Kapidhwaja- Man and Monkey

Not only was Hanuman called Kapidhwaja for his presence in Arjuna’s flag but Arjuna was also called Kapidhwaja for having a flag with a monkey. The flag atop Arjuna’s chariot always had a monkey, but it had the special presence of Hanuman in the Kurukshetra war.

The bewildered braggart

Arjuna was known by various names. Among them was Brihannala, or the dance teacher of the princess of the Matsya kingdom.

Suspecting that the Pandavas were living in disguise in Matsya, Duryodhana used an ally to capture the cows of the Virata kingdom. When the king, his entire army and the four Pandavas (except Brihannala who was a eunuch) had left to recapture their cattle, the Kauravas launched an attack from another front.

Uttara, who was a mere boy, claimed that he would single-handedly defend the women if only he had the right charioteer. Brihannala offered to be one. Uttara had no choice but to go into the battlefield. Seeing the might of the Kaurava army, he began to run away. Brihannala carried him back to the chariot and drove away to retrieve their (Pandavas’) hidden weapons.

Arjuna’s names

He revealed his identity to Uttara by quoting ten names of his...

Arjuna (pure and unblemished)

Dhananjaya (one who has won wealth)

Vijaya (ever victorious)

Shwetavahana (one whose chariot is drawn by white horses)

Phalguna (the constellation at the time of his birth)

Kiriti (the wearer of the divine crown gifted by Indra)

Bibhatsu (ever righteous)

Savyasaachi (ambi dexterous)

Jishnu (untameable)

Krishna (attractive)

Other than these names, Krishna addressed Arjuna by various names, the most popular being Paarth, which Krishna seemed very fond of, always addressing Arjuna as Paarth. Paarth meant son of Pritha and hence it was technically not Arjuna alone who was Paarth.

Bhaaratha (the scion of the Bharatha dynasty) was another name often used in the Bhagavad Geeta, as were Kaunteya (son of Kunti) and Gudakesha (conqueror of sleep). Parantapa, Mahabahu, Shrutaketu, Anagha and Gaandeevi were also attributed to Arjuna.