Dushasana
Encyclopedia
Dushasana was the second son of the blind king Dhritarashtra
and Gandhari
in the epic Mahābhārata
, and the younger brother of Duryodhana
.
, who had given birth to three of the five Pandavas. Due to her actions, a hardened mass of grey-colored flesh emerges from her womb. Gandhari is devastated, and calls upon Vyasa
, the great sage who had blessed her with one hundred sons, to redeem his words.
Vyasa divides the flesh ball into one hundred equal pieces, and puts them in pots of ghee, which are sealed and buried into the earth for one year. At the end of the year, the first pot is opened, and Duryodhana emerges. The next one to emerge is Dushasana.
Dushasana is devoted to his older brother Duryodhana, and is also closely involved in the various schemes and plots to kill the Pandavas.
loses his kingdom, his brothers and his wife Draupadi
in a game of dice with Shakuni
, Dushasana dragged Draupadi
in the assembly at the behest of his brother Duryodhana
, and tried to disrobe her. Draupadi prayed to Krishna
and he made her sari
to be of infinite length, so Dushasana could not take it off. However, the princess was humiliated as she was dragged into court by her hair. Because of this humiliation, Draupadi vows that she will not tie her hair until she washes it with the blood of Dushasana's chest.
Bhima
pledged to tear open Dushasana's chest and drink his blood.
, Bhima
kills Dushasana, tears his chest and drinks his blood, as pledged and helps Draupadi redeem her vow while redeeming his own. Dushasana's death greatly agitated Karna and Duryodhana, and demoralized the Kaurava Army watching Bhima in his ecstasy of wrath.
: duh, meaning hard, tough , and 'shasana, meaning ruler, punisher.
Dhritarashtra
In the Mahābhārata, Dhritarashtra was King of Hastinapur at the time of the Kurukshetra War, the epic's climactic event. He was born the son of Vichitravirya's first wife Ambika, and was fathered by Vyasa. He was blind from birth, and became father to a hundred children by his wife Gandhari...
and Gandhari
Gandhari (character)
Gāndhārī is a character in the Hindu epic, the Mahābhārata. In the epic, she was an incarnation of Mati, as the daughter of Subala, the king of Gandhara, or the modern Kandahar, a region spanning northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan, from which her name is derived...
in the epic Mahābhārata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
, and the younger brother of Duryodhana
Duryodhana
In the Hindu epic the Mahābhārata, Duryodhana is the eldest son of the blind king Dhritarashtra by Queen Gandhari, the eldest of the one hundred Kaurava brothers, Emperor of the world at that time which means Emperor of India or Bharatvarsha as it was known at that time, cousin and the chief...
.
Birth and development
When Dhritarashtra's queen Gandhari's pregnancy continues for an unusually long period of time, she beats her womb in frustration and envy of Kunti, the queen of PanduPandu
In the Mahābhārata epic, King Pandu is the son of Ambalika and Rishi Ved Vyasa. He is more popularly known as the father of the Pandavas and ruled Hastinapur.-Birth:...
, who had given birth to three of the five Pandavas. Due to her actions, a hardened mass of grey-colored flesh emerges from her womb. Gandhari is devastated, and calls upon Vyasa
Vyasa
Vyasa is a central and revered figure in most Hindu traditions. He is also sometimes called Veda Vyasa , or Krishna Dvaipayana...
, the great sage who had blessed her with one hundred sons, to redeem his words.
Vyasa divides the flesh ball into one hundred equal pieces, and puts them in pots of ghee, which are sealed and buried into the earth for one year. At the end of the year, the first pot is opened, and Duryodhana emerges. The next one to emerge is Dushasana.
Dushasana is devoted to his older brother Duryodhana, and is also closely involved in the various schemes and plots to kill the Pandavas.
Draupadi's humiliation
After YudhisthiraYudhisthira
In the great Hindu epic Mahabharata, Yudhisthira , the eldest son of King Pandu and Queen Kunti, was king of Indraprastha and later of Hastinapura. He was the leader of the Pandava side in the Kurukshetra War...
loses his kingdom, his brothers and his wife Draupadi
Draupadi
In the epic Mahābhārata, Draupadi, also known as ' is the "emerged" daughter of King Drupada of Panchāla and the wife of the five Pandavas. When Yudhisthira becomes the king of Hastinapura at the end of the war, Draupadi becomes the queen of Indraprastha...
in a game of dice with Shakuni
Shakuni
Shakuni , an avatar of Dvapara, the personification of Dvapara Yuga, was the brother of Gandhari in the Mahābhārata. He was portrayed as an extremely intelligent but devious old man, who was very fond of his nephew Duryodhana. He won the kingdom of the Pandavas' for his nephew, as a wager in a...
, Dushasana dragged Draupadi
Draupadi
In the epic Mahābhārata, Draupadi, also known as ' is the "emerged" daughter of King Drupada of Panchāla and the wife of the five Pandavas. When Yudhisthira becomes the king of Hastinapura at the end of the war, Draupadi becomes the queen of Indraprastha...
in the assembly at the behest of his brother Duryodhana
Duryodhana
In the Hindu epic the Mahābhārata, Duryodhana is the eldest son of the blind king Dhritarashtra by Queen Gandhari, the eldest of the one hundred Kaurava brothers, Emperor of the world at that time which means Emperor of India or Bharatvarsha as it was known at that time, cousin and the chief...
, and tried to disrobe her. Draupadi prayed to Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
and he made her sari
Sari
A sari or sareeThe name of the garment in various regional languages include: , , , , , , , , , , , , , is a strip of unstitched cloth, worn by females, ranging from four to nine metres in length that is draped over the body in various styles. It is popular in India, Bangladesh, Nepal,...
to be of infinite length, so Dushasana could not take it off. However, the princess was humiliated as she was dragged into court by her hair. Because of this humiliation, Draupadi vows that she will not tie her hair until she washes it with the blood of Dushasana's chest.
Bhima
Bhima
In the Mahābhārata, Bhima is one of the central characters of Mahabharata and the second of the Pandava brothers...
pledged to tear open Dushasana's chest and drink his blood.
Death
In the Kurukshetra WarKurukshetra war
According to the Indian epic poem Mahābhārata, a dynastic succession struggle between two groups of cousins of an Indo-Aryan kingdom called Kuru, the Kauravas and Pandavas, for the throne of Hastinapura resulted in the Kurukshetra War in which a number of ancient kingdoms participated as allies of...
, Bhima
Bhima
In the Mahābhārata, Bhima is one of the central characters of Mahabharata and the second of the Pandava brothers...
kills Dushasana, tears his chest and drinks his blood, as pledged and helps Draupadi redeem her vow while redeeming his own. Dushasana's death greatly agitated Karna and Duryodhana, and demoralized the Kaurava Army watching Bhima in his ecstasy of wrath.
The name
The name is often derived from two elements, the SanskritSanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
: duh, meaning hard, tough , and 'shasana, meaning ruler, punisher.