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''Kaurava'' is a
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''
Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...
''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King
Dhritarashtra Dhritarashtra ( sa, धृतराष्ट्र, ISO-15919: Dhr̥tarāṣṭra) was a Kuru king, and the father of the Kauravas in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He was the King of the Kuru Kingdom, with its capital at Hastinapura. He was ...
and his wife Gandhari. Duryodhana,
Dushasana Dushasana ( sa, दुःशासन, , ), also spelled Duhshasana, Dussasana or Duhsasana, also known as Sushasana, is an antagonist in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He was second eldest among the Kaurava princes and the younger brother of D ...
,
Vikarna In the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata'', Vikarna ( sa, विकर्ण) was the third Kaurava, a son of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari, and a brother to the crown prince Duryodhana. Vikarna is also referred to as the third-most reputable of the Kaurav ...
and Chitrasena are the most popular among the brothers. They also had a sister named
Dussala Dushshala () is a princess of Hastinapura, and the only daughter of King Dhritarashtra and Queen Gandhari in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. She was born after the birth of her Kaurava brothers and her paternal half-sibling, Yuyutsu. She is mar ...
and a half-brother named
Yuyutsu Yuyutsu () in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata'' was a son of Dhritarashtra with Gandhari's maid (named Sughada in later retelling). He was the paternal half - sibling to Gandhari's children: Duryodhana and the rest of the 99 Kaurava brothers and ...
.


Etymology

The term ''Kauravas'' is used in the ''Mahabharata'' with two meanings: *The wider meaning is used to represent all the descendants of Kuru. This meaning, which includes the
Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledge ...
brothers, is often used in the earlier parts of popular renditions of the ''Mahabharata''. *The narrower but more common meaning is used to represent the elder line of the descendants of Kuru. This restricts it to the children of King
Dhritarashtra Dhritarashtra ( sa, धृतराष्ट्र, ISO-15919: Dhr̥tarāṣṭra) was a Kuru king, and the father of the Kauravas in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He was the King of the Kuru Kingdom, with its capital at Hastinapura. He was ...
, excluding the children of his younger brother, Pandu, whose children form the Pandava line. The rest of this article deals with the Kaurava in the narrower sense, that is, the children of Dhritarashtra by Gandhari. When referring to these children, a more specific term is also used – (
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
: धार्तराष्ट्र), a derivative of Dhritarashtra.


Birth of Kauravas

After Gandhari was married to
Dhritarashtra Dhritarashtra ( sa, धृतराष्ट्र, ISO-15919: Dhr̥tarāṣṭra) was a Kuru king, and the father of the Kauravas in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He was the King of the Kuru Kingdom, with its capital at Hastinapura. He was ...
, she wrapped a cloth over her eyes and vowed to share the darkness that her husband lived in. Once Sage Krishna Dwaipayana
Vyasa Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...
came to visit Gandhari in
Hastinapur Hastinapur is a city in the Meerut district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ''Hastinapura'', described in Hindu texts such as the ''Mahabharata'' and the Puranas as the capital of the Kuru Kingdom, is also mentioned in ancient Jain texts ...
and she took great care of the comforts of the great saint and saw that he had a pleasant stay in
Hastinapur Hastinapur is a city in the Meerut district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ''Hastinapura'', described in Hindu texts such as the ''Mahabharata'' and the Puranas as the capital of the Kuru Kingdom, is also mentioned in ancient Jain texts ...
. The saint was pleased with Gandhari and granted her a boon. Gandhari wished for one hundred sons who would be as powerful as her husband. Dwaipayan
Vyasa Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...
granted her the boon and in due course of time, Gandhari found herself to be pregnant. But two years passed and still, the baby was not born. Meanwhile, Kunti received a son from
Yama Yama (Devanagari: यम) or Yamarāja (यमराज), is a deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld who predominantly features in Hindu and Buddhist religion, belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities. ...
whom she called
Yudhishthira ''Yudhishthira'' (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira'') is the eldest among the five Pandava brothers. He is mentioned in the ancient epic Mahabharata. He was sired by King Pandu of the Kuru Dynasty and his firs ...
. After two years of pregnancy, Gandhari gave birth to a hard piece of lifeless flesh that was not a baby at all. Gandhari was devastated as she had expected a hundred sons according to the blessing of Rishi
Vyasa Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...
. She was about to throw away the piece of flesh while Rishi
Vyasa Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...
appeared and told her that his blessings could not have been in vain and asked Gandhari to arrange for one hundred jars to be filled with ghee. He told Gandhari that he would cut the piece of flesh into a hundred pieces and place them in the jars, which would then develop into the one hundred sons that she so desired. Gandhari told
Vyasa Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...
then that she also wanted to have a daughter.
Vyasa Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...
agreed, cut the piece of flesh into one hundred and one-pieces, and placed them each into a jar. After two more years of patient waiting the jars were ready to be opened and were kept in a cave. Bhima was born on the same day on which Duryodhana was born thus making them of the same age. Arjuna,
Nakula In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, ''Nakula'' (Sanskrit: नकुल) was fourth of the five Pandava brothers. Nakula and Sahadeva were twins blessed to Madri, by Ashwini Kumaras, the divine physicians. Their parents Pandu and Madri - died e ...
, and
Sahadeva Sahadeva (Sanskrit: सहदेव) was the youngest of the Pandava brothers, the five principal protagonists of the epic ''Mahabharata''. He and his twin brother, Nakula, were blessed to King Pandu and Queen Madri by invoking the twin gods As ...
were born after Duryodhana was born.


