Somadatta

Somadatta was a king of the Kuru line. He was the son of Bāhlīka and the father of Bhūriśravas. He was a warrior of great fame. He was present at the Rājasūya of Yudhiṣṭhira among the Kuru kings, and later he fought on the side of the Kauravas at Kurukṣetra.

Lineage and identity

Somadatta was the son of Bāhlīka, who was the eldest brother of Śantanu. This made him a first cousin of Bhīṣma. He ruled the lands of Bāhlīka, the north-western kingdom that Bāhlīka had set up. His son Bhūriśravas is one of the most admired figures of the Mahābhārata. He was a man of high standards of dharma, known both as a scholar of the Veda and as a warrior of great courage.

At the Rājasūya

Somadatta was at the Rājasūya as part of the Kuru group. The whole Kuru family was there: Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Vidura, Kṛpa, Aśvatthāman, Jayadratha, Bāhlīka, Bhūriśravas, Duryodhana, Karṇa, Śakuni and all the Kaurava princes, together with Somadatta himself. He stood for the western Kuru lands. The Sabhā Parva (Chapter 34) gives this.

At the dice game

In the Dyūta Parva, Somadatta is listed among the Kuru elders who were in the assembly when Draupadī was dragged in and Duḥśāsana tried to pull off her clothes. He is shown wringing his hands in shame.

In the Anudyūta Parva, he is among those who spoke against the second dice game. Dhṛtarāṣṭra overruled them.

At Kurukṣetra

Somadatta fought on the Kaurava side at Kurukṣetra. Sātyaki slew him in the Droṇa Parva part of the war. Chapter 162 of the Droṇa Parva records his death at the hands of Sātyaki, during Sātyaki’s long and fierce advance through the Kaurava lines.

His son Bhūriśravas also fell at Kurukṣetra, and Sātyaki killed him too. Arjuna had first cut off the arm of Bhūriśravas. Then Sātyaki cut off his head while he sat in yoga meditation.

In the Strī Parva

In the Strī Parva, Somadatta is among the elder kings of the Kaurava side whom Gāndhārī mourns. He was an elder of great standing, the father of Bhūriśravas and a member of the wider Kuru line. His death at Kurukṣetra was part of the loss of the whole generation of Kaurava elders in the war. Gāndhārī mourned him together with his son. A father and his son had both fallen within the same eighteen days.

The śrāddha in the Āśramavāsika Parva

Before he left for the forest, Dhṛtarāṣṭra asked Yudhiṣṭhira for leave to perform śrāddha (the rite of offerings for the departed) for Somadatta, together with Bhīṣma, Droṇa and Bāhlīka. Bhīma told Arjuna that he would gladly perform the rite for Somadatta himself, though he was still angry about the dice game. Somadatta was named among the main receivers of the ten-day dāna-yajña (a ritual of great giving) that followed. This is in Chapters 11 and 14 of the Āśramavāsika Parva.

The reunion at the Gaṅgā

At the Gaṅgā, Vyāsa called up the whole host of the fallen. Somadatta rose from the sacred waters among the risen warriors. He was made young again and was free of enmity. He shared one night of reunion with the others and then went back to his loka (world). This is in Chapter 32 of the Āśramavāsika Parva.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Sabhā Parva, Chapter 34
• Mahābhārata, Sabhā Parva, Dyūta Parva and Anudyūta Parva
• Mahābhārata, Droṇa Parva, Chapter 162
• Mahābhārata, Strī Parva, Chapters 16–25
• Mahābhārata, Āśramavāsika Parva, Chapters 11, 14 and 32