Arjuna

For other uses, see Arjuna (disambiguation).

"Parth" and "Partha" redirect here. For the racehorse, see Parth (horse). For the film, see Partha (film).

"Savyasachi" redirects here. For the 1995 film, see Savyasachi (1995 film). For the 2018 film, see Savyasachi (2018 film).

Template:Infobox character/Wikidata Arjuna (in Devanagari: अर्जुन arjuna) is the side character of the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata and plays a key role in the Bhagavad Gita alongside Krishna. Arjuna was the son of Indra, the king of the celestials, born of Kunti, the first wife of King Pandu in the Kuru Kingdom. In a previous birth he was a saint named Nara who was the lifelong companion of another saint Narayana an incarnation of Lord Vishnu who took rebirth as Lord Krishna. He was the third of the Pandava brothers and was married to Draupadi, Ulupi, Chitrangada and Subhadra (Krishna's sister) at different times. His children included Srutakarma, Iravan, Babruvahana, and Abhimanyu. Arjuna was considered to be the 10th best archer after Lord Krishna, Karna, Eklavya, Bhishma, Drona, Ashwatthama, Abhimanyu, Bhagadatta and Bhima.

Etymology and other names

The name Arjuna has among its meanings "white"/"clear" and "silver". Cognates of "Arjuna" are Latin "regens" meaning "ruler", Hindi "raj" meaning "king", and English "regal". .

Birth and youth

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Indra bestows a favor on Kunti

Arjuna's birth is most celebrated one and he was born 9 months after the birth of krishna. A prophesy is said about his birth and so many gods attended to see him. 

After the death of Pandu (and Madri's subsequent sati), the Pandavas and their mother lived in Hastinapura, where they were brought up together with their cousins, the Kaurava brothers. Along with his brothers, Arjuna was trained in religion, science, administration and military arts by Bhishma.

One day, when the princes were playing a game, they lost their ball in a well. When the rest of the children gave up the ball as being lost, Arjuna stayed behind trying to get it. A stranger came by and extracted the ball for him by making a chain of "sarkanda" (a wild grass). When an astonished Arjuna related the story to Bhishma, Bhishma realised that the stranger was none other than Drona. Bhishma asked Drona to become the Kuru princes' teacher. Seeking refuge from Panchala, Drona agreed. Many asuras were killed by him.

Tutelage under Drona

Under Drona's tutelage, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, along with the princes of Hastinapura's allies and vassals, learned weaponry. Arjuna became Drona's favorite and most accomplished pupil; specifically, he became a master in using the bow and the arrow. In a famous incident, Drona deemed that out of all his students, even his own son Ashwatthama, none but Arjuna had the steadfast focus to shoot the eye of a bird on a tree; he was proven right.

Marriage to Draupadi

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the Swayamvara of Panchala's princess, Draupadi

Pandavas fled away from Varnavrat by burning Nishada woman and five children to the death in order to fake their own death. Still in hiding, the Pandavas disguise themselves as brahmins and attend the Swayamvara of Panchala princess Draupadi. Out of all of the great kings and other Kaurava princes, only Karna and Arjuna are able to do the established challenge. The test is to lift, string, and fire Pinakin to pierce the eye of a golden fish whilst only looking at its reflection; Drupada had designed this test with Arjuna in mind. First Karna lifted bow with just one hand and strung it. When he was about to shoot arrows, Draupadi stopped him. Arjuna came forward and lifted bow with both hands with greatest difficulty. Finally, he was able to hit target after shooting 5 arrows. .

Later Karna attacked Arjuna mildly and still Arjuna failed to gain upper hand. However Karna easily overpowered him and asked about his real identity. With the fear of Karna, Arjuna lied that he is Brahmin hence he was spared by Karna. . 

When the brothers returned with Draupadi, Arjuna joked to his mother that they had brought alms. Dismissively, and without looking because she was preoccupied, Kunti asks him to share it with his brothers. Holding his mother's orders as a divine command, he requested his elder brother to accept Draupadi. Draupadi had to marry all five of the Pandavas. Her five sons, one from each of the Pandava brothers, are known as the Upapandavas. Srutakarma is the son of Arjuna.

At this point in the Mahabharata, the Pandavas revealed that they were alive. With both Duryodhana and Yudhishthira being crown princes, tensions are high. Under Bhishma's advice, the kingdom is split, with the Kauravas getting Hastinapur and the Pandavas getting Khandavaprastha. Khandavaprastha, however, was an extremely underdeveloped land and had infertile soil, requiring extensive tilling, so the Pandavas set to work rebuilding the land by burning thousands of human tribes and innocent animals in khandava. Their cousins Krishna and Balarama gave them aid.

