Śrutāyudha (

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the a ...

: श्रुतायुध) is the

Kshatriya Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the co ...

(warrior) king of Kalinga (Odisha). He is the son of

Varuna Varuna (; sa, वरुण, , Malay: ''Baruna'') is a Vedic deity associated initially with the sky, later also with the seas as well as Ṛta (justice) and Satya (truth). He is found in the oldest layer of Vedic literature of Hinduism, suc ...

and his wife Parnasa.

Magical Mace

Srutayudha's mother had wished for a boon from Varuna for his son so that he could not be slayed by anyone in battle. Since he cannot grant immortality, Varuna instead presents a magical mace to Srutayudha by using which he would stay undefeated in battle. Varuna had also warned about the adverse effects of this weapon if it was used against an unarmed opponent. According to the warning, the Mace would strike back Srutyudha himself if he used it against any unarmed person.

Kurukshetra War

Kalinga is mentioned as siding with

Hastinapur Hastinapur is a city in the Meerut district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ''Hastinapura'', described in Hindu texts such as the ''Mahabharata'' and the Puranas as the capital of the Kuru Kingdom, is also mentioned in ancient Jain texts ...

and the

Kauravas ''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 ...

in the

Kurukshetra War The Kurukshetra War ( sa, कुरुक्षेत्र युद्ध ), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the ''Mahabharata ( sa, महाभारत )''. The conflict arose from a dynastic succession struggle be ...

, presumably siding with the

since his

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

was married to

Duryodhana Duryodhana ( sa, दुर्योधन, ) also known as Suyodhana, is the primary antagonist in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata.'' He was the eldest of the Kauravas, the hundred sons of the blind king Dhritarashtra and his queen Gandhari. Being ...

. Srutayudha is mentioned in

Drona Parva The Drona Parva ( sa, द्रोण पर्व), or ''the Book of Drona,'' is the seventh of eighteen books of the Indian epic Mahabharata. Drona Parva traditionally has 8 parts and 204 chapters.Ganguli, K.M. (1883-1896)Drona Parva in ''The Ma ...

as a tiger among men. On the first day of the war, he confronts

Iravan Iravan also known as Iravat and Iravant, is a minor character from the Hindu epic Mahabharata. The son of Pandava prince Arjuna (one of the main heroes of the Mahabharata) and the Naga princess Ulupi, Iravan is the central deity of the c ...

, giving a good fight, but is ultimately defeated.

The Mace Used in the Battle by Srutayudha

On the 14th day of battle, the Kamboja army division is being assailed by

Arjuna Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Pand ...

as the latter is attempting to reach the end of Drona's ''Padmavyuha''. Rescuing

Kritavarma Kritavarma ( sa, कृतवर्मा, translit=Kṛtavarmā) is a Yadava warrior in Hinduism. He appears as a minor character in the Mahabharata, fighting in the Kurukshetra war for the Kauravas. According to F.E. Pargiter, he was the so ...

, Srutayudha, from atop his elephant, challenges

, striking Arjuna with multiple arrows. However, Arjuna counters, snapping Srutayudha's bow. Filled with wrath, Srutayudha hurls his mace at

Krishna Krishna (; sa, 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 on ...

, Arjuna's unarmed charioteer. As per the conditions described by

, the mace boomerangs back on Srutyudha killing him.

References

{{Reflist Kalinga (India) History of Odisha Characters in the Mahabharata