Durmukha
Durmukha was one of the hundred sons of Dhṛtarāshṭra. He was a Kaurava prince and warrior. He took part in the Uttara Gograhaṇa, the great Kaurava army’s cattle raid on the northern herds of Virāṭa’s kingdom of Matsya. This happened during the Pāṇḍavas’ ajñātavāsa (the year they lived unrecognised). He is named among the Kaurava commanders who gathered for that campaign, and he was overcome in battle by Arjuna.
Who he was
Durmukha is counted among the Kaurava warrior-princes, the sons of Dhṛtarāshṭra, who took part in the main military campaigns of the Kaurava court. He was present in the great Kaurava army that set out on the Uttara Gograhaṇa. That army included the most famous mahārathas (great chariot warriors) of the age: Bhīshma, Droṇa, Karṇa, Kṛpa, Aśvatthāmā and Duryodhana himself.
The Uttara Gograhaṇa
Durmukha is named among the Kaurava forces who advanced on Virāṭa’s northern herds. At the same time Suśarman’s Trigarta army raided the south. This was a joint plan to draw out the Pāṇḍavas, in case they were hiding in the Matsya kingdom.
Arjuna was disguised as the eunuch Bṛhannaḷā. He showed who he truly was and entered the battle alone against the whole army. Durmukha was among the Kaurava commanders whom Arjuna fought and overcame. (Mahābhārata, Virāṭa Parva, Chapter 35)
Gāndhārī’s lament in the Strī Parva
In the Strī Parva (the Strī Vilāpa Parva), Gāndhārī walks over the field and looks at the fallen Kaurava warriors. She stops before the body of Durmukha and speaks to Kṛshṇa. She says: “Here is Durmukha. He kept his oath, did not show his back to the enemy, and killed many enemies. Now he lies fallen on the ground.”
Wild beasts have torn at his body, yet his face still shines on the battlefield like the moon of the seventh day. Gāndhārī wonders at such radiance in death and at such courage, and yet he fell. She asks how the enemies could have killed one who could have defeated even the devas. (Mahābhārata, Strī Parva, Chapters 16–25, the lament at Chapter 18/19)
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Virāṭa Parva, Chapter 35
- Mahābhārata, Strī Parva, Chapters 16–25