| Nakula | |
|---|---|
 An 18th century painting depicting Nakula | |
| Personal Information | |
| Affiliation | Pandava |
| Weapon | Sword |
| Family | |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Sons |
| Relatives |
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Nakula (Sanskrit:नकुल) was the fourth of the fivePandava brothers in the ancient Indian epic, theMahabharata. He and his twin brotherSahadeva were the sons ofMadri, one of the wives of the Pandava patriarchPandu, andAshvini Kumaras, the divine twin physicians of the gods, whom she invoked to beget her sons due to Pandu's inability to progenate. Nakula is described as the most handsome man of his lineage, and was renowned for his beauty, skill in swordsmanship and horse keeping.
He shared the common wife,Draupadi, with his four brothers. He was also married to Karenumati ofChedi Kingdom. He had two sons Shatanika and Niramitra from his two wives respectively. During theRajasuya of his eldest brother Yudhishthira, he conquered the kings of the Sivis, the Rohitakas and other dynasties. After Yudhishthira lost all his possessions to his cousinDuryodhana in a dice game, the Pandavas and Draupadi were exiled for thirteen years. During the Pandavas' year of incognito exile, he disguised as a horse trainer named Granthika, and worked in the kingdom ofVirata. Nakula was a skilled warrior who fought in theKurukshetra War between the Pandavas and their cousinsKauravas. After the war, Yudhishthira appointed Nakula as the king of northernMadra. At the end of the epic, during the Pandavas' journey to the Himalayas to enter heaven, Nakula was the third to fall, following Draupadi and Sahadeva, due to his excessive pride in his beauty.
In Sanskrit, the wordnakula means "mongoose" or "mongoose-colored."[2]
Nakula and his brother Sahadeva are both also referred to in the epic as Āśvineya, Aśvinīsuta and Aśvisuta because they are the sons of theAshvins and as Mādravatīputra, Mādravatīsuta, Mādreya, Mādrinandana, Mādrinandanaka, Mādrīputra, Mādrīsuta, Mādrītanūja because they are the sons of Mādrī.[3][4]
Due toPandu's inability to bear children (because of the curse of RishiKindama),Kunti had to use the boon given by SageDurvasa to give birth to her three children. She shared the boon with Pandu's second wife,Madri, who invoked theAshvini Kumaras to beget Nakula andSahadeva, as twins. Madri committed self immolation, calledSati when her husband died and entrusted her children's care to Kunti. Despite different divine paternal parentage these five children, first three of Kunti –Yudhisthira,Bhima andArjuna- and latter two of Madri – Nakula and Sahadeva, were calledPandavas, or sons of Pandu.[5][6] Nakula was known to be the most handsome person in theKuru lineage.
In his childhood, Nakula mastered his skills in fencing and knife throwing under his father Pandu and a hermit named Suka at the Satasringa ashram. Later, Pandu lost his life when he attempted to make love with his wife, Madri. She committed suicide. Thus, Nakula along with his brothers moved toHastinapura where he was brought up byKunti. Kunti loved him as much as her own sons.[7]
Nakula greatly improved his archery and swordplay skills under the tutelage ofDrona. Nakula turned out to be an accomplished wielder of the sword. Along with the other Pandava brothers, Nakula was trained in religion, science, administration, and military arts by the Kuru preceptorsKripacharya andDronacharya. He was particularly skilled at horse-riding.
When the Pandavas and their mother, Kunti were in hiding after the event ofLakshagriha, Arjuna wonDraupadi's hand in marriage. Nakula married her along with hisbrothers and had a son,Shatanika who was killed byAshwatthama in theKurukshetra War.
He also marriedKarenumati, the daughter ofShishupala, who bore him one son,Niramitra.[11]
Nakula was sent west byYudhisthira to subjugate kingdoms for theRajasuya sacrifice, after crowning as the Emperor ofIndraprastha. Nakula set forth to the kingdom once dominated byVasudeva with a huge army. He first attacked the prosperous mountainous country ofRohitaka. He defeated the Mattamyurakas of the land in a fierce encounter. In another battle with the sage Akrosha, Nakula subjugated the regions ofSairishaka andMahetta. He also defeated many tribes and small dynasties, including theDasarnas, theSivis, theTrigartas, the Amvashtas, theMalavas, the five tribes of theKarnatas, theMadhyamakeyas, theVattadhanas and the Utsava-sanketas.[12]
Yudhishthira's loss in the game of dice meant that allPandavas had to live in exile for 13 years. Once in exile,Jatasura, disguised as aBrahmin, kidnapped Nakula along withDraupadi,Sahadeva andYudhishthira.Bhima rescued them eventually and in the fight that ensued, Nakula killed Kshemankara, Mahamaha, and Suratha.[13] In the 13th year, Nakula disguised himself as anostler and assumed the name ofGranthika (between themselves, the Pandavas called himJayasena) at theKingdom of Virata. He worked as a horse-trainer who looked after horses in the royal stable.[14]
Nakula desiredDrupada to be the general of the Pandava army, butYudhishthira andArjuna opted forDhristadyumna.[15]
As a warrior, Nakula slew prominent war-heroes on the enemy side. The flag of Nakula's chariot bore the image of ared deer with a golden back.[16] His conch, which was blown among others at the start of the war, was named Sughosha.
On the 1st day of the war, Nakula defeatedDussasana, sparing his life so thatBhima could fulfill his oath.
On the 11th day, Nakula defeatedShalya, destroying his chariot.
On the 13th day, his advance intoDronacharya's formation was repulsed byJayadratha.
On the night of the 14th day, he vanquishedShakuni.
On the 15th day, he defeatedDuryodhana in a one-on-one duel. Duryodhana ran away in his chariot after being defeated. Nakula taunted him to stay on and fight
On the 16th day, he was defeated and spared byKarna.[17]On the 18th day, he killed Karna's sons Chitrasena, Satyasena and Sushena.
Afterthe war,Yudhishthira appointed Nakula as the King of NorthernMadra andSahadeva as King of southern Madra.[18]
Upon the onset ofKali Yuga and the departure ofKrishna, thePandavas retired. Giving up all their belongings and ties, thePandavas andDraupadi, along with a dog, made their final journey of pilgrimage to theHimalayas.
Except Yudhishthira, all of the Pandavas grew weak and died before reaching heaven. Nakula was the third one to fall after Draupadi andSahadeva. WhenBhima asked Yudhishthira why Nakula fell, Yudhishthira replied that Nakula took pride in his beauty and believed that there was nobody equal to him in looks.[19] Nakula is seen among theAshvins, alongside Sahadeva, when Yudhisthira ascended toSvarga.[20]
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