Children of Dhritarashtra

The children of
Dhritarashtra Dhritarashtra ( sa, धृतराष्ट्र, ISO-15919: Dhr̥tarāṣṭra) was a Kuru king, and the father of the Kauravas in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He was the King of the Kuru Kingdom, with its capital at Hastinapura. He was ...
by Gandhari are also referred by a more specific and frequently encountered term - , a derivative of (Dhritarashtra). According to the epic, Gandhari wanted a hundred sons and
Vyasa Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...
granted her a boon that she would have these. Another version says that she was unable to have any children for a long time and she eventually became pregnant but did not deliver for two years, after which she gave birth to a lump of flesh.
Vyasa Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...
cut this lump into a hundred and one-pieces and these eventually developed into a hundred boys and one girl. The birth of these children is relevant to the dispute over the succession of the kingdom's throne. It attributes the late birth of Duryodhana, the eldest son of
Dhritarashtra Dhritarashtra ( sa, धृतराष्ट्र, ISO-15919: Dhr̥tarāṣṭra) was a Kuru king, and the father of the Kauravas in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He was the King of the Kuru Kingdom, with its capital at Hastinapura. He was ...
, despite his father's early marriage and legitimizes the case for his cousin
Yudhishthira ''Yudhishthira'' (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira'') is the eldest among the five Pandava brothers. He is mentioned in the ancient epic Mahabharata. He was sired by King Pandu of the Kuru Dynasty and his firs ...
to claim the throne, since he could claim to be the eldest of his generation. All the sons of
Dhritarashtra Dhritarashtra ( sa, धृतराष्ट्र, ISO-15919: Dhr̥tarāṣṭra) was a Kuru king, and the father of the Kauravas in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He was the King of the Kuru Kingdom, with its capital at Hastinapura. He was ...
(excluding
Yuyutsu Yuyutsu () in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata'' was a son of Dhritarashtra with Gandhari's maid (named Sughada in later retelling). He was the paternal half - sibling to Gandhari's children: Duryodhana and the rest of the 99 Kaurava brothers and ...
) were killed in the
Battle of Kurukshetra The Kurukshetra War ( sa, कुरुक्षेत्र युद्ध ), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the ''Mahabharata ( sa, महाभारत )''. The conflict arose from a dynastic succession struggle be ...
.


