u/Separate_Record9354

After failing at the peace negotiations in the Kuru court, Krishna went to Kunti and asked if she had any message for the Pandavas.

She said, tell this to Yudithistir-

Your dharma has greatly declined. O son! Do not act in vain. You have learned the sacred texts, but not properly, and have missed out on their insight. You have focused on the literal words and therefore, your intelligence only focuses on limited dharma. Consider the complete dharma that was created by the one who created himself. The kshatriya was created from his chest, to earn a living through the valour of his arms, always resorting to cruel deeds for the protection of the subjects

You are learned and have been born in a noble lineage. But you are oppressed because you have been following the wrong conduct, O son! You are a kshatriya, you are the one who saves from injuries, you sustain yourself through the strength of your arms.

O mighty-armed one! Your ancestral right has been immersed. Raise it up again

She said, tell this to Arjuna-

When you were born, I was seated in the maternity chamber A voice was then heard from the sky- O Kunti! This son of yours will be the equal of the one with a thousand eyes (Indra), In a battle, he will vanquish all the assembled Kurus. With Bhimasena as his second, he will overturn the world. Your son will be the conqueror of the earth and his fame will touch heaven. With Vasudeva as his ally, he will kill the Kurus in the field of battle. He will regain the paternal share that had been lost

O Achyuta! If I know Bibhatsu Savyasachi, who is devoted to the truth, it must be as it was spoken. I know that he is strong and unassailable. O Dasharha! It must therefore be as the voice had spoken. O Varshneya! If there is any dharma, it must truly be that way.

She said tell this to Bheem-

The time for which a kshatriya lady gives birth has arrived. Those who are bulls among men do not waver when an enmity surfaces

She said tell this to the twins-

Choose the enjoyments that can be gained through valour over life itself

If a man lives according to the dharma of kshatriyas, he is always delighted at prosperity that is gained through valour. It was while you looked on that Panchali, who was devoted to every kind of dharma, was harshly addressed. It is not proper for you to forgive that. The unhappiness from the loss of the kingdom, the defeat at the game of dice and the banishment of my sons was nothing compared to the unhappiness when that large, dark and weeping lady was brought to the assembly hall and made to listen to harsh words. In my view, that was a greater misery.

Tell this to Arjuna, tiger among men, supreme among those who wield all weapons- Follow the path indicated by Droupadi. You know that when Bhima and Arjuna are enraged, they are like two Yamas and can convey even the gods to the final destination. Both were insulted when Krishna was brought to the assembly hall and Duhshasana addressed terrible and harsh words towards her, while all the brave Kurus looked on. Remind him about that again.

Ask about the welfare of the Pandavas and Krishna and her sons. O Janardana! Also tell them that I am extremely well. Travel along a safe path and protect my sons

Karna Parva, Duryodhana to Shalya, persuading him to be Karna's charioteer in presence of Karna

He said the same thing at the Rangbhoomi competition, the very first time he saw Karna after so many days.

"Can a deer give birth to this tiger, equal to the sun, with natural armour and earrings and possessing all the auspicious marks?"

Did Sanjaya ever reveal the Pandavas' secrets or strategies, considering that he could hear their thoughts, conversations, discussions, and analyses through his divine sight?

There's a common misconception that he remained with Dhritarashtra in Hastinapura throughout the war, watching everything remotely through divine vision.

In reality, he was granted divine sight in the sense that, while present on the battlefield, he could see everything happening in every corner of the war, including things beyond the perception of ordinary humans.

He then returned to Hastinapura (after the fall of Bhishma, Drona, Karna and his son) and narrated the events to Dhritarashtra. His narration thus forms the Bhishma, Drona, Karna and Shalya Parvas.

Vyasa said, “O king! This Sanjaya will describe the war to you. Nothing in this entire battle will remain unseen to him. Having obtained this divine eyesight, Sanjaya will know everything about the battle and will recount it to you.

