Kalayavana ( sa, कालयवन, lit=Death Greek, translit=Kālayavana) is a king in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or ''dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global po ...

. He is stated to have invaded

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the to ...

with an army of 30 million ''yavanas'' (barbarians) against

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 ...

Legend

The ''

Brahmanda Purana The ''Brahmanda Purana'' ( sa, ब्रह्माण्ड पुराण, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas, a genre of Hindu texts. It is listed as the eighteenth Maha-Purana in almost all the anthologies. The tex ...

'' 14.46ff narrates the following story of Kalayavana's birth: a woman named Vrka-devi decided to test the virility of Gargya ( IAST: Gārgya, "descendent of Garga"). Gargya was unable to ejaculate, for which the Yadavas insulted him. After a 12-year

penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of repentance for sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. It also plays a pa ...

, Gargya got a boon from Mahadeva that he would get a son who would destroy the Yadavas. During his penance, he ate iron fillings that made his complexion iron-black (''kāla''). Subsequently, Gargya came to Mathura, and had sex with a cowherd's daughter (''

gopi Gopi ( sa, गोपी, ) or Gopika in Hinduism are worshipped as the consorts and devotees of Krishna within the Vaishnavism and Krishnaism traditions for their unconditional love and devotion ('' Bhakti'') to god Krishna as described in the ...

''), who was actually an

apsara An apsaras or apsara ( sa, अप्सरा ' lso ' pi, अक्चरा, translit=accharā) is a type of female spirit of the clouds and waters in Hinduism and Buddhist culture. They figure prominently in the sculpture, dance, litera ...

in disguise. Kalayavana was the result of this union: Garga crowned him as the new king, and left for the forest. According to 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 ...

and

Harivamsa The ''Harivamsa'' ( , literally "the genealogy of Hari") is an important work of Sanskrit literature, containing 16,374 shlokas, mostly in the '' anustubh'' metre. The text is also known as the ''Harivamsa Purana.'' This text is believed ...

, Kalayavana was a

Yavana The word Yona in Pali and the Prakrits, and the analogue Yavana in Sanskrit and Yavanar in Tamil, were words used in Ancient India to designate Greek speakers. "Yona" and "Yavana" are transliterations of the Greek word for " Ionians" ( grc, ...

king. He was the partial incarnation of Krodha.

Jarasandha Jarasandha was a powerful king of Magadha, a minor antagonist in Mahabharata. He was the son of king Brihadratha, the founder of the Barhadratha dynasty of Magadha. According to popular lore, the descendants of Brihadratha ruled Magadha for 260 ...

, Kamsa's father-in-law, and the ruler of

Magadha Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was ruled ...

attackee

seventeen times, but is beaten by Krishna every time. Jarasandha, unable to defeat Krishna on his own, made an alliance with Kalayavana. Kalayavana had become a powerful Yavana warrior, who had gotten a boon from Shiva that on the battlefield, he would be undefeatable. Krishna, in order to defend his people, built a formidable city, named Dvaraka, to which he transported the inhabitants of Mathura. Kalayavana attacked Mathura with an army of 30 million Yavanas. Krishna, realising that the Yavanas had greatly outnumbered all the Yadavas, decided to challenge Kalayavana for a duel. Krishna strategically fled the battlefield. Krishna lured Kalayavana into the cave where the great king of ''

Treta Yuga ''Treta Yuga'', in Hinduism, is the second and second best of the four '' yugas'' (world ages) in a '' Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Krita (Satya) Yuga'' and followed by ''Dvapara Yuga''. ''Treta Yuga'' lasts for 1,296,000 years (3,600 divine year ...

'', Muchukunda, one of the forefathers of

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular ''avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being ...

, was in a deep slumber of thousands of years after helping the

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) Deva ...

in an epic war with the

asura Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the word is sometimes translated ...

s. Desiring an absolutely undisturbed sleep, he had been given a boon by Indra that anyone who dared to disturb his sleep would get burnt to ashes immediately. In the ''

Dvapara Yuga ''Dvapara Yuga'' ( Dwapara Yuga), in Hinduism, is the third and third best of the four '' yugas'' (world ages) in a '' Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Treta Yuga'' and followed by '' Kali Yuga''. ''Dvapara Yuga'' lasts for 864,000 years (2,400 divi ...

'', in the darkness deep inside the cave, Krishna covered Muchukunda with his scarf. Kalayavana, assuming him to be Krishna, kicked him, thus disturbing the king's sleep, and being reduced to ash. Muchukunda was delighted to see Krishna there. Krishna advised him to perform tapasya to cleanse his accumulated sins to attain moksha. After meeting the deity, Muchukunda set out of the cave. Muchukunda then travelled north to Gandamadana Mountain, and from there, to Badrikashrama, for doing penance and finally achieved liberation in the form of

moksha ''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriologica ...

In popular culture

The hills and the cave where Muchukunda rested is held by locals to be located at Ranchodji teerth, district Lalitpur, in the state of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

References

Asura Characters in the Mahabharata Characters in the Bhagavata Purana {{Hindu-myth-stub