ENCYCLOPEDIA OF INDIAN MYTHS
UNIVERSITY WEBSITE;http://www.uni-mysore.ac.in/
C-CHA
Chakra
i. One of the seven mountains in the Kusha islands (Bhaga V
20 De Bha 8 12)
ii. The weapon of Lord Vishnu( Adi 251); The devotee
ambareesha praises it to protect an errant Sage
Durvasa,(Bhaga 9 and 5) Also see Ambareesha.
iii.
iv.Chakravyuha:
Formation of the army in a circular–format; also known
as the Padma Vyuha. Dronacharya had organized the army in
this format on the 13
th
day 0f the Mahabharata battle (Dro 34). Chanchala:
A river which takes birth in the Rishyaprvata mountains.
SeeMatsya 113.
Chanda:
One of Lord Shiva’s Parishadas;also known as Chandi,
Chandikeshwara, Chandesha, chandaghanta. During the
Dakshayagna( when shiva was insulted by his father-in-law,
Daksha) Chanda bound a presiding priest, a Ritvija by name
Pusha.( Bhaga 4 5)
ii) A Rakshasa, brother to Munda,both of whom were
lieuftenants in the army of ShambhaNishumbha; both of these
were slain by MahaKali. That is how she gets the name
chamunda.(De Bha 5 21, Shiva Uma 47, Marka 84)
iii) A Vanara in the army of monkeys.( Rama Yu 26).
Chandakoushika:
Brahmashri, a Great Sage;son of kakshivanta; king BrIhadrata
obtained his son Jarasandha with the blessings of this
sage.(Sabha 17).Chandabala: One of the leaders in the vanara army who was
slain by Kumbhakarna( Rama Yu 67).
ChandaBhargava: A sage, maharshi belonging to Chyavana clan;
was one of the Hotru-s( one who recites the chantings of the
RgVeda) Aa 53.
ChandaMunda: Please see Chanda.
Chandala Samvada( Literally a discussion with a chandalaPlease see Dharma ( shanty 141, Anu 158, 223).
Chandashva: Name given to Kushalashva; please see
Kushalashva.
Chandika; chandi: Names of Parvati;
ii) also the name of sage Uddalaka’s wife.
Chandodari: One of the Ogres-Rakshasi-guarding sita in the
Ashokavana in Srilanka.(suna 24)
Chaturtha divasa yuddha.( Literally the battle of the day of the
Chaturtha day.)Bheeshma, 60, 64.
Chandanavati: the capital town of Kuntala province. Please see
chandrahasa.
Chandra: the capital town of Kuntala province; Please see
Chandrahasa
Chandra: One of the nine Grahas; Son of sage Atri belonging to
Swayambhava Manvantara. ( Bhaga 4 1).
Brhama created sage Atri during his period of
creation. When Sage Atri was doing tapas a brilliant luminance
emerged from his eyes. All ten directions consumed this light;
however, as they could not contain its pace chose to let go of it
into the milky ocean, the ksheera sagara. Brhama collected this
and gave it a human form, named it Chandra, and made him a
member of the constellation of the Grahas
Is also called Soma( Brhama 23).
Was born to Dharma prajapathi and his wife
Vasumni in vyvasvata manvantara.
One of the eight vasus; a graha; varcha was his
son.
Chandra was married to all the twenty seven
daughters of DakshaBrahma, Ashwini beig one of them. ( Adi
67, Siva shatarudra khanda 19, Linga 61).
Chandra was a student disciple of sage Brihaspathi. Love
blossomed between Tara, Barihaspathi’s wife and Chandra who
promptly eloped with her at an opportune moment.
Brihaspathi complained to Brahma who in turn prevailed upon
Chandra to return Tara to her rightful husband. But she was
pregnant with chandra’s baby then. Brhama , having examined
this issue, determined the child to belong to Chandra. Budha
was the son born of the union of Chandra and Tara.( Bhaga 9
24, Hari 1 15, Padma 5, 12, Brhma 9, Vayu 90, Matsya 23, De
Bha 1 11)
Chandra though married to all the twenty seven daughters of
Daksha was particularly fond of Rohini, much to the
consternation of others who promptly complained to their
powerful father who in turn lay a curse on Chandra to become
a tuberculotic, Kshaya, literally wasting away. Chandra pleaded
with lord shiva to save him. Shiva, who had his own axe to grind
against daksha granted him protection. Daksha came and asked
Shiva to hand over Chandra to him’ Shiva refused.A furious
daksha about to lay a curse on shiva when Brhma and Vishnu
appeared, split Chandra into two parts,gave the part which
would not diminish to shiva and the part that diminished to the
stars. Chandra who was thoroughly disillusioned laid a curse on Daksha (that he should lose all his wealth) and hid himself with
the result all the medicinal plants lost their vigor as Chandra is
their patron deity. All the gods then complained to Brahma
upon whose instructions the gods brought all the medicinal
plants, put them in the milky ocean and churned it with the
result Chandra emerged from it. ( linga 58 59). Chandra
accursed by Daksha bathed in the purifying waters of Prabhasa
teertha and was cured of consumption ;( Bhara sha 36). Shiva
took hold of him.(Vishnu 1 9 ).
