Virata, in the Hindu epic Mahabharata, was a king in whose court the Pandavas spent a year in concealment during their exile. Virata was married to Queen Sudeshna and was the father of Prince Uttara and Princess Uttarā, who married Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna. Their son Parikshit succeeded Yudhisthira to the throne of Hastinapura, after the war of Mahabharata.
He is killed during a Kauravas attack in the Great war of Kurukshetra along with his four sons: Uttara, Shveta, Satanika and Shankha. In other versions he is killed by Drona on the 15th day of the war.