Category: Historical events
Content: Ancient Universities in India
Ancient /glyph1197alanda University
Nalanda is an ancient center of higher learning in Bihar, India from 427 to 1197. Nalanda was
established in the 5th century AD in Bihar, India. Founded in 427 in northeastern India, not
far from what is today the southern border of Nepal , it survived until 1197. It was devoted to
Buddhist studies, but it also trained students in f ine arts, medicine, mathematics, astronomy,
politics and the art of war.

The center had eight separate compounds, 10 temples , meditation halls, classrooms, lakes and
parks. It had a nineCstory library where monks meti culously copied books and documents so
that individual scholars could have their own colle ctions. It had dormitories for students,
perhaps a first for an educational institution, hou sing 10,000 students in the university’s
heyday and providing accommodations for 2,000 profe ssors. Nalanda University attracted
pupils and scholars from Korea, Japan, China, Tibet , Indonesia, Persia and Turkey.

A half hour bus ride from Rajgir is Nalanda, the si te of the world's first University. Although
the site was a pilgrimage destination from the 1st Century A.D., it has a link with the Buddha
as he often came here and two of his chief disciple s, Sariputra and Moggallana, came from
this area. The large stupa is known as Sariputra's Stupa, marking the spot not only where his
relics are entombed, but where he was supposedly bo rn.

The site has a number of small monasteries where th e monks lived and studied and many of
them were rebuilt over the centuries. We were told that one of the cells belonged to Naropa,
who was instrumental in bringing Buddism to Tibet, along with such Nalanda luminaries as
Shantirakshita and Padmasambhava. A small opening i n the cell revealed a tiny room where
Naropa supposedly meditated.

Nalanda's main importance comes from its Buddhist r oots as a center of learning. Hsuan
Tsang, the famous pilgrim from China came here and studied and taught for 5 years in the 7th
Century A.D. Nalanda University at that time had ov er 10,000 students and 3,000 teachers.
For some 700 years, between the 5th and 12th Centur ies, Nalanda was the center of
scholarship and Buddhist studies in the ancient wor ld. A great fire wiped out the library of
over 9 million manuscripts and at the beginning of the 12th Century, the Muslim invader
Bakhtiyar Khalji sacked the university. It was in t he 1860's that the great archeologist
Alexander Cunningham identified the site as the Nal anda University and in 1915C1916 the
Archeological Survey of India began excavations of the site. What has been excavated to date
is only a small part of the entire site but much of  the ruins are beneath existing villages and
are unlikely to be revealed. The present site is we llCmaintained and very pleasant to visit.
Across the street is the small museum with some exc ellent Buddhist statues and about a
kilometer away is a temple dedicated to Hsuan Tsang . Nearby are the International Centre for
Buddhist Studies and the Nava Nalanda Mahivihara, s et up for the research of Buddhism.

ruins of the university
general overview of part of the
site
passage way

Naropa's cell and entrance
to meditation cell
part of the ancient university
Sariputra's stupa

staircase up Sariputra's stupa
detail of Sariputra's stupa
Sariputra's stupa with remains
of other stupas

unearthed ruins
the museum at Nalanda
statue of Hsuan Tsang

Ancient Takshashila University
Takshashila, was an early Buddhist centre of learni ng. According to available references it is
dated back to at least the 5th century BC. Some sch olars date Takshashila's existence back to
the 6th century BC.

Takshashila is described in some detail in later in  Jātaka tales, around the 5th century AD. It
became a noted centre of learning at least several centuries before Christ, and continued to
attract students until the destruction of the city in the 5th century AD. Takshashila is perhaps
best known because of its association with Chanakya . The famous treatise Arthashastra

(Sanskrit for The knowledge of Economics) by Chanak ya, is said to have been composed in
Takshashila itself. Chanakya (or Kautilya), the Mau rya Emperor Chandragupta and the
Ayurvedic healer Charaka studied at Taxila.

Generally, a student entered Takshashila at the age  of sixteen. The Vedas and the Eighteen
Arts, which included skills such as archery, huntin g, and elephant lore, were taught, in
addition to its law school, medical school, and sch ool of military science.

The ruins of Taxila contain buildings and buddhist stupas located over a large area. The main
ruins of Taxila are divided into three major cities , each belonging to a distinct time period.

The oldest of these is the Hathial area, which yiel ded surface shards similar to burnished red
wares (or 'soapy red wares') recovered from early ph ases at Charsadda, and may date between
the 6th century BCE and the late 2nd millennium BCE . Bhir Mound dates from the 6th
century BCE. The second city of Taxila is located a t Sirkap and was built by GrecoCBactrian
kings in the 2nd century BCE. The third and last ci ty of Taxila is at Sirsukh and relates to the
Kushan kings.

In addition to the ruins of the city, a number of b uddhist monasteries and stupas also belong
to the Taxila area. Some of the important ruins of this category include the ruins of the stupa
at Dharmarajika, the monastery at Jaulian, the mona stery at Mohra Muradu in addition to a
number of stupas.
Legend has it that Takṣa, an ancient king who ruled  a kingdom called Takṣa Khanda the
modern (Tashkent) founded the city of Takṣaśilā. Ho wever Sanskrit Takṣaśilā, appears to
contain the suffix śilā, "stone" with the prefix Ta kṣa, alluding to Takṣa, the son of Bharata
and Mandavi, as related in the Ramayana.

In the Mahābhārata, the Kuru heir Parikṣit was enth roned at Takṣaśilā. According to tradition
the Mahabharata was first recited at Takṣaśilā by V aishampayana, a disciple of Vyasa at the
behest of the seer Vyasa himself, at the sarpa satr a yajna, "Snake Sacrifice ceremony" of
Parikṣit's son Janamejaya.

According to one theory propounded by Damodar Dharm anand Kosambi, Takṣaśilā is a
related to Takṣaka, "carpenter" and is an alternati ve name for the Nāgas of ancient India.

According to scattered references which were only f ixed a millennium later, it may have
dated back to at least the 5th century BCE. There i s some disagreement about whether
Takshashila can be considered a university. While s ome consider Taxila to be an early
university or centre of higher education, others do  not consider it a university in the modern
sense, in contrast to the later Nalanda University.  Takshashila is described in some detail in
later Jātaka tales, written in Sri Lanka around the  5th century CE.

Takshashila is considered a place of religious and historical sanctity by Hindus and
Buddhists. The former do so not only because, in it s time, Takshashila was the seat of Vedic
learning, but also because the strategist, Chanakya , who later helped consolidate the empire
of Emperor Chandragupta Maurya, was a senior teache r there. The institution is very
significant in Buddhist tradition since it is belie ved that the Mahāyāna sect of Buddhism took
shape there.

Some scholars date Takshashila's existence back to the 6th century BCE. It became a noted
centre of learning at least several centuries BCE, and continued to attract students from
around the old world until the destruction of the c ity in the 5th century CE. Takshashila is
perhaps best known because of its association with Chanakya. The famous treatise
Arthashastra (Sanskrit for The knowledge of Economi cs) by Chanakya, is said to have been
composed in Takshashila itself. Chanakya (or Kautil ya), the Maurya Emperor Chandragupta
and the Ayurvedic healer Charaka studied at Taxila.

Generally, a student entered Takshashila at the age  of sixteen. The Vedas and the Eighteen
Arts, which included skills such as archery, huntin g, and elephant lore, were taught, in
addition to its law school, medical school, and sch ool of military science.

Other Universities that existed in India
Further centers include Odantapuri
(from the Gupta period to t he
to the Muslim conquest), Nagarjunakonda
800C1040), Sharada Peeth , in modern day
period to the Arab raids ),
Kanchipuram, in Tamil Nadu ,
in Orissa. In Sri Lanka, Sunethradevi Pirivena
founded circa 1415 AD.

Other Universities that existed in India
Odantapuri , in Bihar (circa 550 C 1040), Somapura
he Muslim conquest), Jagaddala, in Bengal (from the
Nagarjunakonda , in Andhra Pradesh, Vikramaśīla
, in modern day Kashmir, Valabhi, in Gujarat
), Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh (8th century to modern times),
, Manyakheta, in Karnataka, Puspagiri, in Orissa
Sunethradevi Pirivena , a centre of Buddhist learning in Sri Lanka,
Somapura , in Bangladesh
(from the Pala period
Vikramaśīla , in Bihar (circa
 (from the Maitrak
(8th century to modern times),
Orissa  and Ratnagiri,
, a centre of Buddhist learning in Sri Lanka,


Category: mahabharata
Content: Character from the epic Mahabharata For the sister of Uttara, see Uttarā (Mahabharata) .

Fictional character Uttara Uttara and Arjuna discovering the arms Information Title Prince Affiliation Matsya dynasty Family Virata (father) Sudeshna (mother) Shveta (half brother) and Shankha (elder brother) Uttarā (sister) Uttara ( Sanskrit : उत्तर , romanized : Uttara ), also rendered Uttara Kumara ( Sanskrit : उत्तरकुमार , romanized : Uttarakumāra ) is a prince of the Matsya Kingdom featured in the Hindu epic Mahabharata .

He is the eldest son of King Virata and his wife Sudeshna , at whose court the Pandavas spend their one year of anonymity during their exile.

His sister Uttarā marries Abhimanyu , the son of Arjuna .

Legend [ edit ] Mahabharata [ edit ] Arjuna Sets Kama's Arrow Alight, folio from the Razmnama (Book of War), 1598–99 Uttara is the son of Virata in Mahabharata.

Towards the end of the year that the Pandavas spent at the Matsya Kingdom , Duryodhana , suspecting that the Pandavas were hiding in Matsya kingdom, launched an attack.

The army of Hastinapura stood at the borders of Matsya, but King Virata had already taken his entire army to fight the Trigarta army attacking from the south.

When news arrived at the palace, Uttara confidently boasted about how he would single-handedly wipe out the Kauravas , underestimating their strength.

Upon the prodding of his mother and her maid , he took his sister's dancing teacher, the eunuch Brihannala , who was in reality Arjuna , as his charioteer.

As they approached the Kuru army, Uttara panicked at the sight and asked Brihannala to turn back.

When he refused, citing Kshatriya dharma , Uttara dismounted the chariot and ran for his life, only for Arjuna to run up to him and catch him.

In order to boost Uttara's courage, Arjuna revealed his true identity.

Uttara was incredulous and initially refused to believe him; only after Arjuna had recited his ten aliases did Uttara believe that Brihannala was indeed Arjuna in disguise.

Arjuna then took charge with Uttara acting as his charioteer, single-handedly defeated the entire Hastinapura army.

Kurukshetra War [ edit ] During the 18-day Kurukshetra war , Uttara and his brothers fought in support of the Pandavas.

Uttara was killed on the first day of the war by Shalya .

As the battle started, it favoured the Kauravas as their commander-in-chief, Bhishma , was unable to be contained.

Going on the attack, Uttara aggressively drove his chariot deep into the Kaurava formation where he was checked by Shalya , who asked Uttara to introduce himself.

