Vapuṣṭamā

Vapuṣṭamā was the queen of King Janamejaya. She was the daughter of Suvarṇavarma, the king of Kāśī. Her name means “she who has the most beautiful body” or “she of excellent form.” Janamejaya married her after he was crowned as a young king, following the death of his father Parīkṣit, and before the great sarpa-yāga (the fire ritual for the destruction of serpents).

Marriage to Janamejaya

Parīkṣit died from Takṣaka’s bite, and the young Janamejaya was crowned king. He was a child who now carried the weight of the Kuru line. As part of the founding of his reign, he married Vapuṣṭamā. Her father Suvarṇavarma was the king of Kāśī, one of the most honoured royal lines of that age. The Ādi Parva mentions her briefly and names her as the queen beside Janamejaya in the early years of his rule.

Her family in Kāśī

Her father’s name, Suvarṇavarma, means “he with a golden armour” or “he of golden protection.” He ruled Kāśī, the ancient city sacred to Śiva, one of the oldest and most honoured kingdoms of Āryāvarta.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Āstīka Parva, Chapter 42