Rajkumari Bhanumati

Yuvraj Duryodhan
Duryodhana (Sanskrit: दुर्योधन, IAST: ' Duryodhana') also known as Suyodhana, is the main antagonist in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. The Sanskrit word, Duryodhana means "invincible". He was the eldest of the Kauravas, the hundred sons of the blind king Dhritarashtra and his queen Gandhari. Being the firstborn son of the blind king, he was the crown prince of Kuru Kingdom and its capital Hastinapura; along with his cousin Yudhisthira who was older than him. He used his greater skill in wielding the mace to defeat opponents. He was also an extremely courageous warrior and he was said to be a good ruler. Duryodhana's greed and arrogance were the two qualities said to lead to his downfall in the Mahabharata. Suyodhana got the armour of shive from birth which made him invincible to all weapons. He unsuccessfully went to war with his cousins, the Pandavas, which resulted in the death of all his brothers.

Birth
When Gandhari's pregnancy continued for an unusually long period of time, Her mother-in-law Ambika and Ambalika were very upset with her. Pandu and Kunti earlier bore a son whom they named Yudhishthira. So she beat her womb in frustration. This caused a hardened mass of grey-coloured flesh to issue from her womb. She implored Vyasa, the great sage who had blessed her as "Shata Putra Praptirasthu" (Sanskrit for "blessed with a hundred sons"), to redeem his words. Vyasa divided the ball of flesh into one hundred and one equal pieces and put them in pots of milk, which were sealed and buried into the earth for two years. At the end of the second year, the first pot was opened, and Duryodhana ( kali) emerged with upper part of the body covered with the armour of shiva (which is said to be invincible to ant weapon) and lower part of the body made by flowers of goddess parvathy ( to be able to give him thunder like speed, agility and reflexes and to attract females).Parms of duryodhana are made of flowers of goddess parvathy which made his parms , the weak point of his armour.

Early Years
Although loved by his family, Duryodhana and most of his brothers were not seen on the same level as the Pandavas in their adherence to virtue, duty, and respect for elders. Duryodhana felt that the partiality everyone showed to the Pandavas was only due to the circumstances of their birth. Duryodhana had many friends and he was said to be a good friend of karna, ashwathama, keechaka , ekalavya ,sisupala ,jayandradha etc.

Duryodhana's hatred for the Pandavas stemmed from his sincere belief that he being the son of the eldest brother should be the heir apparent to the throne of Hastinapura. Because of his father's (Dhritarashtra) blindness, his father had to renounce the throne in favour of his younger brother, Pandu. Duryodhana deeply believed that what was rightfully his was being given away to his older cousin Yudhishthira. He also felt that the Pandavas were the sons of Kunti and devas/deities, and not of Pandu. He never believed that their divine origin alone proved their superiority. He also bore a deep hatred of Bhima, who was older than him but much stronger and dominated his brothers in sport and skill with his immense physical power and strength. Out of anger and jealousy, he was suspecte to tried to poison Bheem, but was unsuccessful.

Training and Relationship with Karna
Learning martial skills from his gurus Dronacharya, he proved to be extremely skilled with all weapons and said to be invincible. He then went to specialize in mace fighting under Balarama, so as to gain sympathy from him and went on to become his favourite pupil. Balarama described Duryodhana's body to be "lightning made flesh" and declared him to be the greatest warrior of his generation. He is said to possess the armour of shiva from birth which made him invicible to all weapons, even sudarshanchakra. Suyodhan was abled to defeat any warrior with any weapon. At the martial exhibition where the Kaurava and Pandava princes demonstrated their skills before their elders, their guru Drona and the people of that kingdom, Karna appeared and challenged an unsuspecting Arjuna, who is considered to be the best of the princes. But Karna was stopped when Kripa asked him to ascertain his lineage, as it would be inappropriate for unequal to compete. Karna, not being a kshatriya, bowed his head in shame.

Duryodhana immediately defended Karna, arguing that it is skill and bravery, and not birth, that defines a warrior. Using the boon granted to him by Dhritarashtra, Duryodhana made Karna king of Anga so that he was regarded as Arjuna's equal.

