Bhakti Story: Hanuman and Veena of Narada Muni

Once Hanuman and his mother Ketari heard a sound of misical instrument Vina and beautiful singing of Krishnas holy name.

Ketari said, “Who is this singing? It must be Narada Muni coming!”

Hanuman asked, “Who is this person?”

Ketari replied, “He is a very great soul. He doesn’t need any introduction. You just go to him and you will find out the greatness of this man.”

Immediately Hanuman jumped up and Narada was just on his way past their place, going to see some rishi, so Hanuman jumped in his way and paid pranams. “Narada Muni, I heard that you are a very great person, so you must bless me. Without blessing me, you are not allowed to go!”

Narada said, “What blessing do you want?”

Hanuman said, “Already the demigods have given me so many blessings. I cannot think of anything else, so you think of a blessing, and you give it to me.”

Narada thought, “What blessing does Hanuman not have?”

And so he said, “You will become expert in music.” That was the only benediction left to give.

So Hanuman got that benediction, and Narada Muni said, “So I have given you the benediction, and now I am going.”

Hanuman said, “One minute, one minute.” “What do you want?”

Narada asked. “How will I know that I am the most expert in music?” Hanuman inquired. “My father told me that you are the most expert in music, so you must do me a favour today. Give me the benediction that I will be more expert than you!”

So Narada said, “All right, I will sit somewhere and listen to you.”

“Shall I start singing?” Hanuman asked.

“Yes.” Narada Muni put his vina on a rock, and he sat down on the ground.

So Hanuman selected that tune which would melt the rock, and he began to sing it. The rock melted, and the vina was in the liquid. He was singing and singing, and the vina was floating in the liquid rock.

Narada was closing his eyes and enjoying in ecstasy, and he said, “All right Hanuman, you are the best musician. You can stop singing now.”

Hanuman said, “You open your eyes and tell me if I should I stop singing.”

Narada said, “How do you mean?”

Hanuman replied, “You open your eyes.”

So Narada opened his eyes and looked around. He didn’t notice the vina floating in the stone water. “Yes, you can stop singing.”

So then Hanuman stopped singing, and the liquid stone became rock, and the vina got stuck.

Narada said, “I am going,” and he took his vina, but it wouldn’t move. “What did you do, Hanuman?”

Hanuman said, “I only sung a song. You told me to sing a song, and you also gave me the ability. Now you are complaining. I have been a good boy for a whole week.”

Narada said, “One week of doing nothing means that before that week you did too much.” And then Hanuman told him all about what he had done, swallowing the sun etc, and Narada became very pleased.

Then he said, “Now whatever it was, you please sing the tune again, so I can get my vina.”

Hanuman said, “Well, I don’t know….”

Narada Muni said, “Please do it!”

“No I won’t,” Hanuman said, and he jumped up and ran inside the palace. So Narada Muni was running after Hanuman who was just running from one room to another. And you know monkeys are fast it is very difficult to catch them.

Finally Narada Muni become very tired so he called out, “Hey Hanuman, please come and give me my vina back ! I have to go! I have service to do!”

Just then Ketari came out, and when she saw Narada Muni she touched his feet and spoke – “What is my son doing, he is giving you some trouble?”

Narada said, “Oh no, no trouble, just that he got my vina stuck in the rock.” Ketari said, “Oh no, he has started his mischief again!

Hanuman, get Narada’s vina out of the rock!” said Ketari.

And then Hanuman said, “I wanted Narada Muni’s feet to touch every room in this palace, that is why I was doing this. Now he has touched all the rooms and he has made our home holy place of pilgrimage. The dust from his lotus feet is so rare that what is the use of just having it in one part of our kingdom? We should have it all over. Now I can give him back his vina. ”

Narada said, “You are already blessed, because you are Lord Rama’s eternal servant.” So Hanuman went and sung for Narada, who quickly took his vina and left.

