Pandavas

Definition

Pandavas were the five powerful and skilled sons of Pandu, the King of Hastinapur and his two wives Kunti and Madri. Hastinapur is equated with the current modern Indian state of Haryana, south of New Delhi. The Pandavas - Yudhistira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva - are the central characters in the most applauded epic in Hinduism, the Mahabharata. The brothers were famously involved in the Kurukshetra War with their cousins the Kauravas over who would control the throne of Hastinapur, and were, ultimately, victorious.

More about: Pandavas

Timeline

  • c. 1500 BCE - c. 500 BCE
    Indian scholars of the so-called Vedic Period commit the Vedas to written form; basic tenets of Hinduism are established.
  • c. 400 BCE - c. 200 CE
    The Bhagavad Gita, part of the Mahabharata, is written at some point between 400 BCE and 200 CE.
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