Duryodhana

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Duryodhana (Sanskrit: य धन, literally means

Dur= Extremely hard Yodhana= Yudh/Fight; the
one with whom the fight is extremely hard,[1]) also
known as Suyodhana, is a major character in the
Hindu epic Mahabharata and was the eldest of the
Kauravas, the hundred sons of blind king
Dhritarashtra and Queen Gandhari. Being the first
born son of the blind king, he was the crown prince of
Kuru Kingdom and its capital Hastinapura along
with his cousin Yudhishtra who was older than him.
Karna was Duryodhana's closest friend. Notably,
Duryodhana, with significant assistance from Karna,
performs Vaishnava Yagna when the Pandavas are in
exile.[2][3] Unlike Bhima, who overly relied on his
strength to defeat opponents, Duryodhana used his
greater skill in wielding the mace to defeat
opponents. This extreme proficiency in mace fighting
is what allowed him to go toe-to-toe with the former,
possibly even defeating him, had the former not
resorted to unfair practices. He was also an
extremely courageous warrior and he was said to be a
just ruler. Duryodhana's greed and arrogance, were
the two qualities said to lead to his downfall in the
Mahabharata.
 Duryodhana

Duryodhana showing his army to Drona

Information

Aliases Suyodhana

Title "Yuvaraja"(Crown Prince)

of Kuru Kingdom
Weapon Gada
Family Dhritarashtra (father)
Gandhari (mother)

Spouse Bhanumati

Children Laxman Kumara,

Lakshmanaa

Religion Hinduism

Birth
Gandhari receiving boon from Vyasa

When Gandhari's pregnancy continued for an

unusually long period of time, 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
"shatha 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 ghee, 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 emerged.[4]

Early years
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Duryodhana in Javanese Wayang

Although loved by his family, Duryodhana and most

of his brothers are not seen on the same level as the
Pandavas in their adherence to virtue, duty, and
respect for elders. Duryodhana feels that the
partiality everyone shows to the Pandavas is only
due to the circumstances of their birth. Duryodhana
is mentored by his maternal uncle Shakuni, who
masterminded most of Duryodhana's plots to
humiliate and kill the Pandavas.

Duryodhana's hatred for the Pandavas stems from

his sincere belief that he being the son of the eldest
brother and the then king is the heir apparent to the
throne of Hastinapura. Because of his blindness, his
father had to renounce the throne in favor of the
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 sons of Kunti and (devas/deities), not
of Pandu. He never believed that their divine origin
alone proved their superiority, on many occasions
questioning their merits, and always calling them the
'Kaunteya' (sons of Kunti). He also bore a deep
hatred of Bhima, who was younger than him but
much stronger and dominated his brothers in sport
and skill with his immense physical power and
strength. When they were young, Bhima's bullying
and taunting was a constant source of pain for
Duryodhana and his brothers.
Training …

Learning martial skills from his gurus Dronacharya,

he proved to be extremely skilled with the mace. He
then went to specialize in mace fighting under
Balarama and went on to become his favorite pupil.
Balarama described Duryodhana's body to be
"lightning made flesh" and declares him to be the
greatest mace fighter of his generation.

Relationship with Karna …

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Killing of Karna

At the martial exhibition where the Kaurava and

Pandava princes demonstrate their skills before their
elders, their guru Drona and the people of that
kingdom, Karna appears and challenges an
unsuspecting Arjuna, who is considered by Drona to
be the best of the princes. But Karna is stopped
when Kripa asks him to ascertain his lineage, as it
would be inappropriate for unequal to compete.
Karna, not being a kshatriya, hangs his head in
shame.

Duryodhana immediately defends Karna, arguing

that it is actions, and not birth, that defines a
warrior. Using the boon granted to him by
Dhritarashtra, Duryodhana makes Karna king of
Anga so that he is regarded as Arjuna's equal.[5]
Karna pledges his allegiance and friendship to
Duryodhana. Neither of them know that Karna is in
fact Kunti's oldest son, born to (sun god) Surya,
before her marriage to Pandu.

