Yudhājit of Kekaya
Yudhājit was the prince, and later the king, of Kekaya. Kekaya was an ancient kingdom of north-western India, and its capital was Rājagṛha. He was the brother of Queen Kaikeyī, who was the wife of King Daśaratha of Ayodhyā. This made him the maternal uncle of Bharata.
In the Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Yudhājit takes a central part in Bharata’s war against Śailūsha, the king of the gandharvas (celestial beings of music). His capital was the army’s base, he drove Bharata’s chariot through the seven-day battle, and afterwards he became guardian of the two new kingdoms Bharata founded for his sons.
Family and place
Yudhājit was the brother of Kaikeyī, and so he was the maternal uncle of Bharata. The kingdom of Kekaya lay in north-western India, roughly between the Beas and Jhelum rivers. Its capital was Rājagṛha.
The Rāmāyaṇa tradition mentions Yudhājit as the one who comes to Ayodhyā to take Bharata back to Kekaya. It is during Bharata’s absence from Ayodhyā that Kaikeyī asks Daśaratha for her varas (boons). The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa places Yudhājit later, after the rule of Bhagavān Rāma, as Bharata’s ally and supporter in the campaign against Śailūsha.
His part in the war against Śailūsha
Yudhājit went with Bharata through the whole campaign against Śailūsha.
Rājagṛha as the base
Bharata’s army marched from Ayodhyā through the northern kingdoms and reached Yudhājit’s capital Rājagṛha. From there the gandharva lands could be reached. Yudhājit received the army with full royal hospitality.
Charioteer in battle
During the seven-day battle with Śailūsha, Yudhājit served as Bharata’s sārathi (charioteer). He drove Bharata’s war chariot through the whole campaign. A charioteer had to watch the course of the battle, handle the horses, place the chariot well and guard the warrior. Yudhājit did this with skill and courage. He kept the horses calm even when Śailūsha shot so many arrows at the chariot that the whole car could not be seen.
Description of the battlefield
After Śailūsha died on the seventh day, Yudhājit turned the chariot towards home. He described the battlefield to Bharata in poetic (kāvya) verse. He spoke of the fallen warriors, the broken weapons, the scattered jewels, and the birds and spirits feeding on the dead. This passage is called the Raṇabhūmi Varṇana (Chapter 267), and it is spoken in Yudhājit’s voice.
Guardian of the new kingdoms
Bharata founded Pushkarāvatī for his son Pushkara and Takshaśilā for his son Taksha. Before he returned to Ayodhyā, he placed both kingdoms under Yudhājit’s care.
The parting at Rājagṛha
At Rājagṛha, Bharata walked with his sons Pushkara and Taksha, who were now crowned kings, and with his uncle Yudhājit, to the river bank. He embraced them with tears and said farewell, and then he turned homeward. Each party looked back at the other again and again until they were out of sight. The account describes Bharata’s love for his sons and his uncle, and his grief at parting.
Sources
- Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapters 202–269
- Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapters 209–269 (the campaign and the guardianship)
- Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 267 (Raṇabhūmi Varṇana)
- Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 269 (the parting at Rājagṛha)
- Rāmāyaṇa tradition (Yudhājit fetching Bharata from Ayodhyā)