Ugrasena
Ugrasena was the king of Mathurā and the ruler of the Yādava people. He belonged to the Bhoja clan of the wider Yādava family. His sons were Kaṃsa and Sunāma. Kaṃsa jailed him and took the kingdom. After Bhagavān Kṛshṇa killed Kaṃsa, Kṛshṇa put Ugrasena back on the throne. Ugrasena then stayed on as the senior king of the Yādavas, first at Mathurā and later at Dvārakā.
Lineage and position
Kaṃsa married the two daughters of Jarāsaṃdha, Asti and Prāpti. With Jarāsaṃdha’s power behind him, Kaṃsa shut his own father Ugrasena in prison and seized the kingdom. The Harivaṃśa counts the jailing of the rightful king as one of the greatest adharmas (wrong deeds) of Kaṃsa. (Hari Vamśa Purāṇa, Vishṇu Parva, Chapter 35)
Restoration after the Kaṃsa-vadha
Bhagavān Kṛshṇa killed Kaṃsa in the wrestling arena at Mathurā. Kaṃsa’s wives gathered round their fallen husband and wept. Ugrasena was full of grief for his son and shaken by the wailing of the women. He went to Kṛshṇa, who sat among the Yādavas. He walked in sorrow, sighing like one who had drunk poison, and stood with his head bowed.
Kṛshṇa had blamed himself for causing grief to so many women. Even so, he had held that Kaṃsa had to be destroyed for the good of the righteous. (Hari Vamśa Purāṇa, Vishṇu Parva, Chapters 32 and 33)
Before the assembly of the Yādavas, Ugrasena spoke to Kṛshṇa with dignity. He said: “You have acted in keeping with svadharma (your own duty). You have spread your glory in all four directions. The righteous will praise you. Your enemies will fear you. You have protected the Yadu line. Those related to you will be proud. From today all kings will bow before you. This kingdom is entirely under your command. You have authority over the kingdom of the Yādavas. But I must tell you one thing you must hear. Grant me the grace of performing the funeral rites for Kaṃsa, so that I may pay my debt as a father. After I finish the antya-kriyā (last rites), I shall go to the forest with my daughter-in-law.” (Hari Vamśa Purāṇa, Vishṇu Parva, Chapter 33)
Kṛshṇa’s insistence and the abhisheka
Kṛshṇa was moved by these words. He answered: “Father! You have spoken in a way that fits your line and your character. Kaṃsa’s funeral rites will be done. You were born in a great line, and you know the Vedas. Do you not know that the divine order cannot be broken? Whatever karma one did in a former life, its fruit comes at its proper time. As for this kingdom, I have no wish for a kingdom. I did not kill Kaṃsa for the sake of any kingdom. I did it only for the good of the world, and for the sake of dharma and fame. I am happy to wander in the forest among the cows with the gopālakas (cowherds). This is the truth I tell you. Rule as king. You are worthy of my respect. You are the ruler of the Yādavas. Take your kingdom and rule it for a long time.” (Hari Vamśa Purāṇa, Vishṇu Parva, Chapter 33)
Ugrasena was overcome with grief and shame, and he stood silent before the assembly. Kṛshṇa knows dharma, and he performed the paṭṭābhisheka (the crowning) himself. Ugrasena received the crown. With Kṛshṇa’s help he completed the preta-karmas (rites for the departed) for Kaṃsa. The antya-kriyā was done on the holy bank of the Yamunā. The same rites were done for Sunāma, Kaṃsa’s brother. All the Vṛshṇi and Andhaka Yādavas offered tarpaṇa (water offerings). At Kṛshṇa’s command all the Yādavas followed Ugrasena as their king, as the devas follow Indra. (Hari Vamśa Purāṇa, Vishṇu Parva, Chapter 33)
During Jarāsaṃdha’s attacks
Kṛshṇa and Balarāma finished their studies at Sāndīpani’s āśrama in Avantipura. They came back to Mathurā in glory. For some time they lived happily with the Yādavas under Ugrasena’s rule.
Jarāsaṃdha then attacked Mathurā with a great army, to take revenge for Kaṃsa’s death. The text shows Kṛshṇa, Balarāma and all the Yādavas, led by Ugrasena, working for the defence and welfare of Mathurā. Ugrasena is named among those who fought beside Kṛshṇa. Kṛshṇa’s own actions were always aimed at protecting Ugrasena and the Yādava people. (Hari Vamśa Purāṇa, Vishṇu Parva, Chapters 35 to 37)
At the svayaṃvara of Rukmiṇī
Spies brought news of the svayaṃvara of Rukmiṇī at Vidarbha. Kṛshṇa got ready to leave with the Yādava forces. Before going, he spoke to Ugrasena and asked him to stay in the city. He said: “O elder brother, remain here. The city is unguarded, and Jarāsaṃdha’s allies may use our absence to seize it.”
Ugrasena answered that without Kṛshṇa’s protection he could not feel safe, even if Indra himself stood beside him. He begged Kṛshṇa to take him along. Kṛshṇa smiled warmly and agreed. Ugrasena went with the Yādava force to Vidarbha. (Hari Vamśa Purāṇa, Vishṇu Parva, Chapter 48)
At Dvārakā
Kṛshṇa led the Yādavas to the new city of Dvārakā. There Ugrasena stayed the senior king of the Yādava family of clans. In the great dāśārha sabhā (assembly hall) of Dvārakā, which was more splendid than Indra’s Amarāvatī, Kṛshṇa, Balarāma and the Vṛshṇi and Andhaka warriors sat together and ran the affairs of state.
Indra came down to Dvārakā to ask Kṛshṇa’s help against the asura Narakāsura. The text names Ugrasena, together with Kṛshṇa and Balarāma, as welcoming Indra with honour. Indra greeted Ugrasena and embraced him. (Hari Vamśa Purāṇa, Vishṇu Parva, Chapter 64)
Holding back the young Yādava princes
The Pāṇḍava aśvamedha horse came to Dvārakā under the guard of Arjuna. The young Yādava princes seized the fine horse for sport. Ugrasena held them back at once. Together with Vasudeva, the maternal uncle of Arjuna, he welcomed Arjuna with great love and in the proper way. Then he gave Arjuna leave to go on following the horse. (Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapter 83)
Character
Ugrasena was jailed by his own son without just cause. He was freed only when Bhagavān Kṛshṇa stepped in. The Harivaṃśa says he never answered with bitterness or pride. After his son died, his first act was to perform Kaṃsa’s funeral rites, out of pitṛ-dharma (a son’s and father’s duty to the ancestors). When Kṛshṇa insisted that he rule, he accepted, out of respect for Bhagavān Kṛshṇa’s will and not out of ambition. Under his rule all the Yādava clans, the Vṛshṇis, Andhakas and Bhojas, served together, with Kṛshṇa as the force behind the throne.
Return to the Viśvedevas
The Svargārohaṇa Parva names Ugrasena, the restored king of the Yādavas, among the great souls who entered the Viśvedevas when their time on earth was complete. Vasudeva, Akrūra and the other elders of the Vṛshṇi and Andhaka houses entered with him. (Mahābhārata, Svargārohaṇa Parva, Chapter 5)
Sources
- Hari Vamśa Purāṇa, Vishṇu Parva, Chapters 33, 35, 48, 56, 64
- Hari Vamśa Purāṇa, Vishṇu Parva, Chapters 32, 33 and 35–37
- Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 14–16
- Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapter 83
- Mahābhārata, Svargārohaṇa Parva, Chapter 5