Uttamaujas ( sa, उत्तमौजस्) and Yudhamanyu ( sa, युधामन्यु) are two brothers from the Panchala kingdom featured in the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

epic ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

''. In some versions of the epic, they were the sons of Panchala king

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 wa ...

and thus the brothers of

Draupadi Draupadi ( sa, द्रौपदी, draupadī, Daughter of Drupada), also referred to as Krishnaa, Panchali, and Yagyaseni, is the main female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata,'' and the common consort of the five Pandava brothers ...

. During 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 ...

, they became the bodyguards of

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 Panda ...

and fought a battle against

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 ...

Legend

The names of Uttamaujas and his brother Yudhamanyu are mentioned in the Mahabharata. They are was the incarnations of the adityas named

Amshuman Anshuman () is a king of the Suryavamsha dynasty in Hinduism. The son of Asamanjasa, Anshuman becomes the king of Ayodhya after the death of his grandfather, King Sagara. Anshuman's grandson, Bhagiratha, brings the flow of the Ganges down f ...

and

Aryaman Aryaman () is one of the early Vedic Hindu deities. His name signifies "Life-Partner", "close friend", "Partner", "play-fellow" or "companion".Monier-Williams Sanskrit Dictionary He is the third son of Kashyapa and Aditi, the father and mothe ...

. Once, Uttamaujas and his brother Yudhamanyu while

was giving a list of twenty great and important charioteers (

Maharathis Hindu mythological wars are the wars described in the Hindu texts of ancient India. These wars depicted both mortals of great prowess as well as deities and supernatural beings, often wielding supernatural weapons of great power. Hindu teac ...

) that were taking part in the war on behalf of the

Pandavas The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledg ...

Sloka no. 6 of Srimad Bhagavat Gita –First Chapter According to the

, they were brothers and princes from the royal clan of the Panchalas. The name of the king of Southern Panchala, at that time, was

. Their role and duties are mentioned at various places in the Mahabharata. Both were engaged as body guards of

initially. Yudhamanyu was deployed as the protector of the left wheel of the chariot of Arjuna, while Uttamaujas was posted as the protector of the right wheel. Later they were asked to protect the chariot at the rear. On their way to meet Arjuna, they were stopped by King

and engaged in a fierce battle.

Battle

At the time of the Chakravyuha (formation like a wheel), the two Panchala brothers wanted to meet Arjuna who was away from the battlefield and apprise him of the grave situation. As they could not pierce the Chakravyuha, they tried to bypass the

Kuru Kuru may refer to: Anthropology and history * Kuru (disease), a type of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy associated with the cannibalistic funeral practices of the Fore people * Kuru (mythology), part of Meithei mythology * Kuru Kingdom, ...

army. Duryodhana observed them and engaged them in battle. The brothers attacked Duryodhana with twenty arrows, and his horses with four more. Duryodhana demolished Yudhamanyu's standard with a single arrow, his bow with another arrow and finally felled Yudhamanyu's charioteer with a wedge headed arrow, stunning but not killing him. Uttamaujas killed Duryodhana's charioteer with gold embellished arrows. In retaliation, Duryodhana killed the four horses of Uttamaujas' chariot and also killed his two charioteers. Uttamaujas jumped from his now useless chariot and clambered into his brother's chariot. Seeing that Duryodhana was marching towards them with his gada (mace), both the brothers jumped out of their chariot and drove away in two other chariots to meet Arjuna. During the

Kurukshetra Kurukshetra (, ) is a city and administrative headquarter 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 Pura ...

war, Uttamaujas fought many great warriors of the enemy camp such as

Drona Droṇa ( sa, द्रोण, Droṇa), also referred to as Dronacharya ( sa, द्रोणाचार्य, Droṇācārya), is a major character of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he serves as the royal preceptor of the Kaurav ...

Ashwatthama In the Hinduism, Hindu epic the ''Mahabharata'', Ashwatthama ( sa, अश्वत्थामा, Aśvatthāmā) or Drauni was the son of guru Drona and Kripi (sister of Kripa, Kripacharya). He was the grandson of the sage Bharadwaja. Ashwa ...

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 son o ...

Karna Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: ''Karṇa''), also known as Vasusena, Anga-raja, and Radheya, is one of the main protagonists of the Hindu epic '' Mahābhārata''. He is the son of the sun god Surya and princess Kunti (mother of the ...

, and

Kripa Kripa ( sa, कृप, Kṛpa, pity), also known as Kripacharya ( sa, कृपाचार्य, Kṛpācārya, Kripa the master), is a figure in Hindu mythology. According to the epic ''Mahabharata'', he was a council member of Kuru Kingdo ...

. They accompanied the Pandavas when they went in search of Duryodhana who was hiding in a lake. They were brutally murdered by

at midnight after the war ended on the eighteenth day, while they were sleeping in the Pandava camp. Yudhisthira cremated them along with the dead warriors of both the camps.

References

* Commentary on Bhagavad Gita by Sri Jayadayal Goyandaka, Srimad Bhavat Gita Tatva vivechan (Telugu and Hindi),Gita Press, Gorakhpur, Third Edition, 2001.
Press-com/2010/08/04 The Complete Mahabharata, Volume 6, Drona Parva
By Sri S.B.Pillay (2014) {{Mahabharata Characters in the Mahabharata Characters in Hindu mythology