Burning of Khandava Vana

In some versions of the story, this was the first time Arjuna meets Krishna. In any case, Khandavaprastha was where Arjuna and Krishna's friendship is truly forged. Once when roaming in the Khandava Vana, Arjuna and Krishna met the god of fire, Agni. Agni was in great hunger and needed to burn down the entire Khandava Vana to quench his hunger. But Takshaka, the serpent-king lived in the same forest and was a friend of Indra's. So the latter brought down heavy rains to thwart Agni's plans to burn the woods. Agni requested Krishna and Arjuna to help him realise his goal.

Arjuna begged Agni for Gandiva and Divine Chariot. The three of them then invoked Varuna, the God of the oceans, who blessed Arjuna with the Gandiva – the agni-moon bow created by Brahma. In this way, Arjuna came into possession of his famous bow. Agni also gave Arjuna an incandescent chariot with four horses yoked, and bearing a flag that would one-day be occupied by Hanuman. Arjuna also obtained his famous conch.

With Krishna using the Sudarshana Chakra Arjuna and Krishna waged a successful battle against Indra and helped Agni burn down the entire Khandava Vana including all innocent Vidhyadharas human tribes and all animals. Indra's pride in Arjuna's success overcame his anger, and he bestowed greater powers on him.

Saving Mayasura

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Sri Krishna tells Mayasura to build a palace.

In their demolition of Khandava, Krishna and Arjuna had saved one demon, Mayasura to build their palace. Thus owing Arjuna a favor, and after being so directed by Krishna, Mayasura said that he would build a palace for Yudhishtra. As Mayasura was a great architect of the Asuras, he soon constructed the Maya assembly hall – a gigantic palace for the Pandavas, filled with ancient books, artifacts, and jewels. This hall was famous for visual illusions. Thus, Khandavaprastha was renamed Indraprastha.

Arjuna's Tirtha-yatra and Indraprastha

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Arjuna enters Dharma's Boudoir

Arjuna violated Yudhishthira and Draupadi's privacy while they were playing the game of dice, as he had left the Gandiva in their room. Despite the understanding of all and being forgiven by both Yudhishthira and Draupadi, Arjuna accepted the punishment agreed with Narada and set off on a twelve-year tirtha-yatra. According to Narada, Arjuna must retire to forest and pass his days as Brahmacharin but Arjuna enjoyed his celibacy and lusted after many womens in process raped Ulupi

Chitrangadaa at Manipura

Arjuna visited other Tirthas in India, including Kalinga and the ashrams of the Saptarishis, Agastya, Vasishta and Bhrigu. Finally he reached the palace of Manipur. Here he met King Chitravahana's daughter, Chitrangadaa. Arjuna lusted after her and begged that the king let them marry. Upon discovering Arjuna's true identity, the king readily agreed. They had a son, who survived the Mahabharata war and ruled the small kingdom peacefully. Arjuna ran away abandoing Vabruvahana and his mother and finally Vabruvahana took revenge after kurushetra war by killing Arjuna in battle.

Reaching Dwarka and Subhadra

Arjuna and Subhadra,
Painting by Raja Ravi Varma.

Arjuna moved to other Tirthas, including the southern regions in Kerala. Finally he reached Dwarka, the place where his cousin Krishna resided. Arjuna had, in his childhood, heard about Krishna's sister, Subhadra. Krishna, wishing to further tie their families, knew of Arjuna's visit and devised a plan to arrange their meeting. Accordingly, Arjuna disguised himself as a Yati and stayed at Krishna's palace. Arjuna lusted after Subhadra and desired to have intercourse with her. Because Balarama had already promised Subhadra to his favorite disciple, Duryodhana, Krishna advised Arjuna to kidnap Subhadra. Arjuna forcefully dragged Subhadra and took her into chariot even though she repeatedly begged soldiers to save her from Arjuna. Balarama became furious upon learning of the abduction but was pacified by Krishna, after he showed that the Mangala sutra was in Subhadra's hand, which showed her consent. The couple stayed in Dwaraka for a year, and then another year in Pushkar. However, Draupadi had made it clear that no other Pandava wife would be allowed to stay in her city, so Arjuna, as Krishna had advised, tricked Draupadi into meeting Subhadra as a milkmaid. Draupadi realized she had been tricked, but she forgave Subhadra and let her stay in Indraprastha, allowing her to keep company with Arjuna in the four years when he was not with Draupadi. In due course, the union of Arjuna and Subhadra produced a son, Abhimanyu.

