Draupadi in the context of "Arjuna"

The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a patronymic referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who are central figures of the ancient Hindu epic Mahabharata. They are acknowledged as the sons of Pandu, the King of Kuru, but were fathered by different Devas (gods) due to Pandu's cursed inability to naturally sire children. In the epic, the Pandavas married Draupadi, the princess of Panchala, and founded the city of Indraprastha after the Kuru Kingdom was split to avoid succession disputes. After the split, the other part of the kingdom was ruled by their cousins, the Kauravas. However, the Pandavas lost their kingdom to Duryodhana (eldest and king of the Kauravas) when Yudhishthira gambled it away during a game of dice. The bet Yudhishtira agreed to was that the Pandavas would hand the kingdom over to the Kauravas and go into exile for 12 followed by an year in hiding. After this time the Kauravas refused to return the kingdom. As a result, the Pandavas waged a civil war against their extended family, and this conflict is known as the Kurukshetra War. With the help of the god Krishna, the Pandavas eventually won the war with the death of the Kauravas, albeit at great cost.

Sahadeva (Sanskrit: सहदेव, romanized: Sahadeva, lit. 'one with the gods') was the youngest of the five Pandava brothers in the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata. He and his twin brother Nakula were the sons of Madri, one of the wives of the Pandava patriarch Pandu, and Ashvini Kumaras, the divine twin physicians of the gods, whom she invoked to beget her sons due to Pandu's inability to progenate. Sahadeva is renowned for his wisdom, knowledge of astrology, and skill in swordsmanship.

Sahadeva was married to Draupadi, as were his four brothers. He was also married to Vijaya of Madra kingdom. He had two sons, Shrutasena and Suhotra, from his two wives respectively. Sahadeva played a crucial role during the Rajasuya of Yudhishthira, where he conquered the kings of the South. After Yudhishthira lost all of his possessions to Duryodhana in the game of dice, Sahadeva vowed to slay Shakuni, Duryodhana's maternal uncle, who had used loaded dice to unfairly win the game. Afterwards, the Pandavas and Draupadi were exiled for thirteen years, with the last year being a period of hiding called as Agyaata Vaasa. During the hiding, Sahadeva disguised himself as a Vaishya named Tantripala and worked as a cowherd in the kingdom of Virata. Sahadeva was a skilled warrior who fought in the Kurukshetra War between the Pandavas and their cousins, the Kauravas. On the 18th day of the war, he slayed Shakuni. At the end of the epic, during the Pandavas' journey in the Himalayas to enter Svarga, Sahadeva was the second to fall, following Draupadi, due to his excessive pride in his wisdom.

Terukkuttu is a Tamil street theatre form practised in Tamil Nadu state of India and Tamil-speaking regions of Sri Lanka. Terukuttu is a form of Koothu, an entertainment, a ritual, and a medium of social instruction, originated from the early Tamilakam. The terukkuttu plays various themes. One theme is from the Tamil language versions of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, focusing on the character Draupadi. The terms Terukkuttu and Kattaikkuttu are often used interchangeably in the modern times; however, historically the two terms appear to have distinguished, at least in certain villages, between two different kinds of performance: while Terukkuttu referred to mobile performances in a procession, Kattaikkuttu denotes overnight, narrative performances at a fixed performance space.

Polyandry (/ˈpɒliˌændri, ˌpɒliˈæn-/; from Ancient Greek πολύ (polú) 'many' and ἀνήρ (anḗr) 'man') is a form of polygamy in which a woman takes two or more husbands at the same time. Polyandry is contrasted with polygyny, involving one male and two or more females. If a marriage involves a plural number of "husbands and wives" participants of each gender, then it can be called polygamy, group or conjoint marriage. In its broadest use, polyandry refers to sexual relations with multiple males within or without marriage.

