Arjuna
continued his journey and traveled as far as the Eastern Himalayas.
There he saw the beautiful kingdom of Manipur ....It was mystical and
exotic.
As
he was traveling through the kingdom, he saw the beautiful princess
of Manipur – Chitrangada. Arjuna went to King Chitravahana, the
King of Manipur. 'Your Majesty! I am Arjuna. My parents are Pandu and
Kunti....'
Chitravahana
was jubilant when he heard the words, 'You are the great Arjuna...The
greatest archer in the world....Who has not heard of you...Your
fighting skills are legendary....'
The
King insisted that Arjuna spend some time there. Arjuna agreed. There
as he talked with Chitrangada, he realized that she was extremely
intelligent. He wanted to marry her. Talking to Chitrangada he
realized that Chitrangada also loved him. He went to King
Chitravahana, 'Your majesty!....I....find your daughter very
intelligent and sweet...she also loves me....If it is ok....'
Chitravahana
however unhappily shook his head, 'Arjuna! I know that you are a
great warrior...I would be glad to have you as my son-in-law,
but....'
Arjuna
frowned as Chitravahana continued, 'According to our custom, the
throne always goes by the mothers family line and not by the father's
line...' Arjuna looked surprised as Chitravahana continued, 'You see
Chitrangada's child, will be the next ruler of this kingdom....If you
marry her and take her away to your kingdom....this kingdom would be
left without a ruler, after me....'
Arjuna
shook his head, 'I will not insist on taking away your heir your
majesty. If that is your custom, I have no problems with that.
Chitrangada's child can rule the kingdom. Chirangada herself can
continue to stay here after the marriage....'
King
Chitravahana happily agreed as Arjuna and Chitrangada were married.
There Arjuna and Chitrangada had a son – Bhubhruvahana.
Bhubravahana was the heir of the Kingdom of Manipur and the entire
kingdom rejoiced his birth.
After
staying with Chitrangada and Bhubhruvahana for a year, he left them
and again started his travels.
Many adventures later,
Arjuna's twelve year exile period ended. He went back to Indraprasta.
After
Arjuna left, the Kingdom of Manipur had another visitor – Uloopi.
Uloopi told Chitrangada all about herself. Chitrangada realizing that
Uloopi was also Arjuna's wife, welcomed Uloopi. Both of them lived
like sisters. Uloopi loved Bhubhruvahan like her own son. She
encouraged Bhuvbhruvahan to learn archery and become a great archer
like his father Arjuna....
Meanwhile
back in Hastinapur, the Pandavas lost their kingdom to the Kauravas
in the game of dice. All the five of them along with Draupadi were
sent to exile to live in the forest.
However
when the Pandavas returned after the period of exile, the Kauravas
refused to give the kingdom back to the Pandavas.
Because
of this the Pandavas and the Kauravas fought the great Mahabharatha
war. Iravan, - Uloopi's son fought the war along with his father
Arjuna. However he was killed by the Kauravas during the war.
During
the war, Bheeshma, the grandfather of the Pandavas and the Kauravas,
fought on the side of the Kauravas. Bheeshma loved the Pandavas and
knew that the Pandavas were right. But he was bound to the king of
Hastinapur. As the Kauravas ruled Hastinapur, Bheeshma was on the
side of the Kauravas during the war.
Bheeshma
was one of the best archers in the world. On the best of his days,
even Arjuna could not beat him....The war was tilting towards the
Kauravas because of Bheeshma. The Pandavas were at a loss about how
to control Bheeshma. The Panndavas had no choice but to use some
deceptive tactics to kill Bheeshma. Bheeshma being a great warrior
had sworn that he would never take up arms against an unarmed woman
or a child.
Knowing
this, Arjuna, used Shikhandi, [a woman by name Amba] as a shield to
attack Bheeshma. Because of Shikhandi, Bheeshma could not attack
Arjuna and Arjuna shot Bheeshma with arrows. The arrows were embedded
inside Bheeshma's body as he fell to the ground. Bheeshma's war was
over....
Bheeshma
was one of the eight Vasus, who had incarnated on the earth because
of a curse.
The
other Vasus were aghast when they saw Bheeshma fall down. 'How dare
Arjuna hurt our brother...And that too using such wrong ways....The
man has killed his own grandfather....This is wrong...For that we
curse him....We curse him that Arjuna will be killed by his own son
in battle...'
Hi, I just found your blog and love reading your posts, I love the way you write just like a very professional writer.
ReplyDeleteBut I would like to point out a mistake in this post, Arjuna used Shikhandi who was Amba and not Ambalika. Please edit this fact.
Thank you.
Thank you for the correction.
DeleteTwo good. Please continue to write. Also think of doing an illustrated children's book.
ReplyDeleteToo good. Please continue writing.
ReplyDeleteDear Mam,
ReplyDeleteIn this part you have mentioned Iravan, - Uloopi's son fought the war along with his father Arjuna. However he was killed by the Kauravas during the war.
But as per my knowledge, Iravan (also known as Aravan) has not participated in the war but made self-sacrifice to the goddess Kali (before the war starts) to ensure her favour and the victory of the Pandavas in the war. Correct me if I am wrong.
Regards,
Prasanna
Dear Sir,
DeleteVeda Vyasa s Mahabharata tells that Iravan was killed in the battle and met his end. It makes no mention of any sacrifice. However there are many folk stories about the Pandavas sacrificing Iravan to win the war. I have relied on Veda Vyasa's version in this story.
According to sage ved vyas's mahabharat, Iravan was killed on the 8th day of the war...there's no mention of any sacrifice as such..however, many versions of mahabharata have been developed over the years..in some of them people have written and added things/stories according to their belief.
ReplyDeleteUloopi is amazing. She not only saved Arjun from hell but literally raised him from the dead, something which no other character could do. She also taught Bhubhruvahana the art of warfare, making him better at archery than Arjun himself!!!
ReplyDelete