Duḥśāsana

Dushasana (, , in Tamil: துச்சாதனன்/duchadanan,), also spelled Duhshasana, Dussasana or Duhsasana, also known as Sushasana, is an antagonist in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was second eldest among the Kaurava princes and the younger brother of Duryodhana. Dushasana's jealousy and herd mentality were the two qualities said to have led to his downfall in the Mahabharata. Etymology His name derives from the Sanskrit words duḥ- "hard" and śāsana "rule"; thus duḥśāsana means "[one who is] hard to rule." Birth and early life When Dhritarashtra's queen Gandhari's pregnancy continued for an unusually long time, she beat her womb in frustration and out of jealousy towards Kunti, the wife of Pandu, who had just given birth to Yudhishthira (the eldest of the five Pandava brothers). At this, a hardened mass of grey-coloured flesh emerged from her womb. Gandhari was devastated and called upon Vyasa, the great sage who had prophesied she would give birth to one hundred sons, to redeem his words. Vyasa divided the ball of flesh into one hundred equal pieces, each piece no bigger than a thumb. He put them in pots of milk, which were sealed and buried in the earth for two years. At the end of the second year, the first pot was opened and Duryodhana emerged. Within a period of one month all the other 99 sons of Dhritarashtra were born. Dushasana was the second after Duryodhana.