Yudhiṣṭhira

Eldest Pandava; demigod son of Dharma by Kuntī. Embodiment of dharma — his truthfulness is so absolute that his chariot was said to hover above the ground; the single half-truth he utters (about Aśvatthāmā's death, Drona Parva 191) causes it to touch earth for the first time. King of Indraprastha after the Pandava settlement, then of Hastināpura after Kurukshetra. Loses everything to Śakuni's loaded dice in the gambling hall (Sabha Parva), triggering the thirteen-year exile and ultimately the war. Only Pandava to ascend to heaven in his physical body (Svargārohaṇa Parva); refuses to enter without his dog (revealed as Dharma in disguise — his father testing him one final time).

Parentage

• paternal: Dharma
• maternal: Kuntī

Children

• Prativindhya
• Yaudheya

Domains

• kingship righteous
• truth and dharma

Powers

• Answer the questions of the Yaksha (Dharma)
• Ascend to heaven in his mortal body with the dog
• Wields the power of unbroken truth

Epithets

• धर्मराज devanagari · Dharmarāja'King of Righteousness' — for his embodiment of dharmaMahābhārata (Sabhā Parva, Vana Parva) (primary)
• अजातशत्रु devanagari · Ajātaśatru'He whose enemy is not (yet) born' — the man without foesMahābhārata (Ādi Parva) (primary)
• धर्मपुत्र devanagari · Dharmaputra'Son of Dharma' — for his divine paternity by the god DharmaMahābhārata (Ādi Parva) (primary)

Relations

• spouse: Devika
• sibling: BhīmaMahabharata, Adi Parva 122 (primary)
• sibling: ArjunaMahabharata, Adi Parva 123 (primary)
• sibling: NakulaHalf-sibling — same legal father (Pāṇḍu), different mortal mother (Mādrī).Mahabharata, Adi Parva 124 (primary)
• sibling: SahadevaHalf-sibling — Mādrī's son.Mahabharata, Adi Parva 124 (primary)
• sibling: KarṇaFull sibling by Kuntī (both Sūrya- and Dharma-conceived, same mother) — but Karṇa's parentage is concealed until Kuntī reveals it on the eve of Kurukshetra. Yudhiṣṭhira learns only after Karṇa's death (Strīparva); the discovery devastates him and triggers his abdication-attempt.Mahabharata, Vana Parva 290-291; Strīparva (Kuntī's revelation) (primary)
• spouse: DraupadīDraupadī entry pending. Eldest of the five Pandava husbands.Mahabharata, Adi Parva 191-198 (the polyandrous marriage) (primary)
• father of: PrativindhyaMahabharata, Adi Parva 95.75 (primary)
• father of: YaudheyaMahabharata, Adi Parva 95.76 (primary)

Sources

• existence: Mahabharata Adi-Svargārohaṇa Parvas (full epic span); Bhāgavata Purāṇa 9.22, 1.13-15 (primary)
• parentage: Mahabharata, Adi Parva 122 (Kuntī invokes Dharma using Durvāsā's mantra) (primary)