Chitrāngadā | |
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A play depicting Chitrāngadā (right) with Arjuna and Babruvahana | |
Information | |
Family | Chitravahana (father) |
Spouse | Arjuna |
Children | Babruvahana |
Relatives | Kunti (mother-in-law), Pandavas (brothers-in-law), Draupadi, Ulupi, Subhadra (co-wives) |
Home | Manipura |
Chitrāngadā (Sanskrit : चित्रांगदा, romanized: Citrāṅgadā), is a warrior princess of Manipura in the Hindu epic Mahabharata . She is the only heir of King Chitravahana and was the third wife of Arjuna. She had a son named Babhruvahana with him. [1] The story of Chitrāngadā was adapted by Indian writer, Rabindranath Tagore in his play, Chitra.
Manipura was a kingdom in India during the Mahabharata period. It was ruled by a king named Chitravahana. [2] He had a daughter named Chitrāngadā, whom he named after the Madhulika flower. For multiple generations, the dynasty did not have more than one heir. Since Chitravahana did not have any other heir, he trained Chitrāngadā in warfare and rule. Chitrāngadā was well-versed in warfare and acquired the skills to protect the people of her land. [3]
It is not described in Mahabharata as to how Arjuna, the Pandava prince met Chitrāngadā. The account is described in Rabindranath Tagore's play Chitra, [4] where Tagore depicts Chitrāngadā (she had a maid called Sujata) as a warrior dressed in male clothes. [5] Arjuna fell in love with her on account of her honesty and courage. [3] Arjuna's wanderings, during his period of exile, also took him to the ancient kingdom of Manipura. Visiting king Chitravahana, the ruler of Manipura, he beheld his beautiful daughter Chitrāngadā and fell in love with her. When he approached the king to seek her hand in marriage, the king told him the story of his ancestor Prabhanjana who was childless and undertook severe austerities to obtain offspring. Finally, Shiva appeared to Prabhanjana, granting him the boon that each successive descendant of his race should have one child. As Chitravahana, unlike his ancestors, had not a son, but a daughter, he made her a "Putrika" according to the customs of his people. This meant that a child, born of her, would be his successor, and no one else. Arjuna readily agreed to this condition. Marrying Chitrāngadā, he stayed with her for three years. When Chitrāngadā had given birth to a son, Arjuna embraced her affectionately and took leave of her and her father to resume his wanderings. [6] [7]
Arjuna left her and returned to Hastinapura, promising her that he would take her back to his kingdom. Chitrāngadā started bringing up her son Babruvahana. Mahabharata loses mention about Chitrāngadā and her kingdom for several chapters. On the other side, the Pandavas went through various ordeals and finally winning the war against the Kauravas. Yudhishthira became the king of Hastinapura. His mind was restless since he always felt bad of killing his own kith and kin during the war. On the advice of sages, he conducted the ashvamedha yagna, where a decorated horse would be sent across the kingdom and wherever it goes unopposed, the land would be acquired by the king who sent it. Arjuna was tasked to take care of the horse. While the horse moved towards the North-east, a young man opposed Arjuna. While Arjuna asked about the identity of the young man, he said he was the prince of the land and that was enough introduction to start a fight. [8]
A fierce fight started and Arjuna was shocked to see the dexterity with which arrows were pouring at him. He was finally hit by one of the arrows and before he fell unconscious, he realised that the young man was the son of Chitrāngadā. Chitrāngadā came crying to the spot hearing of the incident and she met Arjuna at his death bed. Ulupi, the other wife of Arjuna came to the spot with the Nagamani, a mythical gem capable of bringing back dead men to life. [9] She told Chitrāngadā and Babruvahana that Arjuna was cursed by the Vasus that he would be killed by his own son because he was responsible for the fall of Bhishma (the eighth Vasu) and that with the incident he was relieved of his curse. Arjuna was woken up with the stone and he was happy to see both his wives and his son. Arjuna took Ulupi, Chitrāngadā and her son Babhruvahana to Hastinapura, where Chitrāngadā readily became the servant of Gandhari, the aunt of Arjuna. She spent her life in her service to Gandhari. [3]
Upon the onset of the Kali Yuga, the Pandavas along with Draupadi retired and left the throne to their only heir Arjuna's grandson, Parikshit. Giving up all their belongings and ties, they made their final journey of pilgrimage to the Himalayas, accompanied by a dog. Chitrāngadā went back to her kingdom, Manipura. [10]
Arjuna was an ancient prince of the Kuru Kingdom, located in the present-day India. His story is discussed in the epic, the Mahabharata, where he was the main protagonist along with Krishna. He was the third of five Pandava brothers, from the lineage of the Kuru. In the Mahabharata War, Arjuna was a key warrior from the Pandava side in the battle of Kurukshetra. Before the beginning of the war, his mentor Krishna gave him the supreme knowledge of the Bhagavad Gita to overcome his moral dilemmas.Arjuna is an Eternal Companion of Krishna. He was also an Incarnation of Nara from the Nara-Narayan duo a twin incarnation of Vishnu.