Conquest for Rajasuya

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Arjuna on his way to the Rajasuya Yaga

Possible route taken by Arjuna for the Rajasuya sacrifice.

Arjuna was sent south by Yudhishthira to subjugate kingdoms for the Rajasuya Yagya, so that he could be crowned Emperor of Indraprastha. The Mahabharata mentions several kingdoms to the east of Indraprastha which were conquered (or otherwise peacefully bent-the-knee) by Arjuna. Most notably, he failed to defeat Bhagadatta of Pragjyotisha who repelled Arjuna for eight days straight but being friend of Indra, he agreed to pay tribute. Bhagadatta was also a great friend of Pandu. Infact Bhagadatta spared the life of Arjuna by not firing Vaishnav astra against him

Exile

After Yudhishthira succumbed to Shakuni's challenge in the game of dice, the Pandavas were forced to be in exile for 13 years, which included one year in anonymity.

Penance for Pashupatastra

From the epic poem Kiratarjuniya: Arjuna recognizes Shiva and surrenders to him. Painting by Raja Ravi Varma, 19th century.

After the battle at Khandava Indra had promised Arjuna to give him all his weapons as a boon for matching him in battle with the requirement that Shiva is pleased with him. . Following the advice of Yudhistira to go on a meditation or "tapasya" to attain this divine weapon, Arjuna left his brothers for a penance.

Arjuna traveled for a while before reaching the mountain Indra keeladri, Vijayawada. Here he sat in meditation in the name of Lord Shiva. Shiva appeared soon enough in the guise of a hunter, who challenged Arjuna to a fight. Arjuna abused Lord Shiva thinking him to be low cast kirata. While being thoroughly dominated by Shiva, Arjuna became confused as to how an ordinary hunter could beat a warrior like himself. He prays to Shiva for strength, and then sees the offerings he made to Shiva around the hunter's neck. Consequently, Shiva transformed himself to show his real avatar and extracted evilness from the soul of Arjuna and blessed Arjuna with the Pashupatastra. Shiva lectures Arjuna on the abilities of the weapon, as well as the judgement he must use while wielding it. It is said that, apart from Parshurama, Karna and Drona, Arjuna was the only human having Pashupatastra. However Lord Shiva didnt teach Arjuna about proper use of pashupatatastra leading Pashupatastra as useless weapon in the hand of Arjuna

After Shiva left, the Lokapalas appeared before Arjuna and then Kubera, Yama, and Varuna also blessed each of their potent weapons to Arjuna. Indra then invited his son to his palace in heaven.

Arjuna was amazed at the splendor of his father's palace at Amaravati. Dancers like Urvashi, Tilottama, Rambha and Menaka entertained him. There was a huge banquet serving different varieties of heavenly dishes. Arjuna learnt song and dance from the Gandharva, Chitrasena and Indra himself taught him all the divine weapons and also gave him his Vajra.

Nivata-kavachas and Hiranyapura

Arjuna got the opportunity to test his skill when Indra asked him to defeat his enemy as the price of his training. Arjuna was taken to the palace of the Nivata-kavachas, a tribe of Rakshasas who had a magnificent palace under the oceans. Arjuna used the Mohini-astra and the Madhava-astra to demolish these asuras.

He was also taken to Hiranyapura, a palace in the sky created by a witch Puloma and his asura tribe of the Kalakanjas. Here Arjuna uses the Raudra-astra and annihilates the demons.

At Virata's Kingdom

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Brihannala – Eunuch at Virata's Kingdom

Main article: Brihannala

Along with his brothers, Arjuna spent his last year of exile in the kingdom of Matsya. This is the place where Urvashi's curse is implemented and Arjuna becomes a eunuch called Brihannala (within themselves Pandavas called him Vijaya). At the palace, he teaches song and dance, qualities he had learnt from Chitrasena [King of the Gandharvas in Devalok], to the King Virata's daughter, Uttarā. Later, Arjuna arranges for Uttara to become his daughter-in-law by marrying his son Abhimanyu to her. At the same time, he prevents Subhadra from marrying Abhimanyu to Balarama's daughter Vatsala, as the Kurus find marriages between cousins taboo. But Arjuna and Subhadra are cousins too since Kunti (Arjun's Mother) and Vasudeva (Subhadra's father) are brother and sister.

