Vrishasena

Vrishasena

Vrishasena was the son of Karna and Supriya. He was the eldest son of Karna.^[1] He was referred as Maharathi by Bhishma.^[2] With his father, he entered battle field on the 11th day of Kurukshetra war and fought for Kauravas . He was also one of the greatest archer for the Kauravas. Vrishasena was killed on the 17th day of Kurukshetra war.

Origin

Karna married Supriya on advice of his friend Duryodhana, Supriya also belonged to Shudra caste and was the servant and a very good friend to Duryodhan's wife Bhanumati. Vrishasena was born to Supriya and Karna. Karna and Supriya had nine sons. They are Vrishasena, Vrishaketu, Chitrasena, Satyasena, Sushena, Shatrunjaya, Dvipata, Banasena, and Prasena; eight of them took part in Kurukshetra war.^[3] Vrishasena was primarily trained by his father Karna. Vrishasena was expert in archery, mace and sword. Like his father, he had an interest in archery. So did, he became one of the greatest archers in Mahabharata.

Kurukshetra War

During the Kurukshetra war, Karna did not take part for the first ten days due to the dispute he had with Bhishma. Only when Bhishma fell on the tenth day, did Karna and his son Vrishasena join the Kauravas to fight against Pandavas on the eleventh day in the Kurukshetra war. Vrishasena with his archery skills displayed immense prowess in the war. He was described as one of the foremost car warriors by Bhishma before the war.^[4] Vrishasena was the youngest warrior to fight in Kurukshetra War. He was named Maharathi by Bhishma when he was fourteen years old. He single-handedly fought with the Pandava brothers and excelled them. His talent was applauded by Lord Krishna. As per advice from Lord Krishna, Arjuna attacked Vrishasena fiercely and fired four razor headed arrows, cutting off Vrishasena’s bow, his tow arms and then his head in front of his father as revenge for the part Karna took in Abhimanyu's killing.^[5][6]He also supported his father(Karna) when he is in pain due to removal of Kavach and kundal given to Indra in favour of Arjuna victory.

Popular Culture

In South India, a play was organized to narrate the heroic tale of Vrishasena.^[7]

References

1. "The Vishnu Purana: Book IV: Chapter XVIII". Sacred-texts.com.
2. "The Mahabharata, Book 5: Udyoga Parva: Uluka Dutagamana Parva: section CLXVIII". Sacred-texts.com.
3. Sons of Karna
4. "The Mahabharata, Book 5: Udyoga Parva: Uluka Dutagamana Parva: section CLXVIII". Sacred-texts.com.
5. Fall of Maharathi Vrishasena
6. "The Mahabharata, Book 8: Karna Parva: Section 85". Sacred-texts.com.
7. Yakshagana offering on Vrishasena’s heroic tale