In the Kurukshetra War, Karna is Duryodhana's

greatest champion and serves as commander from the
fifteenth day. Duryodhana sincerely believes that
Karna is superior to Arjuna, and will defeat his four
brothers. When Karna is killed, Duryodhana mourns
his death intensely, even more so than the death of
his own brothers and was inconsolable. When
Karna's identity is revealed to him, Duryodhana's
love for Karna only grows and it is said to be he, and
not the Pandavas, who performs Karna's last rites.
Krishna confirms that he has the highest right over
Karna, as they loved and supported each other truly.

Tendencies and schemes …

During their childhood Bhima used his brute

strength to inflict injuries on the Kaurava brothers.
As Bhima was gluttonous, Duryodhana, guided by
Shakuni attempted to kill Bhima by feeding him
poison, but Bhima survived the trap and emerged
even stronger than before. Duryodhana then
participated in a plot by Shakuni to burn the
Pandavas in a house of wax at Varnavata; however,
they managed to escape the trap having been warned
by Vidura.

Usurping the Kingdom

After the Pandavas reveal that they have survived
the wax house, with a new wife to boot, Bhishma
suggests 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 becomes the
crown prince of Hastinapura, and owing to the age
and blindness of his father, he accumulates much
control and influence, managing the state affairs
himself with a group of his advisers that include his
uncle Shakuni, brother Dushasana, Bhishma,
Vidura, and Karna.

But Duryodhana remains jealous of Yudhishthira,

especially after the Pandavas along with Krishna
transform Khandavaprastha to Indraprastha.
Moreover, Yudhishthira performs the Rajasuya
Yagna and gains the authority over several other
kingdoms; Indraprastha's prosperity and fame
appear to exceed Hastinapura's. Duryodhana is
unable to contain his anger, which is intensified when
Bhima, Arjuna, the twins, and the servants laugh at
him when he slips into a pool of water during a visit
to Indraprastha.

In popular culture, television shows and post-modern

novels on Mahabharata attribute this blame to
Draupadi with an added statement "the son of the
blind man also is blind", but the scene in the
canonical text of Vyasa's Sanskrit epic is
different.[6] This enrages Duryodhana and increases
his hostility towards the Pandavas.

The dice plot, and Draupadi's humiliation …

Draupadi is presented to a pacheesi game

Raging in jealousy by the prosperity and fame of
Indraprashta, and being humiliated by the
Pandavas, makes Duryodhana furious and he wishes
to throw down the Pandavas. To support his will,
Shakuni devises a scheme to rob Yudhishthira of his
kingdom and wealth by defeating him in a game of
dice, which Shakuni cannot lose due to his superior
skill over Yudhishthira's ineptitude and addiction to
the game of dice.

Unable to resist the challenge, Yudhishthira gambles

away his entire kingdom, his wealth, his four
brothers and even his wife, in a series of gambits to
retrieve one by staking another. Duryodhana
encourages his brother Dushasana to drag Draupadi
into the court. As she is Duryodhana's property after
Yudhishthira gambled everything away to him,
Duryodhana tells Draupadi to sit on his left thigh,
showing and patting it to insult her for revenge. He
also instructs Dushasana to disrobe her, however, she
is saved by Krishna.[7]

Due to this action, Bhima swears he would break

Duryodhana's thigh.
As an enraged Draupadi is about to curse the Kuru
clan, Gandhari intervenes. Fearing retribution by
the Pandavas, their allies, and history, Dhritarashtra
and Gandhari reverse 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 is
repeated. For this game of dice Shakuni sets the
condition that upon losing, Yudhishthira and his
brothers must spend thirteen years in exile in the
forest before they may reclaim their kingdom. The
thirteenth year must be passed incognito, or else the
term of exile would be repeated. The Pandavas lose
and begin their exile.

