Malinipuri, also called Malini, is a city mentioned in the Sanskrit epic, the
Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu texts, Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the Hindu epic, epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Ind ...
.
The city was given to
Karna
Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: ''Karṇa''), also known as Vasusena, Anga-Raja, Sutaputra and Radheya, is one of the major characters in the Hindu epic ''Mahābhārata''. He is the son of Surya (the Sun deity) and princess Kunti (later ...
, a warrior and
tragic hero
A tragic hero (or sometimes tragic heroine if they are female) is the protagonist of a tragedy. In his ''Poetics (Aristotle), Poetics'', Aristotle records the descriptions of the tragic hero to the playwright and strictly defines the place that t ...
of the epic, by
Jarasandha
Jarasandha () is a king featured in the Hindu Mythology. He is the powerful monarch of Magadha, and a minor antagonist in Mahabharata. He is the son of the king Brihadratha, the founder of the Barhadratha dynasty of Magadha. According to popu ...
, king of
Magadha
Magadha was a region and kingdom in ancient India, based in the eastern Ganges Plain. It was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas during the Second Urbanization period. The region was ruled by several dynasties, which overshadowed, conquered, and ...
. Karna had sought out weapons instructions but was denied due to his
mixed-caste background. He had helped
Duryodhana
Duryodhana (, Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ̪ʊɾjoːd̪ʱən̪ᵊ ), also known as Suyodhana, is the primary antagonist in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata.'' He is the eldest of the Kaurava, Kauravas, the hundred sons of King Dhritarashtra and Queen Gan ...
abduct the princess of
Kalinga and fought off all the other kings while doing so, including Jarasandha. After this, Jarasandha wanted to test Karna's strength and challenged him to a wrestling match. Karna "ruptured the seam" that held together Jarasandha's body, defeating him, and was given the city of Malini. After this he became "king of the Angas"; it is presumed that Duryodhana elevated Karna to the Anga throne following the wrestling incident.
References
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Ancient Indian cities