Bhoorishravas (Sanskrit: भूरिश्रवस् / भूरिश्रवा) 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'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

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 Shantanu (Sanskrit: शंतनु) is a character in the Mahabharata, described as the ruler of the Kuru Kingdom with his capital at Hastinapura. He was a descendant of the Bharata race, a forebear of the lineage of the Lunar dynasty, and th ...

. He had 3 children: Pratip, Prayanja and an unnammed daughter. Bhurishravas' father, Somadatta, once clashed with another prince called Sini. When

Devaki Devaki (Sanskrit: देवकी, IAST: ''Devakī'') is a character in Hindu literature, most noted for being the mother of the god Krishna. She is one of the seven daughters of Devapa or Devaka, a king of the Yadu dynasty, and has four br ...

, the mother of

Lord 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 one of ...

, 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 According to Hindu scriptures, Vasudeva (Sanskrit: वसुदेव, IAST: ''Vasudeva''), also called Anakadundubhi, (''anakas'' and ''dundubhis'' both refer to ''drums'', after the musicians who played these instruments at the time of his ...

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 (Hindi: भौर सैदां), named after Bhurishravas is located 22 km from Kurukshetra and 13 km from

Thanesar Thanesar city or old Kurukshetra city is a historic town and an important Hindu pilgrimage centre in Kurukshetra district of the state of Haryana in northern India. It is located in Kurukshetra district, approximately 160 km northwest of D ...

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

pilgrimage sites in Kurukshetra in the Indian state of

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...

Family lineage

Bhurishrava is a Kuru prince, the grandson of Bahlika. Bhurishrava takes part in the Kurukshetra War 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 wi ...

side.

Role in the war

By the time of the

Battle of Kurukshetra 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 ...

, Sini's grandson

Satyaki Yuyudhana ( sa, युयुधान, '), better known as Satyaki ( sa, सात्यकि, ), was a powerful Yadava chieftain of Narayani Sena, belonging to the Vrishni clan to which Krishna also belonged. According to the Puranas, he was ...

, 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 from reaching Jayadratha. As Satyaki and Bhima 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. Bhurishravas pummels Satyaki and drags him across the battlefield. Arjuna is alerted to Satyaki's danger by

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 one ...

. 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. In turn, Arjuna rebukes Bhurishravas for attempting to kill an unarmed, unconscious Satyaki. Arjuna also criticizes Bhurishravas for partaking in the killing of Abhimanyu on the 13th day. At this point, realizing his folly, Bhurishravas hangs his head in shame. Laying down his weapons, he begins to meditate

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consci ...

. 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 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 (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means 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 descriptivel ...

).'' 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 The Yadava (literally, descended from Yadu) were an ancient Indian people who believed to be descended from Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the Abhira, Andhaka, Vrishni, and S ...

) perishes.

Descendants

Bhurishravas's two sons are killed by Abhimanyu. His daughter marries

Drupada Drupada (Sanskrit: द्रुपद, lit. ''firm-footed'' or ''pillar''), also known as Yajnasena (Sanskrit: यज्ञसेन, lit. ''he whose army is sacrificial''), is a character in the Mahābhārata. The son of King Prishata, he was ...

's son Satyajit and has two sons after the war; the first becomes the king of

Panchal Panchal or Panchal Brahmin is a collective term for a variable range of Artisanal Indian caste groups who are Brahmins. According to Louis Dumont, it is derived from the word ''panch'', meaning ''five'', and refers to communities that have tradi ...

(possibly marrying a daughter of Draupadi) 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