Sage prachetasa started torching the plants and
vegetation; all the medicines went and complained to
Chandra. In order to pacify him, Chandra arranged an alliance
between Prachetas and Marishe, daughter of a celebrated tree,
Vriksha, and resolved the problem of the plants.( Vishnu, 1,
15).
After the churning of the milky ocean, when the demons and
devas sat together to partake in the drinking of the nectar,
amrita, the devas wanted to keep the demons away so that
they should not get immortality; sensing betrayal, demon Rahu,
sat along with the devas in the garb of a god. However, Surya and Chandra identified him and went and revealed it to Vishnu.
Vishunu severed his throat. Still, as the amrita had already
reached his throat, the two severed portions of his body
became Rahu and ketu; as they were responsible for his fate,
Rahu keeps troubling both the Sun, Surya, and the Moon,
Chandra, in the form of eclipses. (Adi 19)
When sage Atri was doing tapas, water started pouring from his
eyes. A remarkable luminescence spread over all the ten
directions of the world. Getting fascinated by this light, the ten
directions assumed the form of a woman and took this light
onto her womb. They kept this in their womb for a long time
but when it became impossible to hold on to it any longer, they
let it down. These ten wombs were collected by chaturmukha
Brahma. He gave it a human form of a youth fully armed,
seated him in a chariot which had the potential of the Vedas
pulled by one thousand horses, and took him to his world. All
the gods and the sages praised him with the chantings of the
god of Soma;
Shiva, accompanied by his consort Uma also graced him with
one tenth of his potential; thus the name Soma to this youth.
As the Devas and others went on praising him his luminescence
also increased and all the medicinal plants were filled with sap.
Thus the names Oushadeesha and Dvijaraja to Chandra ( Oushadi meaning medicine) (Matsya 23, Kalika 20) Also
please see Somakunda.
Chandrakala: The sixteen beauty-spots, kala, on the moon.The
Kamakales are( spots indicating sexual potency):Pusha
yashassumanasa ratih praptistatha dhrtihRuddhissoumya
marichischa tatha chaivamshumaliniAngira shashini cheti chaya
sampurnamandalaTushtischaivamrita cheti kalasomasya
shodasha
And in the discipline of the holy chantings:
Amrita manada pusha pushtistusthiratidhritih
Sashimi chandrika kantijyotsna shree peetirangada
Purna purnamrita kamadayinishashinah kalah I
Chandrakanta: i. the elder son of sage Yagnavalkya. He along
with his brothers Mahamegha and Vijaya, along with their
fourteen thousand disciples were cursed to be born as rakshasas by lord shiva. They were born as Khara, Dushana and
Trishirassu. Please see Khara( Rama ara 19).
ii) The capital town where Chandraketu, son of
Lakshmana was ruling. Situated to the north of Karupatha
province; this is also known as dhanaratna.( Rama utta 102)
Chandraketu; Younger son of Lakshmana; was ruling from the
town of chandrakantha.SriRama anointed Angada, elder son of
Lakshmana, to rule from the town of Tarapatha and
Chandraketu, his younger son, to rule from Chandraketu, and
proceeded to ayodhya to join Srirama. Bharata stayed with
Chandraketu for a year and handed over the kingdom to
proceeded to Ayodhya to spend the remaining years. (Rama
utta 101).
ii) A king who fought on the side of
Duryodhana; known for his valour was slain by Abhimanyu on
the eighth day of the battle.( Dro 48)
iii) A chakrarakshaka, appointed for the
protection of Kripacharya. ( Vira 61)
iv) son of king Hamsadhvaja. Please see
Hamsadhvaja. Chandragiri: Minister to king Karaveeryarjuna who impressed
upon Kartaveeryarjuna to somehow obtain, by whichever
means the Dhenu, the holy Dhenu, from the hermitage of sage
Jamadagni. Please see Kartaveerya.
Chandradeva: A king ruling over a small province under the
Panchala Kingdom. Fought on behalf of the Pandavas and was
slain by Karna on the seventeenth day of the MB battle.(Karna
44).
Chandraprabha: The stallion of king Ila; when Ila became a
woman as a result of entering sharavana , he entered those
woods riding this horse.( Matsya 11)
ii) A lake on the Meru mountains where the river Jambu
has its origin.( Bheeshma 5 6)
iii) a peak on the eeshanya side of mount Kailas in the
Himalayan mountains. This was where a yaksha named
Manibhadra lived.( Matsya113)
chandrapramardana: A Rakshasa; the third of the four sons born
of the union between sage Kashyapa and simhike; Rahu,
Suchandra and chandraharta were the other three.( Adi 66)Chandrabhaga: a river which takes birth in the peaks of the
Himavant mountains; On this, Brhama split Chandra into two
parts and gave each part to Shiva and the stars thus the name
chandrabhaga, literally two of Chandra. ( Sabha 9, Bhee 9,
Annu 64, Kalikakham 22)
Chandrabhanu: One of the sons born to SriKrishna and
Satyabhame.Please see Krishna.
Chandramandala: Consisting of many islands, please see Bhee5.
Chandramathi: Wife to Harischandra; had a son named
Rohitasva;in order to make his payment of sage viswamitra,
Harischandra sold both of them to a Brahmin. Chandravathi
was her other name. Please see Harischandra.
