Yudhāmanyu
Yudhāmanyu was a Pāñcāla prince and a warrior on the Pāṇḍava side. The Udyoga Parva of the Mahābhārata names him among the Pāṇḍava commanders. He is paired with Uttamauja as one of the two leading Pāñcāla warriors. Both guarded the wheels of Arjuna’s chariot at Kurukshetra.
Who he was
Yudhāmanyu was a Pāñcāla prince of the house of Drupada. The marriage of Draupadī made the Pāñcālas natural allies of the Pāṇḍavas. His name means “battle-spirited”.
In the Yānasandhi Parva
In the Udyoga Parva, in the Yānasandhi Parva (Chapters 51–55), the Pāṇḍava forces are listed at the war council at Upaplavya. Yudhāmanyu is named among the chief commanders of the Pāṇḍava array. He appears together with Uttamauja throughout these lists.
At Kurukshetra
Like Uttamauja, Yudhāmanyu was set to guard the wheels of Arjuna’s chariot. This was one of the most trusted posts in the Pāṇḍava battle formation, because Arjuna and Bhagavān Kṛshṇa, his charioteer, were the core of the Pāṇḍava effort.
His death in the Sauptika Parva
Yudhāmanyu died in the night massacre that Aśvatthāmā carried out on the sleeping Pāñcāla camp after Duryodhana’s fall. He woke to the sounds of killing and faced Aśvatthāmā directly. He struck him on the chest with a gadā (mace).
That blow would have felled any ordinary warrior, but it did not stop Aśvatthāmā. He was acting under the direct āveśa (entry and power) of Mahādeva. Aśvatthāmā seized Yudhāmanyu, threw him to the ground and killed him. Uttamauja had stood beside Yudhāmanyu as co-guardian of Arjuna’s chariot all through the war. He died the same night.
Missed by Yudhishṭhira in svarga
In the Svargārohaṇa Parva, Yudhishṭhira reached svarga (heaven) and looked in vain for those who had given their lives for his cause. He grieved aloud that he could not see the two Pāñcāla brothers Yudhāmanyu and Uttamauja among the devas and heroes there. He named them together, as he had known them in battle.
Both had given up their bodies in righteous war as guardians of the wheels of Arjuna’s chariot. Both had reached the celestial world. Yudhishṭhira saw them in their divine places once the illusory naraka was gone.
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Udyoga Parva, Yānasandhi Parva, Chapters 51–55
- Mahābhārata, Sauptika Parva, Chapter 8
- Mahābhārata, Svargārohaṇa Parva, Chapter 2