Yuyutsu

Yuyutsu

Yuyutsu (Sanskrit: युयुत्सु) in the Hindu epic Mahabharata was a son of Dhritrashtra with a Sughada, Gandhari's maid.Conceived under the fear that Gandhari couldn't produce any children, he was as old as Duryodhana and the rest of the 99 Kuru brothers and Dushala. Eventually, he was the only son of Dhritarashtra who survived the Kurukshetra war.

Etymology

The word yuyutsu is derived from two Sanskrit words. First word is yu [यु, original word yudh (युध्)] and second word is utsu [उत्सु, original word utsuktā (उत्सुकता)]. yu means 'to fight' and utsu means 'curiosity'. So by combining these two words, the meaning of the name is 'the one who is curious to fight'. The Mahabharata cites the following other names for Yuyutsu- [1]

Birth

Fearing problems with Gandhari's pregnancy which had continued for almost two years, Dhritrashtra had a child from Sughada, a woman from Vaishya Varna, who is lady in waiting to Gandhari. Yuyutsu was born on the same day as Duryodhana and was elder to Dushasana, other Kauravas and Dussala. Thus, Dhritrashtra had 102 children.[2]

Righteous in the Kaurava camp

Yuyutsu is celebrated as a moral warrior who chose the path of righteousness, in spite of being born in circumstances that predisposed him to evil. He forwent his family bonds in order to side with dharma.

Also, Yuyutsu saved the life of Bhima by informing the Pandavas about Duryodhana's cunning schemes, which included poisoning water.[3][4]Both Yuyutsu and Vikarna abhorred Duryodhan's conspiracies and evil schemes; however, Vikarna stays loyal to the family and perishes in the war.[5]

During Kurukshetra War

Before the onset of the battle of Kurukshetra War between Kauravas and Pandavas, Yuyutsu shifts from Kauravas to the Pandava camp. Yuyutsu fought the battle on the side of the Pandavas. He was one among the 11 Maharathis (capable of fighting 720,000 warriors simultaneously) among the Kauravas. Yuyutsu was one among the eleven warriors to have survived the war.[6]

After the War

When the Pandavas decided to retire from the world at the start of the Kali Yuga and departure of Krishna, Yudhishthira gave the charge of supervising the kingdom to Yuyutsu while Parikshit was made the king[7][8]

Citations

  1. ↑ Parmeshwaranand, Swami (2001). Encyclopaedic dictionary of Purāṇas (1st ed.). New Delhi: Sarup & Sons. ISBN 9788176252263.
  2. ↑ Kapoor, edited by Subodh (2002). The Indian encyclopaedia : biographical, historical, religious, administrative, ethnological, commercial and scientific (1st ed.). New Delhi: Cosmo Publications. ISBN 9788177552577.
  3. ↑ Menon, [translated by] Ramesh (2006). The Mahabharata : a modern rendering. New York: iUniverse, Inc. ISBN 9780595401871.
  4. ↑ "Mahabharata Text".
  5. ↑ Yuyutsu was one of the 11 who managed to survive the war
  6. ↑ Buck, William. Mahabharata. p. 327. ISBN 9788120817197.
  7. ↑ Parmeshwaranand, Swami (2001-01-01). Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Puranas. Sarup & Sons. ISBN 9788176252263.
  8. ↑ Brodbeck, Simon Pearse (2009). The Mahābhārata patriline : gender, culture, and the royal hereditary. Farnham, England: Ashgate. ISBN 9780754667872.
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