Chandravamsha: Please see Bhara Adi 69, Vishnu 4 6, Bhaga 9 14,
Vayu 91, Matsya 24.
Chandrashukra: a mini-island. In and around the major island of
the Jamboo island in the Kshara sea, there are smaller islands
such as the Swarnaprastha, chandrashukra, aavartana,
ramanaka, mandaru, harina, panchajanya, simhala,Lanka and
many others.( Bhaga 5 19, De bha 11 30).Chandrasena:
King of the Simhala islands. Had two daughters, Mandodari and
Indumathi.his wife was Gunamathi.Chandrasena had arranged
matrimonial alliance of his elder daughter Mandodari with
Kambugriva, son of king sudhanva, of Indradesha province. The
daughter refused to marry citing the reason all men are
untrustworthy as they are never faithful; the king then planned
to perform the marriage pf his younger daughter and invited
many princes to seek a suitable match. Mandodari happened to
see Charudeshna, prince of Madra province, fell in love with
him and asked that she be married to him. The king performed
both the weddings at the same time. Please see Mandodari.
( De Bha 5 17 18).
ii) a king on the side of the pandavas, was slain by
Aswathama on the fifteenth day of the MB battle.(Dro 157)
iii) A senior soldier kept in charge of the army under
Shaly; was killed by Yudhishtir on the eighteenth day of the MB
battle (Shalya 11)
iv) Son of king Samudrasena who was killed by
Aswathama. (Please see Adi 201, Dro 23 157) Chandraharta: son of king Simhike; please see
Chandramardana( Bhara Adi 66)
Chandrahasa: Son of king Sudharmika, king of Kerala
province;was born under the inauspicious Mula star in
Arishtamsha. Had six toes in his left foot, another inauspicious
sign. It is said as a consequence of these two, the enemy army
killed his father and occupied his kingdom. His mother fell into
the funeral pyre of her husband as was the custom.later a maid
took him to Kuntala province and started taking care of him.
However, she also passed away after some time. This orphan
was being taken care of from the citizens of that country.
Dushtabuddhi( Literally one with an evil mind), minister t
king of Kuntala performed Annasantarpane, feeding of
people.This boy also went there. The priests who had gathered
there noticed the royal features of this boy and told the
minister to take special care of the boy. But Dushtabuddhi had
other evil designs as the king had no issues and the minister
had plans of assuming the throne. In order to get rid of the boy
he got some chandalas and ordered them to kill this boy,
promising them suitable gifts. They took the boy to the forest
but their heart melted and they cut off only the sixth finger,
and showed it to Dushtabuddhi.( Note: the inauspicious sign of
the boy was thus removed) Kulinda, king of the forestdwelling tribes saw this boy, and as
he had no issues of his own,brought him home and started
bringing him up. Chandrahasa learnt all the aspects of
education and won over all the provinces surrounding his
kingdom, also added riches to the treasury. Once, when
Dushtabuddhi visited their kingdom he recognized him and,
having learnt the details from Kulinda,wrote a note to his son to
poison him and sent the note to his son through chandrahasa.
Chandrahasa came to Kuntala province and was resting in the
garden in the outskirts of the town; Vishaye, daughter to
Dushtabuddhi who had also come there with her maids
chanced upon a sleeping chandrahasa and fell in love with him.
She opened the letter addressed to her brother, recognized as
her father’s note. She assumed that her father must have
meant Vishayse and not visha( meaning poison), promptly
changed it and put it back in Chandrahasa’s pocket.
Chandrahasa delivered the note to Madana, Dushtabuddhi’s
son, was honoured and the wedding took place accordingly.
Dushtabuddhi who arrived now was peeved. He commissioned
murderers to wait and kill the person who will come to the
Kalika temple in the outskirts of the town. He also prevailed
upon chandrahasa to visit the temple in the evening, alone assuring him that was their custom. He also ensured
chandrahasa would go to the temple.
Madana, Dushtabuddhi’s son was looking after the affairs
of the Palace in the absence of his father till now; it happened
this day too. When he went to the Palace, the royal priest
Galava informed him that the king was on his death bed and,
having seen Chandrahasa earlier had decided he is the right
choice as his son-in-law and heir; Madana was asked to convey
this message Madana ran into chandrahasa, asked him to rush
to the palace immediately and took his place to go the
temple,was propmptly assassinated there by the murderers
sent by Dushtabuddhi. Chandrahasa went to the Palace, was
honoured and got married to the princess Champakamalini.
When this news reached Dushtabuddhi, he was heart-broken.
He was devastated when he learnt of his son’s death. He
decided to end his life, went to the Kali temple and beheaded
himself. When chandrahasa learnt of this twin tragedy in the
morning, he went to the temple and prayed to goddess Kali to
restore the two to life. When Kali was not appeased proceeded
to behead himself; Kali appeared, restored the two to life,
granted many boons to chandrahasa. Chandrahasa ruled this kingdom for many years having invited Kulinda to Kuntala
province. He had a son by name Padmaksha from
Champakamalini and Makaraksha from Vishaye, the minister’s
daughter.