Following years

The Emperor …

In the Chaturdhari compilation, it is interpolated

that Karna took up the task of establishing
Duryodhana as the Emperor of the world (India).
Karna embarks upon a worldwide military campaign,
otherwise called Digvijaya Yatra.[3][8][2] Bringing
tribute and allegiance from all the kings ruling over
in then India except Dwarika, Karna helped
Duryodhana to perform the Vaishnava yajna to
please Vishnu and crown Duryodhana as "Emperor
of the World", as Yudhishthira did with the Rajasuya
Yagna. No person in the entire universe, except Lord
Vishnu, had performed this Vaishnava sacrifice.
Duryodhana thus became the most powerful and the
wealthiest man in the world. With the help of Karna,
Duryodhana even made plans and preparations to
conquer Indra, the lord of the heavens and the father
of Arjuna in order to become the sovereign ruler of
both heaven and earth.[9]
The Kurukshetra War

Peace Talks and Buildup …

At the end of the exile term, Duryodhana refuses to

return Yudhishthira's kingdom, despite the counsel of
Bhishma, Dronacharya, and Vidura. Although
Dhritarashtra openly criticizes his son, he tacitly
desires that Duryodhana retain his throne. In a final
attempt at securing peace, Krishna returns with the
Pandavas' final proposal: the Pandavas would give
up all claims to Indraprastha and Hastinapura in
exchange for five villages. Scoffing, Duryodhana says
he will not even give even a needlepoint of land to
the Pandavas. Egged on by Krishna, Duryodhana
attempts to arrest him. Krishna reveals his
Vishvarupa form. The entire Kaurava court, save for
Bhishma, Drona, Vidura, and Dhritarashtra (who
was granted divine vision in order to see that by
supporting his son, he was going against God), is
temporarily blinded by the form. This confirms to
those present that Krishna is indeed an avatar of
Vishnu. Duryodhana, being vastly egoistic (in some
versions of the story an outright atheist), brushes off
the incident, not convinced of Krishna's divinity, and
believing that strength of arms, not philosophy,
would win him a war.

Gathering the army …

With war inevitable, Duryodhana gathers support

from his powerful vassals. The most legendary
warriors – Bhishma, Drona, Karna, Kripa,
Ashwatthama, Shrutyudha, even those who were
critical of him are forced to fight for Duryodhana due
to their previous commitments. He ends up amassing
a larger army than his rivals.
Shakuni also advises Duryodhana to seek Krishna's
help. Duryodhana rushes to Dwarika only to find
Krishna sleeping; he waits at the head of Krishna's
bed when suddenly, Arjuna arrives with the same
goal in mind. Arjuna waits at the foot of Krishna's
bed. When Krishna wakes up, both Duryodhana and
Arjuna appeal for his alliance. Krishna offers a
choice of himself, completely unarmed, or the entire
Vrishini army. Duryodhana proclaims that because
he arrived first, he should get first-pick. However,
Krishna says that because he saw Arjuna first and
because Arjuna is younger, that Arjuna gets first
choice. Duryodhana becomes worried but is overjoyed
when Arjuna elects to reject Krishna's army in favor
of Krishna alone. Joyously, Duryodhana returns to
Hastinapura with the Vrishini army in-hand, only to
be rebuked by Shakuni, who comments that Krishna
is worth many armies by himself.

Duryodhana also manages to win the army of Shalya,

the maternal uncle of the Pandavas. Duryodhana
intercepts Shalya's army as it comes to Kurukshetra
and offers hospitality; Shalya accepts thinking
Yudhishthira had made the offer. After Shalya has
enjoyed Duryodhana's comforts, Duryodhana reveals
the duplicity and indicates that Shalya is now
indebted to him. He uses 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.

During the War …

In the war, Duryodhana repeatedly eggs on the

invincible Bhishma and Drona to forward his cause,
even though his main hope is Karna. He desires to
appoint Karna as his commander-in-chief; however,
Karna and Shakuni point out that his already
reluctant allies would much rather fight under
Bhishma, an older, experienced, god-born, kshatriya
than fight under a suta-putra. Reluctantly,
Duryodhana appoints Bhishma as the commander in
chief. When Bhishma falls to Arjuna, Duryodhana
appoints Drona as commander-in-chief and orders
him to capture Yudhishthira to win the war. On the
thirteenth day of battle, his heir Lakshmana is killed
by Arjuna's son, Abhimanyu, who proceeds to try
and arrest Duryodhana. Duryodhana orders his
soldiers to brutally kill of Abhimanyu, even if though
it takes unethical means to finish him off.

