APIFantasy | Myth and Folklore Anthology

Indian/Hindu Mythology - Mahabharata: Parts 7-9

The Unusual Boon Of Madhavi

Madhavi was one of the most notable characters in the Mahabharata. She was the daughter of Yayati and an Apsara. Madhavi had a boon of virginity which meant that after every birth, she wouldremain a virgin. She was also destined to give birth to four brave warrior sons who would earn a great name thereafter. However, despite such a boon, the life of Madhavi always remained a void of happiness. One could say that these boons made Madhavi's life miserable. One day, Galav, a student of Vishwamitra wished to give his teacher Guru Dakshina, but Vishwamitra denied it. However, despite his refusal, Galav was adamant about his wish. Thus to teach him a lesson, Vishwamitra ordered 800 divine white horses with black ears known as Divyalakshani. Galav then went to several rulers to ask for help, yet none answered. Finally, he asked Yayati for his help, and Yayati, not having anything to offer, gave him his daughter, Madhavi. Galav, hearing about the divine boon, accepted the gift from Yayati.

Galav then took Madhavi to the king of Ayodhya from whom she gave birth to her first son, Vasumanasa. Galav took 200 divine horses from the king in exchange for his son. This was a fair deal for Galav however the king returned Madhavi to Galav after receiving the child. Galav took her to the King of Kashi, where she gave birth to Pratardana and left him under the care of his father. Again as an exchange for the kid, Galav took 200 divine horses. But this was not close to the actual number of 800, thus he sought to take Madhavi to the King of Bhoj, where she gave birth to her third son named Sibi. Galav yet again took 200 horses in return. Now he had 600 such horses but no ruler in the world was left with anymore to offer.

In the end, he returned to Vishwamitra and offered him 600 Divyalakshani horses. For sparing the rest of the 200 horses, Vishwamitra asked him to give them to Madhavi. Galav left Madhavi with Vishwamitra and returned to the forest. From Vishwamitra, Madhavi bore her fourth son. Then he ordered her to return to her father. Madhavi, still a virgin, left for her father's place, soher father, Yayati, arranged for Madhavi's marriage but she refused. Madhavi, now tired of marriages or having any family desires, she chose to go to the forest and live there as a hermit.

Her story depicts that not every boon provides happiness.

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Kichaka Vadha

During the Agyatavaas, the Pandavas took refuge inside the Matsya kingdom and disguised themselves into Kanka (Yudhishtira), Ballava (Bheem), Brihannala (Arjun), Granthika (Nakul), Tantipala (Sahadeva), and Sairandhri (Draupadi). Kichaka on the other hand was a great warrior of the Matsya kingdom and also the brother of Queen Sudeshna, wife of King Virata. Having such a huge authority at the palace, Kichaka was an arrogant person who had everything he desired.

One day Kichaka laid his eyes on Sairandhri (Draupadi) who was the personal maid of the queen herself. He proposed to her, to which disguised Draupadi refused. This made him furious and he asked his sister to give him Sairandhri.

Queen Sudeshna couldn't refuse her brother's wish and ordered Sairandhri to go to Kichaka's room to serve him wine. Inside his dorm, Kichaka again showed his evil intentions to Draupadi. This time she refused Kichaka by telling him that she had been married to five Gandharva with divine powers and they would not cooperate with such an affair. Kichaka was now furious and dragged Draupadi by her hairs to the courtroom and yet again insulted her. The disguised Pandavas saw everything and sought a plan for revenge. They told Draupadi to invite Kichaka to the dance hall at night where they would ultimately kill him. Draupadi obeyed the order and proposed Kichaka the same and he obliged. In the night, intoxicated Kichaka when entered the hall, Bheem disguised as Sairandhri, brutally killed Kichaka.

After Kichaka's death when Sairandhri was questioned about the incident, she told everyone the same story about her Gandharva husbands. However, nobody believed her, and Kichaka's relative ordered her to be cremated along with his body. Draupadi yelled for help yet none helped. Finally, Bheem changed clothes and came to the rescue of his beloved wife. To everybody's horror, he killed all 105 relatives of Kichaka. It was such a bloody Massacre that the story spread like wildfire not only in Matsya but to the neighboring kingdoms and soon to Hastinapur where Duryodhan recognized the protagonist to be Bheem as none was as mighty as Bheem to took out such a huge massacre.

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Yudhamanyu And Uttamaujas

For the major part of the story, only Dhrishtadyuma, Draupadi's brother and Drupad's son who was destined to kill Dronacharya is mentioned. But much to everyone's surprise, Draupadi had two more brothers named Yudhamanyu and Uttamaujas. They played a crucial role in the battle of Kurukshetra.

Yudhamanyu and Uttamaujas both took part from the Pandava's side. They were placed to protect the rear side of Arjun's chariot. They both were mighty warriors who protected Arjun at every turn. Once when Arjun had to infiltrate inside the Chakravyuh, Yudhamanyu and Uttamaujas protected him and fought with Duryodhan. They also took one on one with Drona, Kritaverma, Karna, and Kripacharya.

When the 18-day long battle was about to end, Duryodhan hid near the lake. Yudhishthira asked Yudhamanyu and Uttamaujas for their help in finding Duryodhan. This made Duryodhan sought help from Ashwathama and told him to take revenge on the Pandava brothers for the death of his father, Drona. Angry Ashwathama killed several mighty warriors that night including Yudhamanyu and Uttamaujas.

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