When these two boys were walking in the outskirts of
the town one day, they chanced upon the stallion of
Yudhishtir’s aswamedha yagna; dismayed, they came back and
informed their father about it. Chandrahasa came there, met
Krishna and Arjuna, treated them in a royal manner, gave them
abundant wealth and army for the Yagna. He annointed his son
Makaraksha and went with Krishna and Arjuna along with the
army.( Jaimini Bharata 50 59)
ii) The sword that Ravana was gifted as a boon by Shiva as
a consequence of his penance.( Ramayana Uttara 16)
Champakamalini: i) Senior wife of Kusha, SriRama’s son
ii) Younger wife of Chandrahasa, daughter of
the king of Kuntala province. Please see chandrahasa.
Champaka: Capital town of Hamsadhwaja( Jai bha17)Champakavati: Capital town of Anga Province.( Bhara vana 83
013); Karna was ruling over this province. Now near Bhagalpur
( Bhara shanty 5) It is supposed to have been established by
Champa, grandson of Harischandra ( Bhaga 9 8 )
Champika : name given to Champakamalini, Kusha’s wife.
Chamasa: One of the sons of Rishabadeva. He, along with eight
of his siblings,Kavi, Hari, Antariksha, Prabhudda, Pippalayana,
Aavihotra, Drumila, and Karabhajana left the worldly affairs for
the contemplation of the Brhama.Chamasa engaged king
Janaka in an excellent discussion regarding the nature of the
pursuit of Brhama.( Bhaga 11 1 5)
Charmanvati: Now known as River Chambal, this flows to the
south of Panchala kingdom; also to the south of Kunti province;
joins the Ganga near river champakavati. ( Bhara Sabha 9 32
Vana 309).Supposed to have flown down from the caracass of
the animals slaughtered for the yagna sacrifice performed by
King Rantideva( Dro 67 Anu 123) also see Vana 80)Charmavanta: brother of Shakuni who was slain by Iravanta,
son of Arjana,on the eighth day of the MB battle.( Bheeshma
90)
Chakshu: born to AAkuti and Sarvateja, a rajashri from the
Uttanapada lineage. Chakshu was ruling in the sixth
Manvantara( known as the Chakshusha Manvantara) which was
prior to the present Vyvasvata Manvantara.( Bhaga 4 13, Vishnu
1 34). At that time there were seven rishis-sages: Bhrigu,
Sudhama, Viraja, Sahishnu, Nada,Vivasvanta, Atinama; there
were Five Devates: Lekha, Rubhu, Aadya, Varimula, Rubha. The
Indra was Mantradruma. Vishnu was also born in the same
period as Ajita as result of the union of sage Vyraja and
Sambhuti. It was this Vishnu who took the form of the Varaha
and lifting the Mandara mountains on his back procured the
Amrita to the Gods.( Bhaga 8 5). Chakshurma married Nadvala (
also known as Veerini) and had eleven sons: Puru, Kutsa, trita,
Dyumna, Satyavanta, Dhritavrata, Agnishtoma, Atiratra,
Prdyumna, Shibi, Ulmukha.( Hari 1 7, Vishnu 3 1 , Brhma 5 Bra
Vy 2 93, Marka 50). According to the Matsya purana, he had ten
sons: Ruru, Puru( Purusha?), Shatadyumna, Tapasvi, Satyavak,
Havi, Agnishtuta, Atiratra, Sudyumna and Abhimanyu.Chakshushi: A special kind of knowledge; Chitraratha, a
Gandharva who lost his duel with Arjuna taught this to Arjuna
as the Pandavas were going to Ekachakranagara to attend the
swayamvara of Draupadi. Please see Arjuna ( Adi 186 199)
Chanura: One of the werestlers in Kamsa’s court. When Krishna
and Balarama went to Madhure as per the orders of Kamsa for
dhanuryaga Chanura and his accomplice, Mushtika, proceeded
to kill them on the instructions of Kamsa but instead
themselves were killed in the mushtiyuddha, boxing duel.
(Sabha 53, Bhaga 10 44)
ii) A king who was in the court of Yudhishtira( Sabha 4).
Chaturrashramya: Brhmacharya, Grahasthya, Vanaprastha and
Sanyasa are the four ashramas, institutions in ones’s life-their
moral obligations. ( Adi 85 86,Shanti 60 65 189 240 241 248
251, anu 208, Aswa 45 47).
Chaturvarnya: The four Varnas, literally colours, are Brhama,
Kshatriya, Vyshya and Shudra: Hanumantha educates Bheema
regarding this: Vana 152; Bheeshma to Yudhishtir: shanty 59;
Sage Bhrigu to sage Bharadwaja: shanti 189; Parvati to
Parameshwara: Anu 28; Sri Krishna to Yudhishtir: Aswa 97)Chandrayana: a propitious rite observed to rid oneself of
accumulated sins, is a ‘vrata’; there are two kinds in this:
Pipalikamadhya Chandrayana and Yavamadhya chandrayana.
The Pipalika consists of eating fifteen seeds of the Kabala on a
full moon day and gradually reduce consumption of it one by
one till the half-moon day, duration of fifteen days; and to
repeat the same in the reversed order for the next fifteen days.
Pipalika means ant which is slim in the middle but rounded at
its two ends; to startby eating one on the half-moon day and
gradually increase it one by one till the full moon day,Hunnime,
and reduce it one by one for the next fifteen days is
Yavamadhya chandrayana. Yava means maize,godhi which is
rounded in the middle and tapers on either sides.( Anu 172
Aswa 112).
