Rama and Krishna being received at the Court of the King Ugrasena at Mathura

Ugrasena ( sa, उग्रसेन) is a character mentioned 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,

Mahabharata 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 K ...

. He is the King of

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the town of Vrindavan, and from Govardhan. ...

, a kingdom that was established by the powerful fearless

Abhira The Abhira tribe is mentioned in the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata. A historical people of the same name are mentioned in the '' Periplus of the Erythraean Sea''. They are thought to be people who moved in from eastern Iran in the aftermath o ...

tribes from the Yaduvamsha clan. His son was Kamsa, and

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...

's maternal grandfather, Devaka, was his brother. King Ugrasena was overthrown by Kamsa, and was sentenced to life in prison, along with Kamsa's cousin,

Devaki Devaki ( Sanskrit: देवकी, IAST: ''Devakī'') is a character in Hindu literature, most noted for being the mother of the god Krishna. She is one of the seven daughters of Devapa or Devaka, a king of the Yadu dynasty, and has four b ...

, and her husband,

Vasudeva According to Hindu scriptures, Vasudeva (Sanskrit: वसुदेव, IAST: ''Vasudeva''), also called Anakadundubhi, (''anakas'' and ''dundubhis'' both refer to ''drums'', after the musicians who played these instruments at the time of his ...

. Krishna reinstalled Ugrasena as the ruler of Mathura once more after defeating his wicked uncle.

Mythology

According to the

Puranas Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...

, Kamsa issued an order for the execution of his own father once he grew paranoid of the valour of Krishna and Balarama in Mathura, observing them slay wild elephants that he had released for their murder. He ordered his father to be thrown in the river Kalindi, bound hand and foot. This was among the many reasons that would lead to his nephew slaying him. Krishna treated Ugrasena with honour upon his prestigious welcome and reception to the city of Mathura:

Samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havi ...

, the son of Krishna and great-grand son of Ugrasena, had insulted several sages by disguising himself as a pregnant woman and asked the sages to ascertain the baby's gender. The sages cursed him to deliver an iron rod, which was to cause the annihilation of his entire clan. The Yadavas reported these tidings to Ugrasena, who had the rod turned into powder, and thrown into the sea. He also prohibited liquor in his kingdom. Sometime, after this incident he died and attained heaven. He, along with Bhurshiravas, Shalya, Uttara and his brother Shankha, Vasudeva, Bhuri, Kamsa, joined the company of

devas Devas may refer to: * Devas Club, a club in south London * Anthony Devas (1911–1958), British portrait painter * Charles Stanton Devas (1848–1906), political economist * Jocelyn Devas (died 1886), founder of the Devas Club * Devas (band), ...

in heaven.

Personality

In contrast to his son Kamsa, Ugrasena is described to be a conscientious and capable ruler, and a great devotee of Vishnu. The

Vishnu Purana The Vishnu Purana ( IAST:, sa, विष्णुपुराण) is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of ancient and medieval texts of Hinduism. It is an important Pancharatra text in the Vaishnavism literature corpus. The manusc ...

states that the city of Mathura was "well presided over by Ugrasena, and abounded in a happy population both of men and women".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ugrasena People related to Krishna Characters in the Mahabharata Mythological kings