10 Curse That Have Defined Hindu Mythology

1. The curse of Bhrigu without which Ramayana and Mahabharata would not have happened

There was a time when Asuras and Devas would fight all the time. After one of these fights, where the Asuras lost again, their teacher Shukracharya thought of a solution – to obtain the Mritasanjeevani Stotram – a mantra that will make the Asuras invincible. He set out to Shiva’s abode to obtain it through penance and told his Asura disciples to rest in the ashram of his father – Bhrigu.
The Devas knew that the Asuras were living as hermits in the ashram and had no weapons on them. They set out to kill the asuras. The Asuras went and sought the protection of Bhrigu’s wife. She was powerful enough to make Indra immobile. The Devas got scared and ran to Vishnu. Vishnu told them to enter his body for protection. Bhrigu’s wife threatened Vishnu with dire consequences if he did that.
Vishnu got angry and killed the woman with his Sudarshan Chakra. Bhrigu was furious when he heard that his wife was killed. So, he cursed Vishnu – to be born on Earth and suffer the cycles of birth and death several times.
And this is the reason we have had avatars of Vishnu on Earth, and hence the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata.

 
2. The curse of Vriddhashatra that backfired

Jayadaratha killed Abhimanyu in Kurukshetra. Arjun, being Abhimanyu’s father took an oath to kill Jayadratha before sunset of the next day.
Now Vriddhakshatra, Jayadratha’s father knew of this when he was told of this prophecy when Jayadaratha was born. To counter this in his sadness he too uttered a curse –
“He, who shall cause my son’s head to roll down on the ground, shall have his head burst at that very moment into fragments.”
Arjun kills Jayadaratha the next day with an arrow that severs his head.
Krishna tells Arjuna to fire more arrows in a way that Jayadratha’s severed head fell on the lap of Vriddhakshatra. Vriddhakshatra, who was meditating at the time does not realize that his son’s severed head has fallen on his lap. When he gets up from meditation the severed head rolls onto the floor and Vriddhakshatra’s head explodes in a thousand pieces.

 
3. The curse that led to the dogs being stuck after mating

Draupadi, as we know, shared 5 husbands.
They had figured out a novel way to have sex with her without the other brothers interrupting. It was decided that when a brother enters her room he should leave his sandals on the doorstep so indicate that Draupadi is busy and not available. One day one of the brothers went in and left his sandals outside the door.
After some time, a dog came by and took the sandals away playfully. After this Bheem also wanted to spend some time with Draupadi and saw that she was available, since there were no sandals there. He entered to find himself in shock. The brother who was having sex was angry at Bheem. Bheem in turn was angry at the brother for not leaving his sandals at the doorstep.
Realizing that someone played mischief and stole the sandals on the doorstep they searched for the culprit. Drupadi realizes that it is the dog who caused her so much embarrassment and cursed it to bear the shame after sex too.
This curse is the apparent reason dogs get stuck after having sex.

4. The curse that killed Karna and saved Arjuna

Krishna once explained to Arjuna that Karna was killed multiple times before Arjuna finished him off. This is one of those times. Karna, being a kshatriya, wanted to learn martial arts. He disguised himself as a brahmin and went to Parshuram to be his student. Parshuram accepted to teach him and one day after one of the lessons, Parshuram wanted to rest and laid his head on Karna’s lap.
A big wasp flew over and started burrowing into Karna’s thigh. The pain was immense, but Karna didn’t want to interrupt his guru’s sleep. When Parshuram did wake up he saw the big hole in Karna’s thigh and got furious because no brahmin could have tolerated this amount of pain. He cursed Karna for being a liar. His curse was that all the warfare training he had taken will escape his memory when Karna will need it the most.
That’s what happened in the end when his chariot is stuck in the mud and he forgets the incantations for a weapon to counter Arjuna.