Chamara: A demon; lieutenant in Mahishasura’s army. Was
slain by goddess Mahalakshmi.( Marka 79 80).
Chamunda: name given to Mahakali; please see chanda,
chandamunda ( De Bhaga 5 26 , Marka 84).
Charudeshna: born to Sri Krishna and Rukmini( Adi 201 239,
Sabha 14, Vana 16). Charumathi was his sister who was married
to king Bali, son of Kritavarma. ( Bhaga 10 61,Vishnu 5 28). ii) Prince of Madra province who was married to
Mandodari, daughter of Chandrasena, king of Srilanka. Please
see Chandrasena and Mandodari.
Charuverma: King of Dasharna province. Sumane whose beauty
was well known in all the three worlds was his daughter. Please
see dama.
Charvaka: A demon who had earned the friendship of
Duryodhana; had performed a difficult penance, got a boon
from Brhama of immortality, amaratva. Brhama gave his assent
with a rider he should not insult the Brhamins; his friendship
with Duryodhana cemented in the Dwaparayuga. After the
slaying of Duryodhana he went to the coronation of Yudhishtir
in the guise of a Brhamin mendicant, spoke insultingly to the
Brhamins assembled there and was incarcerated by their
kopagni, anger-flame. ( Shalya 65 Shanti 37) Also please see
shanty 38 for the details of his previous birth.
Chikura: son of a serpent king by name Aryaka. Was the father
of sumukha naga. Also please see Garuda (Udyo 103).pp.203 in the kannada original.
Chikshura: a demon lieutenant to demon king Mahishasura
who was slain by Mahalakshmi ( Marka 78 80).
Chitra: a king who fought on the side of Duryodhana; was slain
by Prativindhya, son to Drupadi-Yudhishtir on the fourteenth
day of the battle ( Karna 11).
ii) King of Chedi province that fought on the side
of the Pandavas; was slain by Karna on the 14
th
day of the
MahaBharata battle. ( Karna 51)
iii) One of the sons of king Dhritarashtra; was slain
by Bheema on the 14
th
day of the MB. ( Adi 86 131; Dro 137)
Chitrakuta: A mountain range situated in North India in
Bandaelkhanda district,fifty miles from the township of Banda.(
Vana 83, Rama Ayo 55 57). The river Payoshni flows near this
mountain. When SriRama set forth for his stay in the forests
along with Lakshmana and sita he first lived here in a
hermitage. Bharata who came to inform him of Dasharata’s demise and persuade him to return to Ayodhya instead
returned with his foot wear met him here.( Rama ayo 92
113)Also please, see Kakasura; description of Chitakuta
mountains, Rama Ayo 94)
ii) a mountain situated in the Kusha island.( Bhaga
5 20, De bha 8 12).
Chitraketu: i) A king of shurasena province; though he had
many wives, did not have any children and this worried him no
end. Sage Angirasa made him perform the Putrakameshti yaga
and gave the Homasesha, the ritual remains of the holy homa,
to Kritadyuti, his queen-wife. She gave birth to a boy as a result
of which the King became much fond of her; unable to tolerate
this, out of sheer jealousy, the other queens poisoned the
young boy and killed him. A despondent king neglected his
royal duties. Sage Narada visited him and counseled him in
philosophical matters. The king went to the forests to perform
tapas , achieved his goal of tapasiddhi. When he once visited
Kailas, he happened to see Parvati seated next to
Parameshwara and severely objected; an enraged parvati
cursed to be born as a demon-chitraketu was born later as
Vritrasura. (Bhaga 6 14 17)
ii) Name given to Chandraketu, son of Lakshmana iii) eldest son born to Devabhaga and Kamse;
Brihadbhala and Uddhava were his brothers( Vishnu 4 14)
iv) one of the sons born to Jambavati and Krishna
v) a king of Panchala province, father of Suketu.
Fought on the side of Pandavas and was slain by Dronacharya
on the fourteenth day of the MB battle.( Drona 122)
Chitragupta: A king of Surya dynasty who had become the allknowing, a sarvagna, after his eternal worship and consequent
boon of the Sun-God, Surya. Yama, the son of Surya who was
aware of this thought his functional obligations would be
smooth if Chitraguptacan assist him had him go over to his
world in flesh and blood, and assigned him this responsibility of
documenting the good and the otherwise of all animals.
His detailed description of the secrets of the morals, the
dharma: ( Bhara Anu 193)
Chitramukha: born into the Vysha, traders’ community, out of
sheer penance became a Brahmin. Adrushyanti was his
daughter who get married to sage Shaktimuni, son of the great
Sage vasishtha Muni.( Anu 53)Chitraratha: i) also known as Angaraparna, was one of the
devagandharvas born to sage Kashyapa and Muni. (Adi 66,
Sabha 10). Kumbhinasi was his wife( Adi 186). lost his duel with
Arjuna and gave him the Samhohanastra( adi 186 199)
Gifted horses to Arjuna during the Rajasuyayaga (Sabha 78)
ii) One of the sons of king Drupada, was slain by
Dronacharya on the 14
th
day of the MB battle( dro 122)
iii) a king. When he was bathing in the river
Narmada with his entourage, Renuke, wife of sage Jamadagni
who had gone there to fetch water got infatuated with him.