Duryodhana is repeatedly frustrated, as the

Pandavas succeed in downing Drona, and is
emotionally distraught when, on the 14th day,
Arjuna, enraged by Abhimanyu's death, tears
through the Kaurava army and slays Duryodhana's
brother-in-law Jayadratha. Throughout the war,
Bhima is steadily slaying Duryodhana's brothers,
increasing his misery and bringing him closer to a
defeat.
Duryodhana's hopes are finally shattered when
Karna is felled by the strategy of Lord Krishna and
Arjuna. It is said that Duryodhana never shed a
single tear for any of his real brothers except
Dushasana who were killed in the battlefield, but
when his beloved friend Karna was slain, he was
inconsolable. Duryodhana appoints Shalya as the
next commander-in-chief.

On the final day of war, Duryodhana takes out his

anger by smashing open Chekitana's head. As
Shalya is killed by Yudhishthira, Duryodhana's
paltry army-once eleven akshauhinis strong-breaks,
and the army is essentially routed. Having lost his
horse, Duryodhana leaves the battlefield. He cools
his body by entering a lake, all hope of winning lost.
Yet, he prepares for his final battle; for a death
befitting a warrior on the battlefield and hoping to
reunite with his friends and relations in the afterlife.
He re-emerges from the lake after Ashwatthama and
Kripa counsel him to face his destiny with courage.
In some versions of the story, after Karna's death,
Duryodhana doesn't even join his army and instead
heads immediately to the lake.
Duryodhana found in the lake

Gada-yuddha
The final battle between Bhima & Duryodhana
Duryodana was defeated by Bhima – A scene from Razmanama

On the eighteenth day of the war, with his army

reduced to himself, Ashwatthama, Kripa and
Kritvarma, Duryodhana goes to meditate in a lake.
When the Pandavas and Krishna eventually find
him, Duryodhana tells them that he wants to gift the
kingdom to them, and retire to the forest.
Yudhishthira balks at the offer, telling him that
Hastinapur is not Duryodhana's to gift. Instead, he
offers that Duryodhana may pick any of the Pandava
brothers to fight against one-to-one with a weapon of
his choice, with the winner of the conflict the victor
of the war.

Despite his proposed advantage over Yudhishthira,

Arjuna, Nakula, or Sahadeva with the gada,
Duryodhana picks his nemesis Bhima. Despite
Bhima's physical advantage, Duryodhana had the
better technique due to his devotion to his craft.
After a long and brutal battle between the two
disciples of Balarama, Duryodhana begins to exhaust
Bhima, and nearly makes Bhima faint.
At this point, Krishna, observing the fight, calls out
to Bhima and signals him by repeatedly clapping his
own thigh with his hand. As intended, Bhima was
reminded of an oath he had taken after the game of
dice to crush Duryodhana's thighs. Bhima
victoriously attacks Duryodhana with his mace and
strikes his thigh, mortally wounding Duryodhana.
After having his face insultingly kicked by Bhima,
Duryodhana bemoans that he was slain by unfair
means, given that it was illegal to attack below the
waist in a mace fight.
Infuriated at the violation, Balarama, the brother of
Lord Krishna, raises his weapon to attack. Lord
Krishna consoles Balarama, by reminding him of
Duryodhana's evil deeds, and reprimands him for
trying to influence a war he refused to participate
in.[10]

Lying defeated, Duryodhana boasts to the Pandavas

about how he will die a glorious death, about how he
got to enjoy Hastinapur while the Pandavas were in
exile, and about how he would now spend the
afterlife in the company of his friends and relatives.
He again eviscerates the Pandavas for all their
chicanery during the war and decries their legacy.
Venerating his own character, Duryodhana proclaims
he will die happily.