Names of the Kauravas

The Mahabharata notes the names of all Kauravas, of which only Duryodhana, Dushasana, Vikarna and Chitrasena play a significant role. The Kauravas also had a half-brother, Yuyutsu, and a sister,
Duhsala Dushshala () is a princess of Hastinapura, and the only daughter of King Dhritarashtra and Queen Gandhari in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. She was born after the birth of her Kaurava brothers and her paternal half-sibling, Yuyutsu. She is mar ...
. # Duryodhana # Dushasana # Vikarna # Chitrasena # Upachitran # Suvarma # Dussaha # Jalagandha # Sama # Saha # Vindha # Anuvindha # Durdharsha # Subahu # Dushpradarshan # Durmarshan # Durmukha # Dushkarna # karna # Salan # Sathwa # Sulochan # Chithra # Chitraksha # Charuchithra # Sarasana # Durmada # Durviga # Vivitsu # Viktana # Urnanabha # Sunabha # Nanda # Upananda # Chitravarma # Suvarma # Durvimochan # Ayobahu # Mahabahu # Chitranga # Chitrakundala # Bhimvega # Bhimba # Balaki # Balvardhana # Ugrayudha # Sushena # Kundhadhara # Mahodara # Chithrayudha # Nishangi # Pashi # Vridaraka # Dridhavarma # Dridhakshatra # Somakirti # Anudara # Dridasandha # Jarasangha # Sathyasandha # Sadas # Suvak # Ugrasarva # Ugrasena # Senani # Dushparajai # Aparajit # Kundusai # Vishalaksha # Duradhara # Dridhahastha # Suhastha # Vatvega # Suvarcha # Aadiyaketu # Bahvasi # Nagaadat # Agrayayi # Kavachi # Kradhan # Kundi # Kundadhara # Dhanurdhara # Bhimaratha # Virabahi # Alolupa # Abhaya # Raudrakarma # Dhridarathasraya # Anaghrushya # Kundhabhedi # Viravi # Chitrakundala # Dirghlochan # Pramati # Veeryavan # Dirgharoma # Dirghabhu # Kundashi # Virjasa


Marriages and children of Kauravas

All the 100 Kauravas were mentioned to have wives in the Adi Parva. Some of them had children - Duryodhana was mentioned to have a Kalinga princess as his wife, named in folklores as Mayuri. They had 3 children - a son
Laxman Kumara In the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata'', Lakshmana Kumara (also spelled Laxman(a)) was the son of Duryodhana and Bhanumati and grandson of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari. He had a twin sister called Lakshmanaa who was kidnapped by Samba (Krishna's son). ...
and two daughters named Lakshmana and one unnamed daughter. Lakshman Kumar participated in the Kurukshetra War and killed
Shikhandi Shikhandi ( sa, शिखण्डी, translit=Śikhaṇḍī) is a character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Born as the daughter of Drupada, the King of Panchala, Shikhandi becomes a biological male after agreeing to a sex exchange with a y ...
's son Kshatradeva on the 12th day of the war. He is killed by Abhimanyu on the 13th day of the War.
Lakshmana was said to have married
Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
's son Samba, and they had a son Ushneek. Dushasana was also said to have two sons, who killed Abhimanyu in the war. Dushasana's first son was ultimately killed by
Shrutasena In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, the ''Upapandavas'' (, sa, उपपाण्डव, lit. ''junior Pandavas''), also known as ''Pandavaputras'' (, sa, पाण्डवपुत्र, lit. ''sons of Pandavas''), Draupadeyas or ''Panchakumaras ...
in the War. Dushasan's second son was killed by Abhimanyu and Dushasan also had an unnamed daughter. Chitrasena's son was said to have been killed by
Shrutakarma In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, the ''Upapandavas'' (, sa, उपपाण्डव, lit. ''junior Pandavas''), also known as ''Pandavaputras'' (, sa, पाण्डवपुत्र, lit. ''sons of Pandavas''), Draupadeyas or ''Panchakumaras ...
in the Kurukshetra War. Chitrasena also had an unnamed daughter. However, it was mentioned that all these sons of the Kauravas were killed by the sons of the Pandavas.


In literature

Harivamsa Purana was composed by Acharya Jinasena in 783 AD. It is divided into 66 cantos and contains 12,000 slokas. The book aims to narrate the life of Neminatha, the twenty-second Tirthankara in Jainism. According to the Jain sources, Krishna is the ...
(8th century CE) narrates the Jain version of their story.


In popular culture

The term Kaurava is used as the name of a fictional planetary system in the 2008
real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a subgenre of strategy video games that do not progress incrementally in turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time". By contrast, in turn-based strategy (TBS) games, players take turns to p ...
video game '' Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Soulstorm'', as well as the names of the system's planets.


See also

*
Kuru Kingdom Kuru (Sanskrit: ) was a Vedic Indo-Aryan tribal union in northern Iron Age India, encompassing parts of the modern-day states of Haryana, Delhi, and some parts of western Uttar Pradesh, which appeared in the Middle Vedic period (c. 1200 – c. ...


Reference


Sources

*


External links


Persons and Stories from Mahabharata
{{Mahabharata Characters in the Mahabharata Kingdoms of the Puru clan