 
5. The curse that made the villains of all mythology

Jaya and Vijaya are the two gatekeepers of Vishnu’s abode – Vaikuntha. Four sons of Brahma walked to the gates of Vaikuntha seeking to meet Vishnu. Jaya and Vijaya, thinking that these Kumaras are regular children did not let them in. These Kumaras got very angry and cursed Jaya and Vijaya. They cursed that they would lose their divinity and will be born as normal human beings.Vishnu entered the scene and Jaya and Vijaya appealed to Vishnu to null the curses they just got.
Vishnu said that the curses Kumaras gave cannot be reversed, but can be modified so that Jaya and Vijaya can choose their manner of birth and gave them two options –
1. To be born seven times as devotees of Vishnu.
2. To be born 3 times as the enemies of Vishnu.
Jaya and Vijaya could not bear living without their lord and hence chose to be born as enemies of Vishnu, so that they would get to meet him personally.
Hence, they were born as Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha in their first life, Ravana and Kumbhakarna in their second and Dantavakra and Shishupalain their third.
They were killed by Vishnu in all their lives and gave us the incredible villains to ponder about.

 
6. The curse because of which all women gossip

We all know the story of Karna. The Pandavas didn’t know that Karna was their own brother. When Karna is killed by Arjun, Kunti reveals the secret to the Pandavas.Yudhisthira, the man who has spoken only the truth till now becomes furious and curses that no woman will be able to hold a secret ever in the future.
So, now you know.

 
7. The most famous loophole found in a boon

We all know how Hiranyakashipu came to be born. He was a very learned asura and went on to do a very difficult tapasya that impressed Brahma who granted him one of the
most benevolent boons.
As per the boon, Hiranyakashipu –
1. Cannot be killed by any man or animal.
2, Cannot be killed by an entity created by Brahma.
3. Cannot be killed by a demi-god or a demon or a snake from the lower planets.
4. cannot be killed on day or night.
5. Cannot be killed indoors or outside.
6. has no equal in battle and has all the powers of Brahma himself.
Hiranyakashipu rules mercilessly spreading his tyranny and his son Pralhad prayed to lord Vishnu to save him and Earth from Hiranyakashipu.
So Vishnu came as Narasimha and killed Hiranya –
1. By incarnating as half lion and half man.
2. By being the creator and not an entity created by Brahma.
3. By choosing twilight as the time to kill.
4. By ripping his stomach with his nails.
5. On the threshold, i.e neither the indoor nor the outdoors.

 
8. Probably the most angry curse ever

Ashwatthama, angry at losing the war fired an arrow towards the womb of Uttara, the wife of Abhimanyu. She was carrying Parikshit, who was the grandson of Arjuna and hence Ashwatthama wanted to finish the line of Pandavas once and for all.
But the rules of combat does not allow a warrior to attempt to kill a woman.
Krishna was furious and cursed Ashwatthama in all his anger that –
1. Ashwatthama will carry the burden of sins of all the people in the world
2. He will never get love and recognition by anyone
3. He will never have a home and will always be in isolation
4. He will have many diseases and will have ulcers and sores and leprosy that will never heal
5. He shall suffer this disease until the end of Kaliyuga
A foul curse indeed.
 
9. The curse that directly led to Ramayana

Ravana was famous for doing gruelling tapasyas. After one of them he was granted a boon of immense power. He got power-drunk and decided to invade heaven itself and take the throne of Indra. Narada tells Indra that Ravana gets his powers from his prayers to Shiva.
He also tells him to interrupt the prayers Ravana’s mother is doing. So Indra walks over to that place and kicks the lingam and destroys it, interrupting her prayer. Ravana is furious after hearing this and vows to bring Shiva himself down to earth for his mother to pray. Everyone knew about Ravana’s ferocity while doing tapasya. Parvati, fears that Shiva will leave Kailash forever and goes to Vishnu to seek help. After Ravana’s austerities, Shiva is impressed and agrees to grant any boon Ravana asks for.
Vishnu bewitches Ravana’s tongue and that leads to Ravana asking for Parvati instead of Shiva himself. This angers Parvati so much that she curses Vishnu that he will be parted with his loved one too one day.
This leads to Sita being abducted in Ramayana and Rama going on a mission to rescue her.
 
