चित्रांगदा
Chitrangada, the princess of Manipur, was the beloved daughter of King Chitravahana. As his only child, she held a special place in her father’s heart, and he was determined that her lineage would carry forward the throne of Manipur. With no other heir, he resolved that her son should succeed him as the ruler of his kingdom, ensuring the continuity of their royal line.
During Arjuna’s period of exile, he encountered Chitrangada while traveling through Manipur. Struck by her beauty and grace, he sought her hand in marriage. However, mindful of his kingdom’s legacy, King Chitravahana set a unique condition before giving his blessing. He stipulated that any son born to Chitrangada and Arjuna would be raised in Manipur and inherit the throne, pledging his life to protect and govern their land. Arjuna, seeing the wisdom in this request and recognizing the bond between Chitrangada and her father, agreed to the condition wholeheartedly.
After their marriage, Chitrangada and Arjuna had a son named **Babruvahana**. True to the promise made to King Chitravahana, Babruvahana was raised as the prince of Manipur, nurtured in the traditions of the land and groomed to inherit the throne. Arjuna, fulfilling his own duty to his brothers and the kingdom of Indraprastha, left Manipur to rejoin the Pandavas, trusting that Chitrangada and Babruvahana would prosper under the legacy of King Chitravahana.
When Chitravahana eventually passed, Babruvahana ascended to the throne of Manipur, fulfilling his grandfather’s vision. Raised with values of honor and duty, he became a wise and just ruler, honoring both his father Arjuna’s valor and his grandfather’s legacy. Babruvahana’s story later intertwines with that of Arjuna in a dramatic encounter. During the Ashwamedha Yagna (horse sacrifice) led by Yudhishthira after the Kurukshetra War, Arjuna, while leading the sacrificial horse, arrived at Manipur. There, a tragic clash ensued between father and son due to circumstances of duty and honor, ultimately ending in reconciliation, facilitated by the intervention of divine forces and the wisdom of the learned.
Thus, Chitrangada’s tale is one of love, duty, and legacy—her role as both a devoted wife to Arjuna and a dutiful daughter to King Chitravahana shaping the destiny of Manipur through her son, Babruvahana. Her story illustrates the delicate balance between personal desires and the responsibilities owed to family and kingdom, a theme resonant throughout the Mahabharata and the lives of its heroic characters.