About
Avikshit — Eldest Son of Kuru and Vahini, Prince of the Kuru Line
Avikshit · Ashvavat (variant transliteration)
Avikshit is the eldest of five sons born to Kuru — the eponymous king of the Kuru dynasty, son of Samvarana and Tapati — by his second wife Vahini. He is named first among Vahini's five sons in the Mahabharata (Adi Parva, chapter 94), indicating seniority within the group. No independent narrative, episode, or descendants are attested for Avikshit in any primary source consulted. His line is a terminal collateral branch of the Kuru house at this node. The variant name Ashvavat — meaning one possessed of horses or the horsed one — appears in some secondary transliterations of the Wikipedia list-of-characters article for the same position in the five-sons list; this is most likely a different manuscript reading of the same passage rather than a distinct individual.
✦ The Name
The name Avikshit is a Sanskrit compound whose primary meaning is one who has not been seen or the invisible one — from a, the negative prefix, and vikshit, past passive participle of viksh, meaning to see or to observe. As a royal name it may carry the meaning of one whose full power or nature has not been perceived by enemies — an epithet of concealed or latent greatness. The name is not common in the Puranic or epic tradition and no etymological gloss is provided in any primary source.
✦ Lineage
- Father: Kuru — son of Samvarana and Tapati; eponymous king of the Kuru dynasty
- Mother: Vahini — second wife of Kuru; no clan identification recorded
- Brothers: Bhavishyanta, Chaitraratha, Muni, and Janamejaya — the four other sons of Vahini by Kuru
- Half-brother: Viduratha — son of Kuru by his first wife Shubhangi; the figure through whom the Kuru royal succession continues
✦ References
Primary Sources
- Mahabharata, Adi Parva, chapter 94 — Names Avikshit first among Vahini's five sons; no further detail provided.
Secondary Sources
- AncientVoice.wikidot.com, Adi Parva chapter 94 transcription — Reproduces the Ganguli translation naming Avikshit as Vahini's first son.