Much to the Pandavas' dismay, Krishna confirms

that through his powers of illusion and artifice, he
was able to enervate and weaken champions such as
Bhishma, Karna, and Duryodhana, confirming that
Duryodhana's side was clearly stronger and that such
tricks were necessary to ensure the Pandavas'
victory. The Pandavas, weeping, bemoan their own
actions and trickery, while the Gods shower flowers
on a dying Duryodhana, full of glory.
Death
When the coast is clear, Ashwatthama, Kripacharya,
and Kritvarma, having witnessed the fight and not
wanting to interrupt so as to rob Duryodhana of his
honor, come to Duryodhana's broken body.
Duryodhana commands them to take revenge on the
Pandavas, and to specifically kill all the Pandava
brothers and Panchalas. Using the blood from his
body, Duryodhana appoints Ashwatthama as the
army's supreme commander.
Already angry at the deceitful killing of his father
Drona, Ashwatthama ambushes the Pandava camp
at night. The three warriors lay waste to the
sleeping, drunk, and unaware army. Other than those
who had been staying in the Kaurava camp, few
escape the slaughter. The trio rushes to tell
Duryodhana of the news.

After destroying the entire Pandava camp,

Ashwatthama proceeds towards Duryodhana.

At this point, there are many different versions of

the interaction between Ashwatthama and
Duryodhana.

In some, Ashwatthama believes he has killed the

Pandavas and tells this to Duryodhana, who is elated
at the news. In others, Ashwatthama knows he has
only killed the Upapandavas, but lies to his friend to
make him happy in his final moments.

In yet others versions, Ashwatthama tells

Duryodhana that he killed the Pandavas' children,
and Duryodhana is either happy that the Pandava
lineage would die out, or distraught that the entire
Kuru clan's future has ended.
There is also a version of the story where
Ashwatthama arrives to find Duryodhana already
dead.[11][12] 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.

According to the Mahabharata, after entering the

Svarga (heaven) with a human body on Indra's
invitation, Yudhishthira witnessed that Duryodhana
"was seated on a beautiful throne and he shone with
the splendour of the sun and around him stood in
attendance the goddess of heroism and other entities
of righteousness". Yudhishthira found this
insufferable and reminded the dwellers of Svarga
about his sinful deeds.

Following that, Narada smiled at Yudhishthira and

explained that Duryodhana had suffered for his sins,
and that ultimately, Duryodhana was a warrior who
had defended his dharma and fought bravely and
valiantly, having been a great ruler, a true friend,
and a terrible foe.[13]

Other Stories
Duryodhana’s dilemmas …

Duryodhana lay in the battlefield, awaiting death,

badly bruised by the wounds inflicted by Bhima.

He kept his three fingers in a raised position and

was unable to speak. All the efforts made by his men
to understand the meaning proved to be futile.
Seeing his plight Krishna approached him and said
"I know what issues occupy your mind. I will address
them". Krishna identified the issues as:

Not building a fort around Hastinapura,

 Not persuading Vidura to fight the battle, and
Not making Ashwatthama the commander-in-chief
after the death of Drona.

On hearing this Duryodhana closed all the fingers

and rested. Duryodhana concluded that these 3
factors should have surely brought him victory. Had
he built a fort around Hastinapura, he could have
totally avoided the war in the first place.

If Vidura had fought on his side, he would have had

the best strategist, even better than Krishna. At
last, Duryodhana came to the conclusion that
Krishna was, in fact, the avatar of Lord Vishnu.

If Duryodhana had named Ashwatthama the

commander of the army after the death of Drona,
victory would have surely have been his as
Ashwatthama was born from "Ansha" of Lord
Shiva.[14] This would have countered Krishna. The
thought that he had under-utilized Ashwatthama
prompted Duryodhana to rethink and make him the
commander of his army after his defeat.[15] These
events led to the complete destruction of the
Pandavas' army, destroying almost their whole clan.
After the night raid of Ashwatthama on the
Pandava camp, Duryodhana died in peace and glory,
considering victory as his own, as he would die
valiantly and peacefully and be reunited with his
brothers, relatives and dearest friend Karna,
whereas the Pandavas would live a misery-filled life,
having lost everyone they cared about.

Evaluation
Duryodhana is a popular choice of analysis. His
merits, flaws, symbolism, and relevance are widely
discussed.
Urubhangam is a Sanskrit play written by Bhasa in
the 2nd or 3rd century AD with Duryodhana as its
primary protagonist. Written as a tragedy, the drama
focuses on his point of view of the events of
Mahabharata. His portrayal as a tragic hero is an
especially unique within body of works in Sanskrit
drama.

