''Draupadeyas'' () are the five sons of Queen

Draupadi Draupadi (), also referred to as Krishnā, Panchali and Yajnaseni, is the central heroine of the Indian epic poetry, ancient Indian epic ''Mahabharata''. In the epic, she is the princess of Panchala Kingdom, who later becomes the empress of K ...

from each of the five Pandavas in the

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

epic

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

. They are Prativindhya, Sutasoma, Shrutakarma, Shatanika and Shrutasena. They were Maharathis, as mentioned by

Bhishma Bhishma (), also known as Pitamaha, Gangaputra, and Devavrata, is a central figure in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was a statesman and military commander of the ancient Kuru Kingdom. Renowned for his wisdom, valor, and unwavering principles, ...

, and fought the

Kurukshetra War The Kurukshetra War (), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the Hindu Indian epic poetry, epic poem ''Mahabharata'', arising from a dynastic struggle between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, for the thr ...

on the side of the Pandavas and slew many enemy warriors. They were as ferocious as their fathers but other than that, not much is said in the Mahabharata about the brothers. They were very strong and they were only defeated by remarkably few Kaurava warriors. They had half and full paternal brothers, 3 of whom - Abhimanyu, Ghatotkacha and Iravan, also fought in the War. All 8 of these brothers perished in the battle. The Draupadeyas, along with Abhimanyu, also battled the demon king Alambusha.

Prativindhya

Prativindhya (, , lit. ''shining like the sun'' or ''towards Vindhya'') or Shrutavindhya (, , lit. ''related to the Buddhi'') was son of

Yudhishthira Yudhishthira (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, ud̪ʱiʂʈʰiɾᵊ IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira''), also known as Dharmaputra, is the eldest among the five Pandavas, and is also one of the central characters of the ancient Indian epic ''Ma ...

and Draupadi and was the eldest of the Draupadeyas. He was described to be a skilled fighter, known to face troops like "the thunder-wielding Shakra (

Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes Indra is the m ...

)". In the

, Prativindhya fought

Shakuni Shakuni (, , ) is one of the antagonists of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He was the prince of the kingdom of Gandhara when introduced, later becoming its king after the death of his father, Subala. He was the brother of Gandhari (Mahabharata), ...

. On the 9th day, Prativindhya struck Alambusha unconscious. He also rescued his father Yudhishtira from Drona showing his courage. On 12th day, he repelled Drona who was trying to capture Yudhishthira alive. On 14th day, he killed Dushasana's son Durmasena, who had killed Abhimanyu and took revenge. On the 14th night, he fought some of the Kauravas along with Sutasoma. On the 15th day, he stopped Ashwatthama's advance by holding him off long enough but ultimately had to retreat from the battle after being overpowered by Ashwatthama. He killed Chitra, the king of Abhisara, on the 16th day. According to the Matsya Purana, Yuddhishtira had a son named Yaudheya from his first wife Subala, however he does not succeed Yudhishthira to the throne of Hastinapura as he inherits his maternal kingdom of Yaudheya.

Sutasoma

' (, lit. ''one who has extracted'' soma or ''the one who has the beauty of the moon'') was son of

Bhima Bhima (, ), also known as Bhimasena (, ), is a hero and one of the most prominent characters in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. As the second of the five Pandava brothers, Bhima was born to Kunti—the wife of King Pandu—fathered by Vayu, the ...

and Draupadi, second of the Draupadeyas. He also handled the troops in the war. He excelled in Mace fighting and archery. He battled the Kaurava prince Vikarna on the first day of the war. He played a major role in the battle by nearly killing

. Sutasoma, on the 12th day, stopped the advance of the mighty Kaurava Vivismati, towards Drona. He also battled some of the Kauravas on the 14th night, accompanied by his half-brother Prativindhya. He played a major role along with Yudhishthira and other Draupadeyas in holding off Dushasana and the other Kauravas on the 15th day.

Shatanika

Shatanika (, , lit. ''he who has hundred troops'') was the son of

Nakula Nakula () 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 Divine twins, twin physician gods, Ashvins, and Madri, the ...

and Draupadi. He was the third of the Draupadeyas. He was named after a famous Rajarshi in the Kuru lineage who was considered to be an avatar of Visvedevas. He was nominated as a deputy commander-in-chief under his maternal uncle and teacher Dhrishtadyumna, in was charge of Vyuha planning. He was the strongest among the Draupadeyas. He massacred the army of Kaurava ally Bhutakarma, as well as Bhutakarma. Shatanika also defeated Kaurava prince Dushkarna on the 6th day. On the 11th day he defeated by Karna’s son Vrihasena. He defeated the Kauravas Jayatsena, Chitrasena and Shrutakarman and killed a prince of Kalinga. Shatanika caused huge destruction of the Kaurava army on the 17th day too.

Shrutasena

Shrutsena (, , lit. ''the commander of the army of celestials'') was son of

Sahadeva Sahadeva () 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 ...

and Draupadi and the fourth of the Draupadeyas; like his father he was smart and intelligent. In the Chatahurdi analysis of the Mahabharata, he was defeated by Shakuni during the battle; he killed Shala, the younger brother of Bhurishravas on the 14th day of the war. He fought with other warriors like Dushmanara and Durmukha and defeated them. He also killed the son of Kaurava warrior Devavraddha.

Shrutakarma

Shrutakarma (, , lit. ''he who is known for his good deeds'') was the son of

Arjuna Arjuna (, , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, �ɾd͡ʒun̪ə is one of the central characters of the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is the third of the five Pandava brothers, and is widely regarded as the most important and renowned among them. ...

and Draupadi, and the youngest of the Draupadeyas. His horses were supposed to bear the colour of kingfishers. He was a capable archer like his father and defeated Kamboja ruler Sudakshina on the first day. He also defeated the Kaurava Jayatsena on the 6th day. He fought against Dushasana and

Ashwathama Ashvatthama (, , also spelt as Ashwatthama and Ashvatthaman) is a character in the ancient Indian epic poetry, Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is the son of Drona, the royal preceptor to the Kuru princes—the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Ashvatt ...

in an archery duel in the battle and gave them a good fight. He killed King Chitrasena, another king of Abhisara, on the 16th day.

Death

On the last night of the war after

Duryodhana Duryodhana (, Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ̪ʊɾjoːd̪ʱən̪ᵊ ), also known as Suyodhana, is the primary antagonist in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata.'' He is the eldest of the Kaurava, Kauravas, the hundred sons of King Dhritarashtra and Queen Gan ...

's death and the Kauravas' defeat,

gathered the only other surviving Kaurava warriors - Kritavarma and Kripacharya, and attacked the Pandava camp. He killed Dhrishtadyumna and many other prominent warriors of the Pandava army while they were sleeping or tried to fight him back. Ashwatthama killed all the Draupadeyas who were awake by then along with Shikhandi when they came out of their chambers after hearing the screams of other soldiers to fight Ashwatthama. In some versions of the story, he believes them to be the five Pandava brothers due to darkness; in others, he purposefully attacks the Pandavas'

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

s in order to hurt the Pandavas emotionally by destroying their lineage. Ashwatthama was eventually cursed by

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

for his heinous act of attempting to kill the baby Parikshit in the womb of Uttara, to roam the world for 3000 years with loneliness, incurable bruises and ulcers. In the Jataka tales version of the Mahabharata, Parikshit's mentors included Sutasoma. Prativindhya, Shrutakarma, and Shatanika at least (who even in Sauptika Parva is shown as wounded not dead) have definite longer lives in Jatakas.

Citations

{{Hindu Culture and Epics Characters in the Mahabharata