About
Vrishava — Prince of Gandhara, Sole Survivor Among Shakuni's Six Brothers
Vrishava · Son of Subala · Prince of Gandhara
Vrishava was a prince of Gandhara, son of King Subala and younger brother of Shakuni and Gandhari. He is notable within the group of six brothers who fought Iravan on the eighth day of the Kurukshetra War as the sole survivor of that encounter — the only one of the six not killed by Iravan in the sword-fight that destroyed the others. His attestation is confined to the Bhishma Parva of the Mahabharata.
✦ The Name
The name Vrishava derives from vrisha or vrishaba, meaning bull — carrying the same heroic connotation of strength and vigour as Vrishaka, a brother of the same family. It is a distinct name from Vrishaka and the two must not be conflated despite their common root.
✦ Lineage
- Father: Subala, king of Gandhara, descendant of Turvasu in the Lunar Dynasty
- Mother: Sudharma, queen of Gandhara
- Sister: Gandhari, queen of Hastinapura and mother of the hundred Kauravas
- Brothers: Shakuni, Achala, Vrishaka, Gaya, Gavaksha, Charmavat, Arjava, Suka, and Vrihadvala
✦ Role in the Kurukshetra War
Vrishava fought alongside his five brothers — Gaya, Gavaksha, Charmavat, Arjava, and Suka — against Iravan on the eighth day of the war. When Iravan defeated the group in close combat and slew five of the six brothers, Vrishava alone escaped death. The secondary source drawing on the Bhishma Parva episode records explicitly that Vrishava was the single survivor of the six. The text does not record any further martial exploits attributable to Vrishava after this episode, and the circumstances of his subsequent fate are not noted in the surviving primary sources.
✦ References
- Mahabharata, Bhishma Parva, Chapter 89, verse 12: Names Vrishava among the six brothers who fought Iravan on Day 8
- Secondary source (Iravan episode compilation): Records Vrishava as the sole survivor of the six brothers in the encounter with Iravan