The term Kaurava is a Sanskrit term, that means the descendants of Kuru, a legendary king who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the Mahabharata. It is often written as Kauravas in English; technically this plural form is incorrect since the Sanskrit form is plural already. The singular term, for a single descendant of Kuru, is Kaura. The term is used in the Mahabharata with two meanings; 1. the wider meaning, to represent all the descendants of Kuru. This meaning, which includes the Pandava brothers, is sometimes used in the Mahabha ...

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Kaurava

the descendants of Kuru who fought against the Pandavas in the battle of Kurukshetra.

(See also: Kaurava, Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Kauravas:

Kauravas. Family that fought Pandavas. See Mahabharatha.

(See also: Kauravas, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Sant Dnyaneshwar realised that the Gita's teachings could be read and understood only by a small Sanskrit-knowing elite. Dnyaneshwar, under the advice of his guru, Nivrathinath, rendered a Marathi version of the Gita known as Dnyaneshwari. It contains more than 9,000 verses called ovies. So Sant Dnyaneshwar brought the teachings of the Gita within reach of the common man. Dnyaneshwari was composed around the twelfth century, when Dnyaneshwar was only 16 years old. He took samadhi at the age of 22 and left this mortal world.

(See also: Dnyaneshwar, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

The Mahabharata is the history of the Pandavas and the Pandavas. It gives a description of the great war, the Battle of Kurukshetra, which broke out between the Kauravas and the Pandavas who were cousins and descendants of the lunar race. The Mahabharata is an encyclopaedia of Hindu Dharma. It is rightly called the fifth Veda. There is really no theme in religion, philosophy, mysticism and polity which this great epic does not touch and expound.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

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In the Indian epic Mahabharata, Hastinapura is the capital and the kingdom of the Kauravas, the descendents of Kuru, which include the Pandavas. The throne of this city is the prize over which the great war of the epic is fought. In the present day Hastinapura is a small town in the Doab region of Uttar Pradesh, called Hastinapur, 37km from Meerut and 120km from Delhi. Other related archivesDelhi, Doab, Indian, Kauravas, Mahabharata, Meerut, Pandavas, Uttar Pradesh

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Vanavaasa in Kannada Language means exile to the forest. Pandavaas lost to Kauravas in a game of dice and according to the pact they had to leave their kingdom to the kauravas and go to forest. A total of 13years of exile was imposed on the pandavaas. Out of 13years they had to spend 12years in forest and one year of anonymous exile. If the Pandavas were caught during the year of anonymity, they would have to go to twelve years of exile again. The Pandavas after finishing their exile period returned to Duryodhana and asked him to return their kingdom. On refusal from Dur

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Karna (written Karṇa in IAST transliteration) (also known as Karan) is one of the central figures in Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was the first son of Kunti, and was thus half brother to the Pandavas, and the eldest of them. Although Duryodhana of the Kauravas anoints him king of Anga, his role in the legend far exceeds the importance of a king. He fought for the Kauravas in the great battle at Kurukshetra. Karna - Birth. The princess Kunti, while young, was granted a boon whereby she could call upon any of ...

Including:

• Karna - Birth
• Karna - Upbringing
• Karna - Training
• Karna - King of Anga
• Karna - The Tragedy of Karna
• Karna - The Ride with The Lord
• Karna - The Great War: Kurukshetra
• Karna - Karna's Honor and Dishonor in Battle
• Karna - After Karna's Death
• Karna - Contrast with Arjuna
• Karna - Parallels
• Karna - Iliad
• Karna - Bible

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Kuru can mean: Kuru, a disease, related to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), that once affected a small subgroup of the Fore people of highland New Guinea as a result of ritual cannibalism. Kuru was the name of a tribe and their kingdom in the Vedic civilization of India. See The Kurus In the Mahabharata, part of Indian and Hindu mythology, Kuru is the ancestor of the Kauravas and Pandavas. See The Kurus Kuru was a UK punk band during the late 1990

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Sanjaya is a character from the Hindu epic Mahabharata. In this story of warring families, the father of the Kaurava side is the blind king Dhritarashtra. His charioteer Sanjaya (who has the gift of seeing events at a distance) narrates to Dhritarashtra the action in the climactic battle of Kurukshetra, which includes the Bhagavad Gita. In the Bhagavad Gita, passages often start with the Sansk ...

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In the Mahabharata, Sakuni was the brother of Queen Gandhari, and was son of King Subala of Gandhara. He accompanied his sister to Hastinapura for her wedding, and remained as a nobleman at the court there. His activities at the court were concentrated on safeguarding the position of his sister's children; the Kaurava. Hence, he is seen as a scheming and evil person. He was responsible for arranging the dice game where Duryodhana, his nephew, ch ...

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In the Mahabharata Dhritarashtra was the son born by Vichitravirya's first wife Ambika and fathered by Vyasa. This blind king of Hastinapura was father to 100 children by his wife Gandhari. These children came to be known as the Kauravas. Duryodhana and Dushasana were the first two sons. Dhritarashtra - Birth. After Vichitravirya's death his mother Satyavati sent for her first born, Vyasa. According to his mother's wishes, he visited both the wives of Vichitravirya to grant them a son. When Vyasa vi ...

