Yudhishthira

Yudhishthira
Yudhishthira on the throne with Draupadi, surrounded by the other Pandavas
Information
Spouse(s)	Draupadi, Devika
Children	Prativindya, Yaudheya (sons)

In the Hindu epic Mahabharata,Yudhishthira (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, yudhiṣṭhira) was the eldest son of King Pandu and Queen Kunti and the king of Indraprastha and later of Hastinapura (Kuru). He was the leader of the successful Pandava side in the Kurukshetra War. At the end of the epic, he ascended to heaven.

By the description of Vyasa and Krishna, the king was fair and lotus-eyed, with a long and stout nose, tall and strong but humble like any other citizen.

The word Yudhishthira means "the one who is steady in the war", from the words, yuddha (युद्ध) meaning 'war', and sthira (स्थिर) meaning 'steady'. His other names are-

Once a Brahmin rishi, Kindama and his wife were making love in the forest when Yudhishthira's father Pandu accidentally shot at them, mistaking them for deer. Before dying, Kindama cursed the king to die when he engages in intercourse with any woman. Due to this curse, Pandu was unable to father children. As an additional penance for the murder, Pandu abdicated the throne of Hastinapura, and his blind brother Dhritarashtra took over the reins of the kingdom.

As the child was born the sages and the deities predicted that he would be the most virtuous, honest and truthful king of all times.

Yudhishthira's four younger brothers were Bhima, (born by invoking Vayu); Arjuna, (born by invoking Indra); and the twins Nakula and Sahadeva, (born to Pandu's second wife Madri by invoking the Ashwini Gods). If Karna, the son of Kunti born before her marriage by invoking Surya is counted, Yudhishthira would be the second-eldest of Kunti's children.