Dushasana

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Dushasana
Dushasana
Dushasana disrobing Draupadi
Information
Family
SpouseChandramukhi (Trigarta Princess)
ChildrenBharath

Dushasana (Sanskrit: दुःशासन, Duḥśāsana, lit.'hard to rule'), also spelled Dussasana or Duhsasana, is an antagonist of the Hindu epic, Mahabharata. He was second eldest among the Kaurava princes and the younger brother of Duryodhana.

Etymology[]

His name is often derived from the Sanskrit words duh "hard" and sasana "rule"; thus Dushasana means "[one who is] hard to rule."[1]

Birth and early life[]

When Dhritarashtra's queen Gandhari's pregnancy continued for an unusually long time, she beat her womb in frustration and out of jealousy towards Kunti, the wife of Pandu, who had just given birth to Yudhishthira (the eldest of the five Pandava brothers). At this, a hardened mass of grey-coloured flesh emerged from her womb. Gandhari was devastated and called upon Vyasa, the great sage who had prophesied she would give birth to one hundred sons, to redeem his words.[2]

Vyasa divided the ball of flesh into one hundred equal pieces, each piece no bigger than a thumb. He put them in pots of milk, which were sealed and buried in the earth for two years. At the end of the second year, the first pot was opened and Duryodhana emerged. Within a period of one month all the other 99 sons of Dhritarashtra were born. Dushasana was the second after Duryodhana.[2]

Dushasana was devoted to his older brother Duryodhana. He (along with Duryodhana and Shakuni) was very closely involved in the various schemes and plots to kill the Pandavas.

Draupadi's humiliation[]

Dushasana drags Draupadi to court.

After Yudhishthira lost a game of dice with Shakuni — losing first his kingdom, then his brothers and his wife Draupadi — Dushasana, at the behest of his brother Duryodhana, dragged Draupadi by the hair into the assembly and tried to disrobe her. Draupadi prayed to Krishna, who made her sari to be of an infinite length so that Dushasana could not take it off. The assembled men were amazed at this miracle. They condemned Dushasana and praised Draupadi. However, Draupadi was humiliated at being dragged into court by her hair, and swore that she would never again tie up her hair until it was washed in Dushasana's blood. Then Bhima, who could no longer watch Draupadi's insult in silence, arose. He vowed to tear open Dushasana's chest in battle and drink his blood. Bhima also exclaimed that if he could not fulfill his oath, then he would not meet his ancestors in heaven.[3]

Kurukshetra war and death[]

Dushasana, along with Duryodhana, led one of the Akshauhinis (battle divisions) of the Kaurava army.[4][5]

Dushasana was the warrior who shot the first arrow in the Mahabharata war. On the first day of the war, Dushasana fought with Nakula but did not defeat him.[4] On the Ninth day, he killed Mahipala who was the son of Shishupala and a friend of the Pandavas. On the tenth day, Dushasana was appointed on the front lines to defend Bhishma from the Pandava army. Dushasana exhibited his valour on that day by resisting all the Pandavas single-handedly. But later, Arjuna managed to defeat him.

On the thirteenth day, Dushasana was present in the Chakravyuha. After a fierce duel, Abhimanyu badly defeated Dushasana and his charioteer had to take him away from the battlefield. The son of Dushasana[who?] who helped his father many times in the Kurukshetra war was also present inside the Chakravyuha. He was deprived of his chariot by Abhimanyu; then saved him by cutting Abhimanyu's arrow in mid-air. After that, Dushasana's son killed Abhimanyu in a mace duel. On the 14th day, Dushasana's son was brutally killed by Draupadi's sons, the Upapandavas, in revenge for Abhimanyu.[6]

Death[]

Bhima fulfils his promise regarding Dushasana.

On the seventeenth day, Dushasana encountered Bhima in a duel. First, they fought by archery, broke each other's chariots and then they engaged in a mace duel. Bhima broke Dushasana's mace and started wrestling with Dushasana. After beating him badly, Bhima seized Dushasana's right arm and ripped it from his body. Then (remembering his vow taken during the game of dice), Bhima tore open Dushasana's chest with his bare hands and drank his hot blood. Many soldiers who saw Bhima drinking Dushasana's blood fainted, and some soldiers said that Bhima was a monster for drinking a man's blood. After that, Bhima danced around Dushasana's corpse. Dushasana's death greatly agitated the Kauravas, especially Duryodhana, who became numb after witnessing this horrible sight.[citation needed]

References[]

  1. ^ John Dowson (1888). "A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature" (2nd ed.). London: Trubner & Co.
  2. ^ a b "The Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva: Sambhava Parva: Section CXV". www.sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  3. ^ "The Clothes of Draupadi". Devdutt. 2 August 2006. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  4. ^ a b Aayush (27 June 2018). "18 Days of The Mahabharata War – Summary of the War". vedicfeed.com. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  5. ^ Jha Preeti. "जानिए महाभारत युद्ध के 18 दिनों में किस दिन क्या हुआ था". jagran.com (in Hindi). Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Mythology 3 – Abhimanyu". Times of India Blog. 6 April 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2020.

External links[]

  • Media related to Dushasana at Wikimedia Commons
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