Whether it is evident or hidden, whether it is night or day, Sanjaya will know everything, even if it is thought of in the mind. Weapons will not pierce him. Nor will he be constrained by exhaustion. Gavalgana’s son will emerge alive from the battle. I will spread the deeds of the Kurus and all the Pandavas. Do not sorrow. This was destined a long time ago. Therefore, you should not sorrow. It could not have been averted. Where dharma exists, victory is there.”’

Also, did Duryodhana know about his abilities? He could've used that for his benefit.

Just a lighthearted meme.

One of Arjun's 10 names was Vijaya.

Arjun to Uttar: "When I go out to fight against those who are indomitable in battle, I never return without vanquishing them. That is the reason I am known as Vijaya."

Arjun was called and referenced as Vijaya about 50 times throughout the epic (as in Bibek Debroy's book)

Both Rukmi and Karna had Indra's Vijaya bow.

There's also a female character, Vijaya, daughter of Shalya, married to Sahdev in a swayamvar. Mentioned once as Vijaya

For the characters, in the first column (from up to down)—Krishna, Gandhari, Duryodhana, Arjun, Kunti, Ashwatthama, and Shakuni.

In the second column (from up to down)—Bhishma, Dhristrastra, Yudhisthira, Karna, Draupadi, Drona, and Bheem.

What is the biggest fear of these characters, something they feared the most, as explicitly said by them or the narration or even just implied and not stated clearly?

It can be a thing, a person, an object, any particular instance, anything.

Thought much and included Krishna too, although he's the almighty, just seeing the humanistic nature of him, from the times when he showed his humanistic nature the most.

On Day 14, Arjun's vow was to kill Jayadrath before the end of the day, otherwise, he would enter the fire. He pierced the Kaurava army and started proceeding to where Jayadrath was. In between, got so many hurdles but crossed each one of them.

Now, Duryodhana wished to protect his brother-in-law. With the armour fastened on him by Drona just before this, earlier in the day, after he saw Arjun's valour and asked Drona to do something. Drona made extremely powerful armour for him, the one that Shiva himself made for Indra against Vitra in war, and it was passed down (through various people in between) in the end to Drona, which he did for Duryodhana. Brahma fastened this on Vishnu and Indra in their respective battles.

He overtook the two Krishnas and was willing to fight with them. Krishna asked Arjun to kill Duryodhana, saying he's the cause of all your sorrows. Arjun agreed with how he caused them and Draupadi so many struggles and was willing to kill him.

Duryodhana wasn't feared at all. Both were extremely angry towards each other. Duryodhana asked him to show his strength, valour and manliness.

He pierced Arjun with 3, going deep into his organs, and Krishna with 10 arrows in his chest, even on their horses, and whipped Krishna's handsome fall down. Arjun pierced him with 14 in return, but they all got neutralised by his armour. Again 14 arrows, but they too, were all of no use.

Krishna said irritably, What mockery is this, Partha? What's happening?

Arjun replied, I think Drona put the divine armour on Duryodhana, so my weapons are useless on him. This armour possesses the essence of the three worlds. Drona alone knows this. And I have learnt it from that excellent one. But wait, I'll still pierce and defeat Duryodhana today.

Invoking some great mantras, Arjun let the arrows from his bow fly towards Duryodhana, but Ashwatthama, standing far off, cut them all with his supreme weapons. Arjun expressed his inability to invoke it for a second time, saying it will kill soldiers on our side too.

In between this, Duryodhana again pierced both Krishnas with 9 arrows each. Arjun then killed his charioteer and destroyed his chariot.

Seeing that his whole body was covered with armour, Dhananjay pierced arrows in Duryodhan's palms. Many came to protect Duryodhana, but Arjun's weapons subdued them all.

Bhurishrava, Shala, Karna, Vrishasena, Jayadratha, Kripa, Shalya, and Ashwatthama then enveloped Arjun from all directions and pierced him and Krishna. Arjun, in return, shot arrows at all of them.

