Jayadratha- Hindu FigureMortal"King of Sindhu"

Marriage and Early Enmity

Jayadratha was the king of the Sindhu-Sauvira kingdom and son of the aged king Vriddhakshatra. He married Duhsala, the sole daughter of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari, making him a Kaurava ally by marriage. During the Pandavas' forest exile, Jayadratha encountered Draupadi alone at the hermitage while the brothers were away hunting. Overcome by desire, he attempted to abduct her by force, dragging her onto his chariot. The Pandavas pursued. Bhima and Arjuna caught him, shaved his head leaving five tufts as a mark of servitude, and released him only because Yudhishthira interceded: killing Duhsala's husband would cause their cousin undue grief. The humiliation burned in Jayadratha.

Shiva's Boon

Jayadratha retreated to the mountains and performed severe austerities directed at Shiva. Pleased by his penance, Shiva offered a boon. Jayadratha asked for the power to defeat all five Pandavas. Shiva modified the request: he could not grant victory over Arjuna, who was protected by Krishna and destiny, but he could grant the ability to hold back the other four for a single day.

The Death of Abhimanyu

On the thirteenth day of the Kurukshetra War, the Kaurava commander Drona arranged the army in the Chakravyuha, a rotating wheel formation. Arjuna was drawn away to a different part of the battlefield by the Samshaptakas. His sixteen-year-old son Abhimanyu, who knew how to enter the formation but not how to exit, volunteered to breach it while the other Pandavas followed behind. Abhimanyu broke through the outer ring. Jayadratha stationed himself at the breach and activated Shiva's boon. The other four Pandavas could not advance past him despite their combined strength. Trapped inside alone, Abhimanyu fought until Drona, Karna, and four others closed on him simultaneously. They killed him in violation of the rules of war.

Arjuna's Vow

When Arjuna returned and learned of his son's death, he vowed before the entire army to kill Jayadratha before sunset the following day or immolate himself. The Kauravas surrounded Jayadratha with their finest warriors in concentric rings. On the fourteenth day, Arjuna fought through the entire Kaurava army in a single sustained assault, cutting through division after division. As sunset approached and Jayadratha remained unreached, Krishna caused an apparent darkness to fall. Believing the sun had set and Arjuna's vow had failed, Jayadratha emerged to celebrate. Krishna revealed the sun still hung at the horizon. Arjuna released an arrow that severed Jayadratha's head.

Guided by Krishna's counsel, the arrow carried the head far from the battlefield and dropped it in the lap of Vriddhakshatra, Jayadratha's father, who was meditating nearby. The old king had received a boon that whoever caused his son's head to touch the ground would have their own skull shatter. When Vriddhakshatra stood and the head fell from his lap, his skull burst apart.