The sage who came to know of this ordered her to be
beheaded which was promptly carried out by Parashurama,
their son. She was restored to life through the boon
Parashurama asked of his father. ( vana 117)
iv) King of the Anga province, married to
Prabhavati, daughter of sage Bharadwaja ( Bhara anu 77).
Chitralekha( Chitrarekha): an Apsarasi; As she danced in the
court of Indra instead of looking at Indra, she gazed at a Deer
which was at a distance. Indra got wild and as she was gazing at
a deer cursed to be born to a Deer. Chitralekha, scared asked for retribution. As soon as you get a child from the sage
Vibhandaka, you will get retribution, he conceded. She was
born as a deer. When this deer went to quench its thirst in a
river, Sage Vibhandaka was bathing in the river too. The deer
drank the water which was mixed with his potential, conceived,
gave birth to a son named Rishyashringa, and returned to
Indraloka discarding her body. Please see Rishyashringa.( Bhara
Vana 110 112).
ii) Daughter of Kubhanda, minister to Banasura
and a maid to Ushe. She was gifted in the art of painting. When
Ushe dreamt of Aniruddha, fell in love with him and was
wondering about his identity, chitralekhe drew many of the
young men and brought them to her to identify the person;
when Ushe recognized Aniruddha, Chitrarekhe brought him to
her with her magical powers. Please see Aniruddha, Usha,
Tilottame ( Hari Vishnu 118)
iii) an Apsarasi, aacelestial maiden of Urvashi.
When Keshi, a giant, abducted Urvashi and chitrareka,
Pururava fought with him and brought them back( Matsya 24)
iv) an Apsarasi, celestial maiden. When Shiva, accomapanied by his entourage was relaxing on the shores of
river Narmada. Hundreds of Gandharvas and Apsarasis were
entertaining Parvati and Parameshwara. Chitralekhe assumed
the form of Parvati and started overtures to shiva. Parvathi
consoled an infuriated Shiva. The others were amused at her
foolhardiness. As a result of this Shiva cursed her to be born
as a human being and she was born as the daughter of
Kubhanda, minister to king Banasura. She chanced upon Parvati
and Parameshwara who were enjoying themselves in waters of
a river and thought whosoever got a husband such as
Parameshwara would be contented. Parvati, who read her
mind said don’t worry, you will also enjoy this; immediately
Ushe asked when? Whosoever joins you in your dreams on the
night of Vyshaka shukla dvadashi replied Parvati. Those who
had accompanied her started making fun of her, c lapping;
Ushe entered her chambers soon after.( Hari Vishnu 117).
Chitravarma: i)a king who was friendly with Takshaka, king
of the Serpent world who lived in the worlds below the Earth;
he had eight sons and a daughter by name Seemantini who,
Chitravarma learnt from the Palace astrologers would become
a widow at the young age of fourteen itself. He did not reveal
this information to any one but got her married to Chandrangada, son of king Indrasena, and retained him in his
palace itself. Chandrangada drowned when he was travelling in
a ship. Then king Nagaraja took him to his place, treated him
well and sent him back with all honors to chitravarma.( Ska
Brahmao 8)
ii) Son of king Drupada who was killed by Drona on
the fourteenth day of the battle ( Karna 3)
iii) One of the sons of king Dhritarashtra,( Adi 68
131), slain by Bheema ( Dro 136)
Chitravahana:
A king of the pandya dynasty, ruling in Manalur, who had a
daughter by name Chitrangade. When Arjuna was on a
pilgrimage the king Chitravahana persuaded Arjuna to marry
her; the king kept the son born to them, Babhruvahana, as he
had no son of his own by a practice called Putrika putra dharma
and kept the daughter and child with him.( Bhara Adi 235). He
also has names such as Malayadhvaja and Praveera (Bhara
Sabha 33). He fought with exceptional valor on the side of the
Pandavas in the MB battle and was slain by Aswathama on the
seventeenth day. ( Karna 56).Kannada original P.207.
Chitrasena:
i. A Gandharva, son of Visvavasu Gandharva. He taught Arjuna
the Gandharva Veda when Arjuna was staying in the Devaloka,
moving from the Indrakeela mountains.( Vana 43). At the same
time,prompted by Indra, he sent Urvashi to Arjuna. See Arjuna,
Urvashi, Vana 44.
When Duryodhan, under the pretext of a travel, the
Ghoshayatre, entered the forests where the Pandavas were
camping and started hurting their sentiments through an
arrogant show of his military strength and grandeur, chitrasena,
acting as per the orders of Indra, came down to those forests,
took Duryodhana to task and was taking him to the Indraloka
after binding him( Vana 241 243); Arjuna, as per Yudhishtir’s
orders engaged Chitrasena in battle, defeated him and got
Duryodhana released ( Vana 245 247).
ii) A king belonging to the Abhisara dynasty who fought on
the side of Duryodhana and was slain on the sixteenth day of
the MB battle by Shrutakarma, son born to Drupadi and
Sahadeva.( Kara11). Also tasted defeat at the hands of Arjuna
during the Rajasuya yaga performed by the Pandavas (Sabha
28).iii) a king who fought on the side of the Pandavas; was
slain by Samudrasena who also belonged to the side of the
Pandavas on the sixteenth day ( Check why?) Karna 03.
