Subhadrā

Subhadrā is the sister of Bhagavān Jagannātha and Balabhadra. She is the third of the four dāru mūrtis (wooden forms) at Purushottama Kshetra. She appeared in a kumkuma-red form from the divine dāru-vṛksha (sacred tree). She is known as Vishṇu-māyā, the creative power of Bhagavān Vishṇu, and she matches the Yajurveda. She stands between her two brothers at the centre of the divine group, and she is the only feminine form among the four. She shows the śakti aspect of Parabrahman in the dāru mūrti.

In the Mahābhārata, Subhadrā is also the younger sister of Kṛshṇa and Balarāma in the Yādava line. She is the wife of Arjuna and the mother of Abhimanyu.

Appearance from the dāru mūrti

Subhadrā came from the same single divine tree trunk as all four mūrtis. Viśvakarmā, the divine architect, came disguised as an aged carpenter. He worked for fifteen days in a sealed enclosure ordered by king Indradyumna. When he finished, the four fully formed mūrtis were seen:

• Kṛshṇa, also called Jagannātha: dark (śyāma)
• Balabhadra: white
• Subhadrā: kumkuma-red
• Sudarśana: red

Brahmā declared all four to be the direct svarūpa (own form) of Parabrahman. (Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Purushottama Kshetra Māhātmya, Chapters 19, 28)

Form and identity

(Purushottama Kshetra Māhātmya, Chapters 25, 28)

Subhadrā as Vishṇu-māyā

After the pratishṭhā (the installation), Brahmā gave a deep teaching. He named Subhadrā as the māyā-śakti of Bhagavān Vishṇu, the creative power through which Bhagavān Vishṇu shows the appearance of many things in the one undivided Brahman. The Yajurveda, which she carries in herself, is the Veda of action (karma-kāṇḍa), the means by which the cosmos performs its cosmic yajña (fire ritual). Subhadrā stands between Jagannātha and Balabhadra. This shows that Brahman, Śesha and Māyā cannot be separated in the cosmic order. (Purushottama Kshetra Māhātmya, Chapter 28)

The Ratha Yātrā

In the yearly Guṇḍicā Yātrā (Ratha Yātrā), Subhadrā rides her own chariot, built to the measures Nārada gave: twelve wheels, with the padma-dhvaja (lotus flag) flying at the top. Nārada said that her chariot should stand between the chariots of Balabhadra and Jagannātha in the procession, just as she stands between her brothers in the prāsāda (temple). (Purushottama Kshetra Māhātmya, Chapter 25)

Brahmā’s stotra

Brahmā performed the pratishṭhā on Vaiśākha Śukla Ashṭamī. He offered a separate stotra (hymn of praise) to each of the four forms. He praised Subhadrā as Vishṇu-māyā, the first creative energy, who is the sister of Bhagavān Jagannātha and has now appeared in the dāru form to give moksha (liberation) to all. (Purushottama Kshetra Māhātmya, Chapter 27)

Place in the divine triad

Subhadrā is the pivot of the threefold form of Jagannātha. In the usual arrangement in the prāsāda, Balabhadra is on the left, Subhadrā in the centre and Jagannātha on the right. As the feminine centre of the triad, she is Vimalā in her innermost form, the śakti that makes the whole kshetra a śakti-pīṭha (seat of the Devī’s power). The threefold form of Balabhadra, Subhadrā and Jagannātha is the main image of Purushottama Kshetra. (Purushottama Kshetra Māhātmya, Chapters 28, 29, 33)

In the Mahābhārata: sister of Kṛshṇa

In the Mahābhārata, Subhadrā is the younger sister of Kṛshṇa and Balarāma in the Yādava line, and the daughter of Vasudeva and Devakī. Arjuna saw her at the yearly festival of the Vṛshṇi and Andhaka clans on Raivataka mountain near Dvārakā. He was moved by deep love for her and told Kṛshṇa. Kṛshṇa had already thought of this match as the best one. He advised Arjuna to take her by the rākshasa form of marriage rather than wait for a svayaṃvara, the outcome of which was uncertain. Arjuna carried her off on the road back to Dvārakā in Kṛshṇa’s own golden chariot, drawn by the white horses Śaibya and Sugrīva. Balarāma was furious. Kṛshṇa calmed him with a dharmic argument: no better husband for their sister could be found in the three worlds.

