Pandavas
Sahadeva
सहदेव
The Wise Twin
Who was Sahadeva?
Sahadeva (सहदेव): The Wise Twin, one of the Pandavas in the Mahabharata. The youngest Pandava, twin brother of Nakula, born to Madri and the Ashvins.
Quick Facts
| Sanskrit name | सहदेव |
|---|---|
| Title / Epithet | The Wise Twin |
| Faction | Pandavas |
| Key traits | Wise, Astrologer, Swordsman |
| Featured in | 214 stories |
About Sahadeva
The youngest Pandava, twin brother of Nakula, born to Madri and the Ashvins. Exceptionally wise and skilled in swordsmanship and astrology.
In Their Words
They will have qualities that will surpass all men.
Sahadeva
Traits
- Wise
- Astrologer
- Swordsman
Stories Featuring Sahadeva
214 tales on this site name Sahadeva, in canonical reading order.
- Chitraratha at the GangaThe Gandharva at the Night Ford
- 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
- A Royal Childhood at HastinapuraPandavas, Kauravas, and the Lessons of Drona
- 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 Impossible ChallengeDestiny works in mysterious ways. The rejected princes of Hastinapura, believed dead, revealed themselves as the...
- The Ascetics at the GateThe morning five orphans were handed to Hastinapura
- 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 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 Weighing of the BharataThe gods put the epic in a balance against the four Vedas, and Sauti recites the eighteen books
- Kunti's BlessingA mother-in-law names seven wives, a throne nobody owns yet, and a son not yet born
- Madri, the Second QueenThe overshadowed wife who chose the fire
- Madra, Kingdom of Shalya and MadriThe uncle's land between two loyalties
- The Imperial SacrificeIndraprastha, Jarasandha, and the Rajasuya Yagna
- The Imperial CeremonyThe Rajasuya story contains a profound teaching about divine patience and justice. Krishna endured ninety-nine insults...
- The Fateful GameAddiction blinds even the wisest of men. Yudhishthira, known for his righteousness, lost everything - his wealth, his...
- The Fall of DharmaThe Fall of Dharma teaches the most terrifying lesson of the Mahabharata: that evil does not triumph through its own...
- The Hundred Questions of NaradaA sage audits an emperor before he lets him boast
- 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
- Nakula, the BeautifulThe overshadowed twin's own account
- Sahadeva, the Silent SeerKnowledge that could not save
- Mahishmati, City Guarded by FireThe Narmada capital of old power
- The Conquest of the SouthSahadeva'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...
- Draupadi's Trials in ExileThe Sari, the Sage, and a Question to a Queen
- 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 Golden PloughThe sacrifice a king held because the one he wanted was forbidden him
- Indra Comes to GandhamadanaMatali brings Arjuna home from heaven, and the king of the gods follows him down
- Lanka in the MahabharataRavana's island as the epic remembers it
- The Brahmin Who Was a DemonThe guest who asked for nothing for months
- 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
- 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
- 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
- The Twins in the Stables and the PensNakula and Sahadeva's year in disguise
- The Corpse in the Shami TreeHow the weapons slept for a year
- Uluka's EmbassyThe Last Words Before the War
- 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 Question of DaysEach commander prices the enemy army in mornings
- Arjuna's Message to the KurusSanjaya recites the message in open court, and names every man who will die
- The Sacrifice of BattleDuryodhana makes the coming war his own rite, and his father disowns him for it
- The Eighteen DaysWar spares no one - neither the righteous nor the wicked. The Mahabharata war ended with Pandava victory, but the price...
- Kurukshetra Day 7: Mandala and VajraThe Day of a Hundred Duels
- 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
- Kurukshetra Day 8: The Rakshasa's HourIravan falls and Ghatotkacha answers for him
- The Pillow of ArrowsBoth armies lay down their weapons for one evening
- The Herb in the Grandsire's HandA wounded Duryodhana asks Bhishma for reassurance and is given honesty, a pledge, and medicine
- 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.
- 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 Pairings of the Second DayArjuna goes at the grandsire, and the field breaks into nine duels
- The Banners and the BowsSanjaya names every standard on the field
- 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 Oath of a Bereaved FatherThe house of Bahlika ends in a single night
- 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 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 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 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
- Karna Takes the FieldThe vow that kept him out of ten days of war, and the grief that brought him into 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 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 King of the Fire CityAshwatthama kills Nila of Mahishmati, and Arjuna kills three of Karna's brothers in his sight
- The Blind King Is AnsweredDhritarashtra laments the night after Abhimanyu's death, and his own messenger tells him whose fault it is
- 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
- 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 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
- Kurukshetra Day 16: The Sun-Born CommanderKarna Keeps His Word to Kunti
- The Fallen SunKarna's life is the greatest tragedy of the Mahabharata. Born a prince, raised a charioteer's son, cursed by fate at...
- 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
- Karna Spares the KingThe armour cut away, and a hand laid on Yudhishthira's shoulder
- The Bhargava WeaponKarna spends his teacher's last gift on the Pancalas
- 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
- Sahadeva Against DushasanaThe quiet twin puts one arrow through the man Bhima had sworn to kill
- The King Names the PairsYudhishthira assigns each Pandava his enemy as Karna's array comes on
- The Son Bhima BeheadedBhima cuts down Karna's son Bhanusena while Karna fights his way toward Yudhishthira
- 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
- The First Duels of the Sixteenth DayBhima kills a king off an elephant, Satyaki kills two brothers, and Draupadi's sons kill two more
- The Kings of the East FallSatyaki, Sahadeva and Nakula break the elephant corps of the eastern kings
- 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
- 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
- The Fall of ShakuniSahadeva Keeps His Vow
- 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 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 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 Dice King's SonFathers' games, sons' funerals
- The Count on the Nineteenth MorningEighteen armies, and the men who walked off the field
- The Gem on Ashwatthama's HeadDraupadi sits down to starve until the stone is brought to her
- 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
- 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 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 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
- 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 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
- 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 Two Bowls of RiceHow a mother's swap made a brahmana of one line and a warrior of the other
- The Departure of BhishmaThe sun turns north, and the grandsire lets go
- The News Krishna Held BackA grandfather is spared until his daughter refuses it
- The Sacrifice of Profuse GoldYudhishthira gives away the earth and is given it back
- Arjuna's Hymn at PartingOn the road to Hastinapur, Arjuna praises Krishna and gives him leave to go home
- The Wordy DartsFifteen Years of Bhima's Unforgiveness
- The King Asks Leave of His PeopleAn Assembly Absolves the Man Who Ruined It
- 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 Omens of DwarakaA City Watches Its Own Death Approach
- The Death of VasudevaKrishna's Father Outlives Everyone
- Arjuna Empties DwarakaOne bowman escorts a dead city inland, and the sea walks behind him
- 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 Sahadeva's Story
Drawn from the stories Sahadeva appears in.
Related Characters
Others counted among the Pandavas.