Uttara boasted about his martial skill and compared himself to Krishna, having been Arjuna's charioteer.

Shalya sharply rebuked Uttara for his arrogance, telling him that "his tongue is sharper than his arrows." Uttara responds with a fierce attack.

He snapped Shalya's bow, wounds him, killed his charioteer and horses while breaking the wheels of Shalya's chariot.

As Shalya fell upon the ground, Uttara aimed the killing blow, mockingly asking Shalya "is this my tongue, or my arrow that will kill you?" From the ground, Shalya hurled a spear through Uttara's body, mortally wounding him.

As Uttara collapsed in his chariot, Shalya approached and mourned the death of the young.

Uttara's brother, Shveta, who witnessed the ghastly death of his brother, immediately went into a frenzy and started attacking the Kaurava army with hundreds of arrows and inflicted heavy losses on them.

Bhishma, unable to contain his rage shot the Brahmastra at Shveta, killing him instantly.

Thus the two brothers died on the same day, within minutes of each other.

References [ edit ] ^ K M Ganguly(1883-1896) 2003,Retrieved 2015-03-08 ^ Pilikian, Vaughan.

Mahabharata.

New York: New York UP, 2009.

Print.

^ Mahabharata Book Six (Volume 1): Bhishma .

NYU Press.

1 October 2016.

p.

367.

ISBN 978-1-4798-5212-3 .

v t e Mahabharata Traditional author and narrators Vyasa Vaisampayana Ugrashrava Sauti Books ( parva s) Adi Sabha Vana Virata Udyoga Bhishma Bhagavad Gita Drona Karna Shalya Sauptika Stri Shanti Anushasana Ashvamedhika Ashramavasika Mausala Mahaprasthanika Svargarohana Harivamsha Tribes Main tribes Bharata Kauravas Pandavas Yadu Kunti Gandhara Matsya List of tribes Janapadas Mahajanapadas Places Capitals Hastinapur Indraprastha 48 kos parikrama of Kurukshetra Kurukshetra Jyotisar Panchagrama Indraprastha Pranaprastha Swarnaprastha Tilaprastha Vyagaprastha Events Svayamvara Kurukshetra War Vishvarupa Chakravyūha Characters Abhimanyu Amba Ambika Ambalika Arjuna Ashwatthama Babruvahana Bahlika Balarama Bhagadatta Bharata Bhima Bhishma Bhurishravas Chitrāngada Chitrāngadā Damayanti Dhrishtadyumna Dhritarashtra Draupadi Drona Drupada Duhsala Durvasa Duryodhana Dushasana Dushyanta Ekalavya Gandhari Ganga Ghatotkacha Hidimba Hidimbi Iravan Janamejaya Jarasandha Jayadratha Karna Kichaka Kindama Kripa Krishna Role in the Mahabharata Kritavarma Kunti Lomasha Madri Nahusha Nakula Nala Pandu Parashurama Parikshit Purochana Pururavas Rukmi Rukmini Sahadeva Sanjaya Satyaki Satyavati Savitri Shantanu Shakuni Shakuntala Shalya Shikhandi Shishupala Subhadra Sudeshna Ulupi Upapandavas Uttara Uttarā Vichitravirya Vidura Vikarna Virata Vrishaketu Vrishasena Vyasa Yayati Yudhishthira Yuyutsu Related Avatars Kingdoms Vedic era Epic-Puranic chronology Sarasvati River Category Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Uttara_(Mahabharata)&oldid=1252723784 "


Category: mahabharata
Content: Kingdom described in the Mahabharata This article is about the kingdom of Kalinga in Indian epic literature.

For the historical kingdom, see Kalinga (historical kingdom) .

This article needs additional citations for verification .

Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources .

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Find sources: "Kalinga" Mahabharata – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( September 2022 ) ( Learn how and when to remove this message ) South Asia 500 BCE ACHAEMENID EMPIRE AŚMAKA AVANTĪ CEDI PUṆḌRA VAṄGA RĀḌHA SUHMA KALIṄGA SAVARA ANDHRA KUNTALA APARĀNTA DAṆḌAKA MŪLAKA VIDARBHA DAŚARṆA PULINDA KACCHA SAURAṢṬRA SAUVĪRA SINDHU ŚIVI KEKEYA MADRA AUDUMBARA YAUDHEYA TRIGARTA ŚĀKYA KURU PAÑCĀLA KOSALA VATSA MALLA VṚJI ŚŪRASENA KĀŚĪ BĀHLIKA KAMBOJA GANDHĀRA MATSYA AṄGA MAGADHA class=notpageimage| South Asia circa 500 BCE, with location of Kalinga.

Kalinga is a kingdom described in the legendary Indian text Mahabharata .

They were a warrior clan who settled in and around the historical Kalinga region , present-day Odisha and northern parts of Andhra Pradesh .

According to political scientist Sudama Misra, the Kalinga janapada originally comprised the area covered by the Puri and Ganjam districts.reference-Sudama Misra (1973).

Janapada state in ancient India.

Bhāratīya Vidyā Prakāśana.

p.

78.

Kalinga clan warriors sided with Duryodhana in the Kurukshetra War due to matrimonial and harmony alliances between both kingdoms of Kalinga & Kuru existing even before the Great War of Mahabharata was to happen.

Kalinga is the founders of five eastern kingdoms, which included: Angas (east, central Bihar ), Vangas (southern West Bengal and Bangladesh ), Udra ( Odisha , East Madhya Pradesh and South Jharkhand ), Pundras (western Bangladesh and West Bengal, India ), Suhmas (north-western Bangladesh and West Bengal ) shared common ancestry.

Two capitals (Dantapura and Rajapura ) of Kalinga were mentioned in Mahabharata .

It is likely that there were many Kalinga kings, ruling different territories of Kalinga, with many migrated outside to form new kingdom.

Mahabharata [ edit ] Kalinga was a separate kingdom which is mentioned as an ancient Indian (Bharata Varsha) kingdom, along with the Vodhas and again along with the Kiratas residing in the east, at (6,9).

Birth of the five royal lines [ edit ] The five royal lines of Anga , Vanga , Udra, Pundra and Suhma were born from the adopted sons of king Bali.

This Bali's kingdom Kalinga was either Magadha Kingdom or some kingdom close to it.

There existed a kingdom to the south of Magadha, as derived from many Hindu texts .

King Bali seems to be a king, like the famous king Mahabali , who was also known as Bali or Vali.

The five royal sons were actually the sons of the sage Dīrghatamas .

Dīghatamas was a sage born in the race of Gautama and Angiras.

He was also known as Gautama.

His eldest son also was known as Gautama.(1,104).

Though Dīrghatamas was a great sage he was blind.

He was cast away by his sons and wife who threw him into river Ganges in a raft.

King Bali saved him.

Knowing who he was the childless king chose him to raise offspring upon the queen, according to the ordinances of those times.

Thus was born the famous five kings.

After their names five countries were formed.

It is after their names that their dominions have come to be called Anga, Vanga, Udra, Pundra and Suhma (1,104) Gautama's abode was in Girivraja, the capital of Magadha .

With the Sudra woman Ausinari (the daughter of Usinara), Gautama begat the royal sage Kakshivat and the other five celebrated sons.

These five monarchs used to visit Gautama in his abode.

(2,21) The eastern kings mentioned in the Swayamvara of Panchali [ edit ] Kalinga King attended the svayamvara of Draupadi , along with Chandrasena.

Sahadeva's conquests [ edit ] Sahadeva brought under his subjection and exacted tributes from the Paundrayas (or Pandya Kingdom ) and the Dravidas along with the Udrakeralas and the Andhras and the Talavanas, the Kalingas, and the Ushtrakarnikas, and also the delightful city of Atavi and that of the Yavanas.

(2,30) Dantapura, now known as the city of Puri in Odisha, was mentioned as the capital of Kalinga in the Mahabharata (5:23).

Sahadeva , the Pandava general had visited this city.

Kalinga is mentioned to have another capital named Rajapura .

Dantapura was conquered by Sahadeva (5,23).

Karna's conquests [ edit ] Karna conquered and brought under subjection all the kings inhabiting the Himavat, and made them pay dues.

Then, descending from the mountain and rushing to the east, he reduced the Angas , and the Bangas , and the Udras, and the Mandikas, and the Magadhas .

the Karkakhandas; and also included with them the Avasiras, Yodhyas, and the Ahikshatras.

(3,252) Other conquests of Kalinga [ edit ] Vasudeva Krishna also is mentioned to have vanquished a Kalinga king, along with the Pandyas and the city of Varanasi in Kasi .

(5,48), (16,6) Bhima also is mentioned to have vanquished the Kalingas along with all the people of Kasi and Anga and Magadha (5,50) Parashurama is mentioned to have conquered the Kalingas along with the Angas and Vangas (6,68) Yudhishthira's entry into his new palace at Indraprastha [ edit ] Kalinga king Srutayus, attended the event of Yudhishthira entering his new palace at Indraprastha , along with Jayasena the king of Magadha .

King Bhagadatta seems to have sway over all the eastern kingdoms including Pundra, Suhma, Vanga and Kalinga.

Anga kingdom was ruled by his friend Karna and Vrihadvala was the king of Kosala Kingdom , his another friend.

King Bhagadatta of Pragjyotisha accompanied by all Mlechcha tribes inhabiting the marshy regions on the sea-shore; and many mountain kings, and king Vrihadvala; and Vasudeva the king of the Paundrayas ] and Kalinga came to the sacrifice.

Similarly the Akastha and Kuntala and the kings of the Malavas and the Andhrakas ; and the Dravidas and the Singhalas also came.

(2,33).

Kalinga king was mentioned as a charioteer at (2,43).

Kalingas have brought tribute to the king Yudhishthira along with other kings like the Vangas, the Magadhas, the Tamraliptas, the Supundrakas, the Dauvalikas, the Sagarakas.

(2,51) Duryodhana marries from Kalinga [ edit ] Duryodhana married the daughter of Chitrangada, who was a Kalinga king, with the capital at Rajapura .

This was different from the south Kalinga kingdom, with the capital at Dantapura vanquished by Sahadeva .

Once on a time many kings repaired to a self-choice at the capital of Chitrangada, the ruler of the country of the Kalingas.

The city full of opulence, was known by the name of Rajapura .

Arjuna's pilgrimage [ edit ] Arjuna visited all the regions of sacred waters and other holy palaces in Kalinga during his 12-year-old pilgrimage, travelling the whole of ancient India.

(1,127) Pandavas's pilgrimage [ edit ] Pandavas, during their 12 year exile from their kingdom, set for a pilgrimage travelling the whole of ancient India, guided by sage Lomasa.

Pandavas started from the river Kausiki (now known as Kosi in Bihar ) and repaired in succession to all the sacred shrines.

They came to the sea where the river Ganges falls into it; and there in the centre of five hundred rivers, performed the holy ceremony of a plunge.

Then, they proceeded by the shore of the sea towards the land where the Kalinga tribes dwell.

