Brothers and Sisters of Mahabharata

Satyavati and her brother were born out of a fish and found by their father, the king of fishermen, Dusharaj. This made them Matsya Santan, i.e. children of fish. They were said to be actually the children of Chedi King Vasu and Apsara-turned-fish Adrika. The King, however, took away her brother as his heir and gave her away to the fisherman, making her selfish and hungry to be Queen. As Satyabati married the Emperor of Hastinapur with the desire to be Raajmata to the King, her future son, her brother was given a small kingdom in the west. It is in present-day Rajasthan in Alwar and Bharatpur. The Kingdom was called the Matsya Kingdom. Its capital was named Viratnagari under the influential king Virat. This city is present-day Bairat in Rajasthan. Thus, King Virat was Satyabati's grand-nephew and relative to the Pandavas who sought his help during exile. Grand-nephew or not is unclear but there was some relation as Virat was a descendant of her brother. If Virat is in fact a Grand-nephew to Satyabati and thus a cousin to the Pandavas and Kauravas, then Abhimanyu, son of Pandava Arjun and Uttara, daughter of Virat, was in fact a cousin. Distant relatives, they were not yet married. Satyavati died at the hermitage shortly before the war.

Gandhari, the princess of Gandhar in present-day Afghanistan, was the youngest sister among her brothers. She was forcefully married by Bheeshma to the blind prince Dhritarashtra. Her brother Shakuni, the Gandhar prince, stayed with her at Hastinapur much against her will. Bheeshma had killed their family. He sought revenge through his nephews. He plotted to make the Kuru clan fight against each other and thus was in a constant conflict with Gandhari, who misunderstood his love for his sister.
Duhsala was the only Kuru prince among all her hundred and five male brothers and cousins. She was pampered among all her brothers and cousins, irrespective of the fact how much her brothers and cousins were at war. She was married to her eldest brother's friend, Jayadrata, who was the king of Sindhu. She had a discontent marriage to the cruel king, who was spared time and again by her cousins, the Pandavas, because they loved her. Finally, when he killed Abhimanyu, Arjun killed him, but Duhsala was not angry at her cousins. She knew his lust for their wife. Her son became king of Sindhu and was again spared by Arjun at a war for the sake of his love for his cousin-sister. Her unimportant feature in the epic proves her minority status among her brothers and in the palaces of both Hastinapur and Sindhu.

Subhadra was the only sister of Balarama and Krishna, and she was very pampered as she was much younger than they, born after their parents were freed by Krishna. She stayed with them at Dwarka and was an intelligent lady. Her marriage to Duryodhan was arranged by Balarama, who was impressed by his student, but Krishna knew his sister secretly loved their cousin Arjun. Arjun's mother, Kunti and their father, Vasudeva, were first cousins. Against the whole Yadu clan, Krishna helped them escape and get married. They had the warrior prince Abhimanyu shortly after marriage, but Subhadra had to return to Dwarka with her newborn when the Pandavas left for Exile. Balarama accepted his sister back and trained his nephew. She reunited with her cousins and husband after thirteen years on the occasion of Abhimanyu's marriage. She remained in the palace to look after her grandson Parikshit when the Pandavas left for the Himalayas.

Draupadi, the Princess of Panchal and the shared wife of the Pandavas, were born out of the Agni with her brother Dhristadyumna. Drupad loved his son and heir more than the daughter he ever wanted, but that did not sour the relationship among the siblings. They were close and respected, and stood up for each other. When Draupadi left for Exile, she left her children in the care of Dhristadumnya and Sikhandi, their elder cousin. Dhistadumnya was a brave warrior and remained undefeated. He killed Drona, for which Arjun was angry at him, but Draupadi defended her brother. He was killed by Aswathama wrongly after the war, along with his nephews.

Uttar and Uttara were twins born to King Virat and Queen Sudeshna of Viratnagari. Uttara was a graceful dancer and a strong person who got married to Abhimanyu at the age of thirteen or fourteen, Uttar was an ambitious warrior who wanted to be the greatest warrior king on earth and make his father proud. He died at the age of fourteen in the Kurukshetra War trying to save Yudhisthir. They were taught dancing and archery by Arjun. Uttara and Uttar were close to each other in the very little part they play in the great epic; it is seen that Uttara deeply mourns her brother's demise.

The relationship between brothers and sisters as depicted in the Mahabharata was strange and unique in its own way. They were married, enemies, friends or even completely unknown to one another. Yet these relationships yielded some kind of lessons in the epic. All their characters were bound by a sibling bond that stayed throughout, even after the wars.

