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).