Sixth queen consort of Hindu god Krishna
Mitravinda
|
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|
Mitravinda and the other Ashtabharya of Krishna.
|
Other names
| Dvarakeshvari, Shaibya, Sudatta
|
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Affiliation
| Ashtabharya
|
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Abode
| Dvaraka
|
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Texts
| Vishnu Purana
,
Harivamsa
,
Bhagavata Purana
|
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|
Parents
| - Jayasena (father)
- Rajadhidevi (sister of
Vasudeva
) (mother)
|
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Siblings
| Vindya and Anuvindya (brothers)
|
---|
Spouse
| Krishna
|
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Children
| Vrika, Harsha, Anila, Gridhra, Vardhana, Unnada, Mahamsa, Pavana, Vahni, and Kshudhi.
|
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Dynasty
| Yadavamsha
(by marriage)
|
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Mitravinda
(
Sanskrit
:
???????????
,
romanized
:
Mitravind?
) is chronologically the sixth of the
Ashtabharya
[1]
of the
Hindu
god
Krishna
, an
avatar
of the god
Vishnu
, and the king of
Dvaraka
in the
Dvapara Yuga
(epoch).
[2]
Etymology
[
edit
]
Mitravinda was known by the epithet "the virtuous" and called as
Shaibya
or
Shaivya
(meaning daughter/descendant of King
Shibi
/Shivi) in the
Vishnu Purana
. Ratnagarbha, a commentator on the
Vishnu Purana
, identifies Mitravinda with
Kalindi
, another chief queen of Krishna. In
Harivamsa
, she is referred to as Sudatta, the daughter (or patrilineal descendant) of Shibi.
[3]
Family
[
edit
]
In the
Bhagavata Purana
, Mitravinda is described as the daughter of King Jayasena of the kingdom of Avanti. The
Bhagavata Purana
describes that she had two brothers Vinda (Vindya) and Anuvinda (Anuvindhya), who ruled Avanti as co-regents at the time of her wedding. They were comrades of
Duryodhana
, the leader of the
Kauravas
. They were therefore opposed to the idea of Mitravinda marrying Krishna, since he had allied with the
Pandavas
, Kunti's sons, and rivals of the Kauravas.
[4]
[5]
[6]
Marriage
[
edit
]
The
Bhagavata Purana
records a short description of Mitravinda's marriage to Krishna. She chooses Krishna as her husband in a
svayamvara
ceremony, in which a bride chooses a groom from assembled suitors. However, her brothers do not like it and forbid the marriage. They join forces with the Kauravas and fight Krishna. Krishna defeats the princes and takes Mitravinda away forcibly, as the other suitors keep looking.
[7]
[8]
[5]
Vallabhacharya
's commentary on the
Bhagavata Purana
adds that Mitravinda and Krishna were deeply in love with each other, but her brothers and father were opposed to this and wanted Duryodhana for her husband. A svayamvara was arranged by her father for her to choose a husband. All the princes including Duryodhana were present for this competition. When Krishna learned of this, he also came to the venue of the svayamvara and Mitravinda appraised Krishna of her problem and requested him to abduct her. Complying with her wishes, Krishna abducted her from the venue of the svayamavara. He was challenged by her brothers, Duryodhana and other princes who wanted to marry Mitravinda. Krishna defeated all of them and took Mitravinda to
Dvaraka
where he formally married her.
[6]
In another version, Krishna and his elder brother,
Balarama
, are described to be intentionally not invited for the svayamvara. Balarama was upset that they had been excluded from the marriage of their cousin Mitravinda. Balarama had also conveyed to Krishna that the svayamvara was a ruse as Vinda and Anuvinda wished to marry their sister to Duryodhana of the
Kuru
Empire. The marriage would forge an alliance between Kuru and Avanti and also garner the support of
Vidarbha
and
Magadha
Kingdoms, which make the Kauravas very powerful. Balarama told his younger brother to abduct Mitravinda as she loved Krishna. As Krishna was not sure of the love of Mitravinda, he took his younger sister
Subhadra
along with him to quietly ascertain the wish of Mirtravinda. After Subhadra confirmed Mitravinda's love for Krishna, Krishna and Balarama stormed the svayamvara venue and abducted Mitravinda, defeating the princes of Avanti, Duryodhana, and other suitors.
[9]
Later life
[
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]
Krishna and his queens once visited
Hastinapura
to meet Kunti, her sons, the Pandavas and Pandavas' main Queen consort
Draupadi
. As directed by Kunti, Draupadi worships and honours Mitravinda and other queens with gifts. Mitravinda also narrates to Draupadi how she married Krishna.
[4]
[10]
[11]
The
Bhagavata Purana
tells that Mitravinda had ten sons: Vrika, Harsha, Anila, Gridhra, Vardhana, Unnada, Mahamsa, Pavana, Vahni, and Kshudhi.
[12]
[13]
The
Vishnu Purana
says that she has many sons headed by Sangramajit.
[3]
The
Bhagavata Purana
records the wailing of Krishna's queens and their subsequent leap in Krishna's funeral pyre immolating themselves.
[14]
The
Mausala Parva
of the Hindu epic
Mahabharata
which describes the death of Krishna and end of his race declares that Mitravinda (Shaivya) killed herself by burning alive after being attacked by robbers while leaving Dvaraka after Krishna's funeral.
[15]
References
[
edit
]