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Saturday, December 05, 2015

Arjuna's exile - Ulupi and Chitrangada

Arjun set off on his exile, roaming the forests. He would meet the sages in the forests and learn from them. Roaming thus, one day he approached the banks of the river Ganga, at Gangotri.Finding it to be peaceful, he decided to spend the days of his exile there.

One day Arjuna was taking a bath in the waters of the river when he felt he was being dragged into the water. He had stepped into the water to have a bath and then prepare a fire, and perform his worship to the Gods. He was perplexed when he saw he could not come out. Ulupi, the daughter of the king of Nagas, was pulling him. Having seen Arjuna before, she had lost her heart to him, and wanted him for herself.

Arjuna found himself dragged into the kingdom of Nagas. There Arjuna saw a sacrificial fire. He sat before the fire and performed his worship. He then started exploring his surroundings when he saw Ulupi.


Ulupi said she was the daughter of the Naga king Kauravya. She said she was unmarried and wanted to marry Arjuna. Arjuna said he was in the forest, in exile and would be leading the life of a monk.

Ulupi said she knew all about Arjuna. She also knew he was married to Draupadi. She said if marriage would not be possible, if he could spend a night with her, he would remain blameless and Ulupi would be satisfied. If still, Arjuna refused, Ulupi said she would kill herself.

Arjuna spent a night with her and the next day, she left Arjuna from where she had brought him. She also gave Arjuna a boon saying he would be invincible in water and all water creatures would be at his command.

Arjuna, back on land, began roaming in the mountains of the Himalayas.

Travelling eastward, Arjuna reached the kingdom of Manipur, where a king named Chitravahana ruled.

Chitravahana, the king of Manipur had a beautiful daughter, Chitrangada. In his travels, Arjuna saw her wanted her. He approached the king and asked for his permission to marry his daughter. The king, knowing who Arjuna was, told him about Prabhanjana.

King Prabhanjana  was childless. To get a child, he prayed to Shiva. He was given a boon that his dynasty would have only one child each. In consequence, Chitravahana had only Chitrangada.
The king agreed for Arjuna to marry his daughter only if after marriage Chitrangada would remain with her father, and her child would rule Manipur. Arjuna agreed.

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