Yuyutsu

Yuyutsu was a son of Dhṛtarāshṭra by a Vaiśya woman, a concubine and not Gāndhārī. He was therefore a half-brother of Duryodhana and the other ninety-nine Kauravas. He is known for the clarity of his moral judgment. At the great war he crossed from the Kaurava side to the Pāṇḍava side, because he would not fight in support of adharma (the opposite of dharma). He was the only son of Dhṛtarāshṭra to survive the Kurukshetra war.

In the Ādi Parva he appears in the list of Dhṛtarāshṭra’s sons.

Birth and position

Yuyutsu was born to Dhṛtarāshṭra by a Vaiśya woman in the royal household. Gāndhārī was not his mother, so he was not counted among the hundred sons of that line. He grew up in the Kuru household and was counted as a brother of Duryodhana and the Kauravas.

At the dice game

Yuyutsu was present in the sabhā (assembly hall) during the dice game. Duḥśāsana dragged Draupadī into the assembly. The Sabhā Parva places Yuyutsu among those who turned away in shame, unable to watch the outrage and unable to stop it. His response was unlike that of Karṇa and Duḥśāsana, who showed satisfaction.

In the Anudyūta Parva the second dice game was proposed. Yuyutsu is listed among those who cried out openly against it and called for peace. The others were Bhīshma, Droṇa, Kṛpa, Vidura, Vikarṇa, Somadatta and Bāhlīka. Dhṛtarāshṭra gave in to the pressure of Duryodhana and overruled all of them.

Yuyutsu is also named as present when Yudhishṭhira took his final leave of the assembly before the forest exile.

Joining the Pāṇḍavas on the first day

The armies assembled at Kurukshetra. As the conches were blown and the battle formation was being arranged, Yuyutsu crossed from the Kaurava side to the Pāṇḍava side. He came before Yudhishṭhira and said that he could not fight in support of adharma. He had chosen to stand on the side of righteousness.

Yudhishṭhira received him with grace. He saw in Yuyutsu a moral clarity that none of his own full brothers had found. A son of Dhṛtarāshṭra changed sides before a single blow was struck. Yuyutsu was the only son of Dhṛtarāshṭra to survive the Kurukshetra war.

After the war: the Hrada-praveśa Parva

The Hrada-praveśa Parva (Śalya Parva, Chapter 29) records that Yuyutsu was among those with the Pāṇḍavas after the carnage of the eighteenth day, when they found Duryodhana hiding in the Dvaipāyana lake. He was one of the very few survivors. He was the only son of Dhṛtarāshṭra to survive the war. He had fought on the side of the Pāṇḍavas throughout.

At Bhīshma’s death and funeral rites

Bhīshma lay on his bed of arrows (śaraśayyā) for fifty-eight nights, until Uttarāyaṇa (the sun’s northward course) arrived. Yuyutsu went with Yudhishṭhira and the Kuru household to Kurukshetra.

After Bhīshma left his body through yoga, Yuyutsu helped build the funeral pyre. He did this together with the Pāṇḍavas and Vidura, who brought sandalwood. During the pitṛmedha (the funeral rites for the departed), Yuyutsu alone held the pure white umbrella (chatra) over Bhīshma’s body. This was an honour fitting one of the few sons of the Kuru house who had chosen dharma.

Leading the rites for Dhṛtarāshṭra, Gāndhārī and Kuntī

Dhṛtarāshṭra, Gāndhārī and Kuntī died in the forest fire at Gaṅgādvāra. Yudhishṭhira and the Pāṇḍava household went to the Gaṅgā to perform their rites. The assembled men placed Yuyutsu at their head for the bath and the tarpaṇa (offering of water) in the waters of the Gaṅgā. They did so because he was the one son of Dhṛtarāshṭra’s line who had survived the war on the Pāṇḍava side.

Entrusted with the administration

When the Pāṇḍavas set out on their great departure, Yudhishṭhira placed the whole administration of the realm in the hands of Yuyutsu, the son of Dhṛtarāshṭra by a Vaiśya woman. On his mother’s side Yuyutsu was of Vaiśya birth, so he had no claim to the royal consecration. That was reserved for Parīkshit.

The citizens went with the departing Pāṇḍavas as far as they could and then turned homeward. Kṛpa and the others returned to the city and took Yuyutsu with them, to uphold the rule of Hastināpura under the young king.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Sambhava Parva
• Mahābhārata, Sabhā Parva, Dyūta Parva and Anudyūta Parva, Chapters 68, 77–78
• Mahābhārata, Bhīshma Parva, Chapter 43
• Mahābhārata, Śalya Parva, Hrada-praveśa Parva, Chapter 29
• Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīshma Svargārohaṇa Parva, Chapters 167–168
• Mahābhārata, Āśramavāsika Parva, Chapter 39
• Mahābhārata, Mahā Prasthānika Parva, Chapter 1