Contextualising Nakul & Sahadev
Mahabharata wouldn’t have happened without these two characters.
No I’m not talking about Arjun, Bhima or Yudhishthira, but their underrated twin brothers - Nakula & Sahadeva.
Born to Pandu’s other wife Madri after Kunti shared her mantras, the twins make their debuts as blessings by the Ashvinikumaras - the divine horsemen & doctors of the Gods. Their names, meaning mongoose & divinely protected, also explain their roles as protective supporting pillars of the Pandava gang.
When Pandu’s death took Madri by guilt, too, they were raised by Kunti, growing into strikingly handsome, strong & smart gentlemen.
Unfortunately, since Mahabharata focuses on other protagonists, they don’t get due recognition & have therefore suffered from two big myths.
No. 1) They are neither useless nor unnecessary. Nakula mastered swords, horses & healing, and Sahadeva emerged as the wisest, skilled in nitishashtra - politics, strategy & ethics.
At the beginning, as part of Yudhishtira’s Rajasuya sacrifice required to coronate him as King, which needed all empires to submit to him has king, they both campaigned & won battles for him in the South & West.
In the final battle, they rescue Yudhishtira after Karna’s onslaught, and play key roles in planning the cavalry & warfare strategy, slaying many enemies. Sahadeva even slays the main puppeteer & plotter behind the story, Shakuni, giving his family closure after the humiliation at the game of dice episode.
That brings us to their relationship with Draupadi.
And Myth No. 2) They were most definitely not gay as portrayed in pop culture. They had sons with Draupadi, who were cruelly slayed by Ashwatthama. But they also had other marriages, continuing to rule as key governors after the battle.
All that said, in the final chapter when they’re climbing the Himalaya mountain towards the heavens with their siblings after renouncing worldly life, they both fall off because their pride in their beauty & wisdom, showing that they too, were flawed humans after all.