Maharaja Somadatta

Somadatta is a Kuru prince of the Lunar dynasty in the Mahabharata, the son of Bahlika and the father of Bhurishravas. He fought on the Kaurava side at Kurukshetra. The Somadatta gotra on this site, whose pravara reads "Atri, Soma, Somadatta", takes its name from him, and describes the line as Chandravanshi.

His family is given in the Vishnu Purana [IV.20]. Pratipa had three sons: Devapi, Shantanu and Bahlika. Bahlika's son was Somadatta, whose sons were Bhuri, Bhurishravas and Shala. So he was a nephew of Shantanu and a cousin of Bhishma. In the Drona Parva Satyaki calls him "the son of Valhika", the Mahabharata's form of Bahlika.

His story is bound up with a feud over Devaki. Sanjaya tells it in the Drona Parva [section 143]. At Devaki's svayamvara, Sini, the grandfather of Satyaki, threw Somadatta in a bout and spared his life with the word "Live". Somadatta then prayed to Mahadeva for a son who would strike Sini's descendant before thousands of kings. That son was Bhurishravas, who on the fourteenth day of the war threw Satyaki down and struck him with his foot, and was killed by Satyaki soon after.

Why this name is in the gotra. The sources I could read present Somadatta as a prince, not as a seer, and none gives the pravara "Atri, Soma, Somadatta". The gotra page on this site uses his name as a mark of the Lunar line, with Atri and Soma as the line's founders. This page records only what the epics say about the man.

1. Son of Bahlika: he is a grandson of Pratipa and a nephew of Shantanu [Vishnu Purana IV.20].
2. The contest for Devaki: Sini defeats him and spares his life, which starts a feud between the two houses [Drona Parva 143].
3. The boon for a son: he prays to Mahadeva and is granted Bhurishravas.
4. The war: he fights for the Kauravas, with his father Bahlika and his son Bhurishravas.
5. The night of the fourteenth day: after Satyaki kills Bhurishravas, Somadatta swears to kill Satyaki before the night is over. In the fight, Bhima joins Satyaki, and Somadatta falls unconscious [Drona Parva 157]. Satyaki then kills him [Drona Parva 162].

• Kurukshetra: the field of the war.
• Devaki's svayamvara: where the feud with Sini begins.