies believe the Kuru king killed
- The Fourth Son Karna Let GoKarna disarms Sahadeva in the night battle and sends him away alive
- Seven Bows Against OneDhrishtadyumna rides at Drona in the night battle and answers seven champions with three arrows apiece
- The King Put Off His ChariotSatyaki kills Duryodhana's horses and driver, cuts his bow at the handle, and the king escapes on Kritavarma's car
- The Two Who RememberedDuryodhana and Satyaki meet on the fifteenth day and talk about their childhood before they fight
- Sword and Shield Against the PreceptorDhrishtadyumna, stripped of car and bow, dances the twenty-one motions to reach Drona
- The Telling in the RoutAshwatthama rides back through a fleeing army to ask what happened, and Kripa has to tell him how Drona was killed
- Karna Takes the FieldThe vow that kept him out of ten days of war, and the grief that brought him into it
- The Consecration of DronaKarna names the Preceptor commander, and Drona names the man he cannot kill
- The Silent CampArjuna comes back at dusk from the samsaptakas and learns that Abhimanyu is dead
- The Boon Somadatta Asked ForA wrestling match at Devaki's self-choice, and the son born a generation later to answer it
- How Drona Won the Narayana WeaponAshwatthama tells the Kauravas where his father's last astra came from, and the one rule that came with it
- The One Who Walked Before the CarVyasa tells Arjuna whose lance was breaking the ranks in front of him
- The King Falls Out of His SeatDhritarashtra hears that Drona is dead, faints in his hall, and wakes to ask who was supposed to be guarding him
- The Mouth of the GarudaDrona draws his host as a bird and comes for Yudhishthira on the twelfth morning
- The King of the Fire CityAshwatthama kills Nila of Mahishmati, and Arjuna kills three of Karna's brothers in his sight
- The Field at DuskSanjaya describes the evening of the thirteenth day, and the army that won walks home through it
- The Blind King Is AnsweredDhritarashtra laments the night after Abhimanyu's death, and his own messenger tells him whose fault it is
- The Road to JayadrathaArjuna breaks through the head of Drona's array on the fourteenth morning, from the omens at dawn to the river of blood
- The Brothers of AvantiTwo kings see Arjuna's horses tire, and one of them walks up to Krishna with a mace
- Four Duels on the Fourteenth DayKshemadhurti, Viradhanwan, Niramitra and Vyaghradatta go down before Drona's division
- The Stones and the Golden KingSatyaki kills Sudarsana on the road to Arjuna, and cuts the mountaineers' stones out of the air
- What Drupada Said About DuryodhanaFive kings die in front of Drona in one afternoon, and Drupada names the man who is not on the field
- The Field Krishna Showed HimArjuna is driven at a walk over the ground he has won, and Yudhishthira answers with a hymn
- Bhima's Harvest on the Fourteenth EveningDrona takes the head of the king of Sivi, and Bhima kills with his fists, his palm and a caught dart until the kings call him Rudra
- The Night Falls on the Fourteenth DayAshwatthama breaks the Panchalas after dark, Drona looses the wind weapon, and Krishna pulls Yudhishthira out of a fight he is winning
- The Guard at Drona's Right WheelYudhishthira orders his whole army against Drona, and never gets past Kritavarma
- Duels by TorchlightSix single combats fought by lamplight on the road to Drona's car
- Karna by Night Against the PanchalasThe armies throw down their torches, and the Suta's son scatters Dhrishtadyumna and all of Panchala in the dark
- The Whole Host Against DronaYudhishthira sends every man he has at the preceptor, and the fifteenth morning breaks into duels
- The Arrow Cut in the AirSatyaki saves Dhrishtadyumna from the preceptor's shaft and holds three great bowmen at once, and the day ends with Drona's head in the dust
- Bhima Carried From the FieldAshwatthama's afternoon after the Narayana weapon, and the shaft that took Bhima's charioteer
- Portents Before the Fourteenth DayThe night the sky and the rivers answered Arjuna's vow, and the morning ritual of a king
- Satyaki of the VrishnisLoyalty that outran judgment
- The Commander AccusedDuryodhana tells Drona to his face that he is sparing them
- The Fifteenth MorningDrona alone, and the old kings who tried to stop him
- The Journey to the MountainKrishna and Arjuna go north in the night before the vow
- The Night the Armies SleptA truce called for the moon on the fourteenth night
- Kamboja of the Swift HorsesThe cavalry kingdom of the far northwest
- Pragjyotisha, City of the Eastern LightFortress of Naraka and Bhagadatta
- Sindhu, the River Kingdom of JayadrathaThe land the only daughter married into
- The Gandiva QuarrelArjuna Nearly Kills His King
- The Death of KarnaThe chariot wheel, the curses, and the fall of the sun
- The Fallen SunKarna's life is the greatest tragedy of the Mahabharata. Born a prince, raised a charioteer's son, cursed by fate at...
