Dhristadyumna

Dhrishtadyumna
Drishtadumnya announces the Draupadi Swayamvara

Dhrishtadyumna (Sanskrit: धृष्टद्युम्न, dhṛṣṭadyumna, lit. he who is courageous and splendorous), also known as Draupada (Sanskrit: द्रौपद, lit. son of Drupada), was the son of Drupada and brother of Draupadi and Shikhandi in the epic Mahabharata. He was the commander of the Pandava army during the Kurukshetra War. Dhrishtadyumna killed Drona, the royal guru, when he was meditating which was against the rules of engagement.

The king of Panchala, Drupada undertook a Putrakameshti yajna, a sacrifice to please the gods and obtain offspring by their blessing. Drupada desired a son who could kill Guru Dronacharya, who had humiliated Drupada in battle and taken half his kingdom.

With the help of two saints (Maharishis Yaja and Upayaja), Drupada undertook the sacrifice. After his wife made the sacrificial offerings, Dhrishtadyumna emerged from the fire, a fully grown powerful young and armed man, together with his sister Draupadi. He already had martial and religious knowledge. Despite being younger than them, Dhristadyumna is appointed as the heir over his two siblings due to his heavenly parents.

Even though he was the prophesied killer of Drona, he was accepted as a student by Drona, and he learned advanced military arts. When his sister Draupadi was won in an archery competition by a young Brahmin at her swayamvara, in front of all the princes and nobility, Dhrishtadyumna secretly followed the Brahmin and his sister, only to discover that the Brahmin was in fact Arjuna, one of the five Pandava brothers.

At the great battle of Kurukshetra, on the advice of Krishna and Arjuna, Dhrishtadyumna was appointed the commander of the Pandava army. He fought bravely in the war.