Bahlika (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

: बाह्लिक), also spelled as Vahlika, was the king of Bahlika kingdom. He was the elder brother of Shantanu, who was a king of

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 uncle of

Bhishma Bhishma ( Sanskrit: भीष्‍म, , ), also known as Pitamaha, Gangaputra, and Devavrata, played an integral role in Mahabharata. He was the supreme commander of the Kaurava forces during the Kurukshetra War mentioned in the Hindu epi ...

. He was the oldest warrior to fight 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 ...

. He had a son, Somadatta and a daughter Pauravi, and grandsons,

Bhurishravas 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 96Google books linkaccessed May ...

, Bhuri and Shala by his son and Avagaha and Nandaka were the grandsons by his daughter, Somadatta had a daughter who married the Kashi king Abhibhu , who along with him fought on the side of the Kaurava army in the

. He was slain by

Bhima In Hindu epic Mahabharata, Bhima ( sa, भीम, ) is the second among the five Pandavas. The '' Mahabharata'' relates many events that portray the might of Bhima. Bhima was born when Vayu, the wind god, granted a son to Kunti and Pandu. ...

on the 14th day of the war when it continued after sunset. According to

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 fir ...

, Bahlika's only wish was that there should be peace among the Bhāratas.Ganguli, Kisari Mohan. The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose by Kisari Mohan Ganguli. He is mentioned in the Hindu 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 K ...

Kuru Prince and accession to the throne

Bahlika was the second of the three sons of

Pratipa Pratipa ( sa, प्रतीप, translit=Pratīpa) is a legendary king in Hinduism. He is the king of Hastinapura and a member of the Lunar dynasty. He is the father of Shantanu and the grandfather of Bhishma, Chitrangada, and Vichitravirya. T ...

and his wife Sunanda, the king and queen of

. With his eldest son Devapi set to inherit, Pratipa gifted some newly-conquered land (though in some versions of the story, this is the land Jarasandha gifted Bahlika for agreeing not to join

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 ...

in a war against Magdha) to his second son; the land was given the name Bahlika as a result. However, due to leprosy, Pratipa's eldest son Devapi refused to ascend the throne and retired into the woods to perform

penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of repentance for sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. It also plays a part ...

. Bahlika was next in line to ascend the throne but felt that he would be an inadequate emperor, having never been raised as such. Shantanu then became the crown prince and upon Pratipa's death became the king of Hastinapur, with Bahlika's blessing.

Before the Kurukshetra War

Bahlika is present at the Rangboomi where Kurus show the skills they had learned from Dronacharya and

Kripacharya 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 ...

. He is also present at Yudhishthira's appointment as the crown prince. When Yudhishthira does the

Rajasuya Rajasuya () is a Śrauta ritual of the Vedic religion. It is ceremony that marks a consecration of a king. According to the Puranas, it refers to a great sacrifice performed by a Chakravarti - universal monarch, in which the tributary princes ma ...

sacrifice in order to become an emperor, it is

Nakula In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, ''Nakula'' (Sanskrit: नकुल) was fourth of the five Pandava brothers. Nakula and Sahadeva were twins blessed to Madri, by Ashwini Kumaras, the divine physicians. Their parents Pandu and Madri - died e ...

who extends a challenge/request to his great-grandfather's brother. Bahlika willingly accepted Yudhishthira's authority and attends the coronation, gifting him a chariot that was made from pure gold. Bahlika along with his family attended the game of dice between

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. Bei ...

and Yudhishthira.

During the Kurukshetra War

Bahlika and his kingdom fought on the side of Duryodhana during the war.

considered him to be an ''Atirathi''. On the first day, Bahlika fought against

Dhrishtaketu Chedi ( sa, चेदी) was a kingdom which fell roughly in the Bundelkhand division of Madhya Pradesh regions to the south of river Yamuna along the river Ken. Its capital city was called Suktimati in Sanskrit. According to the Mahabhar ...

. On the ninth day,

destroyed Bahlika's chariot; however, he was saved by

Laxmana Lakshmana ( sa, लक्ष्मण, lit=the fortunate one, translit=Lakṣmaṇa), also spelled as Laxmana, is the younger brother of Rama and his loyalist in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He bears the epithets of Saumitra () and Ramanuja (). ...

. On the thirteenth day, he participated in the killing of

Abhimanyu Abhimanyu is a legendary warrior from the ancient Hindu history ''Mahabharata''. He was born to the third Pandava prince Arjuna and the Yadu princess Subhadra, who was Krishna's younger sister. The ''Sambhava Parva'' of the Adi Parva states ...

(he is not mentioned as an active participant, and is assumed to be a silent bystander). On the fourteenth day, he fought against the Upapandavas and Shikhandi, simultaneously, resisting them.

Death

On the fourteenth day of the war, Bahlika slew Senavindu. Afterwards,

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 ...

battled Bahlika's son Somadatta and knocked him unconscious with his arrows. Furious, Bahlika rushed to his son's aid, only to be counter-checked by Bhima. Bahlika struck Bhima with a dart that made him delirious. Upon recovering his senses, Bhima hurled a mace at Bahlika's head, killing him. The war would extinguish Bahlika's line. His only child and heir, Somadatta, as well as Somadatta's oldest son,

, were killed by

. In the Chatahurdi compilation, Bhurishravas's nine interpolated brothers die as well. Bhurishravas's two sons, Pratipa and Prajanya, were killed by Abhimanyu on the thirteenth day of the war.

References

{{Mahabharata Characters in the Mahabharata