| Bhurishravas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Information | |
| Family | Somadatta (father) Bhuri, Shala (brothers) another 7 brothers Sudeva (wife of Abhibhu, King of Kashi), Kanakanjali (wife of Vinda, King of Avanti) (sisters)Pratipa and Parjanya (sons) Kumbhaka (daughter) |
Bhoorishravas (Sanskrit:भूरिश्रवस् /भूरिश्रवा) was a prince of a minor kingdom[1] inthe kingdom of Bahlika and played a role in theMahabharata epic. Bhurishravas has many different spellings, including "Bhoorisravas(a)", "Bhurisravas(a)", "Bhurishravsa", etc.
Bhurishrava was the grandson ofKing Bahlika, who was the elder brother ofShantanu. He had three children: Pratip, Prayanja and an unnamed daughter.
Bhurishravas' father, Somadatta, once clashed with another prince called Sini. WhenDevaki, the mother ofLord Krishna, was still unwed, many princes competed for her hand in marriage, including Somadatta and Sini, who fought a great battle over her. Sini, fighting on behalf ofVasudeva won the battle. This incident launched a hatred between the Sini and Somadatta families, leading to a generational rivalry.[2]
TheBhor Saidan village (Hindi:भौर सैदां), named after Bhurishravas is located 22 km fromKurukshetra and 13 km fromThanesar on the Kurukshetra-Pehowa road near Bhureeshwar Temple, is one of theMahabharata pilgrimage sites inKurukshetra in the Indian state ofHaryana.
Bhurishrava is aKuru prince, the son of Somadatta and the grandson ofBahlika. Bhurishrava takes part in theKurukshetra War from theKaurava side.[3]
Long ago, Sini went to Devaki's Swayamvara and abducted her for the sake ofVasudeva. Somadatta challenged Sini to a duel but lost. Sini seized Somadatta by the hair and kicked him before all the kings, before sparing him alive. Unable to endure the humiliation, Somadatta performed a penance to Lord Shiva and requested that the god give him a mighty son who would avenge his insult. LordShiva granted the boon to Somadatta, and consequently, Bhurishravas was born. Due to Somadatta's boon from Lord Shiva, Bhurishravas became a powerful warrior. In battle, he avenged Somadatta's insult by kicking Sini's grandson, Satyaki.[4]
By the time of theBattle of Kurukshetra, Sini's grandsonSatyaki, by then a king of theSiwa kingdom, is a commander in thePandava army while Bhurishravas is one of the eleven commanders of theKaurava army.[3]
On the 14th day of the battle, Bhurishravas is stationed inDronacharya's formation, attempting to stopArjuna from reachingJayadratha. As Satyaki andBhima come to support Arjuna, Bhurishravas abandons his position and challenges Satyaki. Already tired from battling Drona and navigating his formation, Satyaki begins to falter after a long and bloody battle. Their weapons destroyed, the fighting turns tohand-to-hand combat. Bhurishravas pummels Satyaki and drags him across the battlefield.
Arjuna is alerted to Satyaki's danger byKrishna. Just as Bhurishravas is preparing to kill Satyaki, Arjuna comes to the rescue, shooting an arrow cutting off Bhurishravas's arm.[1][2] Bhurishravas wails that by striking him from behind and without a formal challenge, Arjuna has disgraced the honor between warriors.[2]
At this point, laying down his weapons, he begins to meditateyoga.[1][2] But Satyaki then emerges from his swoon and swiftly decapitates his enemy.[1][2] Warriors on both sides of the battle condemn Satyaki for this act[1] - one of the incidents in the epic showing the superiority ofdharma and honor against the uncontrollable power of hatred.[2]
Symbolically, as Bhurishravas's attempts to kill the unarmed Satyaki immediately result in his own death in the same manner, Bhurishravas can be seen as representing the binding effects of one's material actions (karma).[5]
Years later, Bhurishravas's death would be used byKritavarma to insult Satyaki. In the resulting fight, Satyaki (as well as the remainingYadavas) perishes.[3]
Bhurishravas's two sons Pratipa and Parjanya are killed byAbhimanyu. His daughter Kumbhaka marriesDrupada's son Satyajit and has two sons after the war; the first becomes a sage and married Pragati,(daughter ofDraupadi and Arjun) while the second son marries Pratip's daughter and inherits theBahlika throne.
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