10. The curse that led to Shiva being worshipped as a Lingam

The sage Bhrigu once stood in front of Kailash wishing to meet lord Shiva. He knocked on the door of Shiva’s residence but no one responded. This was because Shiva was making love to Parvati and didn’t interrupt the lovemaking session to open the door.
Sage Bhrigu grew frustrated with waiting and started pounding on the door.
After Shiva finished his lovemaking session he opens the door with Parvati on his side. Sage Bhrigu is furious that Shiva preferred lovemaking to welcoming a great sage like himself and cursed Shiva.
He cursed Shiva that no one in the future will worship Shiva in his true form. He will always be worshipped as the Lingam.

Ashvatthama - Unknown Facts

One of the most under appreciated characters in the epic the son of Drona was one of the most formidable and the most fiercest warrior of his time. He was comparable to Karna, Arjun and Bhishma yet we know very less of him save his immortality. Some facts about him.

• When he was born he cried like a horse hence his name.
• His father did years of severe penance to have a son with valiance of Shiv himself. Ashvatthama is considered to be a partial incarnation of lord Shiv himself.
• He possessed a gem in his forehead which gave him dominion over all life form lower than human. It protected it against hunger, thirst , fatigue, ghosts, demons , snakes ,insects etc. It helped him fight off Ghatotkach Bheem's half rakhshas son.
• He is master of all knowledge trained by the likes of Drona, Bhishma , Parshuram.
• He was the king of north Panchal after Kaurav army captured Panchal and gave it to Drona as guru-dakhshina and Drona split it between his son and Drupad.
• Bhishma once remarked that if Ashvatthama becomes angry nobody will be able to stop him because he was incarnation of Shiva himself. However Duryodhana always chose Karna over Ashvatthama because he saw him as fearful of death.

The most important part in epic of Mahabharata for Ashvatthama was when he was made Commander of Kaurava army on night of 18th day of war. He went to attack Pandava camp at night with Kripacharya( his uncle) and Kritvarma ( a Yadava) .He instructed them to remain at gates to kill anyone who comes out. He went into the Pandavas camp but it was guarded by a Bhairava and he did not allowed him to pass.Then Ashvatthama performed a yajna for Lord Shiva and offered himself as sacrifice . He rose from it with a part of Shiva in his body and an army of gunas given to him by goddess Kali. He became the destroyer and with gunas slaughtered all Pandavas soldier and their family.

Yudhishthira - Unknown Facts

Although the 18 days of Mahabharata war was fought to make Yudhishthira the king of Hastinapur, we have very little knowledge about the character than his brothers Bheem, Arjun and other characters of the epic. Here are something you might not know about him.-

• Yudhishthira means " the one who is steady in battle or tough conditions " .His father king Pandu held dharma above all other qualities in a human especially for being a king ,therefore when Kunti told him about his boon he desired his eldest son and heir to be born righteous and truthful.
• Although being the eldest son he was less martial than his brothers prefering diplomacy and politics. He was a polyglot knowing languages which no other human knew.Nevertheless he was a master in the use of spear only second to Karna. It was said that he could pierce a stone wall with spear as it was a piece of paper.
• He had two wives Draupadi and Devika who was of Sivi kingdom. Draupadi bore him Prativindya his heir and Devika Yaudheya. Yaudheya survived Kurukshetra but was not made king. Instead he ruled his mother's kingdom.
• After loosing in the dice game during his banishment he never left the game and kept practicing. He learnt from sage Bridashwa to control the dices. He became so good at it that he was never defeated again at it.
• He married his brother Bheem to a rakhsashi Hidimbi and denounced casteism saying actions mattered more than birth.

Kurukshetra war would have been longer if he had'nt killed Shalya king of Madra and uncle of Nakul and Sahdev. Shalya was an extraordinary fighter with a range of weapons.

He had this gift that whenever his opponent got angry his strength will increase therefore making him very difficult to fight. Only a person with a calm mind could have defeated him Therefore Yudhishthira had to do that and justified his name.

