Vinda and Anuvinda
Vinda and Anuvinda were the two ruling princes of Avanti. They joined the Kaurava side before the Kurukṣetra War. As brothers who ruled Avanti together, they brought a combined force of two akṣauhiṇīs (very large armies) to Duryodhana. This made them among the larger contributors to the Kaurava side.
Who they were
Avanti was a strong kingdom in western-central India, in the region around modern Ujjain. It was counted among the main kingdoms of the Mahābhārata age and was known for its wealth and its military strength. The two brothers ruled it jointly, and the Udyoga Parva lists them together in its count of the Kaurava forces.
In the Udyoga Parva
Chapter 19 of the Udyoga Parva lists the eleven akṣauhiṇīs of the Kaurava side. Vinda and Anuvinda of Avanti are in this list, and their joint force is counted in the Kaurava array. Most kings brought one akṣauhiṇī each, but the two co-rulers of Avanti stood out because of their joint contribution.
The list of main Kaurava allies includes Bhagadatta of Prāgjyotiṣa, Bhūriśravas, Śalya of Madra, Kṛtavarman, Jayadratha of Sindhu-Sauvīra, Sudakṣiṇa of Kāmboja, Nīla of Māhiṣmatī, and Vinda and Anuvinda of Avanti, among others.
In the Bhīṣma Parva
Vinda and Anuvinda were active Kaurava commanders through the ten days when Bhīṣma led the army.
- On Day 6, they were given places in the Krauñca-Vyūha, the formation the Kaurava forces used. It stressed a wing-like spread of cavalry and chariot forces.
- On Day 7, the brothers fought both Irāvanta, the son of Arjuna, and Dhṛṣṭadyumna, the Pāṇḍava commander-in-chief. This shows how hard the fighting was and how strong the foes were that they had to hold back.
- On Day 10, they were among the Kaurava warriors who fought Bhīmasena as the battle over the protection of Bhīṣma reached its peak.
Their deaths in the Karṇa Parva
On the seventeenth day of the war, Vinda and Anuvinda met Sātyaki, the grandson of Śini, also called Yuyudhāna. The brothers fought together. They covered him with arrows and they broke bows back and forth in a long exchange. The Mahābhārata says that the battle of arrows made a darkness of shafts over the field.
Sātyaki, in a moment of sharp anger, fitted a keen arrow to his bow and loosed it at Anuvinda. It cut off his head. The head, with its kuṇḍalas (earrings), fell to the ground like the head of the asura Śambara. All the Kekaya forces who watched were filled with grief.
Vinda saw his younger brother cut down and was seized by rage. He took up a fresh bow and charged at Sātyaki with sixty arrows, striking him on the shoulders and chest. In time their chariots were wrecked and their horses were killed. The two came to single combat with sword and shield. They circled each other like Indra and Jambha in the battle of the devas and asuras. Sātyaki cut Vinda’s shield in two, and Vinda cut Sātyaki’s shield in turn. Then Sātyaki struck Vinda with a strong sweeping blow. Vinda was split in two and fell like a mountain broken by lightning.
Sātyaki then climbed into another chariot and destroyed the rest of the forces of Avanti.
The Karṇa Parva also says briefly at its opening: “The Avanti princes, mahārathas, Vinda and Anuvinda, having fought an impossible battle, went to the abode of Yama.” (A mahāratha is a great chariot warrior.)
In the Strī Parva, Chapter 22
In Chapter 22, Gāndhārī looks over the fallen at Kurukṣetra and shows Kṛṣṇa the body of a prince of Avanti. She says: “Here is the prince of Avanti who fell to Bhīmasena. This brave one, who had many relatives and friends in life, now lies alone and helpless while vultures and jackals tear at him piece by piece.” She mourns the change in his fortune. He was a hero who struck fear into brave men, and now he lies in the place of honour, with his own wives gathered around him, beating their breasts in grief. In this chapter the prince is said to have fallen to Bhīmasena. The Karṇa Parva says that both brothers were killed by Sātyaki.
In the Strī Parva, Chapter 25
In Chapter 25, Gāndhārī turns Kṛṣṇa’s eyes to the bodies of Vinda and Anuvinda. She says: “These are Vinda and Anuvinda, the royal princes of Avanti. Mādhava, look at them.” She compares them to great flowering sāla trees pulled up by a great storm at the end of winter. They still wear their golden armlets, their armour, their arrows and swords. Their broad bull-like eyes and their lovely flower garlands are still on them as they lie fallen. Their grandeur did not fade in death. The two princes of Avanti, joint rulers of their kingdom, fell together in battle, and now they lie together on the field with their splendour whole.
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Udyoga Parva, Chapter 19
- Mahābhārata, Bhīṣma Parva, Chapters 43–122
- Mahābhārata, Karṇa Parva, Chapter 1
- Mahābhārata, Karṇa Parva, Chapter 13
- Mahābhārata, Strī Parva, Chapters 22 and 25