Koṭikāsya

Koṭikāsya was a kshatriya king, the first among the Śibī warriors who followed Jayadratha. He was the son of Suratha. His story is in the Vana Parva of the Mahābhārata, Chapters 264–265 and 271.

Jayadratha saw Draupadī alone at the āśrama (hermitage) of the Pāṇḍavas in Kāmyakavana, and desire overcame him. He sent Koṭikāsya to her as his envoy, to learn who she was and to speak for Jayadratha. In a long speech in Chapter 265, Koṭikāsya named the kings who rode with Jayadratha and tried to persuade her to accept him. When the Pāṇḍavas chased the retreating army (Chapter 271), Bhīmasena first killed Koṭikāsya’s charioteer and then killed Koṭikāsya with a prāsa (a javelin).

Who he was

The Vana Parva names him as a leading king among the Śibī warriors in Jayadratha’s company:

śibīnāṃ koṭikāsyaḥ

This means that Koṭikāsya was the foremost of the Śibīs. He gives his own name and father when he speaks to Draupadī:

sūrathani putruḍanu — nannu koṭikāsyuḍantāru

This means “I am the son of Suratha; they call me Koṭikāsya.”

Jayadratha was full of desire when he saw Draupadī at the entrance of the āśrama. He turned to Koṭikāsya and sent him as his envoy. Koṭikāsya was to find out who the woman was, whether she was a human being or a divine being, and whether she would be willing to go with Jayadratha.

The embassy to Draupadī (Chapter 265)

Koṭikāsya got down from his chariot and went to Draupadī. The text compares his way of speaking to a jackal approaching a lioness:

nakka āḍapulitō māṭlāḍinaṭlu

He spoke with much flattery. He marvelled at her beauty and compared her to a divine being. He asked whether she was a devī, a yakshiṇī, a rākshasī, an apsarā, a nāga princess, or a woman of divine birth. Then he named himself and described the company with him:

  • Himself: Koṭikāsya, son of Suratha.
  • The king in the golden chariot, shining like a consecrated fire: Kshemaṃkara, king of the Trigartas.
  • Beside him, a handsome warrior with a great bow and flower garlands: the son of the Kulinda king.
  • The dark and handsome warrior standing near the lake: the son of Subala, of the Ikshvāku line.
  • The twelve princes of the Sauvīra country, in chariots with red horses, blazing like fire, who followed Jayadratha and carried his standards: Aṅgāraka, Kuñjara, Guptaka, Śatruṃjaya, Sañjaya, Suprasiddha, Bhayaṃkara, Bhramara, Ravi, Śūra, Pratāpa and Kuhaka.
  • The great Jayadratha himself, Saindhava, king of the Sindhu country, with six thousand chariots, and with elephants, horses and foot soldiers.

Draupadī, as a pativratā (wife devoted to her husband), did not answer his offer. The event then led to Jayadratha’s abduction of her.

Death in battle (Chapter 271)

The Pāṇḍavas caught up with Jayadratha’s retreating army, and the battle began. Nakula, with his sword, cut off the trunk and tusks of Suratha’s elephant, and it crashed to the ground. As Jayadratha’s forces broke, Bhīmasena first killed Koṭikāsya’s charioteer. The chariot now had no driver, and its horses ran in all directions out of control. Koṭikāsya was left open to attack. Bhīmasena came upon him and killed him with a prāsa.

Sources

  • Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 264–265
  • Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 271