• Yudhishthira cursed women that they will never be able to withold secrets after he came to know about Karna and his mother hiding about him.
• His chariot had a flag of a golden moon surrounded by planets. He was also an expert charioteer.

Why Udupi people are in catering industry

In Dwapara Yuga, the Kurukshetra war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas was considered as the mother of all battles. In this war nobody could remain neutral. You had to be either on the Kaurava side or the Pandava side. All the kings – hundreds of them - aligned themselves on one side or the other. 

The King of Udupi, however chose to remain neutral. He spoke to Sree Krishna and said, 

‘Those who fight battles have to eat. I will be the caterer for this battle.’

Sree Krishna said, ‘Fine. Somebody has to cook and serve, so you do it.’ They say over 500,000 soldiers had gathered for the battle. The battle lasted 18 days, and every day, thousands were dying. So the Udupi King had to cook that much less food, or otherwise it would go waste. Somehow, the catering had to be managed. If he kept cooking for 500,000 people it wouldn’t work. Or if he cooked for less, soldiers would go hungry.

The Udupi King managed it very well. The amazing thing was, every day, the food was exactly enough for all the soldiers, who were alive, and no food was wasted. After a few days, people were amazed, "How is he managing to cook the exact amount of food!" No one could know how many people had died on any given day. By the time they could have taken account of these things, the next day morning would have dawned and again it was time to fight. 

There was no way the caterer could know how many thousands had died each day, but every day he cooked exactly the volume of food necessary for the rest of the Armies. When someone asked him, "How do you manage this?" the Udupi King replied, ‘Every night I go to Sree Krishna’s tent.

"Sree Krishna likes to eat boiled groundnuts in the night, so I peel them and after counting, keep them in a bowl. He eats just a few peanuts, and after he is done,  I count how many He has eaten. If it’s 10 peanuts, I know tomorrow 10,000 people will be dead. So the next day, when I prepare lunch, I cook for 10,000 people less. Every day I count these peanuts and cook accordingly, and it turns out right." Now you know why Sree Krishna is so nonchalant during the whole Kurukshetra war.

Since Sree. Krishna has given them the cooking job, they accept it as the Blessings of Sree Krishna. Hence,

many of the Udupi people are traditionally caterers, even today.

Udupi cuisine adheres strictly to the Satvik  tradition of Indian vegetarian cuisine, using no onions or garlic, as well as no meat, fish, or shellfish.

It comprises dishes made primarily from grains, beans, vegetables, and fruits. The variety and range of dishes is wide, and a hallmark of the cuisine involves the use of locally available ingredients.

Significance of Nakul and Sahdev in ‘Mahabharata'

Nakula and Sahadeva are referred as Asvineya, as the two physicicans of gods. Both the brothers were incarnations of Ashwini Kumaras, and possessed special set of skills.

Nakula
The dark-complexioned Nakula was known to be the most handsome person in the Kuru lineage. He had some special skills which are as follows-

• Horse-keeping: Nakula's deep understanding of horse breeding and training is documented in the Mahabharata after the death of Narakasura by Krishna. In a conversation with Virata, Nakula claimed to know the art of treating all illnesses of horses. He was also a highly skilled charioteer.
• Ayurveda: Being a son of the physicians, Ashwini Kumaras, Nakula was also believed to be an expert in Ayurveda.
• Sword Fighting: Nakula and his brother, Sahadeva were skilled sword fighters. Nakula was said to ride his horse in the rain and used his sword to deflect every drop. He would emerge completely dry.
• Diplomacy: Nakula was very handsome and charming man. He was a skilled diplomat.
• Nakula was a master of unusual weapons.
• Prophecy: Like his brother, Sahadeva, Nakula could see the future and issue prophecies. However, soon after telling the prophecy, Nakula would completely forget all the visions and predictions, just like a dream.