Sanjaya then shifted the narration to Satyaki, Yudhishthira, Drona, Draupadi's sons, and Bhima's battle with Karna. Arjuna does not reappear until Bhima needs help against Karna. Arjuna then pierces Karna, forcing him to flee. As Arjuna tries to shoot more arrows at Karna, Ashwatthama intervenes. After Ashwatthama strikes Arjun, he wounds him in return and continues advancing. Later, Satyaki reaches Arjuna, having been sent by Yudhishthira to support him as he advanced deeper into the Kaurava army.

In Ashwamedhika Parva

So, after the war, after spending some days with Arjun first at Indraprastha and then Hastinapur, Krishna went back to his kingdom, Dwarka, and there Vasudev asked him to narrate the events of the war.

He narrated it, though, making some changes from Sanjay's narration to Dhristrastra's. Those changes I've listed above.

Arjun's teachers-

"In battle, I am indebted to Rudra, Shakra, Vaishravana (Kubera), Yama, Varuna, the fire god (Agni), Kripa, Drona and Madhava"

"Vishvavasu's (King of Gandarvas) son Chitrasena became my friend and he taught me everything that the gandharvas knew"

Students of Arjun-

Pradyumna, Samba and Satyaki - "O king! There were all the immensely powerful princes of the Vrishnis who had learnt the science of archery from Arjuna and were dressed in deer and antelope hides and other princes who had been similarly taught -Rukmini's son (Pradyumna) and Samba (Jambavati's son) and Yuyudhana Satyaki"

Abhimanyu - "Subhadra's brave son, a bull among men, was known as Abhimanyu. That vanquisher of enemies learned all the vedas from Arjuna, with the four divisions and the ten branches, and the art of archery, everything known to man and god. That extremely powerful one became skilled in the science of all weapons. He learnt all the special acts of handling weapons. In acquisition, use and in circular motions"

The Upapandavas (Prativindhya, Sutasoma, Shrutakarman, Shatanika and Shrutasena) - "Droupadi's famous sons were born at intervals of one year. They were devoted to each other's welfare. After having studied the vedas, these observers of rigid vows learnt the use of all weapons, human and divine, from Arjuna"

Uttara - "O god among men! Give me Uttara. I will myself be the dancer to that goddess"

From BORI CE

In his book, Prologomena [to the critical edition of the Ādiparvan, Book 1 of the Mahābhārata], the General Editor of the BORI CE writes

"This melo-dramatic interlude, to judge by the documentary evidence, appears to be the handiwork of a very late Vyāsaīd, as it is found only in K₄, Ñ₂, Dn, D₂, D₄, D₅ that is, one manuscript of the K group, one Nepali manuscript, and three composite Devanāgarī manuscripts, besides the Nīlakaṇṭha version!

All of these are late and inferior or conflated manuscripts. It is missing, on the other hand, not only in the Śāradā version and the Southern recension (as in the case of many of the interpolations of the Vulgate ), but for once, also in the entire Bengali version.

It might seem a piece of sheer vandalism or perverseness to omit this seemingly beautiful little passage, which has won its way into peopled hearts, from any edition of the Great Epic of India, relying merely upon documentary evidence.

A little reflection will, however, convince any one that the loss to the epic is not as serious as one might, at first, suppose, since it is a palpably jaked and thoroughly unreal situation. If one thinks about it at all, one fails to understand how Draupadī, who was, after all, then only an unexperienced maiden in her teens, had recognized the King of Aṅgas (whom she had probably never seen before) and known him for the son of a coachman, unfit to wed a princess. He had been invited by her father.

At least he was given a seat of honour among the princes. He is specifically named by Dhristhdhyumna among the suitors.

Moreover, it does not appear as if the bride elect had much choice or voice in the matter, at the time of these elaborate and formal state functions notwithstanding that they were called svayarhvaras. She had to wed any competitor who excelled in the particular proficiency test which had been arranged by her father or guardian. She was vīryaśulkā: she was given by her guardian to the highest bidder, the price paid being heroism, or rather proficiency in marksmanship.

