Kāmakaṭaṅkaṭā
Kāmakaṭaṅkaṭā was the daughter of the asura Muru. She was the sister of Bhagadatta, the king of Prāgjyotisha (in the region of modern Assam). She lived in a golden palace of a thousand storeys outside Prāgjyotisha. Ten thousand maidservants attended her.
She was very beautiful, powerful beyond the human, and sharp in mind. She had set a trial in three stages for any man who wished to marry her. He had to defeat her in a riddle, in magical power and in physical force, or be killed. Crores of suitors had died in this trial. Ghaṭotkaca, the son of Bhīma, won all three. She became his wife. After a proper wedding at Indraprastha, blessed by Kṛshṇa and the Pāṇḍavas, she bore him the great warrior Barbarīka.
Origins and home
Kāmakaṭaṅkaṭā was born to Muru, a great asura. So she was the sister of Bhagadatta, the famous warrior-king of Prāgjyotisha.
Her palace was a golden mansion with a thousand storeys. It stood inside a great park and was full of music of flutes, lutes and mṛdaṅgas (drums). Ten thousand maidservants attended her. The palace was as grand as she was.
She was more than a royal princess. She had supernatural power. From a magical swing she could send out armies of rākshasas and animals. She used a sword with skill and fought her suitors.
The devī Kāmākhyā had told her that she was meant for the Yaksha chief Kālanabha. He was the overlord of sixty crore Guhyakas, and he would be born on earth in the rākshasa line.
The three-stage trial
Kāmakaṭaṅkaṭā had made a hard trial for her suitors. A man who wished to win her had to defeat her in three contests, one after another.
- Riddle. He had to ask her a riddle that left her in a dilemma she could not solve.
- Magical power. He had to overcome her supernatural forces.
- Physical force. He had to defeat her in direct combat.
A failure at any stage meant death. Crores of suitors had tried and been killed. They were kings, warriors and asuras. Her companion Karṇaprāvaraṇā warned men who came near about this fate. She offered herself in Kāmakaṭaṅkaṭā’s place, and tried to turn them away from the palace.
Defeat and surrender
When Ghaṭotkaca came, Karṇaprāvaraṇā warned him and offered her own company in place of Kāmakaṭaṅkaṭā’s. He refused and said what he had come for. He met Kāmakaṭaṅkaṭā, and the contest began.
He asked the riddle that no one else had solved. She sent out her rākshasa armies from the golden swing, and he made twice as many magical forces. She then took up her sword and attacked. He caught her by the hair and threw her to the ground. He put his foot on her neck and raised a knife to her nose. She accepted that she had lost in all three contests and gave herself up. She said, “O master, I am your servant.”
Recognition and marriage
Ghaṭotkaca let her go. Kāmakaṭaṅkaṭā knew him as the Yaksha chief Kālanabha. She offered him her mansion and all her followers. It was not only the defeat that moved her. It was also the knowledge that the devī Kāmākhyā had foretold this meeting.
Ghaṭotkaca set one condition: the marriage must be done properly, before elders and family. She agreed.
She told her brother Bhagadatta and collected much wealth. Then she said farewell. By the custom of the rākshasas and asuras, she carried Ghaṭotkaca on her back to Indraprastha. There, in the presence of Kṛshṇa and the Pāṇḍavas, at a good muhūrta (auspicious time), Ghaṭotkaca took her hand in the marriage rites.
Motherhood
From this marriage Kāmakaṭaṅkaṭā bore a son named Barbarīka. He grew to be one of the most extraordinary warriors of his age. The Kaumārika Khaṇḍa also tells of his pilgrimage to Guptakshetra and of his end at Kurukshetra.
Sources
- Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa, Chapter 60