Arjuna was the son of Kunti and Indra, the God of Rain and thunder. He was born due to the boon that Sage Durvasa gave to Kunti.
Kunti and her sons returned to Hastinapur where they were taught all the war skills by Kripacharya and Dronacharya. Arjuna was the most dedicated pupil who excelled at every skill and became the best archer. He was Drona’s favourite. His focus and concentration were proven when Drona asked all of his students what they see on the tree and only Arjuna answered the Bird’s eye.
Arjuna’s skills and intelligence helped him to impress Draupadi. She chose to marry him. However, due to a misunderstanding, Draupadi became the wife of all the Pandavas. The Pandavas made a deal that each of the brothers would spend a year with Draupadi and no one else could interfere with them during their intimate moments. It was Yudhishthira’s turn. He was with Draupadi when Arjuna entered the room to take his weapons. This resulted in his exile for one year despite the persuasion to not do so from Yudhishthira.
During this exile, Arjuna met Krishna whom he had known since his childhood but the two became great friends and their bond strengthened. Arjuna also went ahead and married three other women- Subhadra ( Krishna’s sister), Ulupi, and Chitrangada. By doing so he also ignored the condition of Celibacy that was put in the deal by the brothers.
A very interesting event is the face-off with Indra during their exile. Agni Devta was hungry and his hunger could only be satiated by burning the whole forest which Indra protested by pouring rains. Krishna and Arjuna fought Indra and other gods. The battle lasted for days until a voice commanded Indra to step back. Thus, the forest was cleared and Agni Dev’s hunger sated. This also made way for the Pandavas to turn the forest into Indraprastha, their kingdom.
Yudhishthira loses everything in the gamble of dice and when the Pandavas are in exile, Arjuna manages to please several Gods such as Indra, Shiva, and Parashurama. Each gave him celestial weapons which he would use in the war. In his quest to collect the blessings and the weapons of the Gods, Arjuna once goes to heaven where Urvashi, a divine apsara states her wish to make love to him. Arjuna declines this offer stating Urvashi’s involvement with his ancestors. This angers her and she curses him to become a eunuch for the rest of his life which is then shortened to a period of one year after Indra’s intervention.
Arjuna uses this curse while he is in disguise in the Matsya kingdom and becomes a teacher of song and dance. After the exile gets over, Arjuna becomes instrumental in selecting Krishna as their charioteer for the war and he manages to kill various warriors such as Bhishma, Jayadratha, Karna, etc. He then becomes the king of Virata kingdom and during the Ashwamedha Yagna, he is killed by his own son Babhruvahana only to be later revived by Uloopi. He ascends to heaven on the advice of Vidura during the onset of Kaliyuga with this brothers and Draupadi.
Click here to read about Yudhishthira – The Most Ideal Pandava.
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