Mahabharat Main Characters

Bhishma – 

Born to king Shantanu and Ganga, Bhishma was named Devavrata. One of the most significant and pivotal characters.  Bhishma is a noble figure from the losing side of the Kauravas. He was the grand-uncle of both the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Bhishma fights against arjuna, as one of the elders of the opposing Kauravas family.

Pandu – 

Pandu was the king of Hastinapur, the son of Ambalika and Vichitravirya. He is popularly known as the father of the Pandavas. He had two wives named Kunti and Madri. He died early due to a curse of a sage whom he killed in the midst of lovemaking.

Dhritarashtra – 

Dhritarashtra was a Kuru king and Father of the 100 Kauravas. Dhritarashtra was the son of Ambika and Vichitravirya. He was born blind and so his younger brother, Pandu, became king of Hastinapur instead of him.

Kunti –

Wife of Pandu and mother of the 3 Pandavas and Karna.

Kunti, the mother of Pandavas and the first wife of Kuru king Pandu, was the adopted daughter of Kuntibhoja. Actually, Kunti was born to a Yadava chief Shurasena and her birth name was Pritha. Kunti was also the sister of Vasudeva, the father of Krishna and shared a close relationship with Krishna. Her father gave Kunti to his childless cousin Kuntibhoja who renamed her as Kunti.

She bore him three sons: Yudhishthira by the god of dharma, Bhima by the god of wind, and Arjuna by Indra.

Madri – 

Another wife of Pandu, mother of Nakula and Sahadeva.

Madri was a sister of Shalya, princess of the Madra Kingdom, second wife of Pandu and the mother of two sons: Nakula and Sahadeva. One day, Pandu and Madri made love, this led Pandu to die due to his curse and Madri to commit suicide.

Gandhari –

The wife of king Dhritarashtra chooses ignorance (blind), has 100 sons and one daughter. She was a princess of Gandhara, modern-day Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Shakuni –

Brother of Gandhari, and hence Duryodhana’s maternal uncle. Shakuni was killed by Sahadeva on the 18th day of the Kurukshetra War.

Shakuni was the prince of the Gandhara Kingdom in present-day Gandhara, later to become the King after his father’s death.

Duryodhana –

Duryodhana was the eldest of the Kauravas, the hundred sons of Dhritarashtra. He became instigated by Shakuni, his mother’s brother, that the Pandavas are bad. He was killed by Bhima in the Mahabharata war.

Dushasana –

Bhima vowed to drink blood for disrobing Draupadi.

Dushasana was a Kauravas prince, the second son of the blind king Dhritarashtra and Gandhari and the younger brother of Duryodhana.

Vikarna –

Only Kauravas brother opposed disrobing.

Vikarna was the third Kaurava, son of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari and a brother to the crown prince Duryodhana

Ashwatthama –

Ashwatthama was the son of guru Drona and the grandson of the sage Bharadwaj. Ashwatthama possessed the celestial weapon Narayan Astra and killed 1 Akshouni of the Pandava army. Ashwatthama fought on the Kaurava side against the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra War. He became a Chiranjeevi (immortal) due to a curse on him by Lord Krishna.

Guru Dronacharya  –

Taught both Pandava and Kauravas the art of warfare

Maharathi Karna – 

Pandavas brother but on the side of Kauravas.

Karna was the central character, spiritual son of Surya (the Sun deity) and son of princess Kunti (later the Pandu’s queen). He was raised by foster Suta parents named Radha and Adhiratha.

Yudhisthira –

Yudhisthira was the first among the five Pandavas and was blessed by death god Yama to Pandu and Kunti. He became the king of Indraprastha and later of Hastinapur (Kuru). He was the leader of the successful Pandava side in the Kurukshetra War.

Bhima –

Pandu’s second son by Kunti, in fact, fathered by the wind god.

Bhima was the second of the Pandava brothers. He was the son of Kunti by Vayu, Bhima is considered to have the physical strength of 10,000 elephants. Bhima victoriously attacked Duryodhana with his mace and struck his thigh, mortally wounding Duryodhana.