- The Fallen SunKarna's story is the Mahabharata's deepest meditation on the cruelty of fate and the power of loyalty. He was denied...
- Kurukshetra Day 17: The Earth Takes the WheelKarna's Last Morning to Karna's Last Hour
- The Word Brought to HastinapuraSanjaya rides through the night with the news of Karna
- Arjuna Against the Preceptor's SonThe duel Ashvatthama could not win twice
- Pandya of the Malaya HillsThe southern king who thought himself greater than Bhishma
- The King Against the KingYudhishthira brings Duryodhana down and Bhima stops the blow
- The Calf and the WheelKarna tells his charioteer the curse that will kill him
- Karna Spares the KingThe armour cut away, and a hand laid on Yudhishthira's shoulder
- The Brothers Bhima CountedDuryodhana's kin fall in handfuls on the seventeenth day
- The Bhargava WeaponKarna spends his teacher's last gift on the Pancalas
- Ashvatthama Asks for PeaceA hand on Duryodhana's wrist while the gods watch
- The Field After the Sun FellShalya counts the dead and the Kauravas walk away
- A Thousand Lamps Around KarnaYudhishthira rises from his bed to look at his enemy
- The Duel the Gods ApplaudedAshwatthama and Bhima fight to a standstill and are carried off senseless by their own drivers
- The Old Preceptor and the Slayer of DronaKripa freezes Dhrishtadyumna until his own driver turns the car and runs
- The King Names the PairsYudhishthira assigns each Pandava his enemy as Karna's array comes on
- Ashwatthama Breaks the King's GuardA roof of arrows over Yudhishthira, and the insult the king threw back
- The Elephant Standard Comes DownDhrishtadyumna leaves Duryodhana without horses, driver, weapons or banner at noon on the seventeenth day
- Ashwatthama at Dhrishtadyumna's ThroatThe vow he very nearly kept on the seventeenth day
- How Parashurama Won Shiva's WeaponsYears of penance, a war fought with empty hands, and the arsenal that reached Karna
- The Night After DronaThe sleepless camp, four men in a tent, and the thread tied round Karna's wrists
- The First Duels of the Sixteenth DayBhima kills a king off an elephant, Satyaki kills two brothers, and Draupadi's sons kill two more
- Dandadhara of MagadhaTwo brothers on elephants, and the field Krishna made Arjuna look at
- The Kings of the East FallSatyaki, Sahadeva and Nakula break the elephant corps of the eastern kings
- Sutasoma and the Broken ScimitarYuyutsu and Uluka trade blows, and Bhima's son fights Shakuni on foot with half a sword
- Karna and Satyaki ClashOne Vrishni holds the Kaurava army, and the sixteenth day ends in dust
- The Price on Arjuna's HeadKarna offers everything he owns to any man who will point out Arjuna
- The Prince Who Went In for ShikhandiKripa strips Shikhandi on the seventeenth day, and a young ally buys him a way out with his life
- The Gates of Heaven Stand OpenDuryodhana tells his kings that dying well is winning, and Krishna drives Arjuna through what that costs
- Satyaki Unhorses ShakuniThe seventeenth day breaks into single combats, and the gambler of Gandhara is carried off the field by his son
- Arjuna Rides Out for KarnaThe car is yoked again, the omen birds go on ahead, and the field between Arjuna and Karna breaks into duels
- Arjuna Cuts His Way to KarnaAn army ordered to tire one man before Karna kills him
- The Vows Before the Final DuelKarna, Shalya, Krishna and Arjuna each say what they will do when the other man dies
- Karna's Tales of the MadrakasThe abducted woman's curse, the rakshasa's ranking of dirt, and a driver who cannot get off the chariot
- Vrishasena, Heir of AngaWar's arithmetic visits the children
- The Serpent in the ArrowA grudge that waited a generation for one shot
- Duryodhana's Last StandShalya, the Twins, and a King in a Lake
- The Fourth CommanderA nephew's water poured on an uncle's head at the foot of Himavat
- The Sons of the Sun Go DownNakula's one great hour, and the end of Karna's line
- Shalya Alone Against FiveThe last commander's one unanswerable morning
- The King on the Mountain of FleshOne elephant breaks an army, and two men bring it down
- Where the Carnage Did Not CeaseArjuna counts every point at which the war should have stopped
