Uttara, Prince of Matsya

Uttara, also called Bhūmañjaya, was a prince of Matsya and the son of King Virāṭa. In the Virāṭa Parva he is the young warrior who went out with Arjuna, disguised as Bṛhannaḷā, in the Uttara-Gograhaṇa battle against the whole Kaurava army. He first wanted to run away, but he found his courage again under Arjuna’s lead. He served as the charioteer in name while Arjuna fought. His sister Uttarā later married Abhimanyu.

His character

Uttara was a young prince, brave in his hopes but not yet tested in battle. In the women’s quarters of the palace he boasted before the court ladies that, if only he had a good charioteer, he alone could drive off any enemy. This was not meant to harm anyone. It showed the eagerness of a young warrior who had not yet faced a real test (Virāṭa Parva, Chapter 37).

He was loyal to his father and respectful toward older and wiser men. He returned from the northern cattle raid and found that his father had struck Yudhiṣṭhira, who was living as Kaṅka Bhaṭṭa, with a dice piece. Uttara at once rebuked Virāṭa. He said that striking a brāhmaṇa was a grave pāpa (sin) and that the king must ask forgiveness (Virāṭa Parva, Chapter 68).

The Gograhaṇa battle

The Kaurava army raided Virāṭa’s cattle in the north while Virāṭa was away in the south fighting the Trigartas. Uttara was the only prince left to defend the capital. Draupadī, who was living as Sairandhrī, suggested Bṛhannaḷā as his charioteer, and Uttara agreed. He mounted his chariot full of eagerness and rode out of Virāṭanagara to the cheers of the people.

Then he saw the Kaurava battle lines. There were Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Karṇa, Aśvatthāman, Kṛpa and Duryodhana, with huge ranks of soldiers, horses and elephants. His courage failed at once. He dropped his bow, trembled and tried to jump from the chariot and run. Arjuna pulled him back by the hair (Virāṭa Parva, Chapters 41–42).

Uttara begged. He said he could not fight men like Bhīṣma and Droṇa, that his boasting had been empty, and that Bṛhannaḷā should turn back. Arjuna refused firmly. Then he told Uttara his true identity: he was Arjuna the Pāṇḍava and not a eunuch. He gave Uttara clear proof through the Daśa-nāmāni, the ten names of Arjuna. Uttara was convinced and greatly comforted. He agreed to be Arjuna’s charioteer while Arjuna fought (Virāṭa Parva, Chapter 44).

In this new role Uttara showed real courage. He drove the chariot as Arjuna directed and kept it steady while Arjuna fought the Kaurava army. Arjuna returned victorious. He had taken the fine upper garments of the Kaurava commanders and brought back the cattle. Uttara carried these trophies back to Virāṭanagara and showed them to the court. He gave them as gifts to Uttarā and the women of the antaḥpura (the women’s quarters) (Virāṭa Parva, Chapters 64, 69).

Telling the battle to Virāṭa

When Virāṭa came back and asked about the battle in the north, Uttara told what he had seen, in great wonder. He described the warrior who had appeared beside him as a divine being, a devaputra (son of a deva) of great courage. That warrior had terrified the Kauravas, struck down their commanders, taken their garments and won back the cattle. Uttara spoke with awe and humility. He gave all credit for the victory to that hero and denied any part of his own (Virāṭa Parva, Chapter 69).

Recognising the Pāṇḍavas

On the third day, the Pāṇḍavas’ identities were made known, and Uttara was deeply moved. He told Virāṭa which person was which among the Pāṇḍavas. He described Yudhiṣṭhira’s golden skin and lion-like bearing, Bhīma’s great shoulders, Arjuna’s dark skin and wide eyes, the matchless beauty of the twins Nakula and Sahadeva, and Draupadī’s unequalled radiance. He then told of Arjuna’s feats in battle in full detail and with admiration (Virāṭa Parva, Chapter 71).

Virāṭa offered Uttarā to Arjuna, and Arjuna refused. Uttara supported his father’s feeling. He said: “The Pāṇḍavas are āryas and worthy of all honor. This is the right time to honor the great-souled ones who deserve our respect” (Virāṭa Parva, Chapter 71).

Death on the first day at Kurukṣetra

At Kurukṣetra, Uttara fought on the Pāṇḍava side with his father Virāṭa and his brother Śveta. On the first day of the battle Śalya, the king of Madra, who fought for the Kauravas, killed him. His sister Uttarā had been given in marriage to Abhimanyu to seal the alliance between the Pāṇḍavas and Matsya. The young prince who had driven Arjuna’s chariot against the whole Kaurava army in the Uttara-Gograhaṇa fell on the opening day of the war at the hands of a Kaurava warrior (Bhīṣma Parva, Chapter 43).

Among the young fallen in the Strī Parva

In Chapter 20 of the Strī Parva, Gāndhārī looks over the battlefield and groups Uttara with the young warriors who have fallen. She says: “Uttara, Abhimanyu, the Kāmboja king, Sudakṣiṇa, Lakṣmaṇa — and other young warriors — see them lying fallen in the midst of the battlefield.”

The prince of Matsya had ridden out with Arjuna as his charioteer at the Uttara-Gograhaṇa and had shown real courage in that role. Now he lies among the flower of a generation lost at Kurukṣetra. Matsya gave a bride to the Kuru heir and its own prince to the first day of the war.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Virāṭa Parva, Chapters 37, 41–42, 44, 64, 68, 69, 71
• Mahābhārata, Bhīṣma Parva, Chapter 43
• Mahābhārata, Strī Parva, Chapter 20