In the war, he along with Bhima led the Pandavas in the first day of the battle. He defeated Duhshasana on the first day. He even checked the attacks of warriors like Bhishma, Drona, Karna, Duryodhana, Kritavarma, and Ashwatthama. He kills 180 great warriors when he, Yudhishthira, and Sahadeva attacked Bhishma on the ninth day of the war. In the killing of Bhishma, he along with a few others breach Bhishma's inner ring, allowing Arjuna and Shikhandi to bring Bhishma down. He also wounds and defeats his uncle Shalya in battle. He killed three of Karna's sons: Chitrasena, Satyasena, and Sushena on the final day of battle. He fights with valour against Karna on the fifteenth day. He breaks Karna's bow 4 times and wounds him very badly; Nakula manages to prolong the battle for an hour. Being a legendary archer, Karna manages to overcome Nakula, but spares him due to the promise he had made to Kunti.

The above information and more about Nakula can be found here- Nakula

Sahadeva
The word Sahadeva is derived from two Sanskrit words saha (सह) and deva(देव). Saha means 'with' and deva is a Hindu term used for deity. So literally, Sahadeva means 'with Gods'. The another meaning is 'thousand Gods'. His skills were as follows-

• Wisdom: Sahadeva was the most intelligent among his brothers. In fact, Yudhisthir refers to him as being intelligent as Brihaspati-the divine teacher of gods. He was also a master in medicine, equastrian skills, bovine veterinary, politics and humanities. He was King Yudhishthira's private counsellor.

• Astrology: It is said that he was a great astrologer as his brother Nakula, and he even knew about everything including the Mahabharata battle beforehand. But he was cursed that if he disclosed the events to anyone then his head would split into pieces.

• Swordsmanship: Sahadeva was a master swordsman like his brother, Nakula.

Sahadeva was very good in Astrology. Duryodhana, on the advice of Shakuni approached Sahadeva in order to seek the right time (muhurta) to start the Mahabharata war so that the Kauravas will be victorious. Sahadeva disclosed the same for the Kauravas in spite of knowing that Kauravas were their enemy, as Sahadeva was known to be very honest. During the gambling loss, he had taken an oath of slaying Shakuni. He accomplished this task successfully on the 18th day of battle. Among other prominent war-heroes killed by Sahadeva were Shakuni's son Uluka and Trigata Prince Niramitra.

Who was Better Arjun or Pradyumna?

To find out the greatest warrior between Arjun and Pradyumna, First we have to know about who are they?

Arjun

Arjuna was the son of Indra, the king of the celestials, born of Kunti, the first wife of King Pandu in the Kuru Kingdom. In a previous birth he was a saint named Nara who was the lifelong companion of another saint Narayana an incarnation of Lord Vishnu who took rebirth as Lord Krishna.

Pradyumna

Pradyumna was son of Lord Krishna and 61st grandson of Adinarayan. His mother was Rukmini, whom Lord Krishna got from her father Bhimkashen Narayan and brother Bhimkaraya Rukmi. Pradyumna was born in Dvaraka. He was the incarnate of God Kamdev.

Now if you read Mahabharat you will Find out that Only Bhishma, Dronacharya and Karna are able to compete against Arjuna.
However, Lord Sri Krishna, Barbarika and Babruvahana are the only who have potential to defeat him.

so, is that Arjun is grater than Pradyumna? NO

Pradyumna was a mighty Maharathi warrior. He possessed the extremely rare Vaishnavastra which is the most powerful weapon in the universe. Also he was one of the very few people to know the secret of the Chakra Vyuha. But Pradyumna did not participate in the Kurukshetra War as he went on a pilgrimage with his uncle Balarama and other yadavas. thus, we are unable to determine his true strength.

therefore, we can’t compere these two warriors. they both posses Vaishnavastra and many more powerful weapons. However many will take sides of Arjuna because he defeated most of the powerful warriors in Kurukshetra War

Karna and his family......

Karna is one of the most beloved characters of the Mahabharata; the eldest Pandava who craved for legitimacy and respect, the only man who could defeat Arjuna, the good man who pledged unfaltering loyalty to Duryodhana.