Through it passed the river Vaitarani (now known as river Baitarani in Odisha ) (3,114) Drupada's list of kings [ edit ] Drupada, the father in law of the Pandavas and the king of Panchala , made a list of kings to be summoned to assist the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra War .

In the list is mentioned Srutayus, with other Kalinga kings, Samudrasena (Vanga king) etc.

(5,4).

Kalingas in Kurukshetra War [ edit ] Kalingas were mentioned as allied to Kauravas at many places like at (5–62,95).

Kalinga king Srutayudha also known as Srutayus and Srutayush, was one among the generals in the Kaurava army.(6,16).

The generals of Kaurava army were:- Shakuni , a chief from Gandhara kingdom Shalya , the king of Madra kingdom Jayadratha , the king of Sindhu kingdom Vinda and Anuvinda, two brothers and kings of Avanti kingdom The Kekaya brothers from Kekeya kingdom (opposed the Kekayas on the Pandava side) Sudakshina the king of Kamboja kingdom Srutayudha the king of Kalinga Kingdom Jayatsena a king of Magadha kingdom Vrihadvala the king of Kosala kingdom Kritavarma, a Yadava chief from Anarta kingdom Bhima slew Kalinga king Srutayush and other Kalinga heroes [ edit ] The battle of Kalingas is mentioned at various places (6–17,56,70,71,88,118), (7–4,7,11,20,44,72,90,118,138,152,191) (8–5,8,17,22) (9,33).

The prominent among them was their battle with Pandava Bhima , which proved fatal to all the Kalinga heroes.

(6–53,54), (8,70) Then king Duryodhana urged the ruler of the Kalingas supported by a large division, for the protection of Bharadwaja’s son, Drona .

Then that terrible and mighty division of the Kalingas rushed against Bhima .

And then commenced a fierce battle between the Kalingas and the high-souled Bhima.

(6,53).

The mighty king of the Kalingas, Srutayush, accompanied by a large army advanced towards Bhima’s car.

The ruler of the Kalingas with many thousands of cars, supported by Ketumat, the son of the king of the Nishadas, with 10000 elephants and the Nishada army, surrounded Bhimasena, on all sides.

Then the Chedis, the Matsyas, and Karushas, with Bhimasena at their head, with many kings impetuously rushed against the Nishadas.

Terrific was the collision that took place between the few and many, between the Chedis on the one side and the Kalingas and the Nishadas on the other.

The Chedis, abandoning Bhima, turned back.

But Bhima, encountering all the Kalingas, did not turn back.

Bhima, staying on his car whose steeds had been slain, hurled at Sakradeva, the son of the Kalinga King Srutayush, a mace made of the hardest iron.

And slain by that mace, the son of the ruler of the Kalingas, from his car, fell down on the ground, with his standard and charioteer.

Later he slew Bhanumat, the prince of Kalingas, by ascending the back of his elephant and cutting his body in half, with sword.

Bhima drawing his bow slew the ruler of the Kalingas, Srutayush, with seven shafts made wholly of iron.

And with two shafts he slew the two protectors of the car-wheels of the Kalinga King.

And he also dispatched Satyadeva and Satya.

(6,54) A Kalinga ruler other than Srutayush, lead the Kalinga army, during the rest of the days in battle.

(7-7,90) Two brothers Kalinga and Vrishaka were mentioned as slain in battle at (8,5) A Kalinga king is mentioned to be slain at (11,25) Karna's opinion on the Kalingas [ edit ] Karna rebukes Shalya during the Kurukshetra War , and his race, and all the other tribes who had slightest similarity with Shalya's tribe.

The Karashakas, the Mahishakas , the Kalingas, the Keralas , the Karkotakas, the Virakas, and other peoples of no religion, one should always avoid.

(8,44) The Kauravas with the Panchalas , the Salwas , the Matsyas , the Naimishas, the Koshalas , the Kasapaundras, the Kalingas, the Magadhas , and the Chedis who are all highly blessed, know what the eternal religion is.

(8,45) Siva worship in Kalinga [ edit ] Siva is worshipped in the country of the Kalingas in the form of a tiger.

Siva has an image in the country of the Kalingas that is called Vyaghreswara.

(13,17) Absence of Brahmins in Kalinga [ edit ] It is in consequence of the absence of Brahmanas from among them that the Sakas, the Yavanas, the Kamvojas and other Kshatriya tribes have become fallen and degraded into the status of Sudras.

The Dravidas, the Kalingas, the Pulandas, the Usinaras, the Kolisarpas, the Mahishakas and other Kshatriyas, have, in consequence of the absence of Brahmanas from among their midst, become degraded into Sudras.

(13,33) Other references [ edit ] A Kalinga princess named Karambha was wedded to Akrodhana a Puru king.

Devatithi was their son.

(1,95) An ally of Karitkeya, generalissimo of Deva army is mentioned as Kalinga (9,45) See also [ edit ] Kingdoms of Ancient India References [ edit ] ^ Schwartzberg, Joseph E.

(1978).

A Historical atlas of South Asia .

Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

p.

145, map XIV.1 (d).

ISBN 0226742210 .

^ Content mirrored from this map ^ Annapurna Chattopadhyaya (2006).

The people and culture of Odisa and Bengal, a study in origins .

Firma K.L.M.

p.

988.

ISBN 978-81-7102-144-4 .

...in the Mahabharata wherein the Kalingas have been included amongst the tribes...

Further reading [ edit ] Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa , translated into English by Kisari Mohan Ganguli External links [ edit ] v t e Tribes and kingdoms mentioned in the Mahabharata Abhira Andhra Anarta Anga Anupa Assaka Asmaka Avanti Ay Bahlika Bhārata Chedi Chera Chola Chinas Dakshina Kosala Dakshinatya Danda Dasarna Dasharna Dasherka Dwaraka Gandhāra Garga Gomanta Gopa Rashtra Hara Huna Haihaya kingdom Himalaya Huna Kanchi Kasmira Kalakuta Kalinga Kamboja Karnata Karusha Kashi Kekeya Kerala Khasa Kikata Kimpurusha Kinnara Kirata Kingdom Kishkindha Konkana Kosala Kuninda Kunti Kuru Lanka Madra Madraka Magadha Maha Chinas Mahisha Malla Malava Manipura Matsya Mekhalas Mleccha Mudgala Mushika Nasikya Nepa Niharas Nishadas Odra Pallava Panchala Pandya Parada Parama Kamboja Parasika Parvartaka Parvata Paurava Pishacha Pragjyotisha Pratyagratha Prasthala Pundra Pulinda Saka Salva Salveya Salwa Saraswata Saurashtra Sauvira Shakya Sindhu Sinhala Sivi Sonita Sudra Suhma Surparaka Surasena Tamraparni Tangana Trigarta Tulu Tushara Ursa Uttara Kuru Uttara Madra Utkala Vanga Vatadhana Vatsa Videha Vidarbha Yavana Yaudheya Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kalinga_(Mahabharata)&oldid=1249103261 "


Category: folks and regional stories
Content: Vikram and Vikram and Vikram and Vikram and BetaalBetaalBetaalBetaal Stories  Stories  Stories  Stories
Betaal Pachisi written nearly 2,500 years ago by Ma hakavi
Somdev Bhatt, are spellbinding stories told to the wise King
Vikramaditya by the wily ghost Betaal. The tales of  Vikram
and Betaal possess a wealth of pageantry and splend or of long
ago.

, people ale
The Meeting of Vikram and Betaal................... .................................................2
The three special brahmins......................... ................................................... .....4
The three sensitive queens......................... ................................................... ......5
The Three suitors.................................. ................................................... ...........6
The exchanged heads................................ ................................................... .......7
A promise not kept ................................. ................................................... .........8
Reward of life ..................................... ................................................... ...........12
The four boys who made a lion...................... ..................................................1 7
True Reward ........................................ ................................................... ..........18
Reward for Gatekeeper.............................. ................................................... ....21
s of brilliance, both entertaining and educative. Beta al Pachisi, written nearly 2,500 years ago by
aaaahakavi turies, people have looked towards the East  in their

The Meeting of Vikram and Betaal
Vikram was the name of a king. He ruled over a city on the banks  of
Godavari River. He was very famous for his bravery and courage.
People loved him because he always rendered justice.

One day a sage came to the court of Vikram and gifted him a f ruit.
The king handed it over to his treasurer. Thereafter, the sag e kept
coming to the court daily to gift a fruit to the king. The king coul d not
understand the reason behind this behaviour. But still he did not try t o
find out the sage's intentions.

However, one morning, Vikram noticed a monkey sitting on the
palace wall and gave the fruit to it. The monkey had started ea ting the
fruit when suddenly a dazzling gem fell out of it. The King was very
surprised. He immediately ordered his treasurer to get him all  the
fruits kept in the storage. The fruits had gone bad but when the kin g
had them crushed, each one of them yielded a precious gem. The
generous King donated all these gems to the poor and waited for the
sage’s visit to the court.

The next day, the sage visited the court of Vikram with yet ano ther
fruit.

Vikram welcomed the sage and asked him "Your Holiness! Can you
please tell me why you have been giving me such precious gifts?
Without good reason, I cannot accept any gifts from you."

The sage replied, "I need the help of a brave man for a spi ritual goal.
Will you help me?" Vikram readily agreed to this. So the sage said,
"O King, please come to the burial ground on the next moonless
night. It is at a distance of 20 miles from here. I will wai t for you
under a banyan tree." Vikram agreed to follow the instructions.

On the said night, Vikram covered his head and body with a black
cloth and unnoticed, reached the appointed spot in the forest. The
sage was waiting for him and told him, "King Vikram! To the sout h
of this forest is an old tamarind tree on which hangs a corpse ups ide
down. Please bring it to me." The king immediately followed the
sage’s orders and reached the tamarind tree. On finding a corpse
there, he cut it loose. As soon as the corpse fell to the ground, it
laughed loudly with a cackling sound. The king realized that it was  a
ghost. But the courageous king carried the body over his shoulders
and started towards his capital. A short distance later, the  ghost left
Vikram’s shoulders and escaped to its original spot. The king
climbed up the tree, brought down the ghost and placing it on his
shoulders started walking again. "Who are you?" he asked the ghos t.
"I am Betaal" replied the ghost and in turn asked Vikram, "Why a nd
where are you taking me away?"

"A sage has requested me to bring you to him," replied Vikram.

Betaal did not have any objection to going with Vikram but he laid
down a condition. "We have to cover a long distance and to relieve
the tedious walk, I will tell you a story. But you should not utter even
one word till we reach the destination. If by chance you utter
anything, I will fly back to the tamarind tree. Do you agree to this?"
asked Betaal. Vikram agreed to this and silently listened to B etaal’s
story.

