Sahadeva

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Sahadeva
A print on Sahadeva by Raja Ravi Varma Press
Personal Information
Affiliation	Pandavas
Weapon	Sword
Family	Parents Ashvini Kumara (father) Madri (mother) Kunti (adoptive mother) Pandu (adoptive father) Brothers Nakula (twin brother) Karna Yudhishthira Bhima Arjuna (half brothers)
Spouse	Draupadi Vijaya[a]
Children	Shrutasena by Draupadi Suhotra by Vijaya
Relatives	Dhritarashtra and Vidura (paternal uncles) Kauravas (paternal cousins) Shalya (maternal uncle)

Sahadeva (Sanskrit: सहदेव, romanized: Sahadeva, lit. 'one with the gods') was the youngest of the five Pandava brothers in the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata. He and his twin brother Nakula were the sons of Madri, one of the wives of the Pandava patriarch Pandu, and Ashvini Kumaras, the divine twin physicians of the gods, whom she invoked to beget her sons due to Pandu's inability to progenate. Kunti, Sahadeva's step-mother, loved him the most despite his birth to Madri. Sahadeva is renowned for his wisdom, knowledge of astrology, and skill in swordsmanship.

Sahadeva shared the common wife, Draupadi, with his four brothers. He was also married to Vijaya of Madra kingdom. He had two sons, Shrutasena and Suhotra, from his two wives respectively. Sahadeva played a crucial role during the Rajasuya of Yudhishthira, where he conquered the kings of the South. After Yudhishthira lost all of his possessions to Duryodhana in the game of dice, Sahadeva vowed to slay Shakuni, Duryodhana's maternal uncle, who had used loaded dice to unfairly win the game. Afterwards, the Pandavas and Draupadi were exiled for thirteen years, with the last year being a period of hiding. During the hiding, Sahadeva disguised himself as a Vaishya named Tantripala and worked as a cowherd in the kingdom of Virata. Sahadeva was a skilled warrior who fought in the Kurukshetra War between the Pandavas and their cousins, the Kauravas. On the 18th day of the war, he slayed Shakuni. At the end of the epic, during the Pandavas' journey in the Himalayas to enter svarga (heaven), Sahadeva was the second to fall, following Draupadi, due to his excessive pride in his wisdom.
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