We accordingly find, as a matter of fact, that without murmur or hesitation, she follows an unknown and apparently undistinguished Brahman boy—Arjuna in disguise —who happens to have hit the mark. She does not know him from Adam, but she makes no inquiries about his status or lineage.

Even if this were regarded as a case of romantic love at first sight for the handsome and heroic bowman (which it certainly is not), she never opens her lips when Yudhiṣṭhira proposes that she should be the common wife of the five brothers, which must have shattered her romance to smithereens, but quietly submits to (what is made to appear) as a most unusual and unnatural, if not a shocking, proposal, and from which even her old father and brother recoil with perplexity and amazement. It seems to me, therefore, that the documentary evidence is amply supported here by intrinsic probability"

Literally, the Sanskrit word Krishna (कृष्ण) means "dark" or "black", describing a dark blue or dusky complexion.

The Brahmanas, whose desires were entirely satisfied, gave the two names. Because of his great courage and because he has been born from lustre, let this son of Drupada be called Dhrishtadyumna. Because she is dark in complexion, let her be called Krishna.

Satyavati to Bhishma- "He is a great yogi and was born to me while I was still a virgin. That illustrious rishi has used the power of his austerities to divide the Vedas into four parts. He is known in all the worlds as Vyasa. Because he is dark, he is also known as Krishna"

Arjun to Uttar - "Affectionately, my father gave me my tenth name of Krishna, since the child had a dark complexion"

Whenever Krishna and Arjun are together, they are referred to as two Krishnas, especially in the war days.

I know, in this series, they aren't dark but white-complexioned but just used the pics as a reference.

The boon which the Brahmana gave was "Whichever god you invoke through this mantra will be under your control. Whether willing or unwilling, the god will be under your control, pacified by the mantra, and will be like your servant"

(Kundala-aharana Parva, Volume 3, Bibek Debroy Mahabharat)

Even Surya said so after being invoked by her due to her curiosity

"O fortunate one! I have appeared here because I am under your control, thanks to the strength of the mantra. O queen! Now that I am under your control, what do you wish me to do? I will do whatever you ask me to"

Kunti replied, "O illustrious one! Return to the place you arrived from. O illustrious one! I summoned you out of curiosity. Please be gracious"

The sun said, "I will go as you have asked me to. But having invoked a god, it is not proper to send him away in vain. Your desire is to have a son through Surya. He will be unrivalled in this world in valour and he will wear armour and earrings. Give yourself to me. I will depart after having united with you. Else, I will leave in anger and will curse that brahmana (Durvasa) and your father. There is no doubt that I will consume them because of what you have done. Though he does not know about this offence, your father is stupid. O beautiful one! All the gods in heaven, with Purandara at the forefront, have seen how you have deceived me and seem to be smiling.

Kunti said “O lord, Leave in your vimana. I am a maiden and this conduct of yours is causing me unhappiness. My father, my mother and other elders are the only ones who have the power to give the body away. In this world, preserving the body is honoured as the greatest dharma of women. O Vibhavasu! I summoned you to learn about the strength of the mantra. I have done this out of childish folly. Please pardon me"

Surya said “It is because you are a child that I am requesting you. Others do not obtain this from me. O Kunti! O maiden! Give yourself to me. O timid one! You will then obtain peace. You have invoked me and I cannot depart in vain. If I go away, the world will laugh at me. O beautiful one! All the gods will speak about me in jest. Therefore, unite with me and obtain a son who will be like me"

"Having united with me, you will again become a virgin"

Even in the Sambhava Parva, Volume 1, Kunti told the same to Pandu

"Pleased with my service, the illustrious one gave me a boon and taught me a mantra. Any god that I summon through this mantra will come to me and be subservient to me, whether he desires it or not. If you permit, I can summon a god. O lord! Through that mantra, we can have offspring"

Here's the 4 evidences from our rich history on the Kirātārjunīya episode.