The three special brahmins
Once upon a time there lived a rich brahmin by name  of  Vishnuswamin, who
was performing a huge sacrificial rite. He had thre e sons who were each very
fastidious about three specific things. The eldest was fastidious about food,
the second about women and the third about beds. Vi shsnuswamin wanted a
tortoise for his sacrifice. So he sent his three so ns to get one. They did find
one but each of them refused to touch it and bring it back home, as each
claimed to be as fastidious as the other.
Well then to decide, they approached the king with this matter of deciding
who among them was the most fastidious. He decided to test them all. He
invited the first one, to a very special feast prep ared very exquisitely. But the
first son, refused to touch the food claiming that the he smelt burnt corpses in
the rice. On investigation, the king found that the  grains of which the rice was
cooked was from a field near a cremation ground. Th e king was impressed.
He then decided to test the second son by sending a  very very pretty and
beautiful concubine, to him. But the second son sen t her away saying that she
was smelling like a goat. On investigation, the kin g found that she had been
fed goat milk when she was a child. The king was im pressed.
Then he decided to test the third son, by letting h im sleep in a bed with seven
huge mattresses. In the middle of the night, the th ird son awoke with a lot of
pain and a red mark on his shoulder. On verifying, it was found that there was
a piece of hair in the bed below the seven mattress es. The king was impressed
with all three and could not decide who was best bu t instead decided to use
the skill of all three in his court and hired them.  So Vishnuswamin could not
complete his sacrifice.
Betaal stops and asks King Vikram asks this questio n: Who among the three
is the most fastidious? Vikram replies with a lot o f thought, "The third son,
as he had definite evidence wit that red mark. The other two could have
obtained information from elsewhere too."
As soon as Vikram had finished his answer, Betaal d isappeared back to the
tree.
The three sensitive queens
Once upon a time there lived a king of Ujjayani by name of Dharmadhvaja,
who had three exquisitely sensitive queens. He love d all three of them very
much, all of them were of unparalleled beauty.
On one occasion, while the king was playing with th e first queen, he ruffled
her hair. The lotus flower on her ear fell over her  thigh, and made a wound
and she cried out loud. The king was surprised at h er sensitivity and
immediately requested medical attention for her.
On another occasion, when he was with the second qu een on a full moon night
on the roof of his palace, the queen suddenly felt her skin burning of the
moonlight. The king ordered medical attention for h er too and was again
surprised at her sensitivity.
On third occasion, when he was with the third queen , she collpased on the
floor on hearing of the sound of a mortar grinding rice, far far away. The king
immediately ordered medical attention for her and w as surprised too.
Since then he took utmost care of his three ultra s ensitive queens.

Betaal stops and asks King Vikram asks this questio n: Who among the three
queens is the most sensitive? Vikram replies with a  lot of thought, "The
third one, as she had not even been touched by the light or flower. She had
only heard a noise from distance."

As soon as Vikram had finished his answer,  Betaal disappeared back to the
tree.

The Three suitors
Once upon a time there was born a beautiful daughte r, Mandaravati, to a very
famours priest. When the daughter grew of age, the father was worried about
her marriage.Once, three eligible bachelors came to  the father and each asked
him for the hand of the daughter. Each of them thre atened to kill himself lest
the daughter be married off to any other of the thr ee. The father decided not to
marry her off to anyone.
One day, she caught a very high pitched fever and d ied suddenly. All three of
them, grief-struck, cremated the body of Mandaravat i. One of them decided to
stay there and slept on the ashes of Mandaravati. T he other took her bones and
went to the Ganges. The third became an ascetic and  wandered off.
On one of his wanderings, the third one reached a b rahmin's house. The
brahmin, by power of a spell, was able to bring the  dead alive from the ashes.
This was in a book which the brahmin gaurded safely . But the third suitor, in
the stealth of night, stole this book and went back  to the cremation ground of
Mandaravati. The second one had returned from the G anges with the holy
water, and the first one was still there sleeping o n the ashes.
Then he with the help of the other two, recited the  spell from the book and lo
Behold!! Mandaravati was reborn! Then the three of them started fighting
about whose wife she should be. Each of them claimi ng the revival being due
to his effort

Betaal stops and asks King Vikram asks this questio n: Who among the three
suitors should be the husband of Mandaravati? Vikra m replies with a lot of
thought, "The person who gave her the life by recit ing the spell is her
creator, it could be her father. The person who too k her bones to Ganges
shall be her son. But the person who committed hims elf to the ground and
slept on her ashes out of love, can be her husband. "

As soon as Vikram had finished his answer, Betaal disappeared
back to the tree.

The exchanged heads
 Once upon a time there lived a washerman named Dhav ala. He once spotted a
very beautiful lady at pond, who happened to be the  daughter of another
washerman. He instantly fell in love with her and p leaded with his parents to
ask her parents for her hand in marriage. His paren ts did accordingly and the
girl, Madanasundari, got married to him with her pa rents consent. She then
went with Dhavala to live with him.
Once the brother of Madanasundari, came to Dhavala to invite his sister and
brother-in-law to their place for festival season. Dhavala agreed and the three
of them were returning to Madanasundari's home. On the way they happened
to pass by the temple of Durga Devi, the all powerf ul goddess of power. Her
brother wanted to pay a visit to the goddess, and w ent to the temple. But as
soon as he came near the goddess, he wanted to make  a massive sacrifice to
the goddess. So saying he cut his head off for the goddess. Madanasundari
was worried and she then sent her husband to see wh at the matter was. On
seeing the state of his brother-in-law, the husband  was also moved deeply and
he decided to offer his own head too to the goddess  and cut his own head with
his scitmar. Madanasundari, after a long wait came and saw both her brother
and husband lying on the ground and then decided to  take her own life but
asked the goddesss to get the same brother and husb and in the next life. The
goddess was pleased and stopped her from dying and asked her to join their
heads and bodies and then she granted them life. In  a hurry, Madanasundari,
exchanged the heads of her brother and husband and was perplexed.

Betaal stops and asks King Vikram asks this questio n: Who among the two
is the husband of Madanasundari? Vikram replies wit h a lot of thought,
"The body that carries her husband's head is is her  husband. The head is
the most important part of the human body, and the rest of the body is
identified by the head."

As soon as Vikram had finished his answer, Betaal d isappeared back to the
tree.

A promise not kept

It was a dark night and was raining from time to ti me.Gusts of wind shook the
trees. There were strange noises and in between the  thunderclaps the moaning
of jackals could be heard. Flashes of lightning rev ealed fearsome faces and
there were strange and mysterious laughter of the s pirits.

But inspite of such a weird atmosphere king Vikrama ditya did not swerve a
bit. He climbed the ancient tree to bring the corps e down and soon he began
crossing the desolate cremation ground, with the co rpse lying on his shoulder.
The Betaal that possessed the corpse spoke: "O King  , I pity you as you are
making untiring efforts without relaxing as if you wish to achieve something.
Instead of enjoying a comfortable sleep on a cozy b ed, you’re still coming
after me. You seem to be quite adamant. Such arroga nce may not help you
keep your promise if you had given one to anybody. You’ll realize the futility
of the whole thing if only you listen to my story."
The Betaal then narrated this story. The ruler of K ishanagar, Rajendra, was
extremely strong and courageous. He was a good rule r and cared about his
people very much as he would not do anything unjust . His subjects were
happy and contented. They had no problems. His quee n, Prema, gave birth to
a beautiful daughter, Sona.
Being an only child, Sona enjoyed a lot of freedom and was brought up like a
boy. She grew up clever not only in studies but in the use of the bow and
arrow and sword. She learnt the art of self-defence . When she reached
marriageable age, her parents began searching for a  suitable husband for her.
But Sona disagreed to their proposal as she had som e definite ideas and views.
She said to her parents that ,"Dear Father, I want that my husband should be
one who is highly skilled in fighting and who is ab le to overpower, me in
fight. Suppose if our kingdom face an enemy in the future, he should be able
to fight & defeat them in war. If you agree to this  condition then, you may
make an announcement".
The King & Queen were very proud to hear about thei r daughter's
thoughts.The announcement was made in Kishanagar as  well as in the
neighbouring kingdoms. Thinking that Sona is only a  girl,and it should not be
a difficult to win a fight with her, many suitors c ame forward to accept her
challenge as they also knew that Sona being the onl y heir they would have
complete sway over the kingdom once they married he r.

But when they (the suitors) met Sona face to face t hese princes realized it was
not that easy to defeat her. Everyone of them was r outed by Sona, and they
had to go back disappointed. She was taking on the suitors one after another,
among them was Udayavarma, the prince of Chandangha r.
He watched the fight every day , by joining the cro wd. He carefully watched
how Princess Sona fought and the different strategi es she adopted to meet the
method of fighting followed by each prince. One
day, he could not control himself when he saw a
particular way she used the sword.
He got up and shouted "Bravo!" in appreciation and
encouragement. Sona turned to look at him,
wondering who he might be who could understand
the intricacies of each and every stance and step
during the fight.
But among such a large crowd she could only get a
glimpse of him.
By now Udayavarma had learnt all her strategies, an d the next day he was
ready to fight with her. The two fought cleverly an d fiercely. Neither of them
was prepared to surrender to the other. During her fight Sona tried all her
tricks, but Udayavarma was able to meet every one o f them. She soon
discovered that he was a good swordsman and that sh e would not be able to
subdue him so easily. Soon Sona was defeated by Uda yavarma.She stopped
the fight and joined her parents.
Cheers rose from the audience who was watching the proceedings very
eagerly. When Udayavarma came forward to present hi mself to the King and
queen, Sona recognized him as the one who had cheer ed her in
encouragement the other day.She asked Udayavarma an d he confessed to it.
Now Sona knew how he had succeeded in overpowering her. She came
forward and said to him that "My condition was that  I would marry anyone
who would defeat me in the contest. Though you’ve d efeated me, I can’t

marry you. You can yourself find out the reason." U dayavarma thought for a
while and said . "Yes what you say is right, O Prin cess. I should not marry
you." He bowed to her and left the palace.

The king and queen were surprised over their daught er’s decision as according
to her contest Sona insisted that she would marry o nly that man who would
defeat her in the fight and  Udayavarma had achieve d it , but now she was not
ready to marry him and even Udayavarma, too, had me ekly accepted her
decision, saying he could not possibly claim her ha nd. How strange! They
were unable to guess what really was the cause?

