Citrāṅgada and Citrāṅgadā of Maṇipūra
Citrāṅgada-Citrāṅgadā, simply known as Chitrangada and Chitrangada, Sanskrit: चित्राङ्गद-चित्राङ्गदा, Telugu: చిత్రాంగదుడు మరియు చిత్రాంగద, Hindi: चित्रांगद और चित्रांगदा.
Two different people share this name. Citrāṅgada is a king who appears at the svayaṃvara of Princess Hema in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa. Citrāṅgadā is the princess of Maṇipūra, a wife of Arjuna and mother of Babhruvāhana, in the Mahābhārata.
Citrāṅgada at the svayaṃvara of Hema
Citrāṅgada is a king in Chapter 17 of the Rājya Khaṇḍa of the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa. He is one of the two royal contestants at the svayaṃvara (a bride’s own choice of husband) of Princess Hema.
He was among the kings gathered for the svayaṃvara. Hema made her choice, but it was not accepted without a fight. A battle broke out between Citrāṅgada and the king Ugrabāhu. The conflict grew from a royal quarrel into a military clash that needed help from the court of Bhagavān Rāma. Lava, Rāma’s son, was sent as the royal deputy and settled the matter. In this way the authority of Rāma-rājya was shown even in distant kingdoms.
Citrāṅgadā of Maṇipūra
Citrāṅgadā is the princess of Maṇipūra and one of the wives of Arjuna. He married her during his years of wandering. She is the mother of Babhruvāhana, the Maṇipūra prince who reigns in her father’s line.
Her departure at the Mahāprasthāna
Yudhishṭhira and his brothers gave up the world and set out on the great departure, the Mahāprasthāna. At that time the household of Hastināpura broke up, and the women of the Pāṇḍava household each went their own way:
- Ulūpī, daughter of the serpent king, entered the waters of the Gaṅgā.
- The other mothers of the line stayed at Hastināpura near the young king Parīkshit.
- Citrāṅgadā went to Maṇipūra, the city of her father and of her son’s kingdom.
Sources
- Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Rājya Khaṇḍa, Chapter 17
- Mahābhārata, Mahā Prasthānika Parva, Chapter 1