Babruvahana and Arjuna
There is an interesting side story in Mahabharata about Babhruvahana who was even more skilled to his father, Arjuna. He succesfully stopped the Pandavas quest of performing Ashwamedha. This story may be treated as similar to Luv Kush stopping Rama from performing Ashwamedha yagya.
Here is the detailed story of Babruvahana.
Birth of Babruvahana
During exile, Arjuna travelled the length and breadth of India. His wanderings took him to ancient Manipura, an almost mystic kingdom renowned for its natural beauty. There, he met Chitrāngadā, the daughter of the king of Manipura, and was moved to seek her hand in marriage. Her father demurred on the plea that, according to the matrilineal customs of his people, the children born of Chitrāngadā were heir to Manipura; he could not allow his heirs to be taken away from Manipur by their father. Arjuna promised that he would take away neither his wife Chitrāngadā nor any children borne by her from Manipura and wed the princess. Babruvahana, was soon born to the couple and later succeeded his grandfather as king of Manipura.
Ashwamedha yagya by Yudhishthira
Long after the battle of Kurukshetra, Yudhishtira decides to conduct the Aswamedha Yaga. The yaga horse enters the dominion of Manipur, with the horse intended for the Aswamedha, there was a battle between Arjuna and King Babhruvahana, and the latter killed his father with an arrow. Repenting of his deed, he determined to kill himself, but he obtained from his stepmother, the Naga princess Uloopi, a gem which restored Arjuna to life. He returned with his father to Hastinapura.
Babruvahana vs Arjuna
Arjuna’s death in the battle is also attributed to the curse of the Ashta-Vasus. The Vasus, enraged by Arjuna’s deceptive tactic of using Shikandi as a shield to kill Bhishma (an incarnation of one of the eight Vasus), curse Arjuna that he would be slain by his own son. This curse comes to pass during the battle between Arjuna and Babruvahana.
Babruvahana also killed Karna’s son Vrishaketu in the battle. Vrishaketu had accompanied Arjuna in the Ashwamedha Yagna and was consequently killed. Later krishna revived Vrishaketu.
