Dushasana

Dushasana
Dushasana dragging Draupadi from her chamber, an early 20th illustration by Evelyn Paul
Information
Family	Dhritarashtra (father) Gandhari (mother) Duryodhana, Vikarna and 97 others brothers Duhsala (sister) Yuyutsu (half-brother)
Spouse	Chandramukhi (chief and senior consort) Shweta (Second principal wife) Lata (Third principal wife) Nirjara (Fourth principal consort) Divija (Fifth principal consort)
Children	Drumasena Bharat (from Chandramukhi) Arohi (from Shweta) Sirat and Duryodhana or Vanshavijaya (from Nirjara) Kairat (from Divija)

Dushasana (Sanskrit: दुःशासन, 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".

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.

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.

Marriage and children

Dushasana's marriage is found in the various parvas. Stree Parva mentions, he abducted the daughter of Ashwinraja, Narada does not describe the princess but states she is fair and beautiful. In the later versions, she is named Chandramukhi. Drumasena was the son of Dushasana and Chandramukhi. She was the princess of Trigarta.

He abducted a princess and she was his second queen, named Shweta in the regional stories. She was the princess of Trilokapura or in Tamil (திரிலோகபுரா), Trilokapuram. Arohi is the daughter of Dushasana and Shweta. He also married Princess Shweta's sister, Lata. The final text of marriage of the Kauravas in the Shanti Parva, narrates the war of Dushasana and Nirjara. Nirjara was from the Dholakapura, which is also mentioned in Mahabharata as a kingdom. Duryodhana II or Vanshavijaya (not to be confused with Duryodhana), a son and a daughter named Sirat (or Sirat Kumari) were the children of Dushasana and Nirjara. Divija, the younger sister of Nirjara was his fifth consort. Some folktales mention Kairat as the daughter of Dushasana and Queen Divija of Hastinapura.

Draupadi's humiliation

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.

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.

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. He fought Nirjara who losethe war and also married her sister, Divija.

Death

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

• Mahabharata (1999) by Krishna Dharma