Hiraṇyapura (Udyoga Parva)

Hiraṇyapura, the City of Gold, is a great city in the Pātāla realms, the worlds below the earth. Chapter 100 of the Udyoga Parva tells of it in the Mātali Upākhyāna. It is a city of the dānavas, shining with wealth and power. Mātali and Nārada visit it while they search for a husband for Mātali’s daughter Guṇakeśī.

Location and nature

Hiraṇyapura lies in the Pātāla realms, the series of underworlds beneath the surface of the earth. In the Mahābhārata’s account these are complete worlds, each with its own rulers, its own beauty and its own people. The dānavas are beings of great strength who are often at war with the devas. They keep great cities in Pātāla, and Hiraṇyapura is one of the most splendid.

The name comes from hiraṇya (gold). It is a city of great wealth. It shines with gold, and its buildings show the wealth and power of the dānavas. Its people are of the greatest bodily strength.

In the Mātali Upākhyāna

Mātali and Nārada come to Hiraṇyapura on their search through the underworlds. They have already visited Varuṇaloka and passed through Pātāla. In Hiraṇyapura, among the great dānava families, the search for the husband of Guṇakeśī comes close to its end. Kaṇva tells this account to the assembled court, and the full richness of the dānava city in the underworld is told in it.

Hiraṇyapura elsewhere in the Mahābhārata

Hiraṇyapura is named in other places in the Mahābhārata too. It is linked with the Nivātakavaca dānavas, and with the adventures of Arjuna in the divine realms during his stay in svarga. The Udyoga Parva account is one of several that mention this city of the underworld.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Udyoga Parva, Chapter 100 (Mātali Upākhyāna)