Sons of Dhṛtarāshṭra Slain by Bhīmasena
On the eighteenth and last day of the Kurukshetra war, Bhīmasena killed a large group of the sons of Dhṛtarāshṭra one after another. This finished the mission he had sworn to carry out against the Kaurava princes who had wronged the Pāṇḍavas. The Śalya Parva, in Chapters 26 and 27, records the deaths of thirteen sons of Dhṛtarāshṭra at his hands on this day.
The killing on the last day
On Day 18 the Kaurava army was breaking up. Śalya was now its commander (senāpati). Bhīmasena moved through the battle like a force of destruction. Chapter 26 of the Śalya Parva records that he killed these sons of Dhṛtarāshṭra in this last fight:
- Durmarshaṇa
- Śrutānta
- Jaitra
- Bhūribala
- Ravi
- Jayatsena
- Sujāta
- Durvīshaha
- Arika
- Durvimocana
- Dushkradhara
- Śrutārvan
Chapter 27 adds one more:
- Sudarśana, a son of Dhṛtarāshṭra, also killed by Bhīmasena
Background
Bhīmasena had sworn at the time of the dice game that he would kill all the sons of Dhṛtarāshṭra. Through the eighteen days of the war, in the Bhīshma, Droṇa, Karṇa and Śalya Parvas, he worked to keep this vow.
Most of the sons named above are minor warriors. The text gives them no chapter of their own. They appear only as names in the quick run of the last day’s fighting. Duryodhana is an exception. He lived through Day 18 and fell later, in the fight with maces (gadāyuddha).
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Śalya Parva, Chapters 26–27