Chandrahasa
Encyclopedia
Chandrahasa was the king of Kuntala kingdom which roughly consisted of parts of north of present day Karnataka and south of Maharashtra, India, including Gokarna
region. Sometimes a overlapping region Gorashtra is mentioned to be part of Kuntala. The story of Chandrahasa is mentioned in Ashvamedhika Parva of the epic Mahabharata
. He was the son of the king Sudharmika of Kerala. He married Vishaye and Champakamalini who was the princess of Kuntala. They had two sons Makaraksha and Padmaksha. Chandrahasa befriends Arjuna
who was accompanied by Krishna
guarding the Ashvamedha horse of Yudhishtira. Chandrahasa anoints his son Makaraksha as king and acomapnies the army of Arjuna to help Ashvamedha
.
The story of Chandrahasa is also depicted in the Kannada epic Jaimini Bharatha of poet Lakshmeesha. The popular story of the prince Chandrahasa is played in popular movies and in Yakshagana
.
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 died after some time. This orphan was being taken care of from the citizens of that country.
Dushtabuddhi( Literally one with an evil mind), minister of 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.
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 Vishaye 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. (This temple is located in the town of Kuknur
in North Karnataka today).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.
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 anointed his son
Makaraksha and went with Krishna and Arjuna along with the
army.
Gokarna, India
Gokarna is a village in the Uttara Kannada district of the Karnataka state, India. It is a Hindu pilgrimage centre as well as a tourist destination in India. Gokarna is a temple town and is referred to in a number of Hindu historical literature pieces. The main deity is Lord Mahabhaleshwara, a...
region. Sometimes a overlapping region Gorashtra is mentioned to be part of Kuntala. The story of Chandrahasa is mentioned in Ashvamedhika Parva of the epic Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
. He was the son of the king Sudharmika of Kerala. He married Vishaye and Champakamalini who was the princess of Kuntala. They had two sons Makaraksha and Padmaksha. Chandrahasa befriends Arjuna
Arjuna
Arjuna in Indian mythology is the greatest warrior on earth and is one of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' Arjuna (Devanagari: अर्जुन, Thai: อรชุน, Orachun, Tamil: Arjunan, Indonesian and Javanese: Harjuna,...
who was accompanied by Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
guarding the Ashvamedha horse of Yudhishtira. Chandrahasa anoints his son Makaraksha as king and acomapnies the army of Arjuna to help Ashvamedha
Ashvamedha
The Ashvamedha was one of the most important royal rituals of Vedic religion, described in detail in the Yajurveda...
.
The story of Chandrahasa is also depicted in the Kannada epic Jaimini Bharatha of poet Lakshmeesha. The popular story of the prince Chandrahasa is played in popular movies and in Yakshagana
Yakshagana
Yakshagana is a musical theater popular in the coastal and Malenadu regions of Karnataka, India. Yakshagana is the recent scholastic name for what are known as kēḷike, āṭa, bayalāṭa, bayalāṭa, daśāvatāra . It is believed to have evolved from pre-classical music and theatre during Bhakti movement...
.
Childhood
Chandrahasa 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 armykilled 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 died after some time. This orphan was being taken care of from the citizens of that country.
Dushtabuddhi( Literally one with an evil mind), minister of 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.
Coronation
Chandrahasa came to Kuntala province and was resting in thegarden 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 Vishaye 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. (This temple is located in the town of Kuknur
Kuknur
Kuknur is in Yalaburga taluk in Koppal District, is a small town. is located about 40 km from Hospet and 7 km from Mahadeva Temple , Kuknur is renowned for its temples of the Rastrakutas and Chalukyas times, of these the Navalinga group of temples is famous.-History:Kuknur town was an...
in North Karnataka today).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.
Ashvamedha
Chandrahasa ruled thiskingdom 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 anointed his son
Makaraksha and went with Krishna and Arjuna along with the
army.