Hearing about the death of Kichaka, Duryodhana surmises that the Pandavas were hiding in Matsya. A host of Kaurava warriors attack Virata, presumably to steal their cattle, but in reality, desiring to pierce the Pandavas' veil of anonymity. Full of bravado, Virata's son Uttar attempts to take on the army by himself while the rest of the Matsya army has been lured away to fight Susharma and the Trigartas. As suggested by Draupadi, Uttar takes Brihannala with him, as his charioteer. When he sees the Kaurava army, Uttar loses his nerve and attempts to flee. There, Arjuna reveals his identity and those of his brothers'. Switching places with Uttar, Arjuna takes up the Gandiva and Devadatta. Eager to defend the land that had given him refuge, Arjuna engaged the legion of Kaurava warriors. Unable to withstand all warriors for long time, Arjuna used Sammohini astra which failed to show its effect. He took up celestical conch and blew it which caused all warriors to lose their sense. During the interval offered, arjuna took heroic flight and fled away from battle.

Kurukshetra War

Bhagavad Gita

Arjuna and Lord Krishna, with Krishna as the sarathi or charioteer

Main article: Bhagavad Gita

As the battle draws close, Arjuna is overcome with self-doubt about the righteousness of the war against his own kith and kin due to lack of knowledge. He is distraught at the thought of having to fight with his friends and family such as his dear teacher, Drona and grandsire Bhishma. It was then that Krishna took charge and explained the necessity and inevitability of the war to Arjuna. This conversation is a key part of the Mahabharata known as Bhagavad gita, and is considered as a holy scripture of Hinduism.

Arjuna plays the role of the reader in the Bhagavad Gita. As Krishna dispenses the advice, Arjuna asks the questions.

The Bhagavad Gita primarily takes the form of philosophical dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna. Later Lord Krishna himself lamented for imparting knowledge of Bhagvad gita to Arjuna in Anugita Parv of Mahabharata. Lord Krishna accepted that it was his mistake to impart knowledge of Bhagvad gita to Arjuna

Battles fought at Kurukshetra

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Defeat of Jayadratha

Arjuna was a key Pandava warrior and played a huge role in the Pandava victory in the Kurukshetra war. His flag bore the symbol of Hanuman.

Some of the crucial battles fought by Arjuna are as follows:

• Fall of Bhishma: Throughout the first nine days of battle, Arjuna was unable to defeat Bhishma and lord Krishna saved life of Arjuna many times from Bhishma. Finaly, Arjuna decided to attack Bhishma hiding behind woman named as Shikhandi. Arjuna was able to attack Bhishma unimpeded. Laughing a while, Arjuna pierced Bhishma's entire body with arrows concealing himself behind Shikhandi, eventually forcing Bhishma to fall down with Arjuna's arrows acting as a bed, thus breaking the rule of battle..
• Death of Bhagadatta: On the 12th day of the war, Arjuna fled away from Samshaptakas and unfortunately got engaged with Bhagadatta, the king of Pragjyotisha, who had earlier defeated Bhima and Satyaki. the battle, Bhagadatta was about to destroy Arjuna under his elephant but Lord Krishna saved him using his steed management skill. During During the battle, Bhagadatta shot an irresistible weapon called Vaishnavastra, which could have killed Arjuna, but he was saved by Krishna's timely intervention; Krishna stood up covering Arjuna, and the weapon fell on Krishna and formed a garland. Bhagadatta was later aimed by Arjuna and decapitated by Lord Shiva's arrow who fought standing in front of his chariot
• Killing of the Trigartas: On 17th day of war, Arjuna was defeated and captured by trigartas soldiers known as Samshaptakas. As usual lord krishna saved him. Later arjuna managed to beat them. It was revealed that it was victory due to mercy of Kishna
• Death of Jayadratha: Arjuna held Jayadratha responsible for Abhimanyu's death on the 13th day of the war. He vowed to kill him the very next day before sunset, failing which he would kill himself by jumping in a pyre. On 13th night, Arjuna obtained boon of Shiva to kill Jaydratha on next day. The Kauravas hid Jayadratha from Arjuna in a formation, knowing that Arjuna's death would result in a Kaurava victory. However, Krishna created an artificial eclipse by using his Sudarshana Chakra to hide the sun, forcing Kauravas to believe it was sunset and Arjuna's death was imminent. (In some versions, it is said that Lord Krishna used his yogic power to hide the sun). Overjoyed, they started celebrating, and using that opportunity, Arjuna caught them unprepared, then Arjuna beheaded unprepared Jayadratha and made his arrows to carry away Jayadratha's head. This was because Jayadratha had a boon from his father that whoever would be responsible for his head falling to the ground would have his own head blown up. That is why Arjuna carried the severed head of Jayadratha to his father, who was awoken from his meditation by the sudden landing of a severed head on his body and since he ended up dropping it to the ground, he had his head blown up.

