Śatānīka, brother of Virāṭa
Śatānīka was the brother of Virāṭa, the king of Matsya. He fought on the Pāṇḍava side in the war at Kurukṣetra. Bhīṣma Pitāmaha killed him on the tenth day of battle with bhalla arrows, which are broad-headed shafts.
His death was one of the large Pāṇḍava losses on the last day of Bhīṣma’s command.
Brother of Virāṭa
The Bhīṣma Parva calls Śatānīka priya-sodaruḥ, “beloved brother”, of Virāṭa, the king of the Matsya country. The Matsya royal family was closely tied to the Pāṇḍavas. The Pāṇḍavas spent their last year of hidden exile in Virāṭa’s court, and Abhimanyu married Virāṭa’s daughter Uttarā. When war came, the Matsyas joined the Pāṇḍava side as firm allies. Śatānīka came as part of the Matsya force.
He is not the same as Śveta, the son of Virāṭa, who was killed on the first day. Śatānīka was Virāṭa’s brother, not his son, and he died on the tenth day in very different circumstances.
Death on the tenth day
The tenth day of battle was the day of Bhīṣma’s fall. The fighting was at its fiercest, and both sides were strained to their limits. Bhīṣma knew this would be his last day of fighting, and he fought with full strength. Śatānīka came within range of Bhīṣma’s bow and was struck down with bhalla arrows. These are the broad-headed shafts Bhīṣma used in the most deadly stretches of his archery. Śatānīka fell and died in battle.
His death was one of several large Pāṇḍava losses on the tenth day. That day ended with the fall of Bhīṣma himself, after many had died on both sides.
Another Śatānīka, son of Nakula
A second Śatānīka was the son of Nakula by Draupadī. He was the fourth of the five sons born to Draupadī, one from each of her Pāṇḍava husbands. He is a different person from the brother of Virāṭa.
The Ādi Parva, Chapter 221, tells of his birth. He was born to Draupadī from her union with Nakula. He was given the name Śatānīka, a name borne by a famous ancestor of the Kuru line, and this tied him to the greatness of the family he was born into.
Śatānīka, with Prativindhya, Sutasoma, Śrutakarmā and Śrutasena, formed the group called the upapāṇḍavas. Arjuna trained all five in dhanurveda (the science of the bow), and in the use of divine weapons (astra-śāstra), together with Abhimanyu. Aśvatthāmā killed Śatānīka in the night attack after the war at Kurukṣetra.
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Bhīṣma Parva, Chapters 43–122
- Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Chapter 221