Page:History of India Vol 1.djvu/139

Rh The account of the martial training of the young Pandavas and the sons of Dhritarashtra throws much light on the manners of royal houses. Drona was a Brahman and a renowned warrior, for caste had not yet completely formed itself, Kshatriyas had not yet obtained the monopoly of the use of arms, nor Brahmans of religious learning. He had been insulted by his former friend, the King of the Panchalas, and had



retired in disgust to the court of the Kurus, where he educated the princes in the art of war.

Yudhisthira, the eldest of the Pandavas, never became much of a warrior, but was versed in the religious learning of the age, and is the most righteous character in the epic. Bhima, the second, learned to use the club, was renowned for his gigantic size and giant strength, and is indeed the Ajax of the poem. The third, Arjuna, excelled all other princes in the skill of arms and aroused the jealousy and hatred of the sons of