• Vrushali: Karna's first wife

Vrushali was the sister of Duryodhana’s charioteer Satyasen. It is belived that Karna's adoptive father Adhiratha wanted Karna to get married to her. Vrushali went sati on Karna's pyre after his death. Duryodhana also mentions that Vrushali was not an ordinary person but of a very high character equivalent to Karna.

• Supriya: Karna's second wife

Karna's second wife's name was Supriya. Nothing much has been talked of Supriya in the great epic apart from the fact that she was a friend of Duryodhana’s wife Bhanumati. Even in the case of Vrushali, very little is known. In the Stree Parva's Jalapradanikaparva, when Gandhari laments the massacre on the battlefield, she devotes four shlokas to one sole woman whom she identifies as Karna's wife, albeit with no name. Gandhari does state the names of the couple's two sons, Vrishasena and Sushena.

• Karna had Ten sons:

1. Vrishasena - Killed by Arjuna during the Kurukshetra war.

Vrishasena was the eldest son of Karna. He had successfully staved off a challenge from Nakula during the Kurukshetra war and even ousted him from his chariot. Nakula then mounted the chariot of Bheema. When he saw Arjuna nearby, he called out to him and urged him to kill Vrishasena. Arjuna then requests Krishna who is his charioteer to go towards Vrishasena. “I will slay him under his father’s gaze”, he says.

Vrishasena was the eldest son of Karna. He had successfully staved off a challenge from Nakula during the Kurukshetra war and even ousted him from his chariot. Nakula then mounted the chariot of Bheema. When he saw Arjuna nearby, he called out to him and urged him to kill Vrishasena. Arjuna then requests Krishna who is his charioteer to go towards Vrishasena. “I will slay him under his father’s gaze”, he says.

Arjuna then proceeds to show why he is regarded as the greatest archer of all times. He shoots ten arrows at Vrishasena weakening him even as his father Karna watched on helplessly. Arjuna fires four razor headed arrows, cutting off Vrishasena’s bow, his tow arms and then his head. Karna weeps aloud when he sees the head of his son severed from the body. He curses Arjuna and challenged him to a battle.

2. Vrishaketu - Killed by Babruvahana.

The only son to survive the Kurukshetra war was Vrishakethu. The Pandavas then took him under their wing. Vrishaketu accompanied Arjuna in his campaigns against Sudhava and Babruvahana. Arjuna and Krishna, both had great affection to Vrishakethu. He is believed to be the last mortal on earth to understand and know the use of Brahmastra, Varunastra and Vayuastra. This knowledge died with him as Krishna ordered him not to reveal it to anyon. Vrishaketu was killed by Babruvahana (Arjuna’s son).

3. Chitrasena - Killed by Nakula during the Kurukshetra war.

4. Satyasena - Killed by Nakula during the Kurukshetra war.

5. Sushena - Killed by Bhema during the Kurukshetra war.

6. Shatrunjaya - Killed by Arjuna during the Kurukshetra war.

7. Dvipata - Killed by Arjuna during the Kurukshetra war.

8. Banasena / Vrasena - Killed by Arjuna during the Kurukshetra war.

9. Prasena / Susarma - Killed by Nakula during the Kurukshetra war.

10. Sudama - Killed by Arjuna during the Swayamvara of Draupadi.

The Mahabharata says Sudama died during the events that followed the Swayamvara of Draupadi. The Swayamvar was erupted due to revolt of kings present for swayamvar, for defense Arjun filled the sky with countless arrows and some of arrows hit sudama. He was around 9 years old at the time.

• Shone : Karna's brother

Shon or Shone is son of Adhiratha and his wife Radha. Shon is believed to be born after Karna's adoption, who became his younger foster brother.

During the Battle at Matsya between the Kauravas and Arjuna, Arjun filled the battlefield with countless arrows. It was a very fierce battled in which Arjun killed many warriors including Karna's brother Shon.