Bhoorishravas ( / ) was a prince of a minor kingdom''Essential Hinduism'' by Steven J. Rosen and Graham M. Schweig. Greenwood Publishing, 2006, page 96
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accessed May 27, 2008. in the kingdom of Bahlika and played a role in the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

epic. Bhurishravas has many different spellings, including "Bhoorisravas(a)", "Bhurisravas(a)", "Bhurishravsa", etc. Bhurishrava was the grandson of King Bahlika, who was the elder brother of Shantanu. He had three children: Pratip, Prayanja and an unnamed daughter. Bhurishravas' father, Somadatta, once clashed with another prince called Sini. When

Devaki Devaki (Sanskrit: देवकी, International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''Devakī'') is a character in Hindu texts, Hindu literature, most noted for being the mother of the god Krishna. She is one of the seven daughters of ...

, the mother of

Lord Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is wi ...

, 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 of

Vasudeva Vasudeva (; Sanskrit: वसुदेव ), also called Anakadundubhi (''anakas'' and ''dundubhis'' both refer to ''drums'', after the musicians who played these instruments at the time of his birth), is the father of the Hindu deities Krishna ( ...

won the battle. This incident launched a hatred between the Sini and Somadatta families, leading to a generational rivalry.Mahabharata Online: Somadatta's End
accessed May 27, 2008. The Bhor Saidan village (), named after Bhurishravas is located 22 km from

Kurukshetra Kurukshetra () is a city and administrative headquarters of Kurukshetra district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is also known as Dharmakshetra ("Realm of duty") and as the "Land of the Bhagavad Gita". Legends According to the Puranas ...

and 13 km from

Thanesar Thanesar (IAST: Sthāṇvīśvara) is a historic city and Hindu pilgrimage sites, Hindu pilgrimage centre in the Kurukshetra district of Haryana, India. It is located approximately 160 km northwest of Delhi. The city Kurukshetra's area merge ...

on the Kurukshetra-Pehowa road near Bhureeshwar Temple, is one of the

pilgrimage sites in

in the Indian state of

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

Family lineage

Bhurishrava is a Kuru prince, the son of Somadatta and the grandson of Bahlika. Bhurishrava takes part in the

Kurukshetra War The Kurukshetra War (), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the Hindu Indian epic poetry, epic poem ''Mahabharata'', arising from a dynastic struggle between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, for the thr ...

from the

Kaurava ''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his ...

side. Long ago, Sini went to Devaki's Swayamvara and abducted her for the sake of

. 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. Lord

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

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.

Role in the war

By the time of the Battle of Kurukshetra, Sini's grandson

Satyaki Yuyudhana (, ), better known as Satyaki (, ), was a powerful Yadava chieftain of Narayani Sena, belonging to the Vrishni clan to which Krishna also belonged. According to the Puranas, he was the grandson of Shini of the Vrishni clan, and son of ...

, by then a king of the Siwa kingdom, is a commander in the Pandava army while Bhurishravas is one of the eleven commanders of the

army. On the 14th day of the battle, Bhurishravas is stationed in Dronacharya's formation, attempting to stop

Arjuna Arjuna (, , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, �ɾd͡ʒun̪ə is one of the central characters of the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is the third of the five Pandava brothers, and is widely regarded as the most important and renowned among them. ...

from reaching Jayadratha. As Satyaki and

Bhima Bhima (, ), also known as Bhimasena (, ), is a hero and one of the most prominent characters in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. As the second of the five Pandava brothers, Bhima was born to Kunti—the wife of King Pandu—fathered by Vayu, the ...

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 to

hand-to-hand combat Hand-to-hand combat is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of ranged weapons.Hunsicker, A., ''Advanced Skills in ...

. Bhurishravas pummels Satyaki and drags him across the battlefield. Arjuna is alerted to Satyaki's danger by

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

. Just as Bhurishravas is preparing to kill Satyaki, Arjuna comes to the rescue, shooting an arrow cutting off Bhurishravas's arm. Bhurishravas wails that by striking him from behind and without a formal challenge, Arjuna has disgraced the honor between warriors. At this point, laying down his weapons, he begins to meditate

yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

. But Satyaki then emerges from his swoon and swiftly decapitates his enemy. Warriors on both sides of the battle condemn Satyaki for this act - one of the incidents in the epic showing the superiority of

dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...

and honor against the uncontrollable power of hatred. 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 Karma (, from , ; ) is an ancient Indian concept that refers to an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called ...

).'' God Talks with Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita: A new translation and commentary'' by Paramahansa Yogananda. Self-Realization Fellowship, 1995, page 87
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accessed May 27, 2008. Years later, Bhurishravas's death would be used by Kritavarma to insult Satyaki. In the resulting fight, Satyaki (as well as the remaining Yadavas) perishes.

Descendants

Bhurishravas's two sons Pratipa and Parjanya are killed by

Abhimanyu Abhimanyu (, ) is a character in the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahābhārata''. He was a young and valiant warrior of the Kuru lineage, born to Arjuna—the third Pandava brother—and Subhadra—a Yadava princess. He was also one of the few indivi ...

. His daughter Kumbhaka marries

Drupada Drupada (), also known as Yajnasena (, ), is the king of the southern part of Panchala Kingdom, in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is the father of Draupadi, the epic's lead female character. In the Kurukshetra War as the head of 1 akshauhi ...

's son Satyajit and has two sons after the war; the first becomes a sage and married Pragati,(daughter of Draupadi and Arjun) while the second son marries Pratip's daughter and inherits the Bahlika throne.

References

External links

Mahabharata translated by C RajagopalachariMahabharata translated by C Rajagopalachari
{{Mahabharata Characters in the Mahabharata