Arjuna Slays Karna, page from a copy of the Razmnama, Mughal period

• Death of Karna:Karna who was Arjuna's Superior in Mahabharata one upon whom Duryodhana chiefly rested his hopes for victory against the Pandavas. On the 17th day of the war, Karna shot Bhargavastra at which Arjuna ran away to save his life from Karna. When Arjuna returned after withdrawal of Bhargavastra by Karna, the final combat between Arjuna and Karna took place, with both of them being evenly matched. The warriors on the battlefield and the gods in heaven watched the battle in speechless amazement and terrified admiration of the strength and skill of these two greatest of warriors. At one point, Karna used Nagastra in an attempt to kill Arjuna, but at the last minute Krishna made the horses of Arjuna's chariot to bend at their knees lowering the whole chariot thus saving life of Arjuna from Karna. This caused the Nagastra only to knock off Arjun's diadem saving Arjun's life. Karna shot Brahmastra at which Arjuna failed to counter which caused blasting of his chariot after Kurushetra war. The battle between the two continued fiercely with Karna gaining the upper hand. Eventually, one of the wheels of Karna's chariot got stuck in the mud resulting from a prior curse on Karna from Bhudevi. Further, owing to a curse Karna received from his Guru Parashurama, Karna forgot the mantra to invoke the all weapons. Karna got down from his chariot to free the wheel and asked Arjuna to pause, reminding him of the etiquette of war. But Krishna reminded Arjuna of all the incidents suffered by the Pandavas, Draupadi’s insult and convinced Arjuna to attack the defenseless Karna from behind. Unable to withstand Karna and trembling with fear of death,he renewed his attack on weaponless, chariotless and heedless Karna from backside.

Arjuna's Chariot burns after war

After the eighteenth day of war at Kurukshetra, King Duryodhana was slain in a mace fight with Bhima by unfair means. Soon after Duryodhana's fall, the Pandavas went to celebrate their victory by entering the palaces of the Kauravas. When they reached the pavilion of the Kauravas, Lord Krishna advised Arjuna to take his divine bow Gandiva and get down from his chariot immediately. After Arjuna did so, Lord Hanuman disappeared from his flag and Lord Krishna also got down from the chariot. Soon after Lord Krishna releases the horses and then gets down from the chariot. The chariot explodes into pieces. That was due to the devastating effect of the Brahmastra which was used by Karna in the battle. Arjuna wondered at seeing such a horrible scene and asked Krishna about the reason. Lord Krishna said that the divine chariot of Arjuna had already been burnt by consuming the Brahmastras , that Karna had shot against Arjuna during the fighting. It was because of his power that the divine chariot of it remained un-burnt throughout the battle.

Conquest for Ashvamedha

After the conclusion of the war, the Pandavas take charge of Hastinapura, the undivided realm of their ancestors. Yudhishira appointed Arjuna as the Yuvaraj of Hastinapura.

Yudhishthira decided to hold the Ashvamedha Yagna, or "horse sacrifice", to grant them the title of Chakravarti ("Emperor"). Arjuna led the armed forces which followed the horse around its random wanderings. He received the submission of many kings, either without or following an armed confrontation. He was thus instrumental in the expansion of the Pandava domains. He was defeated by Sandhava foot soldiers during conquest but Saptrishi saved his life and revived him. Vabruvahana also killed him in single shot in the absence of Krishna but Ulupi revived him.

Arjuna built the Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple during his conquest in South India. Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple is one of the "Divya Desams", the 108 temples of Vishnu revered by the 12 poet saints, or Alwars located near Aranmula, a village in Pathanamthitta District, Kerala, South India. The temple is dedicated to Parthasarathy, Lord Krishna's role as Arjuna's Charioteer in the Mahabharata war. Legend has it that Arjuna built this temple, to expiate for the sin of having killed Karna on the battlefield, against the dharma of killing an unarmed enemy.