The Betaal concluded the story and asked King Vikra maditya,
1)  "O king ! I’ve some doubts.I think Sona was proud of herself that she was
an expert in warfare and that's why she announced t hat she would marry only
whoever defeated her, didn’t she?
2)  As she scored a victory over one prince after anot her, she was becoming
more and more arrogant.
3)  Then came Udayavarma who succeeded in overpowering  her. Again it was
her from keeping her word.
4)  Why did she say he did not deserve her hand in mar riage in spite of his
victory over her?
It was all because of her arrogance, wasn’t it? If you know the answers to my
questions that speak out if you don't then I warn y ou that "your head will be
blown to pieces!"
King Vikramaditya did not take much time to answer the questions Betaal had
asked. He said
1 & 2)  " I don’t think Sona was arrogant."
3)  Though she had agreed that condition that Udayavar ma had defeated her in
sword-fight but she didn’t keep her word. That's tr ue, but this doesn't makes
her arrogant. If we think deep, we can find out wha t had
prompted her to take such a stand. She certainly wa s one
who would keep her word.
4)  Unlike other princes, Udayavarma did not go for a fight
with her straight away, instead he sat in the crowd  and
watched her fighting and in between he had studied all the

strategies that she adopted while fighting, just as  a disciple would learn from
his teacher.
And a teacher cannot marry his or her student. It’s
universally accepted that one’s father, mother and teacher
are all like a god. Sona realized that Udayavarma w as
first her student and then a suitor and she was not  willing
to accept that relationship for the purpose of marr iage.
Udayavarma too thought on the same lines and realiz ed
that he could not marry Sona, because she was like his
teacher. So he respected the wishes of his teacher,   that’s
why he decided not to press his claim to her hand.
The relationship between a teacher and his student is more sacred than that
between others. That’s why Sona went back on the co ndition she herself had
stipulated. Betaal knew that king will definitely s peak out the answer so he
flew back to the ancient tree carrying the corpse a long with him.
Vikramaditya drew his sword and went after the Beta al.

Reward of life

It was a dark night and was raining from time to ti me.Gusts of wind shook the
trees. There were strange noises and in between the  thunderclaps the moaning
of jackals could be heard.Flashes of lightning reve aled fearsome faces and
there were strange and mysterious laughter of the s pirits.
But inspite of such a weird atmosphere king Vikrama ditya did not swerve a
bit. He climbed the ancient tree to bring the corps e down and soon he began
crossing the desolate cremation ground, with the co rpse lying on his shoulder.
The Betaal that possessed the corpse spoke: "O King  , I pity you as you are
making untiring efforts without relaxing as if you wish to achieve
something.Instead of enjoying a comfortable sleep o n a cozy bed, you’re still
coming after me. You seem to be quite adamant. Such  arrogance may not help
you keep your promise if you had given one to anybo dy. You’ll realize the
futility of the whole thing if only you listen to m y story." And the vampire
began his narration.

Long long ago, Kanchannagar was being ruled by
King Chandradeep . His daughter was Indumati .
Being an only child, the princess was brought up
like a boy, and given training in the use of arms a n
warfare. It was certain that whoever wed her would
also become the ruler of Kanchannagar. The princes
of many of the neighbouring kingdoms cherished a
desire to marry Indumati,  who was, besides
everything else, extremely beautiful.

Whenever the king broached the subject of
marriage, Princess Indumati,   would hesitate to
give him a definite answer, but one day Indumati sa id yes to his father, "Yes,
father, but...". The king stared at her , waiting f or her to complete the
sentence.
" Whoever marries me must be strong and brave. And he must succeed in the
tests that I give." Indumati,  then spelt out what kind of tests she was
contemplating for her suitors.

The king was horrified. "Don’t insist on any such t est," he advised the
princess. " They’re all hazardous. No one will come  forward to undergo the
tests for fear their life. Just forget about them."

"Don’t worry, father," Indumati,  assured Chandrade ep . " All those who
profess that they love me than their life will cert ainly take these tests. You just
watch!"

The king consulted his ministers.They came out with  a suggestion. "If the
princess is determined to impose the tests, let her  wish be carried out," said
the prime Minister. "But when we make the announcem ent, let us not spell out
the details. They will be let known only at time of  the test."

Chandradeep agreed to the suggestion. The royal
announcement about the princess wedding merely stat ed
that the suitors would have to take certain tests..  The
announcement was made in all the neighbouring
kingdoms, including Jayanagar, where a young man
named Kurupshana heard it.
He had been born with both hands stunted. His mothe r
died soon after he was born, and his father took a
second wife. The boy was named Kurupshana, the ugly
looking.
His stepmother was not at all kind- hearted, and sh e ill- treated him much. It
was seldom that he even got a full meal. She knew t hat the boy, with his
handicap, would not be much use to her.

Kurupshana did not utter a word in protest or by wa y of complaint. But he
lamented within himself. ‘Mother is always scolding  & harassing me under
one pretext or other. Won’t there be an end to all this? They feel that I’m no
good and I had better die! I must take this as a ch allenge and show them that I
too, can face life.’
He decided to go to Kanchannagar. Quite a few princ es had by then assembled
at Kanchannagar. There were some young men, too, wi shing to try their luck,
if the princes were to fail. They all spent their t ime guessing what kind of tests
the princess would put them through. Some of them t hought it could be

wrestling. Some others thought it could be their pe rformance with the bow
and arrow.

The time came to announce the details of the tests.  The King & Princess
Indumati came to the stage and sat next to the king , and on the other side of
the king sat the Prime Minister. He got up from his  seat and faced the princely
suitors. " The contest is about to start! Several s uitors are present here to win
the hand of princess Indumati. It is her wish that they are put to certain tests.
Whoever succeed in the test will qualify to wed her . You all can see the wall
in front of you. You have to climb the wall and jum p down into the three-
tiered cage of sharp knives. The test is, while doi ng so, you must be careful
not to injure yourself. There should not be a singl e scratch on your body from
the blades of the knives. Whoever is willing to par ticipate in the test may step
forward!"

Many princes rose from their seats, and went and to ok a good look at the high
wall as well as the cage of knives. One by they wen t back to their seats. The
wall looked too high for them; the cage was placed deep down below; and the
space between the knives was very small. They would  not be able to jump
down without injuring themselves. None dared even t o make an attempt.

As they went back to their seats, some of them prot ested. "What kind of test is
this? It could have been a sword- fight or wrestlin g or
archery, or any other of that kind. But not this! I t is
almost trap from where one can’t escape with one’s
life. Why should any one sacrifice his life for the
hand of a mad princess in the world!"
It looked as though no suitor was willing to take t he
test. The king was in a dilemma. He regretted that his
daughter did not accept his advice and desite from
insisting ontests.
Kurupshana was watching all this from his seat. sud denly a thought struck
him. After all, people back home, like his stepmoth er, were only wishing for
his death. If he were to succeed in the test by the  grace of god, he stood to win
the hand of none else than a princess!

So, why should he not try his luck? And if he were to die, nobody would
grieve over his fate. He left his seat and walked u p to King Chandradeep .
"Your Majesty, can I have your permission to take t he test?"

The king was shocked. Who was this ugly- looking ha ndicapped youth?
Suppose he were to succeed in the test? His daughte r would have to marry
him- according to the rules of the game. And if tha t happened, she would have
to spend the rest of her life in the company of a h andicapped husband!

Princess Indumati, too, was in a similar dilemma. S he was expecting to be
married off to a prince, brave, daring and handsome . But look at this ugly
youth! Would it be her fate to become his wife? She  regretted she ever
thought of tests for her suitors.
Suddenly a doubt arose in her mind: would this youn g man be able to climb
that high wall? How would he avoid a scratch while jumping into the cage
when he had no hands to guide him through the sharp  knives? She almost
concluded that he would only meet with his end
if he were to be foolish enough to attempt
jumping down from the wall. King Chandradeep
waited for a moment to know his daughter’s
reaction, and then gave the permission to
Kurupshana.

Kurupshana went up the wall and asked the soldiers to take him to the top of
the wall.
He then took a good look at the cage and jumped dow n. He landed between
the knives arrayed all around on all the three tier s. He was unscrathed! A loud
cheer arose from the audience.
The cage was slowly raised, to allow the young man to come out. He then
walked towards the king and the princess. Their fac e had gone a milky white.

Kurupshana realised their predicament. "O King! Ple ase don’t worry. I didn’t
wish to marry the princess. I had only wanted to ta ke a challenge and I know
I’ve succeeded.
That itself is a big reward of my life and I can no w face life." He bowed low
before the king and retreated.

The vampire ended his narration there and turned to
King Vikramaditya. " O King! Didn’t Kurupshana
behave like a foolish? If he had no intention of
marrying the princess, why did he at all decide to
undergo the test?
And after having succeeded in the test and qualifie d to
wed the princess, why did not want to marry her? Wh at was the reward he was
referring to when he said he didn’t want to aspire for anything
more? If you know the answer and still decide not t o satisfy me,
beware, your head will be blown to pieces!
""True, Kurupshana was a handicapped young man," sa id the
king. " He was fully aware of his handicap that bot hered his
stepmother. He really wished that she changed her o pinion
about him. She should not any longer feel that he w as no good.
Instead she should know that where people with no h andicap had failed, he
could, despite his handicap, come out a victor.
That, for him, was the biggest reward he could aspi re for. He decided to
undergo the hazardous test not with the hope of mar rying a princess. If he
married her, he would one day be called upon to rul e the kingdom. But as a
ruler, he wouldn’t be able even to hold sword.
If that was the case, it wouldn’t be proper for him  to marry her. That was why
he gave up his claim to her hand. It was not any ac t of a foolish person. On the
contrary, it was the decision of an intelligent, wi se person."
Betaal knew that king will definitely speak out the  answer
so he flew back to the ancient tree carrying the co rpse along
with him.
Vikramaditya drew his sword and went after the  Bet aal.

The four boys who made a lion

Once upon a time there lived four sons of a poor br ahmin who taught them all
the Vedas and the holy scriptures. On their parents  death, they decided to go
and stay with their mother's father. But on reachin g there they found that they
were unwelcome there and that their cousins were un receptive to the brothers.
Then the brothers decided to each go out into the w orld and learn a special
skill and come back and meet at a common place afte r a while. So they
dispersed and came back to the same place at the ap pointed time. Each told
what he had learnt. The first one said, " I can cre ate flesh of a creature from a
single one of the creature". The second one said, "  I know how to grow the
hair and skin of a creature if it has flesh and bon es." The third one said, "I can
create the limbs of a creature if its form is compl ete with skin hair and flesh
and bones". The fourth one said, " I know how to gi ve life to that creature
once it is complete in form with limbs".
So they set off into the forest to find a piece of bone on which they could test
their skills. The first one they found was a lion's . So each of them displayed
his skill and created a live huge Lion, which as fa te would have it, killed all
four of them and sped away.

Betaal stops and asks King Vikram asks this questio n: Who among the four
brothers is responsible for the death of all of the m? Vikram replies with a
lot of thought, "The fourth one, as he was the one who gave life to the
otherwise dead structure of bones flesh and limbs a nd hair"

As soon as Vikram had finished his answer, Betaal d isappeared back to the
tree.

