Arjun

What does Arjun mean?

Arjun comes from Sanskrit arjuna, whose adjective senses include ‘white’, ‘clear’ and ‘bright’. Wiktionary also records Arjuna, the Pandava prince of the Mahabharata, and the Hindi given name Arjun. This gives the name two distinct kinds of meaning: brightness is a lexical sense, while the celebrated archer is a literary association. The same Sanskrit word also names the arjuna tree. The epic connection is useful context without replacing the underlying word's meaning.

Source: Wiktionary, अर्जुन. How we use sources.

Spelling and pronunciation

अर्जुन is approximately ar-jun in Hindi, with two syllables and a short u like that in ‘put’. Arjuna retains the Sanskrit final vowel and has three syllables. The r may be lightly tapped. Both Roman forms are used, with the longer one also appearing in writing about the epic.

Also spelled Arjuna.

Arjun in tradition and story

Arjuna is Krishna's questioner in the Bhagavad Gita, set on the battlefield of Kurukshetra within the Mahabharata. Krishna serves as his charioteer. The same character is also called Partha and Dhananjaya, making those names useful literary connections.