Subhadrā was brought to Indraprastha dressed as a gopī (a cowherd woman). This was Kṛshṇa’s advice, so that Draupadī would receive her warmly. She bowed before Draupadī and said, “I am your dāsī (servant).” Draupadī embraced her and blessed her: “May your husband be without enemies.” Kuntī received her with affection and welcomed her formally into the family. From her union with Arjuna, Abhimanyu was born. He had the marks of the cakra on his hand and the padma on his feet from birth.

Kṛshṇa came to Indraprastha with Balarāma and all the Vṛshṇi heroes and brought great gifts: a thousand chariots with golden flags, ten thousand white cows and a thousand horses. Balarāma sent a thousand war elephants. (Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Chapters 219–221)

Grief for Abhimanyu

After the Kurukshetra war, Kṛshṇa told their father Vāsudeva at Dvārakā how the war had gone. He left out the death of Abhimanyu on purpose, to spare his father’s grief. Subhadrā overheard. She cried out and demanded the truth about her son’s death, and she fell to the ground. Her fall made Vāsudeva himself fall senseless with grief for his grandson. She then went to Draupadī and to Uttarā and asked after her son as though he might still return. Kuntī had to console her. Kuntī told her that Uttarā was pregnant and urged her to put aside her sorrow. (Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapter 61)

Later, Uttarā’s child was born lifeless, struck by Aśvatthāmā’s brahmāstra. Subhadrā made her own heartfelt plea to Kṛshṇa. She reminded him of a vow he had made at the very moment the weapon was let loose: “You yourself said, when Droṇa’s son was destroying the wombs of the Pāṇḍavas: ‘Wretch! I will defeat your wish. I will bring Kirīṭī’s grandson back to life.’ I heard those words, and knowing your power, I beg you: let Abhimanyu’s son live! If you do not make that word true, Kṛshṇa, count me as one already dead.” Kṛshṇa then performed a satya-kriyā (an act of truth), which brought the child back to life. He was named Parīkshit. (Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapters 61, 67)

Reunion with Abhimanyu at the Gaṅgā

At the Gaṅgā, Vyāsa told them that Subhadrā’s son Abhimanyu had been Candra himself. By the power of yoga (yoga-bala), Candra had lived in two forms at once, one in svarga and one on earth. Subhadrā then saw Abhimanyu rise from the sacred waters, made young again and shining. She was reunited with him for one joyful night before he went back to his loka. (Mahābhārata, Āśramavāsika Parva, Chapters 31–33)

Other mentions in the Āśramavāsika Parva

Subhadrā is named among the women who set out from Hastināpura in Dhṛtarāshṭra’s vānaprastha procession (the going out to the forest). Later she is named among the women of the Pāṇḍava household whom Sañjaya presented formally to the gathered ṛshis at Śatayūpa’s āśrama on Kurukshetra. (Mahābhārata, Āśramavāsika Parva, Chapters 15, 25)

Charged to protect the young kings

At the great departure of the Pāṇḍavas, Yudhishṭhira gave Subhadrā the care of the two young kings: her grandson Parīkshit, lord of the Kurus, and the Yādava Vajra, lord of Indraprastha. He forbade her to set her mind on going with those who were giving up the world. He told her that leaving the children who needed protection would be adharma. In this way he held her back from the mahāprasthāna (the great journey). Subhadrā stayed behind to guard both royal houses. (Mahābhārata, Mahāprasthānika Parva, Chapter 1)

Sources

• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Purushottama Kshetra Māhātmya, Chapters 19, 25, 27, 28, 29, 33
• Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Chapters 219–221
• Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapters 61, 67
• Mahābhārata, Āśramavāsika Parva, Chapters 15, 25, 31–33
• Mahābhārata, Mahāprasthānika Parva, Chapter 1