Many Hindus believe that Duryodhana was the

personification of Kali. Many critics argue that he is
not without positives; many consider Duryodhana as
a fair king and there are temples dedicated to him
and the Kauravas. Scholars believe that like most
other characters of the Mahabharata, the true
picture is not black and white. His name is often
mistaken to mean bad ruler, however his name is
actually coined from the Sanskrit words "du"/"duh"
which means "difficult" and "yodhana" which means
"fight"/"war". So Duryodhana actually means
someone who is extremely difficult to fight/defeat or
wage war against.

Duryodhana is viewed, by some, as the product of

Dhritarashtra's ambition and also in a metaphorical
sense, his "blindness". He is also praised for his
adherence to his duties as a Kshatriya, and even in
his last combat, fights bravely. He chooses to face
Bhima in combat over all the other Pandavas, with
whom he has an advantage in mace fighting. His
skills in the mace are also praised; many stories call
him the best mace-fighter of the age after Balarama.

According to Mahabharata, when Bhishma has to

pick Dhritarashtra's successor, he mentions to
Vidura many of Duryodhana's positive qualities in
comparison to Yudhishthira. Having spent so many
years in the forest, Yudhishthira doesn't have
Duryodhana's experience, military expertise,
education, and courtly manners; alongside,
Duryodhan treats all his subjects equally. Bhishma
adds that Duryodhana is loved by the people, while
Yudhishthira is an unknown quantity to them.
Although Bhishma ultimately chooses Yudhishthira,
it is said that Duryodhana was a wonderful ruler who
the subjects looked up to: just, intelligent, powerful,
experienced and equal.

Friendship with Karna …

The friendship between Karna and Duryodhana is

considered to be a great one, and is used as an
example of friendship and loyalty.[5][16] In the epic,
Duryodhana decries the means of discrimination
employed by Dronacharya and the others. He goes
one step further to accord Karna a place among the
royals, by crowning him the King of Anga and
standing by him whenever anyone pointed a finger at
his lower-birth. He seems to not care about the low
birth of Karna and is the only one to vocally support
Karna's candidature in the archery contest without
caring about caste inequality. When Draupadi
refuses to allow Karna to string the bow at her
Swayamvara because of his low birth, Duryodhana
defends him saying "great sages, philosophers, and
warriors have no source. They are made great, not
born great". In a modern light, his disrespect for
discrimination and blind following of tradition, is
seen more positively.

Bhanumati was the Wife of Duryodhana,With the help of

karna's Friendship, Duryodhana married Bhanumathi
A lesser known story is told about Karna,
Duryodhana, and his wife Bhanumati, as an example
of honest friendship. With the help of karna,
Duryodhana married Bhanumathi .According to the
Mahabharata, Duryodhana abducted Bhanumati, 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 said
that, 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, that 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 on 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. This story is not
present in the Vyasa Mahabharata, but is often
commonly told when discussing Karna and
Duryodhana's genuine friendship. [17]

Coronation of Karna
Modern Worship …

At Poruvazhy Peruviruthy Malanada Temple in

Kerala's Kollam district, Duryodhana is
worshipped as the main deity. It is the only
temple in South India where a Kaurava is
considered a God.[18]
In the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, several
beautifully carved temples are dedicated to
Duryodhana and he is worshipped as the deity.
The mountain tribes of Kumaon fought along with
Duryodhana in the Mahabharata war; he was
 venerated as a capable and generous
administrator.
There is a temple in Osla, Garhwal division of
Uttarakhand. This was built by inhabitants of
Saur. People believe he stayed here with blessings
of Lord Mahasu to take care of the people.[19]

Lakshmanaa and Lakshman …

Lakshmanaa was the daughter of Duryodhana and

Bhanumati.[20]

In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Laxmanaa is the

daughter of Duryodhana and Bhanumati.[21] She had
a twin brother named Laxman Kumara. Not much is
revealed about Laxmanaa in the Mahabharata
except her marriage to Krishna's son Samba.

