Upapāṇḍavas
The Upapāṇḍavas are the five sons of Draupadī, one born to each of the five Pāṇḍavas. The name means the junior Pāṇḍavas. They are also called the Draupadeyas, the sons of Draupadī. Each is counted as a warrior in his own right.
Names
- Prativindhya, son of Yudhishṭhira
- Sutasoma, son of Bhīmasena
- Śrutakīrti, son of Arjuna
- Śatānīka, son of Nakula
- Śrutasena, son of Sahadeva
At the marriage of Abhimanyu and Uttarā
The Virāṭa Parva names the Upapāṇḍavas among those who came to Upaplavya, a city in the Matsya kingdom, for the marriage of Abhimanyu and Uttarā. This came at the end of the Pāṇḍavas’ thirteen years of exile. They stood in that holy gathering with Kṛshṇa, Balarāma, Drupada, Dhṛshṭadyumna, Śikhaṇḍī and the allied kings. The Mahābhārata tells this in the Virāṭa Parva, Chapter 72.
In the Svargārohaṇa Parva
The five sons of Draupadī appear once more at the very end of the Mahābhārata. Yudhishṭhira was led along the terrible road of naraka (hell). Voices called to him out of the darkness, begging him to stay, because his presence and the fragrance of his body eased their pain. Among them were the voices of the Draupadeyas, crying out together with Karṇa, Bhīma, Arjuna, Nakula, Dhṛshṭadyumna and Draupadī. This was a brief vision, shown even to the righteous. When it faded, Yudhishṭhira saw his sons in their true glory.
In the assembly of the devas in svarga (heaven), Indra told Yudhishṭhira that the five Upapāṇḍavas were gandharvas of great might and splendour. They were the sons of the Pāṇḍavas and Draupadī, and they shone among the hosts of the devas. This is in the Svargārohaṇa Parva, Chapters 2 and 4.
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Virāṭa Parva, Chapter 72
- Mahābhārata, Svargārohaṇa Parva, Chapters 2 and 4