- The Last of the HundredBhima closes an eighteen-year account in a single afternoon
- The Oath Comes DueSusharman, his thirty-five sons, and the last of the sworn men
- The Men Who Carried the MeatA king's hiding place sold for a purse
- The Duel on the Southern BankTwo pupils of one teacher settle a war with clubs
- The Verdict at the Fallen KingBalarama's plough, Duryodhana's indictment, and the flowers that fell from the sky
- The Errand Before the GriefKrishna drives to Hastinapura to reach a mother before her curse does
- Duryodhana Rises from the LakeTaunted in the water, the last Kaurava comes up armed and asks for one man at a time
- The Eighteenth MorningChekitana takes a lance, Suratha takes a single arrow, and Duryodhana is carried off his own field by bolting horses
- The Seventeen HundredShalya's followers charge against orders, and Duryodhana's army breaks twice before he turns it round
- The Afternoon of the Eighteenth DaySatyaki takes Kritavarma's car again, Duryodhana holds the field alone, and the last elephants fall
- The Flight of the Royal LadiesThe last of the eleven armies dies, Duryodhana walks into a lake, and the Kaurava camp runs for Hastinapura
- The Plunder of the Kaurava CampThe victors ride into Duryodhana's empty tents, and Arjuna's chariot turns to ash
- The Muster of the Eighteenth DayAn oath never to fight alone, and the count of what was left of both armies
- The Count on the Nineteenth MorningEighteen armies, and the men who walked off the field
- The Five Sons of DraupadiThe Upapandavas
- The Owl in the Banyan TreeWhat three beaten men argued about in the dark
- The Last ReportThree men bring good news to a dying king
- The Weapon He Could Not LiftAshvatthama's bargain on the Dwaraka shore
- The Gem on Ashwatthama's HeadDraupadi sits down to starve until the stone is brought to her
- The Duel of the Brahmashira WeaponsAshwatthama and Arjuna loose the world-ending astra at Vyasa's hermitage
- The Aftermath of WarThe Night Massacre, the Women's Lament, and a Curse on Krishna
- The Queen Asks Her QuestionsGandhari puts the victors on trial, and Vyasa stands in the way
- The Queens Who Came a Long WayWhat the Kuru quarrel cost the kingdoms that were only allies
- The Count of the DeadKrishna's blunt answer, and a king who could see where they had gone
- Gandhari Shows Krishna the FieldWith the sight Vyasa gave her, the blindfolded queen walks Krishna through the dead of Kurukshetra
- What Gandhari SawThe blind queen, given sight for one afternoon, walks Kurukshetra naming the dead of both armies
- The Sixteen KingsThe Consolation of Yudhishthira
- Bhishma on the Bed of ArrowsFifty-Eight Days of Teaching, and a King Crowned at His Feet
- Karna at RajapuraA bride carried off, a hundred kings unhorsed, and the city a rival gave away
- The Victory Nobody WantedFive brothers, a wife and a sage argue a king back onto his throne
- The Bird That Sent the Boys HomeIndra in golden feathers argues young renouncers back to their fathers
- The Queen's Answer to the Beggar KingJanaka shaves his head, and his wife takes his renunciation apart
- The Crowning of YudhishthiraA king anointed by the man he could not save
- The Princes the Earth HidWhat was left of the Kshatriyas after the axe
- The Weapon Not Made of SteelKrishna tells Narada what his own kinsmen do to him
- What the Brothers Wanted MostAn evening argument about virtue, wealth and desire
- Three Doors and Fifty WomenThe son of Vyasa is made to walk, and then made to wait
- Krishna's Gift to the Dying GrandsireThe Boon That Took Away Pain, Hunger and Thirst So Bhishma Could Speak
- The King Who Was Left AloneVyasa tells Yudhishthira of Hayagriva, who fought robbers after his army was gone and won heaven at his post
- The Gods and the SalavrikasVyasa answers Yudhishthira's guilt with the war heaven fought for thirty-two thousand years
- The Oath to Conquer or DieBhishma on marching, arraying and swearing in an army, and the men a soldier may never strike
- The Practices That Overcome DifficultyBhishma on when a truthful man may lie, and the long list of habits that carry a person through