In media
Krishnavatara (Hindi: कृ णअवतार), a series of
seven novels written by Dr. K.M. Munshi
(Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan)
Duryodhana by Viswanathan Raghunathan (2014,
Harper Collins).
Year Project Country Language Played by

1964 Karnan India Tamil S. A. Ashokan

Daana Veera Shura

1977 India Telugu N. T. Rama Rao
Karna

Mahabharat (1988 TV Amit Shukla/Puneet

1988 India Hindi
series) Issar

Belgium Australia
U.S.
Sweden Portugal
Norway Netherlands
1989 The Mahabharata English Georges Corraface
Japan
Ireland Iceland
Finland
Denmark UK France

2002 Maharathi Karna India Hindi Nimai Bali

Alam Khan/Arpit
2013 Mahabharat India Hindi
Ranka

Yash Karia/Shaleen
2015 Suryaputra Karn India Hindi
Bhanot

2018 Karn Sangini India Hindi Paras Chhabral

Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu,

2019 Kurukshetra India, Karnataka Darshan
and Hindi

See also
 Kauravas
Kali (demon)
Mahabharata

Notes
1. Gandhi, Maneka (1993). The Penguin Book of
Hindu Names . Penguin Books India. p. 125.
ISBN 9780140128413.
2. Ganguli, Kisari Mohan. The Mahabharata,
Book 3: Vana Parva. Netlancers Inc, 2014.
3. Kisari Mohan Ganguli (1896). "Mahabaratha,
Digvijaya yatra of Karna" . The
Mahabharata. Sacred Texts. Retrieved 11 June
2015.
4. "The Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva:
Sambhava Parva: Section CXV" . Sacred-
texts.com. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
5. Vignesh, Inba. "The Greatest friends ever
lived - Karna and Duriyoudan" . India - The
Land Of Hearts. India - The Land Of Hearts.
Retrieved 15 June 2017.
6. "The Mahabharata, Book 2: Sabha Parva:
Sisupala-badha Parva: Section XLVI" .
7. Raya, Pratapacandra (1884). The
Mahabharata . Рипол Классик.
ISBN 9785875963933.
8. MBH 8.8.18–20.
9. Kisari Mohan Ganguli (1896). "Mahabharata
- Karna conquering the entire world" . The
Mahabharata. Sacred Texts. Retrieved 11 June
2015.
10. K M Ganguly(1883-1896) Balarama curses
Bhima and came to aid of Duryodhana
October 2003, Retrieved 2015-03-08
11. K M Ganguly(1883-1896). The Mahabharatha
Book 10: Sauptika Parva section 9
Ashwatthama killing Dhrishtadyumna,
October 2003, Retrieved 2015-04-17
12. K M Ganguly(1883-1896). The Mahabharatha
Book 10: Sauptika Parva section 9
Duryodhana praising Ashwatthama, October
2003, Retrieved 2015-04-17
13. The Mahabharata, Book 18: Svargarohanika
Parva: Section 1 .
14. J.L Shastri. "The Siva Purana - The
Complete Set in 4 Volumes". Motilal
Banarsidass Publishers Pvt Ltd; 2008
Edition
15. K M Ganguly(1883-1896). The Mahabharatha
Book 9: Shalya Parva section 65 Duryodhana
speaking to Asvathama, Kripa, and
Kritavarma, October 2003, Retrieved 2015-
04-17
16. "Friendship" . The Hindu. The Hindu.
Retrieved 15 June 2017.
17. https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10
603/93789/5/05_chapter%203.pdf
18. "Poruvazhy Peruviruthy Malanada | The one
and only one Duryodhana Temple in South
India" . Malanada.com. Retrieved 15 August
2014.
19. "Shrine for Duryodhana!" . The Hindu. 11 May
2017. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
 20. Vanamali (22 May 2012). The Complete Life
of Krishna: Based on the Earliest Oral
Traditions and the Sacred Scriptures . Simon
and Schuster. ISBN 9781594776908.
Retrieved 22 May 2012.
21. "Indian Myth and Legend: Chapter XVIII.
The Battle of Eighteen Days" . Sacred-
texts.com.

References
The Mahabharata (1999) by Krishna Dharma

External links
Wikiquote has quotations related to:
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Duryodhana Temples and Lineage

karna great personalities
THE RELEVANCE OF “KARNA AND
DURYODHANA’S” FRIENDSHIP IN THE
MODERN INDIAN SOCIETY
From Duryodhana’s perspective
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