Whenever it comes to the oldest warrior in the war of Mahabharata, the name of Bhishma Pitamah comes to the mind of the people. While the fact is that it was not Bhishma Pitamah, but his uncle Bahlika who was the oldest warrior who participated in the war of Mahabharata.
Kuruvanshi King Pratip had three sons namely Devapi, Bahlika and Shantanu. The eldest son Devapi had developed leprosy, that is why he left the state and went to the forest for penance. King Pratipa had another son namely Bahlika who himself refused to bear the burden of the kingdom. In this way, the kingdom came to Shantanu, the youngest son of Pratipa.
This was Shantanu’s son Devavrata, who later became famous by the name of Bhishma.
While Bahlika had a son Somadutta and Somadutta’s son was Bhurishrava. In this way Bahlika was the elder brother of Bhishma Pitamah’s father Shantanu. Bahlika participated in the Mahabharata war with his son Somadutta and grandson Bhurishrava in favor of the Kauravas at the request of Dhritarashtra. This oldest warrior of Mahabharata, Bahlika was killed by Bhima on the 14th Day of Mahabharata War.
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