yudhiSThira

[g.v.simson at easteur-orient.uio.no]

On Thu, 24 Jul 1997 10:41:40 BST, Dominique.Thillaud wrote:
>
>>Dear Indologists,
>> The name of the eldest pAndava seems to be 'steady in the fight'
>>but he's not a great warrior as bhIma or arjuna ...
>> Can we understand this nominal compound as 'steady about the
>>fight', hence 'not giving way to the violence', the 'i' in yudhi- being
>>perhaps an ancient low grade dative ? Are other names or words ending by
>>-sthira ?
>> Advices and/or references would be welcomed. Thanks in advance,
>>Dominique

I think the answer to the question might be found in YudhiSThira's role as
a king. As such his position would be in the centre of the battle, and that
is the reason why he was called 'He who is steadfast/immovable in the
battle'. Compare the (relative) immobility of the king in the game of
chess, who in the same way would deserve the name YudhiSThira though he is
not a great fighter.

Georg v. Simson