True Reward
It was a dark night and was raining heavily and the re were strange noises from
every where and voice of  the moaning of jackals co uld be heard.
Although there was a  bad atmosphere king Vikramadi tya did not fear a bit.
He climbed the tree to bring the corpse down and so on he began to walk with
the corpse lying on his shoulder.
The Betaal spoke: "O King , I pity you as you are m aking untiring efforts
without relaxing as if you wish to achieve somethin g. Instead of enjoying a
comfortable sleep in your palace  you’re still comi ng after me”
King didn’t speak anything because any word from hi s mouth would keep
Betaal right back on the tree.
So Betaal starts his story……….
Long long ago, Kanchannagar was being ruled by King  Chandradeep . His
daughter was Indumati . Being an only child, the pr incess was brought up like
a boy, and given training in the use of arms an war fare. The princes of many
of the neighbouring kingdoms cherished a desire to marry Indumati, who was,
extremely beautiful.
Whenever the king broached the subject of marriage,  Indumati said "Yes,
but... Whoever marries me must be strong and brave.  And he must succeed in
the tests that I give."
Indumati, then she listed out what kind of tests sh e was contemplating for her
suitors. The king was horrified. "Don’t insist on a ny such test, They’re all
hazardous. No one will come forward to undergo the tests for fear their life.
Just forget about them."
Indumati said,  "Don't worry father! All those who said that they love me than
their life will certainly take these tests.”
Minister said "If the princess wanted to impose the  tests, let her wish be
carried out"
The royal announcement about the princess wedding w as made stated that the
suitors would have to take certain tests. The annou ncement was made in all
the neighbouring kingdoms.
When  young handicapped man named Kurupshana from J ayanagar heard it.
His mother died soon after he was born, and his fat her took a second wife. His
step mother kept his name  Kurupshana, which means ugly looking.  His
stepmother ill-treated him much. It was seldom that  he even got a full meal.
She knew that the boy, with his handicap, would not  be much use to her.
He decided to go to Kanchannagar. Few princes had w ere there
Kanchannagar. They were guessing what kind of tests  the princess would put
them through. The time came to announce the details  of the tests. The Princess
Indumati came to the stage and sat next to the king .
Prime Minister got up from his seat and faced the p rincely suitors. "Several
suitors are present here to win the hand of princes s Indumati. It is her wish
that they are put to certain tests and Whoever succ eed in the test will qualify
to wed her. You all can see the wall in front of yo u. You have to climb the
wall and jump down into the three- tiered cage of s harp knives. The important
thing is, while doing so, you must not injure yours elf. There should not be a
single scratch on your body from the blades of the knives."
Many princes took a good look at the high wall as w ell as the cage of knives.
The wall looked too high for them; the cage was pla ced deep down below; and
the space between the knives was very small. None d ared even to make an
attempt. As they went back to their seats.
It looked as though no suitor was willing to take t he test. The king regretted
that his daughter did not accept his advice. Kurups hana was watching all this
from his seat. Suddenly a thought struck him. After  all, people back home,
were only wishing for his death. If he were to succ eed in the test , he stood to
win the hand of  princess So, he decided to try his  luck. He left his seat and
walked up to King Chandradeep. The king was shocked . Princess Indumati,
too, was in a similar dilemma. She was expecting to  be married off to a prince.
Suddenly a doubt arose in her mind: would this youn g man be able to
complete the test.  King Chandradeep waited for a m oment to know his
daughter’s decision, and then gave the permission t o Kurupshana. Kurupshana
went up the wall. He then took a good look at the c age and jumped down. He
landed between the knives arrayed all around on all  the three tiers. He was
unscathed!  He then walked towards the king and the  princess. Kurupshana
said "Huzoor ! Please don’t worry. I didn’t wish to  marry the princess. I had
only wanted to take a challenge and I know I’ve suc ceeded. That itself is a big
reward of my life and I can now face life." He bowe d low before the king and
retreated.
The Betaal ended his story and asked  to Vikramadit ya “King! Didn’t
Kurupshana behave like a
foolish? If he had no intention of marrying the pri ncess, why did he at all
decide to undergo the test?” And after having succe eded in the test and
qualified to wed the princess, why did
not want to marry her? “ , “If you know the answer and still decide not to
satisfy me, beware, your head will be blown to piec es!”
""You are right, Kurupshana was a handicapped young  man," said the
Vikramaditya." He was aware of his handicap that bo thered his stepmother.
He really wished that she changed her opinion about  him. She should not any
longer feel that he was no good. Instead she should  know that where people
with no handicap had failed, he could, despite his handicap, come out a victor.
That, for him, was the biggest reward he could aspi re for. He decided to
undergo the test not with the hope of marrying a pr incess. If he married her,
he would one day be called upon to rule the kingdom . But as a ruler, he
wouldn’t be able even to hold sword and could not e ven protect his kingdom,
so it wouldn’t be wise decision for him to marry he r. That’s why he gave up
his claim to her hand. It was the decision of a wis e person."
Betaal knew that king will definitely speak out the  answer so he flew back to
the ancient tree carrying the corpse along with him . Vikramaditya drew his
sword and went after the Betaal .

Reward for Gatekeeper

It was a dark night and was raining heavily and the re were strange noises from
every where and voice of  the moaning of jackals co uld be heard.
Although there was a  bad atmosphere king Vikramadi tya did not fear a bit.
He climbed the tree to bring the corpse down and so on he began to walk with
the corpse lying on his shoulder.
The Betaal  spoke: "O King , I pity you as you are making unti ring efforts
without relaxing as if you wish to achieve somethin g. Instead of enjoying a
comfortable sleep in your palace  you’re still comi ng after me”
King didn’t speak anything because any word from hi s mouth would keep
Betaal  right back on the tree.
So Betaal  starts his story……….
Once Upon a time there lived a king named Chandraka nt. He is very brave
and kind king. He was taking good care of his subje cts. Everyone was living
with peace in his kingdom.
Once a guard came to him and told him that “Huzoor!  you must alert our
soldiers, as enemy might attack our country within few days”.  Chandrakant
asked him how could he say before the moment. The g uard didn’t reply
anything.
Few days went away. Suddenly neighbour country atta cked Chandrakant’s
Kingdom , but as his soldiers were alert. They foug ht bravely and defeat the
opponent. Chandrakant remembered the advice of the guard.
After finishing war he came back to the palace. He was relaxing on his bed at
the night. He decided to give good reward to the gu ard next day.
Next day, he called a guard. Guard came very happil y to receive his reward.
King gave him 1000 gold coins and asked him how you  got an idea enemies
were going to attack on our kingdom. Guard replied “Sir I can see future
things which are going to happen in my dreams, that  night while doing my
duty at night I had a dream that enemy was attackin g us”. King was pleased
with him. He gave him 1000 gold coins. But suddenly  he said “You have done
good work by alerting us, but you are dismissed fro m the post of the guard”.
People were surprised by King’s decision, but no on e had a dare to ask him
why. But the guard said “Yes sir, I must be punishe d and went away”.
Betaal stops and asks King Vikram  asks this question: Why King dismissed
guard even if he helped him to win against the enem y?
Vikram replies with a lot of thought, "Betaal, duty  of guard is to take care of
palace’s gate. As guard said he said he had a dream  during the duty, king got
the idea he was sleeping at the gate so although he   helped him to win against
enemy he forgot to do his duty so king dismissed hi m from the post of the
guard."
As soon as Vikram  had finished his answer, Betaal  disappeared back to the
tree.


Category: folks and regional stories
Content: Purna Vidya 1 Panchatantra Stories

Kumud Singhal

Purna Vidya 2
Story of PancnTantra

Purna Vidya 3

Purna Vidya 4

Purna Vidya 5 The Brahmin and The Cobra
aridatta was a Brahmin who was very poor. He was a farmer but
the piece of land he cultivated gave him very littl e to survive. One
day, unable to stand the heat of the summer sun, he  went to a big
tree in his land to rest for a while. Before he cou ld spread himself
on the ground he saw in the nearby anthill a huge c obra swaying
with his hood open.
He thought, “This cobra must really be the Goddess of this land. I
have never worshipped her, which is why I am not ab le to get
anything from the land. From today, I will worship her.”
At once he went back to his village and returned wi th a glass full of
milk.
He poured it in a bowl and turning to the anthill s aid, “O ruler of
the land, I did not know you were living in this an thill. That is why I
have not paid my tribute to you. Please excuse me a nd accept this
humble offering.”
He then placed the bowl of milk at the anthill and left the place.

Purna Vidya 6 Next day when the Brahmin came to his land before t he Sun was up,
he saw a gold coin in the bowl he had left at the a nthill.
Henceforth, he came alone every dawn, collected the  coin, offered
the milk in the bowl and left. One day the Brahmin,  leaving for
another village on business, asked his son to go to  the anthill and
offer milk. When the son went the next day, he foun d a gold coin in
the bowl.
He collected the coin and thought, “This anthill mu st be full of gold.
If I kill the cobra, I can collect all the gold in one go instead of
coming here every day.”
He then struck the cobra with a big stick. But the cobra deftly
dodged the blow but stung the son to death with his  poisonous
fangs. Returning to his village the next day, Harid atta heard the
story of his son’s death and at once realised that greed was behind
it.

The Brahmin went to the anthill the day after his s on’s cremation
and offered milk to the cobra. Without coming out o f his hole, the
cobra told Haridatta,

Purna Vidya 7 “You have come here for gold forgetting that you ha d lost a son
and that you were in mourning. The reason is greed,  pure greed.
From today, there is no meaning in our relationship . Blinded by his
youth, your son has struck me and I bit him back. H ow can I forget
that blow? How can you suffer the grief of your son ’s death?
Finally, I am giving you this diamond, don’t come b ack again.”

MORAL: Excess of greed is harmful.

The Bird With Two Heads

great bird named Bharunda lived on the banks of a l ake. He had
two heads but a single body. One day,as the bird wa s wandering on
the bank of the lake, he found a fruit, which was a s delicious as
ambrosia. One of his heads mumbled, “Oh what a frui t. I am sure
the heavens have sent it for me. I am so lucky.”

Purna Vidya 8 Hearing this, the second head said, “O brother, let  me also taste
the fruit you are praising so much.”
The first head laughed and said, “Both of us have t he same
stomach. It makes no difference whether I eat it or  you eat it. I
shall give it to our beloved. She will be very happ y.” Bharunda thus
gave the fruit to his wife. The second head was dis appointed at
this action of the first head.
One day, the second head found a poisonous fruit an d told the
first head, “You treacherous fellow. For what you h ave done to me,
I will eat this poisonous fruit and avenge your ins ult.”
The second head said, “You fool, if you eat that, b oth of us will die
because we have the same body.”
Ignoring his warning, the second head ate the poiso nous fruit and
both of them died.

MORAL: Sharing of a good thing with others is always good.

Purna Vidya 9

 Once upon a time there lived a group of mice under  a tree
peacefully. But once a group of elephants came that  way and
destroyed the homes of all the rats as a result of which many of
them were crushed to death. Then the king of rats d ecided to
approach the elephant chief and request him to guid e his herd
through another route. The elephant king agreed to this and took
another route to the water. And so the lives of the  rats were
saved.

One day a group of elephant-hunters came and trappe d the group
of elephants in huge nets. Then the elephant king s uddenly
remembered the king of the rats. He summoned one of  the
elephants of his herd which had not been trapped, t o go and
contact the king of rats.

On listening to the elephant, the rat king took his  entire group of
mice and they cut open the nets which trapped the e lephant herd.
So the elephant herd was totally set free.

MORAL: A friend in need is a friend indeed.

