G L O S S A R Y

O F

N A M E S

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T E R M S

Abhimanyu

son of Arjuna; killed on the twelfth day of the war; his son, Parikshit, by his wife, Uttara, is killed in the womb by Ashwatthamas brahmastra, but brought back to life by Krishna actions that are unjust, oppressive, cruel, violent; opposite of dharma nonviolence literally, The Age of Blindness; in the play, refers to the twilight period between the Dvapara Yug and Kali Yug third of the five Pandava brothers; fathered by the God Indra; an intimate friend of Lord Krishna sacred species of large banyan, also known as bo or peepul son of Dronacharya; avenges his fathers death by killing Dhristadyumna and all five sons of Draupadi in a night raid; for releasing the brahmastra, Krishna curses him to live as an outcast atrocity Krishnas older brother; master teacher of the warrior arts to the Pandavas and Kauravas; goes on a pilgrimage but returns on the last day of the war sacred Hindu text in verse primarily about the life of Lord Krishna son of Kunti by the God Vayu; second oldest of the five Pandava brothers; avenges Draupadi by killing Dushasana and Duryodhana sage and patriarch of the Pandavas and Kauravas; fights on the side of the Kauravas, though he can foresee the outcome one of the three divine weapons, containing cataclysmic, fiery energy capable of destroying the universe

adharma ahimsa Andha Yug Arjuna ashwatha Ashwatthama

atyachar Balarama

Bhagavata Purana Bhima

Bhishma

brahmastra

137

dharma

in general, what is transcendently good or right to do or be; more specifically, (1) ethical action appropriate to specific kinds of people and situations; (2) correctness, rightness, goodness, or justice of actions; (3) universally good attributes, such as purity, truthfulness, generosity, steadfastness, and self-control someone who is a leading exponent of dharma brother of Draupadi; when Drona lays down his weapons, Dhristadyumna kills him, thus provoking the wrath of Ashwatthama blind regent of Pandus kingdom; husband of Gandhari; father of the one hundred Kauravas and of Yuyutsu wife-in-common of the Pandava brothers; humiliated by the Kauravas in their assembly hall after she was wagered and lost by Yudhishthira in a crooked dice-game literally, visual poetry; traditional form of Indian drama sage and warrior who teaches archery to the Pandavas and Kauravas; fights on the side of the Kauravas; is tricked by Yudhishthira into laying down his weapons, then slain by Dhristadyumna firstborn of the one hundred Kaurava brothers; son of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari one of the Kaurava brothers; attempted to disrobe Draupadi in the assembly hall after she was wagered and lost by Yudhishthira in a crooked dice-game third of the four cosmic ages, characterized by further decline in morality and dharma the capital city of the Yadava clan; Krishnas home city wife of Dhritarashtra; when they marry, she blindfolds herself out of empathy for him; mother of the one hundred Kauravas capital of Pandus kingdom; also known as The City of Elephants hunter who shoots an arrow that kills Krishna; literally, old age last of the four cosmic ages, characterized by the ultimate decline of dharma

dharmaraj Dhristadyumna

Dhritarashtra Draupadi

drishya kavya Drona/Dronacharya

Duryodhana Dushasana

Dvapara Yug Dwarkapuri Gandhari

Hastinapur Jara Kali Yug

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Glossary

Karna

illegitimate son of Kunti and the God Surya; out of shame, Kunti placed the infant Karna in a polished wood box and set him adrift on a river, where he was found and raised by a family of low social rank; fights against the Pandavas compassion; kindness Dhritarashtras one hundred sons, led by Duryodhana sage at the court of Hastinapur; teaches the warrior arts to the Pandavas and Kauravas; fights on the side of the Kauravas; joins Ashwatthama in a night raid incarnation of the Godhead Vishnu; born into the world as a son of Vasudeva, of the Yadava clan; kin to the Kauravas and Pandavas; does not fight in the war but is Arjunas charioteer and influences the outcome born into the Yadava clan, but is a rival of his clansman Krishna; a powerful warrior and leader of the Yadava warriors who fight on the side of the Kauravas; joins Ashwatthama in a night raid first wife of Pandu; mother of Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, and the illegitimate son, Karna plain on which the war is fought ruler; king in Hinduism, the unreality that obscures the true nature of existence character who appears as Vyasa, the supernatural author of the Mahabharata; an astrologer; then as the hunter Jara twin brothers; the youngest of the five Pandava brothers; sons of Pandus second wife, Madri sons of Pandu: Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva; the illegitimate son, Karna, is also a Pandava son of Abhimanyu and grandson of Arjuna; killed in his mothers womb by Ashwatthamas brahmastra, but brought back to life by Krishna; eventually rules the kingdom sacred species of large banyan, also known as bo or ashwatha

karuna Kauravas Kripacharya

Krishna

Kritavarma

Kunti Kurukshetra maharaj maya Mendicant

Nakula and Sahadeva Pandavas

Parikshit

peepul

Glossary

139

Pitama Sanjaya

literally, grandfather; in the play, Gandhari is referring to Bhishma charioteer of Dhritarashtra; given divine vision by Vyasa to describe to Dhritarashtra and Gandhari everything that happens in the war literally, The Age of Truth; first of the four cosmic ages, characterized by purity and goodness friend of the Pandava brothers and disciple of Arjuna; one of the commanders of Yudhishthiras army commander-in-chief of an army form of the Godhead Shiva son of Nakula and Draupadi; fights on the side of the Pandavas one of the commanders of the Pandava army vermillion powder worn in the parting of a womans hair indicating she is married; removed if the woman is widowed second of the four cosmic ages, characterized by a decline in morality and dharma holy basil; an aromatic plant sacred to worshipers of the Godhead Vishnu wife of Arjunas son, Abhimanyu; mother of Parikshit, heir to the kingdom sage; half-brother to Dhritarashtra and Pandu; uncle to the Pandavas and Kauravas sacred Hindu text in verse primarily about the Godhead Vishnu sage and original author of the Mahabharata; father of Pandu, Dhritarashtra, and Vidura; a giver of boons who bestows divine vision on Sanjaya and intervenes in action from time to time large clan in the far-western part of the kingdom; home of Krishna and his older brother, Balarama; a faction of the clan fights under Kritavarma on the side of the Kauravas God of Death and Justice

Satya Yug Satyaki senapati Shankara Shatanik Shikhandi sindhur

Treta Yug tulsi Uttara Vidura Vishnu Purana Vyasa

Yadava

Yamaraj

140

Glossary

Yudhishthira Yuyutsu

oldest of the five Pandava brothers; son of Kunti and the God Dharma; a husband of Draupadi illegitimate son of Dhritarashtra by a slave girl; joins the side of the Pandavas during the war

Glossary

141