Satyavati was the queen of the Kuru Kingdom. Satyavati is married to king Shantanu of Hastinapura, and is the great-grandmother of the Pandava and Kaurava princes. She is also the mother of the seer Vyasa, author of the epic. Her story appears in the Mahabharata, the Harivamsa, and the Devi Bhagavata Purana.
Shantanu was the King of Kuru Kingdom with his capital at Hastinapura, in the epic Mahabharata. He was a descendant of the Bharata race, a forebear of the lineage of the Chandravamsha, the father of Bhishma and the great-grandfather of the Pandavas and the Kauravas.
Bhishma, also known as Pitamaha, Gangaputra, and Devavrata, was a prince and commander of ancient Indian Kuru kingdom and is a major character of the epic Mahabharata and the protagonist of the Bhishma Parva episode. He was the supreme commander of the Kaurava forces during the Kurukshetra War. He was the only character who witnessed the entirety of the events of the Mahabharata, beginning from the reign of his father, King Shantanu of the Kuru kingdom. Bhishma was the stepbrother of Vyasa, the grandfather of both the Pandavas and the Kauravas. He was a prominent statesman of the Kuru Kingdom. He was born as the youngest son of the King Shantanu and goddess Ganga.
Gandhari is a prominent figure in the Hindu epic the Mahabharata. She was the princess of the Gandhara Kingdom and wife of Dhritrashtra, the blind king of Kuru. In the epic, she is depicted with a blindfold, which she wore in order to live like her blind husband. Due to divine boons, she became the mother of a hundred sons, the Kauravas, who are the primary antagonists of the epic. She also had a daughter named Duhsala. Following the Kurukshetra War and the end of her hundred sons, Gandhari cursed Krishna, leading to the destruction of his Yadu Dynasty.
Dhritarashtra was a Kuru king, and the father of the Kauravas in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was the King of the Kuru Kingdom, with its capital at Hastinapura. He was born to Vichitravirya's first wife, Ambika.
In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Babruvahana is the son of Arjuna, a Pandava prince, and Chitrangada, the princess of Manipura (Mahabharata). Babruvahana was adopted as the heir of Manipura by his maternal grandfather, Chitravahana, and later reigned at the kingdom.
Ulupi, also known as Uluchi and Ulupika, is a Naga princess mentioned in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Ulupi is the daughter of the king Kauravya, and is the second wife of Arjuna. She also finds a mention in the Vishnu Purana and the Bhagavata Purana.
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Ashvamedhika Parva, is the fourteenth of eighteen books of the Indian epic Mahabharata. It traditionally has 2 parts and 96 chapters. The critical edition has one sub-book and 92 chapters.
Ashramvasika Parva, or the "Book of the Hermitage", is the fifteenth of the eighteen books of the Indian epic Mahabharata. It traditionally has 3 parts and 39 chapters. The critical edition has 3 parts and 47 chapters.
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Amba is a character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. She is the eldest and most beautiful daughter of Kashya, the King of Kashi, and the sister of Ambika and Ambalika.
Chitra is a one-act play written by Rabindranath Tagore, first published in English in 1913 by the India Society of London. The play adapts part of the story from the Mahabharata and centers upon the character of Chitrangada, a female warrior who tries to attract the attention of Arjuna. Chitra has been performed worldwide and has been adapted into several different formats, such as dance.
Babruvahana is a 1977 Indian Kannada-language Hindu mythological film directed by Hunsur Krishnamurthy. The film stars Rajkumar in a dual role as Arjuna and his son Babruvahana, the titular character alongside an ensemble supporting cast that includes B. Saroja Devi, Kanchana, Jayamala, Vajramuni, Thoogudeepa Srinivas and Ramakrishna.
Mahabharat Katha is an Indian television series aired on DD National. This is a sequel which contains portions and stories left out of Mahabharat. It was produced by B. R. Chopra and directed by his son Ravi Chopra.
Babruvahana is a 1964 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film, produced by C. Jaganmohana Rao under the Sri National Art Pictures banner and directed by Samudrala Sr. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, S. Varalakshmi, Chalam, and music composed by Paamarthi. The film is based on the life of Babruvahana, one of the sons of Arjuna.
Manipura, also known as Manalura, is a kingdom mentioned in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. According to the epic, it was located near a sea-shore, the Mahendra Mountains and the Kalinga Kingdom. Arjuna—one of the five Pandava brothers—visited Manipura and married Chitrangada, the princess of the kingdom. They had a son named Babruvahana who later ruled it.