Characters/Persons from Mahabharata - Part 19

Characters/Persons from Mahabharata

The story of Satyaki (Yuyudhana)
Characters/Persons from Mahabharata

Satyaki, also called Yuyudhana, is a powerful warrior belong to the Yadava-Vrishni dynasty of Lord Krishna, in the Mahābhārata epic.
Satyaki is devoted to Krishna and his best friend Arjuna, with whom he trained under Drona in military arts. He was born in the line of Shini of the Vrishni clan, and was a son of Satyaka. He was strongly and passionately favors the cause of the Pandavas over the Kauravas in the Kurukshetra War. Satyaki accompanies Krishna to the Kuru capital with Krishna as the emissary of peace which is ridiculed and turned down by the sons of Dhritarashtra.
In the Kurukshetra war, Satyaki and Kritavarma were two important Yadava heroes who fought on opposing sides. Satyaki fought on the side of the Pandavas, Kritavarma joined the Kauravas. Satyaki was a valiant warrior and on one particular occasion, stunned Drona by allegedly breaking his bow for a successive 101 times. In the course of the fourteenth day of the conflict, Satyaki fights an intense battle with his archrival Bhurisravas with whom he has a long standing family feud. After a long and bloody battle, Satyaki begins to tire, and Bhurisravas batters him and drags him across the battlefield. Arjuna is warned by Lord Krishna of what is happening. Bhurisravas prepares to kill Satyaki, but he is rescued from death by Arjuna, who shoots an arrow cutting off Bhurisravas' arm.
Bhurisrava wails out that by striking him without warning, Arjuna had disgraced the honor between warriors. Arjuna rebukes him for attacking a defenseless Satyaki. He reiterates that protecting Satyaki's life at all costs was his responsibility as a friend and comrade in arms.
Satyaki emerges from his swoon, and swiftly decapitates his enemy. He is condemned for this rash act, but every soldier present realizes that the power of Krishna made Satyaki end Bhurisravas' life, which was going to happen anyway.
Satyaki and Kritavarma both survived the Kurukshetra conflict . Kritavarma is involved in the slaughter of the Panchalas and the sons of the Pandavas in the undeclared night attack with Kripacharya and Ashwatthama. 36 years after the war, the Yadavas, including Satyaki and Kritavarma are involved in a drunken brawl with Satyaki accusing Kritavarma of killing sleeping soldiers and Kritavarma citicizing Satyaki for his beheading of the unarmed Bhurisravas. In the ensuing melee, Satyaki, Kritavarma and the rest of the Yadavas are exterminated, as it was ordained by Gandhari's curse. Krishna desired to remove the Yadava clan from earth at the same time as his Avatara is fulfilled, so that the earth may be free of any possibly sinful and aggressive warriors, which was the wider purpose of the Kurukshetra war.

The story of Satyavati
Characters/Persons from Mahabharata

Satyavati is the great-grandmother of the Pandava and Kaurava princes, principal characters of the Mahabharata, one of the principal texts in Hindu mythology. She is nevertheless a commoner, daughter to a ferryman or fisherman. She is also known as Matsyagandha (one who has the smell of fish).
As a young woman, she met the wandering rishi Parashara, by whom she had a son, Vyasa. His birth took place in secret on an island in the river Yamuna. This island in the shallow river Yamuna exists even today, and is enigmatic to say the least. At this point, the east-flowing river actually flows towards the west, giving the locale it's local name --- Pachmani( Paschim being West). This situation has existed for thousands of years, over a vast plain where there is no reason for the Yamuna to flow a tortuous path, rather than straight ahead. No hills or mountains cause the exreme meandering of the flow, and even the times of great floods have failed to alter the path of the river in this area. This strip of land surrounded by water on all sides is ideally located from safety point of view and is known as Manchodri in local parlance. Later, King Santanu of Hastinapura saw her and asked her to marry him. She agreed on condition that their children would inherit the throne. Their children were Chitrangada and Vichitravirya. After Santanu's death, she with her princely sons ruled the kingdom. Although both these sons died childless, she arranged for her first son Vyasa to father the children of the two wives of Vichitravirya (Ambika and Ambalika).