Manipur and death by Babruvahana

Arjuna is killed by his son Babhruvahana in battle – a composite Razmnama illustration circa 1616

Arjuna went to Manipur, where the king was Babruvahana, his own son with Chitrangadaa. Seeing his father Babruvahana came all the way to receive Arjuna. Arjuna abused his son as a coward and asked him to prepare for war. In the fight between father and son Babruvahana killed Arjuna, but Ulupi, the snake-princess, used the Mritasanjivani, a boon from Ganga Devi to bring Arjuna back to life. It is later stated that the defeat was because of Arjuna's using of Shikhandi to plot Bhishma's death and the unfair killing of Karna.

Death

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Arjuna throws his weapons in water as advised by Agni

After Sri Krishna left his mortal body, Arjuna took the citizens of Dwaraka, including 16,000 women that had formed Krishna's harem, to Indraprastha. On the way, they were attacked by a group of bandits. Arjuna fought with them but soon he found out that Robbers armed with Bamboos were more than match for him. When he failed to protect wives of Lord Krishna, he lifted his two long legs and ran away from Dwarka leaving 16000 wives of Lord Krishna to the mercy of evil Robbers.

Upon the onset of the Kali yuga and acting on the advice of Vyasa, Arjuna and other Pandavas retired, leaving the throne to their only descendant to survive the war of Kurukshetra, Arjuna's grandson Parikshit. Giving up all their belongings and ties, the Pandavas, accompanied by a dog, made their final journey of pilgrimage to the Himalayas. It is also to be noted that the listener of the Mahabharata is Janamejaya, Parikshit's son.

Except for Yudhishthira, all of the Pandavas grew weak and died before reaching heaven (only Yudhishthira is allowed to keep his mortal body). Arjuna was the fourth one to fall after Draupadi, Sahadeva and Nakula. When Bhima asks Yudhishthira why Arjuna isn't permitted the same, the reason given is Arjuna's extreme pride Ego in his skills and his Jealousy for Karna and Eklavya. Draupadi also falls because while she claimed to love all the Pandavas equally, she had a soft spot for Arjuna .

In popular culture

Arjuna is a popular choice of name for a Hindu male child in the Indian subcontinent. As told in the verses in Harivamsha or Harivamsha Purana, the name Arjuna is cursed by the sage Parashurama. After the defeat of the mighty and evil king Kartavirya Arjuna or otherwise called Sahasra Arjuna, Sage Parashurama pronounced the curse that whoever holds the name Arjuna will never become a king and always be a servant of others.

Modern references

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Arjuna Wijaya monument in Jakarta, Indonesia

Arjuna's extraordinary talents and skills have made him a common name in popular culture.

• The American astronomer Tom Gehrels named a class of asteroids with low inclination, low eccentricity and earth-like orbital period as Arjuna asteroids.
• The Arjuna Award is presented every year in India to one talented sportsman in every national sport.
• Arjun is a third generation main battle tank developed for the Indian Army.
• Mayilpeeli Thookkam is a ritual art of dance performed in the temples of Kerala. It is also known as Arjuna Nrithyam (lit. Arjuna's dance) as a tribute to his dancing abilities.

There have been a serial and a film based on Arjuna's life and exploits.

• Earth Maiden Arjuna is a Japanese animated television series created by Shoji Kawamori. This series is based on Arjuna and the Mahabharata. Arjuna: Into the Another World is the soundtrack produced for the series.
• Arjun: The Warrior Prince is a 2012 mythological action film narrating the events in Arjuna's life.
• "Arjuna" is a character in Orson Scott Card's "Earth Afire" and "Earth Awakens" made in 2013 and 2014 respectively.

Additionally, the protagonist in Steven Pressfield's book The Legend of Bagger Vance, Rannulph Junuh, is based in part on Arjuna (R. Junuh).

Arjuna is also an Archer class Servant in the mobile game Fate/Grand Order. He is a minor antagonist in the E Pluribus Unum story chapter, where he wishes to fight Karna again.

In modern television

In B.R.Chopra's Mahabharat, Arjuna's role is played by Arjun (Firoz Khan).

In 2013 Mahabharat television series, Arjuna is portrayed by Shaheer Sheikh.

Mani Ratnam's 1991 blockbuster Thalapathi was loosely based on the Mahabharata. In the film, Arvind Swamy's character was loosely based on Arjuna.

In Dharmakshetra 2014, actor Ankit Arora portrayed Arjuna.

In 2015 Sony TV serial Suryaputra Karn, actor Navi bhangu played the role of Arjuna.

In Nagarjuna 2015 serial, Rahul Sharma (actor) played Arjuna.