1. Sculpture from Gupta Period (5th century) - 401-500 CE

2. Shiva and Arjun on stone relief sculpture at Kailasanatha Temple, Kanchipuram, India. Dated 700-720 СЕ.

3. Arjuna's Penance is a famous rock carving located in Mamallapuram, dates back to the 7th century during the Pallava dynasty's rule. (601-700 CE)

4. Bhāravi's Kirātārjunīya is an 18-canto Sanskrit mahākāvya based on the Mahābhārata episode in which Shiva, disguised as a Kirāta (hunter), tests Arjuna and grants him the Pāśupata weapon. Most historians place the Sanskrit poet Bhāravi (6th century CE) in the court of Simhavishnu (c. 575–600 CE), the Pallava king and father of Mahendravarman I.

It's one of the Five Mahākāvyas in the classical Sanskrit literary tradition.

In the Mahabharata epic, different characters took different vows throughout the course of time. Here are the different vows of Bhishma, Bheem, Karna, and Arjun in the epic.

There are some more too, like Sahadev taking a vow to kill Shakuni, Dhristhdhyumna to kill Drona, and Shikhandi to kill Bhishma.

How did Sanjay overhear the secret conversation between Krishna and Karna? He didn't get the power yet from Vyasa. In the passage before it, Vaisampayana narrated that Krishna made Karna ascend his chariot and left with Satyaki. He left the city and talked for a long time with Karna.

Then in the next chapter, we have Dhritarashtra asking Sanjay what they conversed about, and Sanjay said, 'Listen to this: what they conversed about, every single word of their convo.'

Though Sanjay said in the last that he was legit there the whole time, as he said after descending from Krishna's chariot, Karna united with us, and we came back to the city. Though Bibek Debroy wrote in the comments that it was an absurd explanation given to give justification to Sanjay overhearing their conversation.

This is the chapter not narrated by Vaisampayana, though he started narrating again in the next chapter, the Karna and Kunti dialogue.

Another thing is if Dhritarashtra got to know Karna was the brother of the Pandavas, why didn't he tell Duryodhana the same? He knew that Karna was ready to die at Arjun's hands, as he told Krishna. Why didn't he spill the 'secret conversation' out?

I liked Arjun-Draupadi the most, but after reading the epic, they have so many fewer one-on-one scenes.

1)The first at the swayamvar, where Draupadi put a garland around Arjun.

2)She got angry with Arjun after he brought Subhadra to Indraprastha and said the second load always loosens the first tie no matter how strong, Arjun apologized to her.

3)He brought her the jewels he had in the heavens during the stay.

4)He carried Draupadi on their way to Virat's kingdom.

5)After Bheem saved Draupadi from Keechak and gang, she went to the women's quarter, Arjun was teaching dance in the hall, he said, “O Sairandhri! How were you freed? How were those evil ones slain? I wish to hear everything exactly as it happened.”

Draupadi replied, “O Brihannada! What do you have to do with a sairandhri? O fortunate one! You live happily in the quarters meant for women. You will not confront the miseries a sairandhri does. You must be asking about my unhappiness in jest.”

He said, “O fortunate one! Brihannada also faces supreme unhappiness, having been reduced to an inferior life. O girl! You do not understand this.”

I could find only these throughout the epic. Must have missed some (please tell if there is more), but I think more or less it's just this many one-on-one interactions and conversations they've got.

Draupadi indeed got more one-on-one conversations and interactions with Bheem and Yudithistira than Arjun. Also spent 18 years less with Arjun while having the rest of 4 husbands with her then too.

So, by "real name," I meant the name that's not based on their father's name or kingdom's name but their own identity.It was common to give daughters names like that, but they also have their original names.

Draupadi's real name was Krishnaa due to her skin tone, but she got the name Draupadi due to being the daughter of Drupad and Panchali due to being the princess of Panchal.

Kunti's real name was Pritha, but she got Kunti due to her foster father's name, Kuntibhoj.

Rukmini is also called Vaidarbhi, being the princess of Vidarbh.

But apart from being princess of Gandara and princess of Madra and their names due to that, we don't know if Gandhari and Madri had any real original names too, like the others.