Of the 1,231 societies listed in the 1980 Ethnographic Atlas, 186 were found to be monogamous, 453 had occasional polygyny, 588 had more frequent polygyny, and four had polyandry. Polyandry is less rare than this figure suggests, as it considered only those examples found in the Himalayan mountain region (eight societies). More recent studies have found at least four other societies practicing polyandry.

Nakula (Sanskrit: नकुल) is a major character in the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata. He is the elder twin brother of Sahadeva and the fourth of the five Pandava brothers. He is the son of twin physician gods, Ashvins, and Madri, the second wife of King Pandu of Kuru dynasty. In the epic, Nakula is described as the most handsome man of his lineage, and was renowned for his skill in swordsmanship and horse keeping.

He was married to Draupadi, as were his four brothers. He was also married to Karenumati of Chedi Kingdom. He had two sons Shatanika and Niramitra from his two wives respectively. During the Rajasuya of his eldest brother Yudhishthira, he conquered the kings of the Sivis, the Rohitakas and other dynasties. After Yudhishthira lost all his possessions to his cousin Duryodhana in a dice game, the Pandavas and Draupadi were exiled for thirteen years. During the Pandavas' year of incognito exile, he disguised as a horse trainer named Granthika, and worked in the kingdom of Virata. Nakula was a skilled warrior who fought in the Kurukshetra War between the Pandavas and their cousins Kauravas. At the end of the epic, during the Pandavas' journey to the Himalayas to enter heaven, Nakula was the third to fall, following Draupadi and Sahadeva, due to his excessive pride in his beauty.

Duryodhana (Sanskrit: दुर्योधन, IAST: Duryodhana), also known as Suyodhana, is the primary antagonist of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He is the eldest of the Kauravas, the hundred sons of King Dhritarashtra and Queen Gandhari of Kuru dynasty. Born through a miraculous manner, his birth is accompanied by ill-omens. Duryodhana grows up in Hastinapura and later becomes its crown prince. Driven by innate selfishness, jealousy, and hostility towards his cousins—the five Pandava brothers—Duryodhana frequently plots against them, aided by his principal allies: his trickster uncle Shakuni, his loyal friend Karna, his devoted brother Dushasana and his blind and indulgent father Dhritarashtra.

Duryodhana's envy culminates in the infamous dice game, where he humiliates Draupadi, the queen of the Pandavas. This incident provokes Bhima, the second Pandava, to vow that he will one day smash Duryodhana's thigh. Later, with the help of Shakuni, Duryodhana tricks the Pandavas into relinquishing their kingdom and forces them into exile. Even after the Pandavas complete their thirteen-year exile, he refuses to restore their kingdom, directly triggering the outbreak of the Kurukshetra War.

Draupadeyas (Sanskrit: द्रौपदेयाः, romanized: draupadeyāḥ, lit. 'sons of Draupadi') is a matronymic term referring to the five sons of Draupadi—Prativindhya, Sutasoma, Shrutakarma, Shatanika, and Shrutasena—who are characters in the ancient Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. Each of these sons was born to Draupadi through one of the five Pandava brothers, making them half-brothers to one another. The Draupadeyas are portrayed as valorous warriors, described as Maharathis, or great chariot-warriors. They align themselves with the Pandavas during the Kurukshetra War, where they are said to have slain numerous enemy combatants. While the text attributes to them the strength and ferocity of their fathers, the epic offers relatively limited individual characterisation for each of the brothers. Nonetheless, they are depicted as formidable figures on the battlefield, with only a select few warriors from the Kaurava side shown as capable of overcoming them.

Ajnatavasa (Sanskrit: अज्ञातवास, ajñātavāsa, lit. "living in obscurity" or "unknown abode") refers to the thirteenth year of exile undertaken by the Pandavas, the protagonists of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. This period, detailed in The Book of Virata (Virata Parva), required the five Pandava brothers—Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva—along with their wife Draupadi, to live incognito after spending twelve years in forest exile. The condition, stipulated after Yudhishthira’s loss in a game of dice against the Kauravas, mandated that they remain unrecognized in a populated area; if discovered, they would face an additional twelve years of exile.