Brihannala
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Brihannala (also written as Brihannada, Brihannata, or Vrihannala), was the name assumed by Arjuna in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Arjuna spent the one year of his exile as Brihannala at King Virata’s Matsya Kingdom. He taught song and dance to the princess Uttara.[1]
Background: Curse by Urvashi
Once Arjuna was invited to the palace of Indra, his father. Urvashi, one of the heavenly maidens at Indra’s palace was strongly attracted to Arjuna. Indra also noted that his son was also bewitched by Urvashi’s beauty. So Indra took it upon himself to offer Urvashi to Arjuna.
Having received Indra’s instructions, Urvashi reached Arjuna’s room one night. But Arjuna did not have any intentions of making love to Urvashi. Instead he called her the “mother” of the Kuru race. Because once Urvashi was the wife of King Pururavas the ancestor of Kuru dynasty. Urvashi felt insulted, now that a mere mortal was able to resist her. She cursed him that Arjuna will be a eunuch for the rest of his life, who could only sing and dance with other women. Later on Indra’s request, Urvashi curtailed the curse to a period of one year, which would be the thirteenth year of the Pandavas’ exile.[2]
At Virata’s kingdom
King Virata was surprised to know the real identities of the Pandavas. He offered his daughter’s hand in marriage to Arjuna, the greatest warrior on the planet. However Arjuna rejected this offer as he had been a teacher to her and considered her a daughter. But he suggested Uttara marry his son Abhimanyu, and the king and princess agreed.[3]
Notes
- ^ Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam (ed.). India through the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 80.
- ^ Verma, retold & edited by T.R. Bhanot ; art work by K.L. (1990). The Mahabharata. New Delhi: Dreamland Publications. p. 19. ISBN 9788173010453.
{{cite book}}:|first=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Mittal, J.P. (2006). History of ancient India : a new version. New Delhi: Atlantic. pp. 530–531. ISBN 9788126906161.