What would they say in support?

They were dead when Yudhisthira called out their sins due to which they fell. But what if they got a chance to justify themselves and speak for themselves about the reasons why they died, against Yudhisthir? Even if that means giving reasons why they were so.

Will they straight away reject it, give reasons for their doings, or just admit they were wrong and did that?

Yudithistir sayings for all 5

Panchali died - "She had a great partiality for Dhananjaya"

Sahdev died - "He thought that there was no one who was his equal in wisdom"

Nakul died - "He held a view that there was no one who was his equal in beauty"

Arjun died - "He always said that he would burn down the enemy in a single day. Though he was proud of his valour, he wasn’t able to accomplish that. That is the reason he has fallen down. Phalguna disrespected all the other wielders of the bow. Those who desire their own prosperity must always act as they have spoken"

Bheem died - "You ate too much and you boasted about your vigour, disrespected others"

So after Krishna told him about his real mother, i.e., Kunti, and father, Surya, and offered him everything in one go, Karna wasn't surprised and behaved and told Krishna that he knew it already.

This is what he said-

"O Keshava! I have no doubt that you are affectionately speaking to me as a well-wisher. O Varshneya! As a friend, you wish for my welfare. I also know everything about my being Pandu’s son under the norms of dharma"

BIBEK DEBROY

"Without doubt, O Kesava, thou hast said these words from thy love, affection, and friendship for me, as also in consequence of thy desire of doing me good, O thou of Vrishni's race. I know all that thou hast said unto me. Morally, I am the son of Pandu, as also in consequence of the injunctions of the scriptures"

KMG

सर्व वैवाभिजानामि पाण्डोः पुत्रोऽस्मि धर्जतः । निग्रहाद्धर्मशाखाणां यथा त्वं कृष्ण अन्यसे

हे कृष्ण ! तुम जैसा मानते हो, वह सब सत्य है, धर्मशास्त्र के अनुसार धर्मपूर्वक मैं पाण्डु-राजका ही पुत्र हूं यह सब मैं जानता हूं ॥

S.D. SATWALEKAR

सर्व चैवाभिजानामि पाण्डोः पुत्रोऽस्मि धर्म॑तः। निश्चयाद्‌ घमशाखाणां यथा त्वं रृष्ण मन्यसे

श्रीकृष्ण ! जैसा कि आप मानते हैं, धर्मशास्त्रोंके निर्णयके अनुसार मैं धर्मतः पाण्डुका ही पुत्र हूँ। इन सब बातोंको मैं अच्छी तरह जानता और समझता हूँ ॥

GEETA PRESS

So it's evident that he knew about his birth secret and his parents and the Pandavas being his brothers before Krishna told him. Now the question is when, how and through whom he got to know it; the text is silent on it.

In the kundala-aharana parva, Surya refused to tell him about him being his father, to Karna but spoke as his well-wisher. He didn't tell, though Indra said to him

"O Karna! You will never look loathsome. You do not utter a falsehood and your body will not be scarred. O supreme among eloquent ones! O Karna! You will again possess the complexion and energy of your father. Your complexion will again become like his. But if you unleash this invincible weapon in a fit of fury, when you possess other weapons, there is no doubt that it will descend on you.”

So can it be Indra, who told him about his real parents, and if he got to know the truth beforehand, why didn't he try to confront Kunti or his foster parents? And this is before the Virat War, but there isn't any mention of Karna having any emotion like that towards Arjun.

During the incognito year, the Pandavas and Draupadi took refuge in the Matsya Kingdom of King Virat.

Yudithistira becomes Kanka, a courtier and dice player; Bhima becomes Vallabha, the royal cook; Arjun becomes Brihannala, a dance and music teacher; Nakula becomes Granthika, keeper of the royal horses; Sahadeva becomes Tantipala, supervisor of the royal cattle; and Draupadi becomes Sairandhri, maid to Queen Sudeshna.

Who had the easiest double life out of all 6, and who has the most difficult and hardest?