Rukmāṅgada, Son of Viramāṇi

This Rukmāṅgada is a brave son of King Viramāṇi of Devapura. He is a different person from Rukmāṅgada of Śrāvastī, the king known for keeping the Ekādaśī vrata (fast). The Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells his story in the Pātāla Khaṇḍa. While he was playing with his friends in the Vindhya forest, he seized the Aśvamedha horse of Bhagavān Rāma. He then fought Pushkala, the son of Bharata, and defeated him. When Bhagavān Rāma himself came to the battlefield, Viramāṇi gave in, and the horse was returned.

Seizing the Aśvamedha horse

Rukmāṅgada was playing with friends in a lovely forest on the Vindhya mountain. The Aśvamedha horse came there, wearing its golden note of proclamation. His friends said, “Dear friend, who is this great horse with the golden note? Seize him by your strength.” Rukmāṅgada caught the horse easily with one hand.

He read the proclamation and spoke with a king’s pride: “On earth there is no one like my father in courage and wealth. How can King Rāma look down on him so proudly? Let my mighty father, whom Rudra always protects, perform the Aśvamedha yajña (horse ritual).” He then brought the horse in triumph to his father’s palace. The Pātāla Khaṇḍa tells this in Chapter 39.

The battle with Pushkala

When Śatrughna’s army came to take back the horse, Rukmāṅgada fought Pushkala, the son of Bharata, in a fierce duel at Devapura. The fight was hard. In the end Rukmāṅgada defeated Pushkala, and Campaka took him captive. The Pātāla Khaṇḍa tells this in Chapter 41.

Sources

• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Pātāla Khaṇḍa, Chapters 39 to 46