Bahlika (Mahabharata)

Bahlika (Sanskrit: बाह्लिक), also spelled as Vahlika, was the king of Bahlika kingdom in the Mahabharata, the elder brother of Shantanu, who was a king of Hastinapura and the uncle of Bhishma. He was the oldest warrior to fight in the Mahabharata war, who lived up to seven generations. He had a son Somadatta and grandson Bhurishravas who along with him fought on the side of the Kaurava army in the Kurukshetra War. He was slain by Bhima in the 15th day of the war. Yudhishthira had once remarked that the only wish he ever had that there should be peace among the Bhāratas.

Kuru Prince & Accession To The Throne

Bahlika was the second of the three sons of Pratipa and his wife Sunanda, the king and queen of Hastinapura. Due to leprosy, Pratipa's eldest son Devapi refused to ascend the throne and retired into the woods to perform penance. Bahlika was next in line to ascend the throne. However, he refused the throne, abandoning his paternal kingdom for his new kingdom, which he believed was wealthier than Hastinapura. He became the monarch of the kingdom and his kingdom was called Bahlika because of him. Shantanu then became the crown prince and upon Pratipa's death became the king of Hastinapura with Bahlika's blessing.

Before The Kurukshetra War

Drona arranged a friendly tournament in Hastinapura to show off the skills of his disciples Kauravas and Pandavas with Bahlika among other kings. He was also present during the installment of Yudhishthira as the crown prince of Hasitnapura where he was invited by Nakula as guest. The Pandavas subjugated all the kingdoms of Bharata either through force or by peace and extracted tribute from them as part of the Rajasuya sacrifice to make Yudhishthira the emperor of the whole country. Bahlika willingly accepted the authority of Yudhishthira during the Rajasuya sacrifice. After Yudhishthira's installation, Bahlika gifted him a chariot that was made from pure gold. Bahlika along with his family attended the game of dice between Duryodhana and Yudhishthira which in fact had been masterminded by Shakuni. After Yudhishthira lost everything including his brothers, himself and his wife Draupadi in the game, Karana ordered Dushasana to disrobe Draupadi and her husbands. Like the others, Bahlika did not stop him since after defeating Yudhishthira Duryodhana had become the emperor.

During The Kurukshetra War

Bahlika and his kingdom fought on the side of Duryodhana during the war. Bhishma, the son of Shantanu and his nephew considered him to be an Atirathi. On the first day, Bahlika fought against Dhristaketu, king of Chedi. On the ninth day, he fought against Bhima. Bhima destroyed Bahlika's chariot; however, he was saved by Duryodhana's son Laxman Kumara. During the war, he participated in the killing of Abhimanyu. On the fourteenth day, he fought against the Upapandavas and Shikhandi, simultaneously, and resisted them. On the fifteenth day of the war, Bahlika slew Senavindu. Satyaki battled Bahlika's son Somadatta and knocked him unconscious with his arrows. Bahlika upon seeing this became furious and battled with Satyaki. Bhima then rushed to Satyaki's aid and battled with Bahlika. Bahlika struck Bhima with a dart that made him delirious. Upon recovering his senses Bhima hurled a mace at his head, killing him.

The war would extinguish Bahlika's line. His only child and heir, Somadatta, was killed by Arjuna, and Somadatta's son Bhurisravas was beheaded by Satyaki; Bhurisravas's nine brothers die as well. Bhurisravas's two sons Pratipa and Prajanya were killed by Abhimanyu on the thirteenth day of the war. Bhurisravas's daughter would marry Satyajit of the Pancala Kingdom, and their son would marry the only grandchild of Bhurisravas.