Five Kekaya Brothers

The five Kekaya brothers were kings of Kekaya who fought for the Pāṇḍavas. They brought their army to the Pāṇḍava side in the war against the Kauravas. The Mahābhārata names them among the Pāṇḍava allies in the Udyoga Parva and tells of their death in the Strī Parva.

Allies at Upaplavya

Chapter 57 of the Udyoga Parva names the five Kekaya brothers among the Pāṇḍava allies. They were gathered at Upaplavya before Kṛṣṇa went as envoy to Hastināpura. Their land, Kekaya, lay in the northwest. Kaikeyī, the mother of Bharata in the solar dynasty, was of Kekaya birth.

The brothers appear in the lists of allies beside Virāṭa of Matsya and his sons, Dhṛṣṭaketu of Cedi, Sātyaki and other kings on the Pāṇḍava side. Their forces were part of the seven akṣauhiṇīs (full armies) that the Pāṇḍavas brought to Kurukṣetra. The Kauravas brought eleven.

Their fall before Droṇa

In Chapter 25 of the Strī Parva, Gāndhārī laments over the battlefield. She names the five Kekaya brothers. She says: “Facing Droṇa, the five Kekayas perished.” Their chariots were golden in colour, with tall palm-tree banners. She says that even in death the chariots shine on the ground like blazing fires. The five brothers had come with their Kekaya forces as allies of the Pāṇḍavas. They died facing Droṇācārya, the master of weapons in the war.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Udyoga Parva, Chapter 57
• Mahābhārata, Strī Parva, Chapter 25