Bṛhatkshatra
Bṛhatkshatra fought on the Pāṇḍava side in the Kurukshetra war. The Droṇa Parva calls him the king of the Kekayas. It says Droṇācārya killed him with the Brahmāstra. The Bhīshma Parva tells that on the first day of the war he fought Kṛpācārya.
Who he was
Bṛhatkshatra was the ruling king of the Kekaya realm, a kingdom in the north-west of Āryāvarta. He was one of the kings allied with the Pāṇḍavas. He brought the Kekaya forces to Kurukshetra.
The first day of battle
The Bhīshma Parva names Bṛhatkshatra as a Pāṇḍava-allied warrior. On the first day, when the two armies met for the first time, he fought Kṛpācārya, the Kaurava teacher. Kṛpa is one of the Saptacirañjīvins (the seven who live forever) and a mahāratha of long experience. His fight with Kṛpa shows that Bṛhatkshatra was thought able to face the oldest and most senior Kaurava warriors. On the first day many such duels took place at the same time as the great armies first clashed.
His death
Droṇācārya killed Bṛhatkshatra with the Brahmāstra, one of the greatest divine weapons, in the battles of the Droṇa Parva. With his death the Kekaya group left the Pāṇḍava forces.
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Bhīshma Parva, Chapters 43–122
- Mahābhārata, Droṇa Parva