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Upapandavas

Upapandavas are the five sons of the Pandavas by Draupadi, collectively known as the Upapandavas, or “younger Pandavas.” They are Prativindhya (son of Yudhishthira), Sutasoma (son of Bhima), Srutakarma (son of Arjuna), Janamejaya (son of Nakula), and Sveta or Svetakarma (son of Sahadeva). Their birth occurs during the Pandavas’ exile in the forest, when Draupadi bore children to each of her husbands.

In the Mahabharata and its related traditions, the Upapandavas are depicted as princes of the Kuru dynasty

The fates of the Upapandavas vary across tellings. In several popular versions, they are killed in a

The Upapandavas thus appear as a transitional generation within the epic, linking the older Pandava heroes

who
are
trained
as
warriors
but
are
generally
not
central
to
the
main
arc
of
the
war
due
to
their
youth.
They
symbolize
the
continuation
of
the
Pandava
line
and
the
expansion
of
Draupadi’s
lineage
within
Hastinapura.
night
raid
on
the
Pandava
camp
by
Ashwatthama
after
the
Kurukshetra
War,
an
event
that
is
remembered
as
a
tragic
casualty
of
the
conflict
and
a
blow
to
the
next
generation
of
the
dynasty.
Some
later
or
interpolated
texts
recount
different
details
or
emphasize
the
grief
and
consequences
for
the
Pandavas
and
Draupadi
rather
than
focusing
on
the
sons
themselves.
to
the
future
rulers
of
the
Kuru
line,
and
their
legacy
is
treated
with
varying
emphasis
across
retellings.