Irāvanta
Irāvanta was the son of Arjuna and Ulūpī, the Nāga princess whom Arjuna married during his years in exile. He fought on the Pāṇḍava side at Kurukshetra. On the eighth day of the war he was killed by Alambusha, a rākshasa who fought for the Kaurava side, through the power of māyā (magic).
Birth and family
Irāvanta was born to Arjuna and Ulūpī, the daughter of the Nāga king. Arjuna went on tīrtha-yātrā (a journey to holy places) after he had violated Dharmarāja’s space. In the course of it he went to the Nāgaloka, the realm of the Nāgas (serpent-people). There he met and married Ulūpī, and Irāvanta was born of that marriage.
His mother Ulūpī raised him in the Nāgaloka. He was part human and part Nāga. Through his father he was a Pāṇḍava, and through his mother he came of the Nāga line.
Through his father he was the half-brother of Abhimanyu, though their mothers were from different families. When the war at Kurukshetra drew near, Irāvanta came from the Nāgaloka to fight for his father Arjuna and the Pāṇḍava cause.
The eighth day
On the eighth day of the war Irāvanta fought with great force on the Pāṇḍava side. Before his own death he killed the six brothers of Śakuni. They were Gāndhāra princes who had come to fight with the Kaurava army. Their names were Gaja, Gavāksha, Vṛshabha, Carmavān, Ārjuna and Śuka. Their death was a heavy blow to the Gāndhāra troops.
After this, Alambusha came against Irāvanta. Alambusha was a powerful rākshasa who fought for Duryodhana. He was a master of māyā, the magic of the rākshasa race. He used the Garuḍa-māyā: he took the form of Garuḍa, the great eagle who is the enemy of the Nāgas. Irāvanta was a Nāga on his mother Ulūpī’s side, and he was overcome by this form.
Irāvanta was killed in spite of his courage. His death filled the Pāṇḍava army with grief. Ghaṭotkaca then took up the fight against Alambusha.
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Bhīshma Parva, Chapter 90