Vrishaketu ( sa, वृषकेतु ) is a figure 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 ...

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

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 ...

''. He was the son of

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 Vrushali and also the youngest of Karna's sons. He was the only surviving son of Karna as he didn't participate because of his young age. After

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 ...

got to know that Karna was his brother, he trained Vrishaketu. Later he was made the king of

Anga Anga (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the Āṅgeyas. Counted among the "sixteen great nations" in Buddhist texts ...

Legends

Vrishaketu was the youngest son of

. He is the only son of karna to survive the Mahabharat war. Once Karna's identity was revealed, he was taken under the patronage of the

Pandava 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 ...

s. He was the last mortal who had the knowledge of Divyastras like

Brahmastra In Hindu mythology, the ''Brahmastra'' (IAST: ''Brahmāstra'') is an '' astra'' (weapon) that is said to be able to destroy the whole universe, capable of destroying creation and vanquishing all beings. Only Parasurama, Rama, Meghnada, Bhisma, ...

and

Varunastra The ''Varunastra'' (Sanskrit वरुणास्त्र) is the water weapon (a storm) according to the Indian scriptures, incepted by Varuna, god of hydrosphere. In stories, it is said to assume any weapon's shape, just like water. Upon usa ...

. It is said that all the Pandavas especially

had great affection towards him. So Arjun taught him all the skills of archery. Krishna asked Vrishaketu for something; Vrishaketu told him he will give him whatever he asks for; and Krishna asked him to not teach anybody the knowledge of divine and celestial weapons. Of the 9 sons of Karna, only the youngest son Vrishaketu survived the

war. After the war when Pandavas became aware of Karna's lineage, Pandavas gave Vrishaketu kingdom of

and he remained under the patronage of Arjuna. Before Ashwamedha Yagna, he took part in Arjuna's several war against other kings.Himanshu Agarwal, 2016
Mahabharata Retold: Part - 1
Notion Press. Vrishaketu was an active participant in

Yudhishthira ''Yudhishthira'' (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira'') is the eldest among the five Pandava brothers. He is mentioned in the ancient epic Mahabharata. He was sired by King Pandu of the Kuru Dynasty and his first w ...

Ashvamedha The Ashvamedha ( sa, अश्वमेध, aśvamedha, translit-std=IAST) was a horse sacrifice ritual followed by the Śrauta tradition of Vedic religion. It was used by ancient Indian kings to prove their imperial sovereignty: a horse accomp ...

yagna. During the campaign, he married the daughter of King Yavanata. Later in the conquest both Vrishaketu and Arjuna were killed by

Babruvahana In the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata'', Babruvahana ( sa, बब्रुवाहन) is the son of Arjuna, a Pandava prince, and Chitrangada, the princess of Manalura. Babruvahana was adopted as the heir of Manalura by his maternal grandfath ...

, Arjun was revived by Krishna using a Nagmani. and Vrishaketu was revived by Krishna and was made the king of

References

Bibliography

* Laura Gibbs, PhD. Modern Languages MLLL-4993. Indian Epics. * Dowson's Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology

External Links

Glossary of Terms in Indian Scriptures
S

Characters in the Mahabharata {{Hindu-myth-stub