Vrishasena
In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Vrishasena (Sanskrit: वृषसेन, romanized: Vṛṣasena) was the eldest son of the warrior Karna.[1] Along with his father, he fought in the Kurukshetra War from the side of the Kauravas and faced many prominent warriors like Draupadeyas, Drupada, Dhrishtadyumna, Nakula, Sahadeva, Virata, Satanika and many more.[2]
| Vrishasena | |
|---|---|
 A Pahari painting by Nainsukh illustrating Vrishasena (seated fourth from the left) alongside other notable Kaurava allies. | |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Kshatriya |
| Family | Karna (father) Chitrasena, Dvipata, Satyasena, Sushena, Shatrunjaya, Banasena, Prasena, Vrishaketu (brothers) |
Kurukshetra War
[edit]During the Kurukshetra war, Karna did not take part for the first ten days due to the dispute he had with Bhishma. After Bhishma's fall on the 10th day of the war, Karna and his sons, including Vrishasena, joined the war on the 11th day and fought against the Pandavas.
11th day
[edit]On the 11th day of the war, Vrishasena overwhelmed Satanika, the son of Nakula in a single combat, and afterwards fought against the other Draupadeyas and defeated them all. Then he fought against Sahadeva where he broke his bow and made him unconscious. Finally Satyaki rescued Sahadeva.[3]
12th day
[edit]On 12th day of war he attacked the Matsya forces of Pandava army and created havoc by defeating King Virata and wounds him badly. Seeing this Abhimanyu came in aid of Virata and a fierce duel took place between Vrishasena and Abhimanyu.Vrishasena pierced Abhimanyu's chest and his thighs with couple of arrows but finally Abhimanyu managed to break his bow and defeated him.
14th day
[edit]On the night of the 14th day, Vrishasena engaged in a single combat against Drupada, the King of Panchala, and defeated him.[4] Following, Drupada's defeat, he defeated Drupada's son Dhrishtadyumna commander in chief of Pandava army and made Drupada and Dhrishtadyumna to retreat.
15th day
[edit]On the 15th day of the war, Vrishasena and Nakula later engaged in a single combat against Pandava warrior like Nakula and destroyed his chariot.[5] After that, Nakula mounted on Bhima's chariot, but Vrishasena continued to strike both of them, he broke Bhima's bow and pierced Bhima's chest with numerous sharp arrows.
17th day
[edit]After Drona was killed on Day 15, Karna became commander of the Kaurava army on Day 16. On Day 17, Karna was determined to defeat Arjuna. Vrishasena, Karna's son, was fighting alongside him. During the battle, Vrishasena fought Nakula. He was a formidable warrior and managed to overpower/wound Nakula. Nakula then moved away from the immediate fight. When Arjuna saw Nakula being defeated, he became furious and told Krishna that Vrishasena should be stopped. Arjuna then challenged Vrishasena. The Mahabharata describes Arjuna attacking Vrishasena with his arrows. Arjuna first destroyed Vrishasena's bow and weapons, and then continued attacking him. Finally, Arjuna shot arrows that cut off Vrishasena's arms and head, killing him on the battlefield. This happened in front of Karna.
References
[edit]- ↑ "The Vishnu Purana: Book IV: Chapter XVIII". www.sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- ↑ Mani, Vettam (1975). Puranic encyclopaedia : a comprehensive dictionary with special reference to the epic and Puranic literature. Robarts - University of Toronto. Delhi : Motilal Banarsidass. p. 883.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link) - ↑ "The Mahabharata, Book 7: Drona Parva, Dronabhisheka Parva, Section XVI".
- ↑ "The Mahabharata, Book 7: Drona Parva, Ghatotkacha-Vadha Parva, Section CLXVIII". www.sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- ↑ "The Mahabharata, Book 8: Karna Parva, Section 84". www.sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
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