Rajkumari Bhanumati and Yuvraj Duryodhan's Marriage
Rajkumari Bhanumati is the daughter of Maharani Akshara and Maharaj Naitik. She is the sister of Rajkumars Shivaay, Naksh, Omkara and Rudra. Duryodhana abducted King Chitrangada and Queen Akshara's daughter, the maiden of the fairest complexion, from her swayamvara with the help of his best friend Karna in the wake of having been rejected by her. It is described that he loved her immensely. On reaching Hastinapur, Duryodhana justified his act by giving the example of his great grandfather Bhishma abducting three princesses of Kashi for his stepbrother. Laxman Kumara and Lakshmanaa were the children of Duryodhana and Bhanumati. Little is revealed about them in the Mahabharata other than Laxman's death in the Kurukshetra War and Laxmanaa's marriage to Krishna's son Samba. Other children named Karnik, Kareena, Kairat, Kairav, Kaira, Akshara, Aarohi. The friendship between Karna and Duryodhana is considered to be a great one, and is used as an example of friendship and loyalty. A lesser-known story is told about Karna, Duryodhana, and his wife Bhanumati, as an example of honest friendship. When Duryodhana had recently wedded Bhanumati, one day, he requested Karna to take care of her and entertain her for the evening as he had duties to be taken care of. To pass time, Karna and Bhanumati began playing a game of dice. The game soon got very interesting, engrossing the two of them completely. Gradually, Karna started winning. Meanwhile, Duryodhana had returned early and entered the room. Seeing her husband come in, Bhanumati immediately stood up as a mark of respect. Karna, whose back was facing the door, did not realize this and misconstrued her intent, thinking that she was leaving because she was on the losing side.

He immediately reached for her pearl-trimmed shawl, and accidentally pulled so hard that the trimming broke, and the pearls were scattered all over the floor. Her veil also slipped along with the shawl, so she was half-dressed. Bhanumati, who was as yet, not so familiar with Karna, froze at the thought of how her husband would react. She had heard of his ego and had personally been present the last time he was insulted, which had resulted in her own abduction.

Karna, following Bhanumati's stunned gaze, turned around to see Duryodhana observing them both carefully. He stood in shame, embarrassment and guilt, considering the wrath and inevitable punishment he was going to face from his friend. He was sure Duryodhana would immediately accuse them of impropriety. However, much to both their surprise, Duryodhana looked past Karna, and addressed his wife, "Should I just collect the beads, or would you like me to string them, as well?”

Bhanumati and Karna could only look at each other in shock, mutely, feeling ashamed at the way they had both severely misjudged him. He had implicit faith and great love for his queen, and even greater was his faith in his friend Karna. Not for a moment did he suspect that the man he had considered his brother would ever betray him, and only quietly picked up the pearls trustfully. Bhanumati and Duryodhan had children named Laxman Kumara, Lakshmana, Sushim, Karnik, Kareena, Kairat, Krishna, Kairav Kaira and Aarohi.

Rajsuya Yagya
After the Pandavas revealed that they had survived the wax house, with a new wife to boot, Bhishma suggested that the kingdom be divided in order to ease the obvious tension. Yudhishthira is given half the kingdom and made king of Khandavprastha, so as to avoid a clash with the Kaurava princes over the whole Kuru Kingdom. Duryodhana became the crown prince of Hastinapura, and owing to the age and blindness of his father, he accumulated much control and influence, managing the state affairs himself with a group of his advisers that included his uncle Shakuni, brother Dushasana, Bhishma, Vidura, and Karna.

But Duryodhana remained jealous of Yudhishthira, especially after the Pandavas along with Krishna transformed Khandavaprastha to Indraprastha. Moreover, Yudhishthira performed the Rajasuya Yagna and gained authority over several other kingdoms; Indraprastha's prosperity and fame appeared to exceed Hastinapura's. Duryodhana was unable to contain his anger, which was intensified when Bhima, Arjuna, the twins and the servants laughed at him when he slipped into a pool of water during a visit to Indraprastha. Draupadi with an added statement "the son of the blind man also is blind",

Dice Plot
Duryodhana's jealousy of the prosperity and fame of Indraprastha and being humiliated by the Pandavas made him furious and he wished to throw down the Pandavas. To support his will, Shakuni devised a scheme to rob Yudhishthira of his kingdom and wealth by defeating him in a Pakida or game of dice, in which Shakuni couldn't lose as he had dices which he could control.

