{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2014}}
{{short description|One of the Kauravas in the epic Mahabharata}}
{{Infobox character
| info-hdr = Information
| alt = Dushasana
| image = Draupadi dragged from her chamber.jpg
| caption = Dushasana dragging Draupadi from her chamber, an early 20th illustration by [[Evelyn Paul]]
| children = [[Drumasena]]
| family = {{ubl|[[Dhritarashtra]] (father)|[[Gandhari (Mahabharata)|Gandhari]] (mother)|[[Duryodhana]], [[Vikarna]] and 97 others brothers|[[Duhsala]] (sister)|[[Yuyutsu]] (half-brother)}}
| color = #FFC569
'''Dushasana''' ({{lang-sa|दुःशासन}}, {{IAST|Duḥśāsana}}, {{lit|hard to rule}}), also spelled as '''Dussasana''' and '''Duhsasana''', is an antagonist of the [[Hindu epic]], ''[[Mahabharata]]''. He was one of the [[Kaurava]] princes and the younger brother of [[Duryodhana]].

==Etymology==

The name is often derived from two elements, the Sanskrit: duh "hard" and sasana, meaning "rule". So the word ''Duhshasana'' means "Hard to rule" or "unbounded".<ref>https://books.google.co.in/books?id=7wJBAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA98&dq=drupada+sons&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj20szk3truAhVbYysKHaIJDxcQ6AEwBHoECAQQAg#v=onepage&q=drupada%20sons&f=false</ref>

==Birth and Early Life==

When Dhritarashtra's queen Gandhari's pregnancy continued for an unusually long time, she beat her womb in frustration and in envy of [[Kunti]], the queen of [[Pandu]], who had given birth to three of the five [[Pandava]] brothers. Due to her actions, a hardened mass of grey-coloured flesh emerged from her womb. Gandhari was devastated, and called upon [[Vyasa]], the great sage who had blessed her with one hundred sons, to redeem his words.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva: Sambhava Parva: Section CXV|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m01/m01116.htm|access-date=2020-09-01|website=www.sacred-texts.com}}</ref>

Dushasana was devoted to his older brother [[Duryodhana]]. He was also closely involved in the various schemes and plots to kill the [[Pandavas]] along with [[Duryodhana]] and [[Shakuni]].

==Draupadi's humiliation==
[[File: The ordeal of Queen Draupadi.jpg|alt=|thumb|Dushasana drags Draupadi to the court]]
After [[Yudhishthira]] lost his kingdom, his brothers and his wife [[Draupadi]], in a game of dice with [[Shakuni]], Duhshasana dragged [[Draupadi]] by the hair into the assembly, at the behest of his brother [[Duryodhana]], and tried to disrobe her. Draupadi prayed to [[Krishna]] and he made her [[sari]] to be of an infinite length so that Duhshasana could not take it off. Dushasana was very exhausted and he nearly fainted. The assembled men were amazed at this miracle. They condemned Duhshasana and praised Draupadi. However, Draupadi was humiliated by being dragged into court by her hair. After this humiliation, Draupadi swore that she will not tie her hair until it is bathed with the blood of Duhshasana. [[Bhima]], who could no longer watch Draupadi's insult in silence, rose up. He vowed to tear open Dussasana's chest in battle and drink his blood. Bhima also exclaimed that if he could not fulfill his oath, then he would not meet his ancestors in heaven.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2006-08-02|title=The Clothes of Draupadi|url=https://devdutt.com/articles/the-clothes-of-draupadi/|access-date=2020-09-01|website=Devdutt|language=en-US}}</ref>
[[File: Draupadi s presented to a pachisi game.jpg|thumb|right|Draupadi is presented to a Parcheesi game]]

==Kurukshetra war and death==
He along with Duryodhana lead one of the Akshauhanis (battle divisions) of the Kaurava army. <ref>{{cite web |author1=Aayush |title=18 Days of The Mahabharata War – Summary of the War |url=https://vedicfeed.com/18-days-of-the-mahabharata-war-summary-of-the-war/ |website=vedicfeed.com |publisher=VEDICFEED |access-date=8 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Jha Preeti |title=जानिए महाभारत युद्ध के 18 दिनों में किस दिन क्या हुआ था |url=https://www.jagran.com/spiritual/sant-saadhak-mahabharat-yudh-ka-18-dino-ka-ghatnakram-15405663.html |website=jagran.com |publisher=jagran |access-date=8 June 2020 |language=hi}}</ref>

Dushasana was the warrior who shot the first arrow in the Mahabharata war. On the first day of the war, Dushasana had fought with Nakula. On the tenth day, Dushasana was appointed on the frontlines to defend [[Bhishma]] from the Pandava army. Dushasana exhibited his valour on that day by resisting all the Pandavas single-handedly. But later, [[Arjuna]] managed to defeat him.

On the thirteenth day, Dushasana was present in the Chakravyuha. After a fierce duel, [[Abhimanyu]] badly defeated Dushasana and his charioteer had to take him away from the battlefield. The son of Dushasana who helped his father many times in the Kurukshetra war was also present inside the Chakra Vyuh on the thirteenth day of the war. He was deprived of his chariot by Abhimanyu and saved by Aswathamma by cutting Abhimanyu's arrow in mid-air. After that, Dushasana's son killed Abhimanyu in a mace duel. On 14th day, Dushasana's son was brutally killed by Draupadi's sons, the [[Upapandavas]], in revenge for Abhimanyu.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-04-06|title=Mythology 3 – Abhimanyu|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/littlethoughts/mythology-3-abhimanyu/|access-date=2020-08-16|website=Times of India Blog|language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Death ===
[[File: Bhima drinks blood.jpg|thumb|Bhima fulfilling his promise regarding Dussasana in the Mahabharata field]]
On the seventeenth day, Dushasana encountered Bhima in a duel. First, they fought by means of archery. Both broke each other's chariots and then they engaged in a mace duel. Bhima broke Dushasana's mace and started using wrestling manoeuvres to beat up Dushasan. After beating him up badly, Bhima seized Dushasana's right arm and uprooted it from his body while roaring loudly. Then (remembering his vow taken on dice game day), Bhima tore open Dushasana's chest with his bare hands and drank his hot blood. Many soldiers who saw Bhima drinking Dushasana's blood had fallen unconscious and some soldiers said that Bhima was a monster for drinking a human's blood. After that, Bhima danced around Dushasana's corpse. Dushasana's death had greatly agitated the Kauravas, especially Duryodhana who become numb. Bhima had given Dushasana one of the most brutal deaths in Mahabharata.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

*'' Mahabharata'' (1999) by [[Krishna Dharma]]

==External links==
* {{Commonscatinline|Dushasana}}

{{Mahābhārata}}
{{HinduMythology}}

[[Category: Characters in the Mahabharata]]