Including:

• Dhritarashtra - Birth
• Dhritarashtra - Battle of Kurukshetra

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Sanathana Sarathi is a Hindu, Sanskrit expression literally meaning eternal charioteer. It is one of the many titles of Krishna who was the charioteer of Arjuna in the fight of the Pandavas against the Kauravas as described in the Bhagavad Gita. The title has symbolic meaning. The avatar Krishna should always be the charioteer/leader for all men and women according to many Hindus. Santhana Sarathi is also the name of the official monthly magazine of the Sathya Sai Organisation, published by the Sri Sathya S ...

Including:

• Sanathana Sarathi - External link

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Chakravyuha is a seven-tier defensive spiral military formation perfected by the Kauravas. Arjuna, the great Pandava warrior was one night recounting battle tactics to his pregnant wife. He was telling her the secret of penetrating the 'chakravyuha'. Abhimanyu, their unborn child, was also listening in his mother's womb. Unfortunately his mother fell asleep before Arjuna could tell her how to escape from the deadly circle. As a result, when Abhimanyu grew up and became a warrior like his father, he broke into the 'chakravyuha' but was unable to get out, being ...

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Parikshita is in the Mahabharata epic the successor of Yudhisthira to the throne of Hastinapura. Alternate spellings of his name are Pariksita, and Parikshit. His name is a common Hindu name across India today. Parikshita - Birth. Parikshita is the son of Uttara, the Matsya princess and Abhimanyu, the Vrishni son of Arjuna. He is born only after the end of the war. Uttara is carrying their son in her womb when Abhimanyu is mercilessly and unfairly slain by the Kauravas. Later, As ...

Including:

• Parikshita - Birth
• Parikshita - Prophecy of Life
• Parikshita - King of Hastinapura

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Satyavati is the great-grandmother of the Pandava and Kaurava princes, principal characters of the Mahabharata, one of the principal texts in Hindu mythology. She is nevertheless a commoner, daughter to a ferryman or fisherman. As a young woman, she met the wandering rishi Parashara, by whom she had a son, Vyasa. His birth took place in secret on an island in the river Yamuna. Later, King Santanu of Hastinapura saw her and asked her to marry him. She agreed on condition that their children would inherit the throne. Their ...

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In the epic Mahabharata, Jayadratha is the king of Sindhu. He is married to Dusshala, the sister of the Kaurava brothers. Jayadratha - Boon from Shiva. Jayadratha insults Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas, by attempting to abduct her and forcibly marry her. After the Pandavas capture him, he is saved from death by Yudhisthira, who proclaims him his slave. Desiring to avenge his humiliation, Jayadratha performs a tapasya to please Shiva. He asks for the power to defeat the Pandavas, but Shiva says th ...

Including:

• Jayadratha - Boon from Shiva
• Jayadratha - In the War
• Jayadratha - Arjuna's revenge
• Jayadratha - Aftermath

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Ambika was the daughter of King of Kashi and wife of Vichitravirya, King of Hastinapur. Along with her sisters Amba and Ambalika, she was taken by force by Bhishma from their Swayamvara. (Bhishma challenged the assembled Kings and Princes and defeated them.) He presented them to Satyavati for marriage to Vichitravirya. After Vichitravirya's death his mother Satyavati sent for her first born, Rishi Veda Vyasa. According to his mother's wishes, he visited both the wives of Vichitravirya to grant them each a son. When Vyasa ...

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In the epic Mahabharata, Drona (or Dronacharya) is the royal guru to the Kauravas and the Pandavas. He was a master of advanced military arts, including the devastras. Arjuna was his favorite student. Drona's love for Arjuna was only second to his love for his son Ashwathama. Drona - Birth and Early Life. Drona was born a brahmin, son of sage Bharadwaja. He spent his youth in poverty, but studied religion and military arts together with the then prince of Panchala, Drupada. Drupada and Drona b ...

Including:

• Drona - Birth and Early Life
• Drona - Drona and Drupada
• Drona - Guru Parasurama
• Drona - Dronacharya
• Drona - The ball and the ring
• Drona - Arjuna
• Drona - Ekalavya and Karna
• Drona - Revenge upon Drupada
• Drona - Drona in the war
• Drona - Abhimanyu's killing
• Drona - Yudhisthira's capture and Drona's death
• Drona - Modern assessment

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Abhimanyu is a tragic hero in the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. He is the son of Arjuna and Subhadra, and nephew of Lord Krishna. Abhimanyu - Birth, Education and War. As an unborn child in his mother's womb, Abhimanyu learns the knowledge of entering the deadly and virtually impenetrable Chakra Vyuha (see Wars of Hindu Mythology) from his father Arjuna. The epic explains that he overheard his father talking about this with this mother from the womb. Trained by his father, who is ...

Including:

• Abhimanyu - Birth, Education and War
• Abhimanyu - Abhimanyu's death
• Abhimanyu - Arjuna's Great Revenge
• Abhimanyu - Explanation of his Death
• Abhimanyu - See Also

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