Sahadeva


In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Sahadeva was the youngest of the five Pandava brothers. Nakula and Sahadev were twins born to Madri who had invoked the Ashwini Kumaras. Sahadeva had two wives Draupadi and Vijaya. Draupadi was the common wife of Pandavas while Vijaya was the beloved wife of Sahadeva.

Origin of word Sahadeva

The word sahadeva is derived from two Sanskrit words saha and deva. Saha means with and deva is a Hindu term used for deity. So literally, Sahadeva means with Gods. Another meaning is thousand Gods. Sahadeva and his brother Nakula, are both called as Ashvineya, as they were born from Ashvins.

Birth and early years

Due to Pandu's inability to bear children, Madri had to use the boon given to Kunti Devi by Sage Durvasa to give birth, who invoked the Ashwini Kumaras to beget Nakula and Sahadeva.
Later, Pandu died due to his Kindama's curse when he attempted an intercourse with his wife. It is also believed that Sahadeva was an incarnation of Shukra, the guru of asuras.
Sahadeva and his brothers went to Hastinapura where they were instructed by Drona and Kripa in weapons. He mastered his skills in fencing and axe fighting. He also acquired the Nitishastra from Brihaspati, Guru of the Devas.

Marriage

Later Kunti and the five Pandavas moved to Hastinapura. Sahadeva's core skill was the wielding of the sword. Sahadeva is said to be mild-mannered, bashful, patient, and virtuous in every aspect except he was arrogant about his wisdom and his spiritual knowledge.
Sahadeva had two wives Draupadi, the common wife of the Pandavas, and Vijaya, whom he married. Sahadeva 's son with Vijaya was Suhotra. Vijaya chose Sahadeva in her swarmavara, hence the marriage. Vijaya was Sahadeva's maternal cousin, later lover and both were married in swarmavar. Hence, Vijaya was Sahadeva's beloved wife.
Suhotra was Queen Vijaya and Sahadeva's son. He was only alive heir of Sahadeva after the War. He was appointed as the crown prince of Madra when Sahadeva was King of Madra, after the War of Kurukshetra. They lived a happy life in Madra.

Conquest for Rajasuya

Sahadeva was sent south by the eldest Pandava Yudhishthira to subjugate kingdoms for the Rajasuya sacrifice, after crowning as the Emperor of Indraprastha. He was specifically chosen for the south because of his expertise with the sword, and because Bhishma opined that Southerners are skilled with sword-fighting in general.
The Mahabharata mentions several kingdoms to the south of Indraprastha which were conquered by Sahadeva. Some of them are as under:
Yudhishthira's loss in the game of dice meant that all Pandavas had to live in exile for 13 years. Once in exile, Jatasura, disguised as a Brahmin, kidnapped Nakula along with Draupadi, Sahadeva and Yudhishthira; Bhima rescued them eventually.
In the 13th year, Sahadeva disguised himself as a Vaishya and assumed the name of Tantripal at the Kingdom of Virata. He worked as a cowherd who supervised the maintenance and upkeep of all cows in Virata's kingdom.

Role in the Kurukshetra War

Sahadeva was very good in Astrology. Weeks before the war, Prince Duryodhana, on the advice of Shakuni approached Sahadeva in order to seek the right time to start the Mahabharata war so that the Kauravas will be victorious. Duryodhana offered to spare Sahadeva and his twin after the war and make them kings in exchange. Sahadeva declined his offer, but disclosed the date for the Kauravas in spite of knowing that Kauravas were their enemy, as Sahadeva was known to be very honest in his profession. Then, Krishna planned to create an eclipse much before the beginning of the war. In the meantime, both Sun and Moon got shocked by Krishna's thought and appeared before Krishna stating that this will create a huge imbalance in the entire Universe. Then, Krishna declared that as Earth, Moon and Sun are together in one place, this in itself was an eclipse. Even before the great war, Duryodhana would always ask Sahadeva about his future and Sahadeva would tell his future. He was the most favorite Pandava of Duryodhana.
Sahadeva desired Virata to be the general of the Pandava army, but Yudhishthira and Arjuna opted for Dhristadyumna. His conch was called Manipushpaka.
As a warrior, Sahadeva slew prominent warriors of the enemy side. The flag of Sahadeva's chariot bore the image of a silver swan. He defeated 40 brothers of Duryodhana, while fighting them simultaneously. During the gambling loss, he took an oath of slaying Shakuni. He accomplished this task successfully on the 18th day of battle. Among other prominent warriors killed by Sahadeva were Shakuni's Son on the 18th day and also Shalya's son on the same day and Trigata Prince Niramitra on the 14th day.

After the War

After the war, Yudhishthira appointed Nakula as king of Northern and Sahadeva as the Kings of southern Madra.

Death

Upon the onset of the Kali Yuga and the departure of Krishna, the Pandavas retired. Giving up all their belongings and ties, the Pandavas, accompanied by a dog, made their final journey of pilgrimage to the Himalayas.
Except Yudhishthira, all of the Pandavas grew weak and died before reaching heaven. Sahadeva was the second one to fall after Draupadi. When Bhima asked Yudhishthira why Sahadeva fell, Yudhishthira replied that Sahadeva took much pride on his wisdom.

Special Skills