Purna Vidya 10
The Blue Jackal

Once upon a time there was a forest by a
city. The forest was the home of many
animals. Among them was a jackal. There
were many other jackals who belonged to
the same pack but the others moved
around together and seldom left the
forest.
Now this particular jackal was more
adventurous and often strayed into the
village in search of food. He had already tasted th e wonderful
things the human beings were fond of cooking and we nt to look for
some whenever he could. It was not a particularly e asy thing to do.
He knew that the human beings would give him a soun d beating if
he were caught. Besides, the city was full of dogs and the jackal
was afraid of them. They were sure to kill him or h urt him badly if
they ever managed to catch him. But the lure of foo d proved too
strong for him and the jackal went to the city agai n and again.
One day just as he was about to enter a big house h e heard the
sound of loud barking. To his horror he saw a group  of dogs running
towards the house. They looked fierce and the jacka l was soon
trembling in fear. He ran willy-nilly and tumbled r ight inside a tub
of blue dye. The dogs missed him and ran the other way. By the
time the jackal climbed out of the tub he was dyed blue from head

Purna Vidya 11 to foot. He looked really strange and totally unlik e any other animal.
The jackal was very happy. "No one will be able to recognize me
now" he told himself, "I can easily fool everyone i n the forest."
The jackal was quite right. When he entered the for est once again
everyone was surprised to see such a strange animal . There had
never seen any animal of that color before.
"Who are you?" the smaller animals asked him. "Wher e have you
come from?" asked the mighty lion with a frown. "Di d anyone send
you?" asked the fierce tiger giving him a keen look .
"Lord Indra, king of heaven, has sent me to look af ter you" said
the blue jackal in a grand voice, "I'll be your kin g from now on."
"But I have always been the king of the forest" pro tested the
mighty lion.
"All that must change now as I am the king" said th e blue jackal
enjoying himself, "all of you must serve me and do exactly as I tell
you."
"What if we don't?" asked the tiger.
"Then Lord Indra will destroy the entire forest and  all of you with
it" said the blue jackal.
The animals did not dare to say anything more.
"What would you like us to do?" they asked the blue  jackal.
"Bring me lots of food, to start with" said the blu e jackal promptly,
"I am hungry and can't take care of you unless I am  properly
looked after."

Purna Vidya 12 The animals rushed off in different directions. Bef ore long they
were back with lots of food. They took care to brin g whatever they
could find and offered the best of everything to th e blue jackal.
The jackal was happy and had his fill. Needless to say, there was
far more food than he could eat. "Now all of you ca n eat up the
rest of the food" he said, "But mind you, you must bring me fresh
food every day."
The animals promised to serve him faithfully. He as signed special
duties to all the animals but banished the pack of jackals from the
forest because he was afraid they might recognize h im some day.
The blue jackal had a wonderful time after that. He  did not need
to step out of the forest or risk confronting the d ogs. He now got
the best of everything without doing anything at al l. He laughed by
himself whenever he remembered how cleverly he had tricked the
lot – including the tiger, the mighty elephant and the lion who
considered themselves too grand for words. But one day something
unexpected happened. The banished pack of jackals w as roaming
just outside the forest and howled together loudly.  The blue jackal
forgot himself and joined in the howling just as he  used to do
before.
The other animals were present when it happened and  stared at
him incredulously. Here was their mighty blue king howling just like
a jackal! So he was a jackal after all and not a st range creature
sent from heaven! He had merely colored himself som ehow and had
been fooling them all these days! Fooling the lion king, the fierce
tiger and mighty elephant!

Purna Vidya 13 Well, they were not going to be fooled any longer. They fell upon
the blue jackal and killed him before he could expl ain or protest.
And that was the end of the blue jackal's reign as king!
MORAL: DO NOT PRETEND TO BE SOMEONE ELSE BE YOURSEL F

Purna Vidya 14

Purna Vidya 15

Purna Vidya 16

Purna Vidya 17

Purna Vidya 18

Purna Vidya 19

Purna Vidya 20

Purna Vidya 21

Purna Vidya 22

Purna Vidya 23


Category: ramayan
Content: Ramayana is one of the two major Sanskrit ancient epics (Itihasas) of Hindu literature. It was composed by sage Valmiki. This is a list of important figures that appear in the epic.

A

Rama releasing Ahalya from curse. Lakshmana and sage Vishvamitra are present.
Agastya: Rishi (sage). Son of sage Pulastya and brother of sage Vishrava. He was an uncle of Ravana. Agastya and his wife Lopamudra met Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana during their exile and gave them a divine bow and arrow.[1]
Ahalya: Wife of the sage Gautama Maharishi. Many Hindu scriptures say that she was seduced by Indra (the king of the gods), cursed by her husband for infidelity, and liberated from the curse by Rama (an avatar of Vishnu).
Akampana: A a maternal uncle of Ravana. He was one of ten sons of Sumali and Ketumathi. He also had four sisters. He was one of the survivors of the battle between Khara and Dushana along with Shurpanakha. After escaping the deadly carnage, he instigated Ravana to kidnap Sita, thus indirectly making him one of the masterminds behind the war. Later he was killed in the battle by Hanuman.
Akshayakumara: Youngest son of Ravana and Mandodari. He was killed by Hanuman during the encounter in the Ashoka Vatika.
Angada: A vanara and the son of Vali and Tara. Angada helped Rama find his wife Sita and fight her abductor, Ravana.
Añjanā: Mother of Hanuman. According to a version of the legend, Añjanā was an apsara named Puñjikastalā, who was born on earth as a vanara princess and married Kesari, a vanara chief. In some Shaiva traditions, Vayu, the god of the wind, carried the divine power of Shiva to Anjana's womb, and thus Hanuman was born as an incarnation of Shiva.[2][3]
Atikaya: Son of Ravana and his second wife Dhanyamalini. He was killed by Lakshmana by the Brahmastra, after the advice given by Vayu at the behest of Indra, that an otherwise invincible armour of Brahma was granted to Atikaya, that could only be pierced by a Brahmastra, during the battle when Lakshmana struggled to kill Atikaya.
B
Bharata: The second son of Dasharatha, born to Kaikeyi, and the younger half brother of Rama. He was married to Sita's cousin Mandavi with whom he had two children.
C
Chandrabhaga: Wife of Janaka's younger brother Kushadhvaja. Chandrabhagha 's two daughters Mandavi and Shrutakirti were married to Rama's younger brothers Bharata and Shatrughna respectively.
D

