With downright magnitude and superfluous philosophical depth, Mahabharata is a mega saga which comprises the essence of war, politics, religion, parenting, ethics and Dharma . This grand epic is all about the friction between two collateral branches of the Kuru clan to overpower the throne of Hastinapur. Everyone knows about the epic Mahabharata and the main characters of it. But there were some characters too who played important role , however, they are not remembered or talked much about.
Today we will tell you about 07 such characters of Mahabharata who had a major role to play, but are still unknown to many.
#1
Ashwathama
Mahabharata describes him as being incredibly tall, with dark skin, dark eyes, and with a gem in his forehead. Ashwathama was born a Chiranjeevi… An immortal being, to Drona, the Guru of the Pandavas. Ashwathama had a strong jealousy towards Arjuna.“Just as Duryodhana believed that the Pandavas were taking his birthright to the crown, Ashwathama felt that Arjuna was usurping his place in Drona’s heart”
Ashwathama studied with the Pandavas, but Drona was partial towards Arjun. This pushed Ashwathama closer to duryodhana. He was one of the 12 people who survived the Kurukshetra war.
The Victorious Pandava army and warriors were slaughtered by Ashwathama on the night of the 18th day of the war. Lord Krishna took the Gem from his forehead After the death of Uthara and cursed him with 3000 years of wandering with a pus filled and diseased body … all lonely with no access to accommodation.
#2
Gandhari:
A blindfolded mother of a hundred sons, a puppet for her blind husband, and a lady who died every moment she lived; Gandhari is undisputable the wisest female character of the Mahabharata. Gandhari is a lady of immense natural power and always favors Dharma. One by one, she witnessed her hundred sons going down like skittles, but she never left the domain of righteousness and refused her own son to wish victory into the battlefield.
#3
Ghatotkach
The phenomenon behind night war victory for Pandavas.The son of Bheem and giantess Hidimbi, Ghatotkach proved very important towards the end of the war. His mixed blood made him half-demon and he created havoc in the battlefield. He was killed in the end by Karna by using SHAKTHI astra. The demons are good at wagering night war because of the destructive power they will have in the night. Hence they utilize him for night war during Kurukshetra yudha. The Arjun’s son abhimanyu’s marriage takes place with the help of him only.
#4
BARBARIKA
If Barbaika fought the Kurushetra war the war will be of totally different in nature. The reason is He was considered to be one of the fiercest warriors on the field. Barbarika was the son of Ghatotkach and Ahilawati. He was trained to be a warrior by his mother and was gifted the three infallible arrows by Valmiki, which had the capacity to destroy and save everything on its path. But the invincible Barbarika was bound by a principle that he has to fight for the weaker side and he would be in kauravas side too i.e., he will be oscillating between two sides which is not acceptable as it will be leading to everyone’s death, except his own . Krishna realized it was a faulty principle since the side Barbarika would not chose would become the weaker side by default. So, Krishna asked for Barbarika’s head as charity and avoided his participation in the war.
#5
Uthara
Uthara as one of the unluckiest characters in Mahabharata.Just before Abhimanyu was set to participate in war, Uthara got married to him. They were still in their honeymoon period when he left to war field, without any assurance of returning.She was not more than 15 then.She always knew she could never get the opportunity to become Queen even after Pandavas’ victory. Because Yudhishtira would be the king obviously and the legendary would be passed to Yudhishtira’s son.
She lost her brother very soon in war.Followed by that, Abhimanyu was killed on the 13th day of the Kurukshetra War.Only a few days later, she lost her father too in war.Now her only hope is the baby she was carrying. Then towards the end of the war, the foetus was shot using Brahmastra by Ashwathama
But.. She struggled. She stood up. She survived.She raised her son Pareekchit up, and Pareekchit eventually succeeded Yudhishthira to the throne of Hastinapur.
#6
Sanjaya
A highly underrated character, Sanjay acted as the ‘eyes’ for the blind king Dhritarashtra. Sanjay was blessed with divyadrishti by Vyasa. He could see the events taking place at a faraway place in real time. He also narrated the Bhagavad Gita to Dhritarashtra. Sanjay was also the adviser and charioteer to Dhritarashtra. Dhritarashtra come to know about the entire Kurukshetra from sanjaya. Sanjay means the person who defeated the negative things in life.
#7
Jarasandh
Jarasandh was the king of Magadh. He was a big devotee of Lord Shiva. He had a negative nature and was killed by Bhim. When Bhim had cut Jarasandh into two halves, his body joined again. Then on Krishna’s advice, Bhim cut his body from the centre into many parts, which flew into different directions far away from the centre point and hence his body could not be joined again.
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