iv) One of the sons of Karna who was slain on the
eighteenth day of the battle by Nakula (shalya 9)
v) one of the sons of king Drupada, slain by Karna on the
seventeenth day of the battle.( Karna 43)
vi) a commander in Jaraasandha’s army.(Sabha 22)
vii) another king on the side of the Pandavas; was slain on
the fourteenth day of the MB by Dronacharya (Dro 122).
viii) One of Dhritarashtra’s sons, slain by Bheema on the
Sixteenth day of the MB( adi 63, Karna 2).
ix) Elder son of Devasavarni Manu who was the prabhu,
head, during the Thirteenth Manvantara period of
SvetavarahaKalpa. Vichitra was his younger brother. ( Bhaga 8
13).
x) Elder son of King Narishyanta, who in turn was one of
the ten sons of Vyvasvata Manu of the Surya dynasty. Dhama
was his younger brother ( bhaga 9 1). Chitra: daughter of Daksha and one of the 27 wives of
Chandra ( Adi 67)
ii) One of 27 stars.
Chitrangadha: born to Satyavati and Emperor Santanu.(
Adi 63). Was slain by a celestial gandharva called chitrangadha!
(See Adi 108)
ii) King of Dasharna province who attended Drupadi’s
Swayamvara (adi 201); Was defeated by Arjuna during the
Aswamedha and ended up giving gifts in acceptance of defeat(
Aswa 84)
iii) a Gandharva who slew chitangadha (see Adi 108)
iv)king of Kalinga province and father-in-law to
Duryodhana; Rajapura was its capital.daughter’s name not
known (see shanti, 04)
Chitrangadhe: daughter of Chitravahana, king of Malalur
province. Was married to Arjuna; mother to Babhruvahana.
Please see Adi Purana 63, 235 and 237 for details
regarding her marriage, birth of Babhruvahana etc.,She met Sahadeva when he came with the ceremonial Rajasuya
horse and presented him with gifts, kappa and kanike. ( sabha
33). When Arjuna came before this yagna enroute his
triumphant march, the digvijaya, Babhruvahana challenged him
and in the ensuing battle slew Arjuna, who was in fact his
father. When chitrangadhe came to know of this she came to
the battle field wailing and thoroughly abused Ulupi and
Babhruvahana. Arjuna was brought back to life by the lifegiving Sanjeevana diamond which was brought by Ulupi.(Aswa
79 81). Her arrival to Hastinavati to participate in the
Aswamedha Yaga.(Aswa 89) She returned to Manalur after the
Pandavas left for their ‘Mahaprasthana’. ( Mahapra 01).
Chitrayudha: A king who had attended the Swayamvara of
Draupadi to the king of Drupada province.( Adi 189,201). Had
taken the side of the Pandavas during the MB. Was a great
soldier.( Udyo 171). Both his chariot and his Horse were of the
color of the Jack-fruit flower ( Dro 23);was slain by Karna on the
17
th
day.( Karna 51). Chitrashwa: son of Dyumatsena, of the Salva province;was
married to Savitri, daughter of king Aswapathi of Madra
province. He got the name as he was always playing with
Horses and drawing their pictures.( vana 295) also pl.see
Satyavana, Savitri).
Chitropala: a river which takes birth in the rishya
mountains and flows through Odra province. ( Bhi 9)
Chidi: one of the four sons of the king of vidharbha who, in
turn, was the grand-son of king Jyamagha of the Yadu dynasty.
He established the chedi province. His son, king Kushika was
the originator of the Vishvamitra dynasty. ( Anu 50-51. Also
please see Rucheeka).
Chirakaree: youngest son of Medhatithi of Gauthama
dynasty. Was called Chirakaree as he would never act in haste.
Once his father got so angry with his wife that he ordered
Chirakaree to cut off her head. Chirakaree was deliberating this
order as this would be a grave sin but so was disobeying his
father. In the meanwhile, Medhatithi’s anger subdued and
repented his decision. He came to Chirakaree and when he
learnt his order was not carried out gave many boons to his
son.( Bhara Shanti 272 ska Kou 13 13) Cheena ( China):
A huge country next to India. Is spread from Indraprastha to
Pragjotisha countries.( See Adi 119, Sabha 78, Bhee 9).
Cheerini: a river which flows next to Badareeshrama,
heritage. Vyvasvatamana performed penance on its shores for
ten thousand years.( Bha Vana 190).
Chudala: Wife of king Shikidwaja who by her own efforts
obtained enlightenment. She in turn, taught her husband, and
both of them left for the forest to a life of meditation.(
Yogavasishtha Nirva 77 80)
Chuli: A great Sage who had undertaken a severe
penance. When he was doing penance a Gandharva maiden by
name Somade was serving him with devotion. When Chuli was
once became conscious of her presence in the outside world,
he enquired about her intentions. Somade desired to have a
child, for which conceded and she gave birth to a boy,
Brhamadatta who became famous.( Rama Bal 33) Chekitana: a great warrior of the Yadu dynasty, friendly
with the Pandavas.( Sabha 79, Udyo 25 57 196, Bhee 19). On
the 18
th
day of the MB he faced Sage Kripacharya and fought so
bravely that Kripacharya fell unconscious. A wild duryodhana
then slew him. ( Shalya 11)
Chedi: ( Also Chidi): comprises of the south of Bundelu
Khanda and the north of Jabbalapura.( Bhi 9). This province
was ruled by Shishupala during the rule of the Pandavas. Thus
Shishupala was also known as Chaidya. Now this province is
called Reva. ( Bhaga 10 74) Shuktimati was its capital ( Bhara
Sabha 30).