- The Legs of the SnakeBhishma on how to live through a lawless season, and why slander must never be heard
- The Marks of a True FriendBhishma lists the men a king may bind himself to, and the men he must keep at a distance
- The Road to EmancipationBhishma names, one by one, the tool that lifts each weight
- Galava Asks What Is BeneficialNarada answers a student who cannot tell which scripture to obey
- The Curses of the RishisKrishna names the marks that Brahmanas left on gods, seas and mountains
- The Twin SagesNara, Narayana, and the Eternal Companionship
- The Ten Sins of Body, Speech and MindBhishma answers the plainest question with a list of ten things not to do
- Rules for a Long LifeBhishma sets out the conduct of an ordinary day, and how brothers should hold together
- Whose Food May Be EatenBhishma on the tables a man may sit at, and the expiations for the rest
- The Foundations of RighteousnessBhishma is asked whether the eye or the scripture decides, and answers with three foundations and a long list of small rules
- The Thousand Names of VishnuVishnu Sahasranama - Bhishma's Last Gift
- The Hand That Rose From the GrassBhishma's own memory of Shantanu's shraddha at the gate of Ganga
- The Departure of BhishmaThe sun turns north, and the grandsire lets go
- The Horse SacrificeArjuna Follows a Wandering Horse, and Dies at His Own Son's Hand
- The AnugitaThe Gita After the Gita
- The Last Son of KarnaVrishaketu, the Boy the Pandavas Raised in Their Brother's Place
- The Fires Inside the BodyA wife asks what her husband's stillness is worth
- Where the Kingdom EndsA sentence of exile that its author could not locate
- The Eight Who Questioned BrahmaThe ladder from the Unmanifest down to a body
- The News Krishna Held BackA grandfather is spared until his daughter refuses it
- The Horse Goes SouthEkalavya's son, and the day Dwaraka grabbed the bridle
- The Sacrifice of Profuse GoldYudhishthira gives away the earth and is given it back
- The Rain Agastya Did Not NeedTwelve years of drought against one sage's seeds
- The Adhwaryu and the YatiA wandering ascetic stops at a sacrifice and asks the priest who gave the goat his consent
- Arjuna's Hymn at PartingOn the road to Hastinapur, Arjuna praises Krishna and gives him leave to go home
- The Kings Who Gave LawfullyIndra refuses the Rishis, a king answers too quickly, and the names of those who reached heaven by honest gifts
- Subhadra of DwarakaSister, wife, and guardian of the line
- Dussala, the Only SisterWhat women inherit from men's wars
- Ulupi's Long DesignThe wife who arranged her husband's death to save him
- The Perfected One at the DoorA brahmana asks what the soul is walking through
- The Horse Among Old EnemiesArjuna's year of merciful battles
- The Wordy DartsFifteen Years of Bhima's Unforgiveness
- The King Asks Leave of His PeopleAn Assembly Absolves the Man Who Ruined It
- The Gift SacrificeTen Days of Giving for the Enemy Dead
- Satayupa and the Forest KingsNarada Names the Rulers Who Chose the Woods
- The Court Comes to the ForestAn Army Marches Out to Visit Two Old Ascetics
- The Night the Dead ReturnedVyasa Calls the Fallen Out of the Ganga
- The Fire That Was Not UnholyYudhishthira Accuses Agni of Ingratitude
- The Iron MacesBook 16 - The Curse That Destroyed Krishna's People
- The Omens of DwarakaA City Watches Its Own Death Approach
- Balarama Returns to the SeaThe Serpent Leaves by the Mouth It Came From
- The Death of VasudevaKrishna's Father Outlives Everyone
- Arjuna Empties DwarakaOne bowman escorts a dead city inland, and the sea walks behind him
- When the Gandiva FailedArjuna's last, lost escort
- Prabhasa, Where the Sea Meets the EndThe shore tirtha of the Yadavas
- The Great JourneyBook 17 - The Pandavas Walk North to Die, and the Dog Who Followed
- The Great DepartureKrishna's Death, the End of the Yadavas, and the Pandavas' Climb to Heaven
- The Ascent to HeavenBook 18 - The Last Illusion, and the End of the Story
- The Return of the PortionsWho everybody turned out to have been
Places in Arjuna's Story
Drawn from the stories Arjuna appears in.
Related Characters
Others counted among the Pandavas.