One of the warriors who fought alongside the Kauravas in the battle of Kurukṣetra (Kurukshetra). His name actually was Acyutāyus, which took the form of Acyutāyu (or Acyutāyuḥ) without declension. He was often mentioned along with the name of Śrutāyuḥ (Shrutayuh) or Śrutāyus (Shrutayus). Even though they were said to be very strong and powerful, and belonging to a great clan, it is not mentioned over which kingdoms they ruled. However, from the sequence in which their names have been mentioned it appears that Śrutāyuḥ is the elder brother. Śrutāyuḥ and Acyutāyuḥ unexpectedly attacked Arjuna from the left and the right sides, respectively. An iron pike (tomara) thrown by Śrutāyuḥ, and a lance (śūla; shula) thrown by Acyutāyuḥ compelled Arjuna to hold onto the flagstaff and sit for a while. In fact, Kṛṣṇa (Krishna), the charioteer, was nonplussed for a while. In a short time Arjuna managed to check himself, even though he looked as if he were back from hell—

pretarājapuraṁ prāpya punaḥ pratyāgato yathā

Arjuna killed them both by chopping off their hands and heads.

Śrutāyuḥ’s son was Niyatāyu (Niyatayu) and Acyutāyuḥ’s son was Dīrghayu (Dirghayu). Infuriated by the death of their fathers, they joined the war, and were struck dead by the arrows shot by Arjuna.