Chitrāngadā ( sa, चित्रांगदा, ''Citrāṅgadā''), in the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

epic ''

Mahābhārata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuru ...

'', was the warrior princess of

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...

and the only heir of king Chitravahana. She had a son named

Babhruvahana In the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata'', Babruvahana ( sa, बब्रुवाहन) is the son of Arjuna, a Pandava prince, and Chitrangada, the princess of Manalura. Babruvahana was adopted as the heir of Manalura by his maternal grandfathe ...

with

Arjuna Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Panda ...

. The story of Chitrangada is adapted by Indian writer,

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

in his play, Chitra.

Early life

Manipur was a kingdom in India during ''Mahabaratha'' period. It was ruled by a king named Chitravahana. He had a daughter named Chitrangada, whom he named after Madhulika flower. For multiple generations, the dynasty did not have more than one heir. Since Chitravahana did not have any other heir, he trained Chitrangada in warfare and rule. Chitrangada was well-versed in warfare and acquired the skills to protect the people of her land.

Her marriage with Arjuna

It is not described in ''

Mahabharatha The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Ku ...

'' as to how Arjuna, the

Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledge ...

prince met Chitrangada. The account is described in

's play ''Chitra'', where Tagore depicts Chitrangada (she had a maid called Sujata) as a warrior dressed in male clothes. Arjuna fell in love with her on account of her honesty and courage. 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 Chitrangada 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, Mahadeva appeared to Prabhanjana, granting him the boon that each successive descendant of his race will always have a child, but only one. As Chitravahana's one child was a daughter, he made her his heir according to the customs of his people. This meant that any child she had with Arjuna couldn't be in the Kuru line of succession. Arjuna readily agreed to this condition. Marrying Chitrangada, he stayed with her for three years. When Chitrangada had given birth to a son, Arjuna embraced her affectionately and took leave of her and her father to resume his wanderings.

Later life

Arjuna left her and returned to Hastinapura, promising her that he would take her back to his kingdom. Chitrangada started bringing up her son Babruvahana. ''Mahabharata'' loses mention about Chitrangada and her kingdom for several chapters. On the other side, the

Pandavas The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledge ...

went through various ordeals and finally winning the war against the

Kauravas ''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his w ...

Yudhishthira ''Yudhishthira'' ( Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira'') is the eldest among the five Pandava brothers. He is mentioned in the ancient epic Mahabharata. He was sired by King Pandu of the Kuru Dynasty and his fir ...

became the king of Hastinapura. On the advice of sages, he conducted

Ashvamedha The Ashvamedha ( sa, अश्वमेध, aśvamedha, translit-std=IAST) was a horse sacrifice ritual followed by the Śrauta tradition of Vedic religion. It was used by ancient Indian kings to prove their imperial sovereignty: a horse accom ...

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. 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, realizing who Babruvahana was just before being rendered unconscious. Chitrangada came crying to the spot hearing of the incident and she met Arjuna at his death bed. Ulupi, another wife of Arjuna, came to the spot with the

Nagamani A snake-stone, also known as a viper's stone, snake's pearl, black stone, serpent-stone, or nagamani is an animal bone or stone used as folk medicine for snake bite in Africa, South America, India and Asia. The early Celtic era European Adder sto ...

, a mythical gem capable of bringing back dead men to life. She told Chitrangada 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 Bhishma ( Sanskrit: भीष्‍म, , ), also known as Pitamaha, Gangaputra, and Devavrata, played an integral role in Mahabharata. He was the supreme commander of the Kaurava forces during the Kurukshetra War mentioned in the Hindu epi ...

(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, Chitrangada and her son Babhruvahana to Hastinapura, where Chitrangada readily became the servant of Gandhari, the aunt of Arjuna. Upon the onset of the

Kali Yuga ''Kali Yuga'', in Hinduism, is the fourth and worst of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a '' Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Dvapara Yuga'' and followed by the next cycle's '' Krita (Satya) Yuga''. It is believed to be the present age, which i ...

, the

along with

Draupadi Draupadi ( sa, द्रौपदी, draupadī, Daughter of Drupada), also referred to as Krishnaa, Panchali, and Yagyaseni, is the main female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata,'' and the common consort of the five Pandava brothe ...

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. Chitrangada went back to her kingdom, Manipur.

Literature

* ''Citrāngadā'' in: M.M.S. Shastri Chitrao, ''Bharatavarshiya Prachin Charitrakosha'' (Dictionary of Ancient Indian Biography, in Hindi), Pune 1964, p. 213 * ''The Mahabharata of Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa'', trl. from the original Sanskrit by Kisari Mohan Ganguli, Calcutta 1883-1896 * ''Chitrangada'' in: Wilfried Huchzermeyer, ''Studies in the Mahabharata'', edition sawitri 2018, p. 17-19. (also as E-Book)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chitrangada Characters in the Mahabharata