Yuyutsu

Yuyutsu (Sanskrit: युयुत्सु) in the Hindu epic Mahabharata was a son of Dhritarashtra with Gandhari's maid Sughada. He was the paternal half - sibling to Gandhari's children: Duryodhana and the rest of the 100 Kaurava brothers and their sister Dushala. Eventually, he was the only son of Dhritarashtra who survived the Kurukshetra war. He was the only Kaurava to fight for Pandavas.

Yuyutsu
Mahabharata character
Contemporary watercolor painting of Yuyutsu
In-universe information
WeaponBow and arrows
FamilyDhritrashtra (Father), Sughada (Mother), Gandhari (Step-mother), Half siblings including Duryodhana, Dushasana, Dushala and Vikarna

Etymology

The word yuyutsu is not a adjective formed from the desiderative stem of the verb root "yudh" (fight, wage war), meaning "wishing to fight, bellicose." The Mahabharata cites the following other names for Yuyutsu- [1]

  • Dhārtarāstra (धार्तराष्ट्र) - son of Dhritarashtra
  • Kauravya (कौरव्य) - descendant of Kuru
  • Vaishyaputra (वैश्यपुत्र) - son of a Vaishya woman

Birth

Fearing problems with Gandhari's pregnancy which had continued for almost two years, Dhritrashtra had a child from Sughada, a woman from Vaishya Varna, who is lady in waiting to Gandhari. Yuyutsu was born at the same time as Duryodhana and Bhima and was elder to Dushasana, other Kauravas and Dussala. Thus, Dhritarashtra had 102 children.[2]

Righteous in the Kaurava camp

Yuyutsu is celebrated as a moral warrior who chose the path of righteousness, in spite of being born in circumstances that predisposed him to evil. He forwent his family bonds in order to side with dharma.

Also, Yuyutsu saved the life of Bhima by informing the Pandavas about Duryodhana's cunning schemes, which included poisoning water.[3][4] Both Yuyutsu and Vikarna abhorred Duryodhana's conspiracies and evil schemes; however, Vikarna stays loyal to the family and perishes in the war.[5] Yuyutsu shifts from Kaurava camp to the Pandava camp. Yuyutsu fought the battle on the side of the Pandavas. He was one among the 11 Maharathis (capable of fighting 720,000 warriors simultaneously) among the Kauravas. Yuyutsu was one among the eleven warriors to have survived the war.[6]

After the War

After the War, he was made the king of Indraprastha. When the Pandavas decided to retire from the world at the start of the Kali Yuga and departure of Krishna, Yudhishthira gave the charge of supervising the kingdom to Yuyutsu while Parikshit was made the king[7][8]

Citations
  1. Parmeshwaranand, Swami (2001). Encyclopaedic dictionary of Purāṇas (1st ed.). New Delhi: Sarup & Sons. ISBN 9788176252263.
  2. Kapoor, edited by Subodh (2002). The Indian encyclopaedia : biographical, historical, religious, administrative, ethnological, commercial and scientific (1st ed.). New Delhi: Cosmo Publications. ISBN 9788177552577.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  3. Menon, [translated by] Ramesh (2006). The Mahabharata : a modern rendering. New York: iUniverse, Inc. ISBN 9780595401871.
  4. "Mahabharata Text".
  5. Yuyutsu was one of the 11 who managed to survive the war
  6. Buck, William. Mahabharata. p. 327. ISBN 9788120817197.
  7. Parmeshwaranand, Swami (1 January 2001). Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Puranas. Sarup & Sons. ISBN 9788176252263.
  8. Brodbeck, Simon Pearse (2009). The Mahābhārata patriline : gender, culture, and the royal hereditary. Farnham, England: Ashgate. ISBN 9780754667872.
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