Arjuna –

Warrior prince in the Bhagavad-Gita to whom Krishna explains the nature of being and of God and how humans can come to know God.

He is the third of the Pandava brothers, born of Lord Indra. Arjuna killed Karna using Anjali Astra.

Nakul and Sehdev –

Pandu’s twin sons by Madri, in fact, fathered by the twin Ashvin gods.

Draupadi- 

Wife of all of Pandu’s sons.

Draupadi was the daughter of King Drupada, King of Panchala. She married all five Pandavas, though Arjuna had won her in the Swayamvara, because of the vow that the brothers would share everything in common. Draupadi wanted to see the Kauravas dead to avenge her public humiliation.

Parents     Drupada (father) Prishati (mother)

Siblings     Dhrishtadyumna (twin-brother) Satyajit (brother) Shikhandi (sister turned brother)

Spouse      Pandavas Yudhishthira Bhima Arjuna Nakula Sahadeva

Children     Sons Prativindhya by Yudhishthira Sutasoma by Bhima Shrutakarma by Arjuna Shatanika by Nakula Shrutasena by Sahadeva

King Drupad –

Father of Draupadi

Dristhidhum – 

Brother of Draupadi

Shikandini/Amba

Shikandi(sister of Draupadi) is the reincarnation of Amba born to kill Bhishma

Subhadra –

Wife of Arjuna and Sister of Krishna

Hidimba- 

A Rakshasi and Wife of Bhima

Abhimanyu –

Son of Subhadra and arjuna

Krishna–

8th and most important avatar of Vishnu

Vrushali –

Wife of Maharathi Karna

Rukmani –

Wife of Krishna

Rukmi – 

Hated Krishna and wanted his sister to marry Sisupala

Hidimb –

Brother of Hidimba

Jayadratha –

Dushala’s (Duryodhana’s sister) husband

Shishupal

Killed by Krishna

Shishupala was the son of Lord Krishna’s aunt and brother of Kauravas and Pandavas in relationship

Adiratha –

Father of Karna(adoptive)

Radha –

Mother of Karna(adopted)

Balram-

Brother of Krishna

Salya – 

King of Madra and brother of Pandu’s second wife madri; ally of Duryodhana. The last general killed. Charioteer for Karna.

Uttara –

King Virata’s daughter, Uttara marries Abhimanyu and gives birth to Parikshit.

Uttar –

Uttara’s brother

Virata –

A Matsya king, father of Uttara and sankha in whose court the Pandavas lived incognito for a year, an ally of Yudhishthira

Ganga –

The river goddess of the Ganges river, and Bhishma/Devrats mother

Vidura –

Son of Vyasa by Ambika’s maidservant, the adviser.

Krishna considered  Vidura as Dharmaraja, which means the Lord of truth.

Ambika –

Mother of Dhritstarta

Ambalika –

Mother of Pandu

Takshak – 

Serpent god

Ghatochkacha – 

Son of Bhīma and Hidimba.

Ghatotkacha killed many demons like Alambusha and many gigantic Asuras. He was killed by Karna with Indra’s Vasavi Shakti.

Vasudeva – 

Name of the father of Krishna

Indra – 

Aryan god of war-arjuns father

Indra is an ancient Vedic deity in Hinduism. He is the king of svarga (heaven) and the devas (gods). He is associated with lightning, thunder, storms

Surya –

Sun God-Karna’s father

Surya (also known as Aditya) is the Hindu god of the sun. He is considered the creator of the universe and the source of all life

Satyavati – 

Shantanu’s second wife, Bhishma gives up his right to the throne and to have sons for them, mother of Vyasa

Satyavati was the queen of the Kuru king, Shantanu of Hastinapur and the great-grandmother of the Pandava and Kauravas princes

Shantanu – 

Shantanu is the father of Bhishma and a king of Hastinapur in the great epic of the Mahabharata

Son of Pratipa, marries Ganga, has 8 kids, Bhishma lives on and takes celibacy vow, marries Satyavati