Unable to decline the invitation, due to diplomacy, Yudhishthira gambled away his entire kingdom, his wealth, his four brothers and even his wife, in a series of gambits to retrieve one by staking another. After Yudhishthira lost Draupadi, Duryodhana encouraged his brother Dushasana to drag her into the court as she was now his property. Dushsana pulled Draupadi's hair and dragged her into the court. Duryodhana ordered Draupadi to sit on his left thigh, showing and patting it to insult her for revenge. Draupadi refused and Duryodhan ordered Dushashan to disrobe her. Following his brother's orders, Dushashan laughed and started pulling Draupadi's saree. Duryodhan, Shakuni, Karna and the other Kauravas (except Vikarna) also started laughing. However, by Krishna's grace, Draupadi's amount of clothing remained the same.

Due to this action, Bhima pledged that he would break Duryodhana's thigh.

As an enraged Draupadi was about to curse the Kuru clan, Gandhari intervened. Fearing retribution by the Pandavas, their allies, and history, Dhritarashtra and Gandhari reversed all of Yudhishthira's losses. But then (either through Duryodhana forcing his father to command the Pandavas to play again or through Shakuni's vicious tricks) the game was repeated. For this game of dice Shakuni set the condition that upon losing, Yudhishthira and his brothers must spend thirteen years in exile in the forest and one year of Agyatavasa (remain unknown to others possibly by a disguise) before they reclaim their kingdom. The thirteenth year must be passed incognito, or else the term of exile would be repeated. The Pandavas lost and began their exile.

13 years
Notably, Duryodhana, with significant assistance from Karna, performs Vaishnava Yagna with his wife Bhanumati when the Pandavas are in exile.

Virat War
Duryodhana was a good friend of Matsya Kingdom's commander-in-chief Kichaka. When Bhima killed him for humiliating Draupadi, Duryodhana blamed Matsya's King Virata for his friend Kichaka's death. Virata got angry and ordered Duryodhana to get out of his Kingdom after insulting him. Duryodhana took his army and attacked Matsya. He ordered his wife's cousin Susharma to attack Matsya from other side but they failed to conquer it because Arjuna and Bhima defended it.

Mahabharat War
Duryodhana refused to return Yudhishthira's kingdom and also tried to capture Shri Krishna and Shri Krishna shows him his Virat roop. With war inevitable, He gathered most powerful warriors – Bhishma, Drona, Karna, Kripa, Shalya, Bhurishrawa, Ashwatthama, even those who were critical of him were forced to fight for Duryodhana due to their previous commitments. He ended up amassing a larger army than his rivals.

Shakuni also advised Duryodhana to seek Krishna's help. Duryodhana rushed to Dwarika only to find Krishna sleeping; he waited at the head of Krishna's bed when suddenly, Arjuna arrived with the same goal in mind. Arjuna waited at the foot of Krishna's bed. When Krishna woke up, both Duryodhana and Arjuna appealed for his alliance. Krishna offered a choice of himself, completely unarmed or the entire Vrishni army. Duryodhana proclaimed that because he arrived first, he should get first pick. However, Krishna said that because he saw Arjuna first and because Arjuna was younger, that Arjuna gets the first choice. Duryodhana became worried but was overjoyed when Arjuna elected to reject Krishna's army in favour of Krishna alone. Joyously, Duryodhana returned to Hastinapura with the Vrishni army in hand, only to be rebuked by Shakuni, who comments that Krishna is worth many armies by himself.

Duryodhana also managed to win the army of Shalya, the maternal uncle of Nakula and Sahadeva. Duryodhana intercepted Shalya's army as it came to Kurukshetra and offered hospitality; Shalya accepted thinking Yudhishthira had made the offer. After Shalya had enjoyed Duryodhana's comforts, Duryodhana revealed the duplicity and indicated that Shalya is now indebted to him. He used this indebtedness to extract Shalya's army and support. Duryodhana wanted Shalya mainly so that Karna would have an equivalent charioteer to Arjuna's Krishna.

