Śailūsha, King of the Gandharvas

Śailūsha was the powerful king of the gandharvas. He ruled the north-western lands beyond Gandhāra, on both sides of the Sindhu river. In the Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa he is the chief opponent in the story of Bharata and Vaijayantī. He was hostile to the kingdom of Bhagavān Rāma, so Bhagavān Rāma sent Bharata with a great army. His wise minister Nāḍāyana urged peace and explained who the four brothers truly are. Śailūsha still chose war. He fell on the seventh day of battle, killed by Bharata’s Rudrāstra. His people were then settled under his grandson on the Gandhamādana mountain.

Śailūsha’s kingdom and family line

Śailūsha and his family had long held the gandharva lands of the north-west. These lands lay beyond the kingdom of Gandhāra and the river Sindhu and reached toward the western ocean. The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa gives the origin of Śailūsha’s vaṃśa (family line) in Chapter 201.

Gandharvas are divine beings, musicians and warriors, who stand between the devas and humans. Their music is divine, their fighting is fierce, and their māyā (power of illusion) lets them fight in ways that ordinary warriors cannot match. Śailūsha was their king.

The war council and Nāḍāyana’s warning

Bharata’s great army reached Rājagṛha, and war could no longer be avoided. Śailūsha called together his sons and commanders. His sons spoke with a gandharva’s pride about their fighting powers, their māyā and their confidence.

The wise gandharva Nāḍāyana gave very different advice. He said that Rāma is the avatāra (descent) of Vāsudeva and that Bharata is an aṃśa (portion) of Saṃkarshaṇa. No battle against the four brothers could be won. He urged Śailūsha to make peace.

Śailūsha listened but would not yield. He chose war. This is told in Chapters 210–212.

The seven-day battle

Śailūsha was a strong opponent through the seven days of the campaign.

On Day 2, he and Bharata fought their first full duel. Each broke the other’s bows again and again, and both fought with great courage. Śailūsha cut Bharata’s crown. Both went back at sunset.
On Day 4, he used his māyā and vanished from the battlefield, which confused his enemies.
On Day 6, Śailūsha shot Bharata in the heart and made him faint. This was the closest he came to victory.
On Day 7, the two agreed to fight alone. Śailūsha used māyā-yuddha (battle by illusion) through the night, with darkness, ghost animals and huge stores of weapons. Bharata’s divine astras (weapons) met all of them. At last Bharata’s Rudrāstra pierced Śailūsha’s golden armour and stopped his heart.

Śailūsha died on his chariot, his bow slipping from his hands, a warrior’s death in single combat. This is told in Chapters 261–266.

Death and aftermath

Śailūsha’s son attacked at once when his father fell, showing courage and love for his father. But Bharata’s Kālāstra scattered the whole remaining gandharva army.

The chief gandharva Citraratha came and comforted the grieving women of the gandharva court. He gave Śailūsha the proper funeral rites with sandalwood, aguru and ghee, as was fitting for a king. The gandharvas, led by Citraratha and guided by Bharata’s kind direction, moved to the Gandhamādana mountain. Śailūsha’s own grandson was made their chief. This is told in Chapters 266–268.

The lament of Śailūsha’s wives

Chapter 268 has the lament of Śailūsha’s wives and the wives of the fallen gandharva warriors on the battlefield. They cried out to Śailūsha. They could not understand how the great king, who had defeated devas and human kings, now lay still on the ground.

You who drove away the pride of many kings and devas, now you have been laid low by a single human. Nāḍāyana warned you; you did not listen. Rise! We are here, embrace us! But Kṛtānta (Death) has taken you and you cannot return.

Sources

Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapters 201–269