Uttarā In the Mahabharata, Uttarā or Anglicized as Uttaraa (उत्तरा) was daughter of King Virata, at whose court the Pandavas spent a year in concealment during their exile. She was sister of Prince Uttara. It is also believed that Uttaraa had learnt dance from Arjuna during the Pandavas’ year of exile-in the Matsya Kingdom. Living incognito, as was the term of the…
Krishna Krishna (Sanskrit: कृष्ण, IAST: Kṛṣṇa) is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu. Krishna is born to Devaki and her husband, Vasudeva Anakadundubhi of the Yadava clan in Mathura. Krishna is also the first name of Dvaipayana Vyasa. Draupadi is also addressed as Krishna. Arjuna is also addressed as Krishna.
Subhadra Subhadra (IAST: Subhadrā) is a character in the Mahabharata. She is the sister of Krishna and Balarama, wife of Arjuna and mother of Abhimanyu and grandmother of Parikshit. She is the daughter of Vasudeva and Rohini. When Subhadra becomes of age, Balarama suggests her as a bride to Duryodhana who was his favourite pupil. Krishna (knowing that Arjuna and Subhadra are deeply in love with…
Arjuna Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, IAST: arjuna) is a central character of Mahabharata. Arjuna was the son of Indra born to Pandu and Kunti. Arjuna is considered an incarnation of Rishi Nara, the life-long companion of Rishi Narayan. He was the third of the Pandava brothers and was married to Draupadi, Ulupi, Chitrāngadā, and Subhadra (Krishna’s sister). His four children included Shrutakarma…
Somadatta Somadatta, son of Bahlika, was an ally of the Kauravas. He was a suitor to Devaki, mother of Krishna. He fought with Sini, who was seeking the hand of Devaki for his friend Vasudeva. The battle was hard fought and in the end Sini emerged victorious. Devaki married Vasudeva. This incident began a bitter feud between the clan of Somadatta and…
Shantanu Shantanu was a Kuru king of Hastinapura. He was a descendant of the Bharata race, of the Lunar dynasty and great-grandfather of the Pandavas and Kauravas. He was the youngest son of King Pratipa and had been born in the latter’s old age. The eldest son Devapi had leprosy and gave up his inheritance to become a hermit. The middle son Bahlika abandoned his…
Pratipa Pratipa (Sanskrit: प्रतीप, pratīpa.) was a Kuru king, the father of Shantanu and grandfather of Bhishma. He was the son of king Bhimasena of Hastinapur and princess Sukumari of the Kaikeyas. He married Sunanda of the Shibis, on whom he begot Devapi, Shantanu and Bahlika. Once when King Pratipa was meditating on the banks of…
Bahlika Bahlika (Sanskrit: बाह्लिक) was the elder brother of Shantanu and became the king of Bahlika. Being Bhishma’s uncle, Bahlika was the oldest warrior to fight in the Mahabharata war. His son Somadatta and grandson Bhurishravas joined him to fight against the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra war. He was slain by Bhima on the 14th day of…
Bhurishravas Bhurishravas (Sanskrit: भूरिश्रवस् / भूरिश्रवा) was a prince of a minor kingdom called Bahlika. He was the grandson of king Bahlika, who was the elder brother of Shantanu, the king of Hastinapur. Bahlika was the crown prince of Hastinapur but he devoted his life to conquer Balkh. So Shantanu became the king of Hastinapur. Thus Bahlika was the uncle of Bhishma and he, with his…
Vrata Vrata is a religious votive rite, a vow often involving abstinence from food, particularly common with women. It may be accompanied with elaborate prayers, other rites such as charity or visit to a temple, sometimes observed during festivals or with sanskara (rite of passage) ceremonies. It is found in ancient Hindu texts such…