On 4th day, Bhima attacked Duryodhana, pierced him and cut off his bow. In return, Duryodhana pierced Bhima, his Charioteer and cut off his bow. Duryodhana pierced Bhima with shafts on his breast. Bhima feeling great pain fled away from the battlefield.

On the 8th day, Rakashasaas of Ghatotkacha's army attacked Duryodhana. Duryodhana slew many rakshasas like Vegavat, Maharudra, Vidyujihva and Pramathin. Duryodhana attacked Bhima and pierced him with many arrows. Ghatotkacha, Abhimanyu and other Pandavas warriors saved him. Later, he killed Visharada, son of Kunti-Bhoja.

On the 14th day, Uttamauja and Yudhamanyu (sons of Drupad) attacked Duryodhana and Duryodhana defeated them in mace fighting. After the death of Jayadratha, Duryodhana became very angry and he started killing the Pandava army. However, he is later defeated by Yudhishthira, who in turn starts massacring the Kaurava army.

On the 15th day, Nakula attacked Duryodhana. Duryodhana fought with him and Nakula had to turn back.

On the 17th day, Nakula and Sahadeva attacked Duryodhana. Duryodhana pierced them and nearly killed them. Later, Dhrishtadyumna saved them. Then many Pandava warriors, including Yudhishthira, Bhima, Dristadyumna, Satyaki, etc. all together attacked Duryodhana. However Duryodhana alone managed to resist all the Pandavas and he repelled the Pandavas' group attack single-handedly.

On the 18th day, the Pandavas together had attacked Duryodhana but they were unsuccessful as Duryodhana alone resisted and defeated all of them. On that day there was another time where Duryodhana alone defeated all the Pandavas including Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, the twins, Dristadyumna, Satyaki and the Uppandavas. Duryodhana had also killed a Yadava warrior named Chekitana on that day. Bhima victoriously attacked Duryodhana with his mace and struck his thigh, mortally wounding Duryodhana. When the coast was clear, Ashwatthama, Kripacharya, and Kritvarma, having witnessed the fight and not wanting to interrupt so as to rob Duryodhana of his honor, came to Duryodhana's broken body. Ashwatthama promised Duryodhana that he would dispatch the Pandavas and their allies to the abode of Yama and requests his permission to continue the war. Ashwatthama proceeds to the encampment and into Drishtadyumna's tent at night while everybody of Pandava camp were sleeping. Drishtadyumna awakens from his sleep, and begs Ashwatthama not to kill him cowardly at night and unarmed, and let him die a warrior's death with an appropriate duel. Ashwatthama ignores his plea and beats him to death. The Upapandavas and Shikhandhi alerted by Drishtadyumn’s cries, came out of their tents to battle, only to be slain. Ashwatthama proceeds to massacre everyone in the encampment while any escapees were slain by Kripacharya and Kritvarma at the gates of the encampment. After killing the Upapandavas and the last remnants of the Panchalas, Ashwatthama returns to Duryodhana. He showed Duryodhana the blood on his sword which belonged to the Upapandavas, hearing Duryodhana peacefully left his body satisfied with revenge. Concomitant with Duryodhana's death, Sanjaya loses his divine sight, which he had been using to update Duryodhana's father Dhritarashtra. This symbolizes the conclusion to the war. Rajkumari Bhanumati lamented on his husband, Yuvraj Duryodhan and her son, Laxman Kumar's bodies on the battlefield. After 15 years, Rajkumari Bhanumati and they rest children meets Duryodhan and Laxmankumar on the Bhagirathi river because of Ved Vyas and after on Ved Vyas saying she goes on the Bhagirathi river.

Heaven
After the Pandavas retired, only Yudhishthira reached heaven alive. There, he saw Duryodhana, which shocked him. When asked by Yudhishthira, Narada replied that Duryodhana fulfilled his religious duties