Uttara's Hope

This is part of the "Uttara Series" You will find under the Mahabharata. The series is also available on Wattpad. She was clad in white attire. Her churamani and jewellery were all taken away. She sat numbly in front of his dead body for a whole day, pregnant with his heir, looking at his face as though he was asleep. He had told her more than once that this day could come and that she had to protect their heir. He feared her future without him. That one day turned the fifteen-year-old Princess of Matsya into an aged lady. She became quiet and aloof. Her only concern now was her baby. Her baby wiggled in her womb. She remembered him saying, " I will always be with you." All she wanted now was a son like his father. But she knew all Hastinapur wanted was an heir to the throne. The war had ended five days after his death, and they were back in the palace of Hastinapur victorious. She, for the first time, entered her real in-laws' home, but without him. All sh...

The Reva Cries

Roopmati had watched the troops leave. She had stood behind the chief queen as she traditionally bid goodbye to her sons. She had waited for the Sultan to come to her. He did. He was confident that the sudden advancement of Akbar’s foster brother Adham Khan could be curbed. It was not war, just precaution. He reassured her. Malwa would never bow to the Timurids. And he would not let anything happen to her. To Her. Roopmati felt suffocated by her husband’s affectionate hug. She felt trapped in the scrutinising eyes of all the people in the palace. Angry, blaming eyes. She tried to pace herself and sing, but her voice cracked in fear. Her melody was drowned in tears. Every evening, a messenger would come to the chief queen with the news of war. Roopmati was kept in the darkness. She was not told about anything. She knew the rumours. She was a witch. A temptress who caused doom to the Sultan of Malwa. She was a spy of the enemy planted in his life to destroy him. She wondered if he came b...

Rani Padmini: The Valiant Queen

This story is a retelling of some parts of Malik Mohammad Jayasi's Padmavat, which was a historical fiction poem written in 1540, an odd 200 years after the siege of Chittorgarh by Allauddin Khilji. Historically, the Rajputs of Mewar didn't keep accounts of their queens, even by name, so the name Padmini or Padmavati was made up by Jayasi to represent the women of Chittor who chose the Jauhar. Historically speaking, Allauddin Khilji wanted the trade route to Surat for himself, which went through Mewar and Rana Ratan Singh, a patron of art, was not known for his military skills. So when Khilji surrounded the fort, the only way out was the Saka and Jauhar. Rani Padmini's Jauhar, as it is now popularly called, is also not the first Jauhar Khilji witnessed. The Jauhars of Ranthambore and Jaisalmer happened before he attacked Chittorgarh. Also, the act of Jauhar happened as early as the Greek invasions of Porus's state, when it is described as the "Mass immolation of Sa...

The Emperor's First Wife

Ruqaiya Sultana Begum was born to Babur's second surviving son, Hindal Mirza, and his wife, Sultanam Begum, in 1542 C.E., merely a few months after Hamida Banu gave birth to the heir Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar. She was well-versed in Persian, Urdu and Arabic and was attracted to poetry and music. Being a proud descendant of the Timurid clan, most of Rukaiya's childhood was spent in Kabul, near the Bagh E Babur, built by Babur himself. From early childhood, she had seen the struggle of her family to regain their lost power in Hind. In 1551 C.E., just after her father died young at a battle for Humayun, leaving her and her mother in the harem of the emperor, it was Hamida Banu who wanted the marriage of Rukaiya to her first cousin, Akbar. Theirs was the first in-house marriage of the Mughals, soon to be followed by many more in the generations to come. At the mere age of nine, she had married the crown prince, and when Humayun won back Lahore, she was fifteen. At the mere age ...

Nawab E Bengal

Background: Nawab Alivardi Khan was ruling Bengal at the peak of Nawabi rule, expanding his strong empire. He had successfully suppressed the Marathas and had given a strong message to the British East India Company’s rising influence at Calcutta. Highly aware of the British Colonial policies across the globe, Nawab Alivardi Khan was strict with his policies and stronghold over Murshidabad, the then capital of Bengal (including present-day Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, and Bangladesh). He had two daughters and no sons. Amina Begum was the elder one, followed by Ghaseti Begum. Amina had three sons with her husband and courtier, Ahmed Khan. The second son, Mirza Mohammad, fondly called Siraj-Ud-Daulah (light of the country)by his grandfather, was born in 1733C.E. He was his grandfather’s favourite because he was born while he won over the Marathas. Alivardi Khan never let the “fortune child” of the family out of his sight. Siraj grew up accompanying his g...

