Sahadeva is the youngest of the five main characters in the Mahabharata epic Sahadeva was one of the Pandava brothers.
By calling upon the twin gods Ashvins, he and his twin brother Nakula received blessings from King Pandu and Queen Madri.
Sahadeva, who had his training from Drona, Kripa, and Brihaspati, is said to be knowledgeable in astrology, Neeti Sastra, and swordsmanship.
After establishing his Pandava brother Yudhishthira as the ruler of Indraprastha, he embarked on a war campaign to conquer kingdoms in the southern region of India in preparation for the Rajasuya sacrifice.
When Yudhishthira lost all of his riches to Duryodhana of the Kuru Kingdom of Hastinapur during a dice game played by the vily Shakuni, the maternal uncle of Duryodhana, he was exiled for 13 years alongside his Pandava brothers.
He lived in secrecy for a year as part of his 13 years of exile, working as a cowherd in the Kingdom of Virata.
He killed several soldiers, including Shakuni, during the 18-day Kurukshetra War. Following the conflict, Yudhishthira crowned Sahadeva ruler of southern Madra.
He died en route, following Draupadi, on his last trek to the Himalayas.
Birth and Childhood of SahadevaÂ
Madri was forced to use the blessing provided to Kunti by the sage Durvasa in order to give birth, and Kunti then requested the Ashwini Kumaras to give birth to Nakula and Sahadeva because Pandu was unable to have children (due to the curse of rishi Kindama).
Despite being identical twins, they were very different from one another both physically and intellectually.
Sahadeva was born at dusk, whereas Nakula was born at dawn. Sahadeva was an occultist, and Nakula was an Ayurvedic doctor, but both were extremely brave in battle, using their bows and swords with skill.
A divine voice had predicted when Nakula and Sahadeva were born that hese virtuos and accomplished sons will transcend in energy and beauty even their celestial fathers.”
Later, when Pandu tried to make love to his wife, he perished as a result of his Kindama’s curse. Madri committed sati and gave her children to Kunti.
He was lovingly and carefully raised by Kunti in Hastinapur along with his brothers. Despite not being Kunti’s actual son, Sahadeva is thought to have been her favorite Pandava.
Bhishma led the Pandava brothers and their mother Kunti from their forest home to Hastinapur, where they were taken in by their uncle King Dhritarashtra of the Kuru Kingdom.
Another legend states that Pandu, the father of the Pandavas, had a premonition that he was about to pass away and told his sons that he had imbibed vast knowledge into his body through years of fasting and meditation in the jungle.
“When I die, eat my flesh, and you will be blessed with all great knowledge,” he advised his kids. The genuine inheritance you will receive is that.
However, because Pandu had been burned, the Pandavas were unable to heed his advice.
Sahadeva suddenly noticed ants at the cremation carrying a chunk of his father’s body, so he quickly grabbed the ants and swallowed them.
Sahadeva ingested knowledge of “everything of the past and even of future events” from that point on.
He eagerly rushed to tell his mother (Kunti) and his brothers what he had learned from his father.
However, he stumbled across a complete stranger none other than Krishna who gave him some advice, telling him not to boast or tom-tom about the information he had learned.
Sahadeva is described as “knowing everything but never being able to tell anyone” as a result.
After this experience, Sahadeva learned about numerous mystical sciences, which enabled him to foretell the future.
Even today, the term “Sahadeva” is used informally to describe a reclusive person who keeps everything to himself despite being fully aware of a situation.Â
Xile And Incognito YearÂ
The Kamyaka and Dwaita woodlands were explored by the Pandavas and Draupadi. They encountered numerous revered rishis.
They visited locations like Badrikasram and Narayanashram.
The Pandavas compiled a list of kingdoms where they could remain covert during the year of secrecy.
They ultimately chose to remain in the Matsya empire. Both Pandava and Draupadi assumed different identities and started working.
Sahadeva adopted the persona of Tantipala, a Vaishya. All the cows in Matsya were cared for by him.
Together, Duryodhana and Susharma (the King of Trigarta) attacked Matsya. This occurred as a result of Duryodhana’s assumption that the Pandavas were at Matsya.
While Susharma and the Trigartas were vanquished by Virata and his army, Arjuna, who was actually Brihanalla, defeated the entire Kuru army on his own.
Since their year of secrecy had come to an end after the fight, the Pandavas disclosed their true selves to Virata. He was genuinely surprised.
War at KurukshetraÂ
After the banishment, Duryodhana refused to return Indraprastha to the Pandavas. He disregarded all peace deals as well.
War was thus proclaimed. Sahadeva was a renowned astrologer, therefore Duryodhana approached him before the conflict for the ideal date for the battle.
Sahadeva gave Duryodhana a compliment while being aware that he shouldn’t have. The battle of Kurukshetra took place and lasted for 18 days.
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