Rama and his brothers in the company of Raja Dashratha and his three queens.
Dasharatha: King of Ayodhya. He had three queens, Kaushalya, Kaikeyi and Sumitra, and four sons: Rama, Bharata, and twins Lakshmana, Shatrughna. Dasharatha also had a daughter named Shanta. Once, Kaikeyi saved Dasharatha in a battle, and as a reward, she acquired two boons from her husband to be invoked at a later time. Manipulated by Manthara, she asked Dasharatha to make their son Bharata the crown prince and send Rama into exile for a period of fourteen years. Dasharatha died heartbroken after Rama went into exile.
Devantaka: A son of Ravana who was described as a Warrior with a machete as his weapon.He was killed by Hanuman in a duel.
Dhanyamalini: The second wife of Ravana. Her origin is unknown but some stories refer to her as the daughter of Maya and sister of Mandodari. She was the mother of Atikaya.
Dhumraksha: A maternal uncle of Ravana and one of ten sons of Sumali. He was killed by Hanuman.
Dushana: A man-eating rakshasa. He is the twin brother of Khara, the younger male cousin of Ravana, and son of Kaikesi's sister Raka. They were demons who ruled the Dandaka Forest. After Lakshmana humiliated Shurpanakha by cutting off her nose and ears, Khara and Dushana went to war against Lakshmana and Rama. During this fight, Dushana was killed by Rama.[4]
G
Ganga: River goddess and the daughter of Himavan. Because of her incomparable beauty, she was given to the devas. At Bhagiratha's request, she assumed the form of a river and flowed down to the earth with the assistance of Shiva and became the river Ganga.
Guha: The king of Śṛṅgiverapura, a nation of the Nishadas, and one of the allies of Rama. He helps the deity and his companions be ferried across the river Ganga during his exile.
H
Hanuman: A divine vanara companion and devotee of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central figures of the epic. He is a brahmachari (life long celibate) and one of the chiranjivis. In some versions of the epic, he is described as an avatar of Shiva.
Hema: An apsara in Indra's court. When Mayasura visited Svarga, he saw and married her. They had two sons, Mayavi and Dundubhi, and a daughter named Mandodari. She later left them and returned to Svarga.
I
Indrajit (Meghanada): The elder son of Ravana mothered by Mandodari and a prince of Lanka. In the epic, he is described to be a great warrior and master of illusions. he is also known as Indraari.
J
Jambavan: The king of the bears. He was created by Brahma to assist Rama in his struggle against Ravana.
Janaka: The king of Mithila and the father of Sita and Urmila.
Jambumali: One of the eight sons of Lanka's commander-in-chief Prahasta. He was killed by Hanuman during the encounter in the Ashoka Vatika
Jatayu: A divine bird and the younger son of Aruṇa. He was an old friend of Dasharatha (Rama's father). Jatayu's wings were lopped off and killed by Ravana when he tried to save Sita during her abduction.
K
Kabandha: A gandharva, cursed by sage Shtulashira to become a repulsive demon with no head or neck but his mouth in the belly and a single fiery eye on the chest along extremely long arms. He was freed from the curse when his arms were sliced of by Rama and Lakshman and when he was cremated.
Kaikasi (Nikasha, Malini, Sukeshi): A wife of sage Vishrava, and mother of Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Vibhishana, and Shurpanakha. She was a daughter of the rakshasa king Sumali by his wife Ketumati/Ketumali.[5] Her elder sisters, Raka and Pushpotkata, were also wives of Vishrava.
Kaikeyi: The third and most favorable wife of King Dasharatha, and mother of Bharata. After she saved the life of Dasharatha in battle, he offered to grant anything she would ask of him. She later calls in this favour to have Bharata crowned king and Rama sent into the forest, manipulated by the words of her maid, Manthara.
Kausalya: The mother of Rama and the first consort of King Dasharatha. She is also described to be the king's favourite wife.
Khara: man-eating rakshasa. He is the twin brother of Dushana, younger male cousin of Ravana, and son of Kaikesi's sister Raka. He was killed by Rama and Lakshmana when he attacked Rama after Shurpanakha's humiliation. After Lakshmana cut off Shurpanakha's nose and ears, Khara fought against Lakshmana and Rama. During this fight, Khara lost and was killed by Rama, who also killed his brothers Dushana and Trishiras.[6]
Kumbhakarna: The second son of Vishrava and Kaikasi. He was the younger brother of Ravana and the elder brother of Vibhishana and Shurpanakha. Despite his gigantic size and great appetite, he was described to be of good character and a great warrior in those times. When offered a boon by Brahma, he was tricked into asking for eternal sleep. A horrified Ravana, out of brotherly love, persuaded Brahma to amend the boon. Brahma mitigated the power of the boon by making Kumbhakarna sleep for six months and being awake for the rest six months of a year (in some versions, he is awake for one day out of the year). He was one of the rakshasas who opposed Ravana's abduction of Sita.
Kusha: one of the two sons of Rama and Sita.
L
Lakshmana: The third son of King Dasharatha, and a half-brother of Rama. He was the twin brother of Shatrughna, both born to queen Sumitra. In some traditions, he is regarded to be an incarnation of Shesha. He was deeply devoted to his brother, whom he followed through many dangerous adventures and quests. He was married to Sita's younger sister, Urmila. He is stated to have guarded his brother Rama and Sita during their exile for fourteen years without sleeping .
Lava: one of the two sons of Rama and Sita. He had a twin brother named Kusha, one of the youths to whom Valmiki taught the Ramayana.
M
Malyavan: A maternal granduncle of Ravana. He was one of three sons of Sukesha. He had two younger brothers named Sumali and Mali. Malyavan's wife was Sundari. He had seven sons - Vajramusthi, Virupaksha, Durmukha, Suptaghna, Yajnakopa, Matta, Unmatta, and a daughter named Anala. He was one of the rakshasas who opposed Ravana's abduction of Sita.
Mandavi: The daughter of King Kushadhvaja and Queen Chandrabhaga. She was a cousin of Sita and Urmila. She also had a younger sister named Shrutakirti. Mandavi was married to Rama's brother Bharata. After the Ramayana, she became the queen of Gandhara and had two sons, Pushkala and Taksha, who founded Peshawar, then called Purushapura, and Takshashila, now called Taxila, respectively.
Mandodari: The chief consort of Ravana. The epic describes her as beautiful, pious, and righteous. Mandodari was the daughter of Mayasura and an apsara named Hema. Mandodari bears two sons: Meghanada (Indrajit) and Akshayakumara. She was one of the rakshasas who opposed Ravana's abduction of Sita.
Manthara: Maid of Kaikeyi. She is said to be hunch-backed, ugly and antagonistic in appearance. She manipulates Kaikeyi into fears that her position would be overshadowed by Kausalya after the coronation of Rama, persuading her mistress to invoke her boons and send Rama into his exile.
Maricha: A rakshasa (demon) who plays a role in the kidnapping of Sita, Rama's wife, by assuming the form of a golden deer. His mother was Tataka and brother was Subahu, who were killed by Rama earlier in the story.
N
Nala: A vanara who helped Rama during his war with Ravana. He is credited as the engineer of the Rama Setu. He was a son of Vishvakarma, and the twin brother of Nila.[7]
Narantaka: A son of Ravana. He was killed by Angada.
Nila: The commander-in-chief of the vanara army in Rama's battle against Ravana. Along with his twin brother Nala, he is also credited for constructing the Rama Setu. Nila is the son of Agni.
Nirvani: A yakshini and niece of the yaksha king Suketu.
P
Parashurama: The sixth avatar of Vishnu, present in the Ramayana in his conflict with Rama over Shiva's broken bow pinaka, and due to the vow he had made to kill Kshatriya kings. He challenged Rama to bend the bow of Vishnu, and when this was done, accepted that Rama was an incarnation of Vishnu and retired to his penance.[8]
Prahasta: A maternal uncle of Ravana and chief commander of Lanka's army. He was a son of Sumali and Ketumati.
R
Rama: The protagonist of the epic. He is an avatar of Vishnu. He was the son of King Dasharatha of the Kosala Kingdom and his eldest consort, Kausalya. He is regarded to be the embodiment of justice and dharma. He marries Princess Sita of Mithila. The crux of the epic details his attempts to rescue her from Ravana's clutches at Lanka.
Ravana: The rakshasa king of Lanka. He is the main antagonist of the epic. He was the son of Vishrava and Kaikashi. His kidnapping of Rama's wife Sita is the central event that sparked the conflict of the epic.
Rishyasringa: A rishi (sage) presided over the sacrifice that King Dasharatha offered in order to get a son. He was married to Dasharatha's daughter Shanta.
Rumā: The wife of Sugriva. She is mentioned in Book IV (Kishkindha Kanda) of the epic. Ruma and Sugriva fell in love with each other and wanted to marry each other. But Ruma's father did not approve. Hence, Sugriva with the help of Hanuman abducted Ruma and they married each other. Rumā was taken away from Sugriva by Vali following the strife of two royal vanara brothers. Later, the fact of Rumā being withheld by Vali became the primary justification of Rama's slaying Vali and helping Sugriva to become the sovereign of Kishkindha. When accused by Vali of lowly, treacherous and unexpected assassination from the shades by Rama's arrow, Rāma says his assassination was a just punishment for the sin Vali committed when he robbed Sugriva of Rumā, his wedded spouse, and used her for his own pleasure.[9][10][11]
S
Sampati: A supporter of Rama. He was the brother of Jatayu and the son of Aruna. He traced Sita with his divine vision and informed Rama that Sita was in Lanka
Shanta: The daughter of a King Dasharatha and his elder consort Kausalya. Later she was adopted by King Romapada of Anga. She was married to the sage Rishyasringa.
Shabari: An elderly ascetic who was devoted to Rama. As her guru Matanga had instructed her to worship Rama, she waited for him for several years. Sabari finally met Rama after the abduction of Sita. She helped Rama to find Sugriva and Hanuman.
Shatrughna: The youngest son of King Dasharatha. He was born to queen Sumitra and was a twin brother of Lakshmana. He was married to Sita's cousin Shrutakirti with whom he had two children.
Shiva: A part of the Trimurti, the supreme trinity in Hinduism, along with Vishnu and Brahma. Both Rama and Ravana were great to devotees of Shiva. Some versions of the epic also describe Hanuman as one of the avatars of Shiva. His wife is Parvati.
Shrutakirti: The daughter of king Kushadhvaja and queen Chandrabhaga. She was a cousin of Sita and Urmila. She also had an elder sister Mandavi.[12] Shrutakirti was married to Rama's brother Shatrughna.
Shurpanakha: The daughter of Vishrava and Kaikesi; and the younger sister of Ravana. She met Rama during one such visit to the forest of Panchavati and was instantly smitten by his youthful good looks. Rama meanwhile kindly rejected her advances, telling her that he was faithful to his wife Sita and thus would never take another wife. Rejected, Shurpanakha then approached his younger brother, Lakshmana, who also rejected her, the humiliated and envious Shurpanakha attacked Sita but was thwarted by Lakshmana, who cut off her nose and ears and sent her back to Lanka
Sita: The principal female figure of the epic. The reincarnation of Vedavati, Sita was raised by King Janaka of Mithila as his own daughter. She married Rama of Ayodhya and accompanied him on his exile. She is famed for her virtue and beauty and is regarded as an avatar of the goddess of prosperity, Lakshmi.
Subahu: A rakshasa. He and his mother, Tataka, took immense pleasure in harassing the munis of the jungle, especially Vishvamitra, by disrupting their yajnas with rains of flesh and blood.[13] Vishvamitra approached Dasharatha for help in getting rid of these pestilences. Dasharatha obliged by sending two of his sons, Rama and Lakshmana, to the forest with Vishvamitra, charging them to protect both the sage and his sacrificial fires.[citation needed] When Subahu and Maricha again attempted to rain flesh and blood on the sage's yajna, Subahu was killed by Rama.[14]
Sugriva: A vanara. He was the younger brother of Vali, whom he succeeded as ruler of the vanara the kingdom of Kishkindha. Rumā was his wife. He was the spiritual son of Surya. Sugriva aided Rama in his quest to liberate his wife Sita from the captivity at the hands of Ravana.
Suketu: A yaksha who performed a yajna to get an heir, with the strength equal to thousand elephants. After the ritual, he got a daughter named Tataka.
Sumali: The son of rakshasa king Sukesa and gandharva princess Devavati.[15] He had two brothers Malyavana and Mali. Sumali was married to Ketumati with whom he had ten sons (Prahasta, Akampana, Vikata, Kalikamukha, Dhumraksha, Danda, Suprasva, Sanhradi, Praghasa, and Bhaskarna) and four daughters (Raka, Puspotkata, Kaikashi, Kumbhnashi). One of his daughters Kaikashi was married to sage Vishrava who later gave birth to Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Vibhishana, and Shurpanakha.
Sumantra was the prime minister in the court of Ayodhya. He was extremely loyal to the rulers of Ayodhya and was King Dasharatha's a most trusted minister. He knew many secrets about the royal family, including what he had heard from the conversation between King Dasharatha and Durvasa. He helped Rama in his exile.
Sumitra: The second consort of King Dasharatha of Ayodhya. She was the mother of the twins Lakshmana and Shatrughna.
Sunayana: The queen of Mithila, wife of King Janaka, and the mother of Sita and Urmila.
T
Tara: The wife of Vali, and the mother of Angada. She was the queen of Kishkindha and is regarded as one of the panchakanyas.
Tataka: A beautiful woman who was transformed into a demon (rakshasa) once she tried to seduce the sage Agastya. As a demon, she used to drink the blood of living creatures and used to kill anything she sees. In one of Rama's great acts, he broke her curse by slaying her.
Trijata: A demoness who was assigned the duty of guarding Sita who was kidnapped by the king of Lanka. In later adaptions of Ramayana, she is described as the daughter of Vibhishana.
Trishira: A son of Ravana. He was killed by Hanuman.
U
Urmila: The younger daughter of King Janaka and queen Sunayana, and the younger sister of Sita. She married Lakshmana and had two sons, Angada and Chandraketu. In the Garga Samhita, she is stated to be an avatar of Nagalakshmi. Urmila slept continuously for fourteen years, so that her husband could protect Rama and Sita during the exile.
V
Vali: A vanara king of Kishkindha. He was a spiritual son of Indra, the biological son of Vriksharaja, the elder brother of Sugriva, husband of Tara, and father of Angada. He is slain by Rama.
Vasishtha: A sage and the guru of King Dasharatha, offering religious advice to the king and the royal family.
Vibhishana: A younger brother of Ravana. Though a rakshasa himself, Vibhishana was of a noble character. When Ravana kidnapped Sita, he advised Ravana to return her to her husband Rama in an orderly fashion and promptly which Ravana refused sternly. When Ravana did not heed his advice and threw him out of the kingdom, Vibhishana deserted Ravana and joined Rama's army. Later, when Rama defeated Ravana, Rama crowned Vibhishana as the king of Lanka.
Vidyutjiva: A Danava and the husband of Ravana's sister Shurpanakha.
Vishrava: The son of Pulatsya, the brother of the sage Agastya and the grandson of Brahma. His first wife was Ilavida with whom he had a son named Kubera. Later, he also married the rakshasa princess Kaikasi with whom he had three sons (Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana) and a daughter (Shurpanakha).
Vishvamitra: A sage who was once a king. Through long meditation, he gained a number of spiritual powers. He took Rama on a quest to defeat a demon and to lift the bow of Shiva.