Sisodiya: Kings, Queens and Princes (1538 - 1597)

I am back with another History post, this time it is on the wives and sons of Rana Udai Singh II of Mewar, his son and heir Maharana Pratap and Rana Amar Singh. This is a continuation of the Sisodia Family History I posted some time back. The information has been taken from Annals of Mewar by James Todd, Maharana Pratap by B.N. Rana, and Maharana Pratap by Rima Hooja. Udai Singh II was the son of Ranisa Karnawati and Rana Sangram Singh. He was born on 4th August 1 522, at Chittorgarh and died on 28th February 1 572 at Gogunda . He was the Ruler of the Sisodia Dynasty. He is believed to have 56 sons and 2 5 wives, apart from the many insignificant queens in his Rani Mahal. Here is a list of his main queens and their sons. Maharani Jaivanta Bai Songara of Jalore was his chief queen and consort. Her son is Maharana Pratap. He was married to her before he went to war with Banbir, as her father, Akshayraj Rao, was a friend and ally of his father, Rana Sanga. Saj...

Charumati's Love

T his is written based on folklore. This is a representative work of fiction and does not claim any historical happening in the conversations. This is to show the spirit of the women of Rajputana. The year 1657. Shah Jahan had taken ill and was rumoured to be dying in Agra Fort. He was about eighty, and the pressure of having an empire had taken a toll on his body. The seat of power was slowly shifting from Agra to Delhi since the prominence of the Laal Quila had increased, and if the news spread was to be believed, his sons were in a battle for the throne already. It was time each king chose sides once again. Dara Sikhoh was the eldest and the righteous Heir to the throne. He was believed to be a man who held high morals and was hence respected by both enemies and allies as well. Aurangzeb was his sibling and the youngest of the brothers. Short-tempered and cunning, he was always dreaded by the court. As Shah Jahan took ill, Aurangzeb took this as a golden opportunity to wa...

Teeja Saka Chittor Ra

23rd February 1568. The sun rose on the eastern horizon, not with the hope of a new day. But, with the horror of what was to follow. The first rays of the Sun God were met by the chants of “Jai Bhavani!” that echoed in the air of Chittorgarh. The Mewaris knew it was time. Four months back, when the Mughals camped at the base of the fort, a helpless Chittorgarh had watched. Rana Udai Singh had left with his closest aides to make the new city westwards, his capital. If rumours were to be believed, he had left behind a cavalry of 8000 soldiers, under Rao Jaimal of Merta and Rawat Patta of Kelwa, to look over the fort. He had also left behind some of his lesser queens and infant princes, as an assurance to the people that Chittorgarh was invincible. Their safety and hope had lived in Kunwar Pratap. Truth be said, they had already taken the Crown Prince as their King. Ever since Ranisa had left with him till he became the Senapati, he had time and again proved to be a better lea...

Prithviraj Chauhan: A Saga

Note: This piece is a work of fiction based on folklore and the Prithviraj Raso, an epic saga by Chand Bardai, who happened to be the court poet of Prithviraj Chauhan. The dates corresponding to wars, names of people and places are, however, historically fact-checked from various sources, including the works of Todd (semi-historical), The Amir Khusrau and contemporary sources like R.C.Majumder. The incidents are fictionally woven. Rai Pithora Around the year 1140 A.D., Ajmer was ruled by Anangpal of the Tomara Dynasty. Delhi was the seat of power of the Sultanate, which was a constant power struggle for them. He managed to capture briefly most parts of west Rajputana, and present-day Haryana and Punjab were also part of his kingdom. The old king had a son and two daughters. His concern grew as his son Surya was not talented enough to rule Ajmer. His youngest daughter, Princess Karpuri Devi, was married to Someshwar Chauhan of the famous Chauhan clan. Their son, Rai Pithora, helped...

Chittorgarh: His Home

After a smooth 30-minute drive from Baasi down wide highways, a sharp turn led us through dense foliage, a narrow path seemingly swallowed by the trees. Our driver, playfully exasperated with my relentless questions, finally cheered, “ Madam Ji, aa Gaya Apka Chittorgarh .” For about five minutes, the fort itself was hidden from view, the thick foliage offering no clue to the legendary citadel’s whereabouts. Then, as the jungle slowly receded, I finally glimpsed a hill ahead. At first glance, it looked ordinary, but my driver leaned in and explained, “ Woh Raha Chittor Durg upar, aise Patthar se bana hai ke dikhta nahi jhat se .” I was surprised; for all my reading, no book prepared me for how well Chittorgarh blends into its rugged surroundings. Only by looking carefully could I spot the ruins and rooftops: a city on a plateau, veiled until the last moment. Goosebumps. I was, at last, so close to Pratap's Home. The Mystique of Chitrakut Locals believe the hill, Chitrakut , is the...

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