Chaityaka, Chaiytraka: A mountain range in Magadha
province. Pl. see Girivraja.
Chaitraratha: the garden of Kubera. (Udyo 111).
ii) son of King Kuru of the Chandra dynasty(
Bhara Adi 111).
Chaitraratha parva: The narrative that comprises of all the
details from the time of Draupadi’s swayamvar, Arjuna’s
winning of Chitraratha and the obtaining of the Agneyastra. (
Adi 179 199).
Chola (also Chora) One of the three celebrated provinces
of South India, the other two being Kerala and Pandya. The king ruling this province gave the Kappa to Sahadeva when he
embarked upon the South during the Rajasuya Yaga. ( Sabha
33).
Chyavana: a great sage who was the son of Sage Bhrigu,
son of Varuna. When he was in his mother’s womb, Pulome, a
demon took her away. A scared Pulome gave birth to a son premature. As the child was born pre-mature, the infant was
named Chyavana. The infant looked at him so angrily that the
demon was burnt to cinders at that very instant.( Adi 4 5). The
tale of his origin (Adi 6 67). Shukracharya, the official priest of
the demons and Chyavana were brothers.
Chyavana married Arushi, daughter of Manu and Orva was the son born of
that union.(Adi 67). He also married Sukanye, daughter of King Sharyati and
Pramati, a son was born of that union.
The penance of Chyavana ( Vana 123).
When Chyavana was doing tapas, Ant-hills covered him up and only his two
eyes were glittering through them. King Sharyati came with his army and camped
near the hermitage of chyavana. Sukanye, the princess who had also
accompanied her father came near the huge ant-hill with her friends, saw the
glittering eyes, became curious and poked at it with a thorn! The result was that
the entourage of the king had their bowels blocked. A worried King Sharyati came
to know of what his daughter had done, went with his daughter to the hermitage
and begged forgiveness; the sage, now blinded, asked for the hand of the
daughter to take care of him. The king was worried but the daughter reasoned with the father, married the sage Chyavana and started living in the hermitage.
The entourage recovered miraculously.( Vana 123)
One day sukanye bathed in the river and was walking back in wet clothes
when the Aswini deities chanced upon her and their passions were inflamed. They
approached her and declared their intentions. When Sukanye proceeded to lay a
curse upon them they revealed their identity and granted her a boon. Sukanye
asked youth for her husband. The Aswini deities asked chyavana to come over to
the banks fo the river and all three went to the river for a dip. When they came
out all the three looked the same but sukanye could identify her husband with the
strength of the power of her ‘pativratya’. As a quid pro quo chyavana asked his
father-in-law, king Sharyati to perform an yagna and proceeded to offer the
ritualistic offering the havirbhaga to the Aswhini deities which was hitherto
denied to them. A wild Indra tried many tricks to deny the same to them.
Chyavana escaped all of them by the strength of his penanace and to kill Indra
created a durdevate, a demonic deity! ( vana 124 125 Anu 261).
Once when chyavana was meditating under water he was caught by the net
of a fisherman; he was released by king Nahusha. Please see Gavijata ( anu 86).
When he came to know that hia s lineage ( of the great sage Bhrigu) will get
assimilated with the Kshatriya lineage of Kushika, he became very upset, went to
Kushika’s house to thwart it. However, Kushika and his wife served him with so
much of dedication that chyavana was pleased to create another Swarga,
revealed it to them and granted them a boon that they should get a brahmin son.(
Anu 87 90)The history of Chyavana – Bhatravahara Vana 122, anu 261, Bhaga 9 3,
De Bha 7, Ska chap 3 7).
Also, please see Rucheeka, Kushika).
Finalized Cha series on 20
th
July. 2009, C-Nairuz, Bengazhi, Libya).
CHA
Chatravati:
After Dronacharya triumphed over King Drupada and took
away his kingdom, King Drupada built this town and made it his new capital.
(Adi 148).
Chatropatti:
When Renuke, wife of the great sage Jamadagni could not walk
any further because of the scorching sun Jamadagni got an umbrella and
footwear made for her ( Anu 144 145).
Chaya:
A reflection of Sangne, consort of Surya, the Sun. Surya was
married to three women, Ragni, daughter of Ryvata, Sangne, daughter of Tvashtru
and Prabhe. Ragni gave birth to Revata, Prabhe to Prabhata and Sangne gave birth
to Vyvasvata Manu and twins by name Yama and Yamane. Sangne, unable to
bear the heat of Surya created another women just like her, named her Chaye,
implored her to take care of her children affectionately and left for tapas. She also
told her not to reveal this secret. Later, Chaye gave birth to Savarni Manu( who
looked just like Manu) and Shanaishvara and Tapati.
