Kartavirya Arjuna

Kartavirya Arjuna
Dattatreya gives boon to Arjuna
Information
Family	Kritavirya (father)

Kartavirya Arjuna (Sanskrit: कार्तवीर्य अर्जुन, Kārtavīrya Arjuna; also known as Sahastrabahu Arjuna) was a legendary king of an ancient Haihayas kingdom with capital at Mahishamati which is on the banks of Narmada River in the current state of Madhya Pradesh. Kartavirya was son of Kritavirya, king of the Haihayas. This is his patronymic, by which he is best known; his real name was Kartaviryarjuna. He is described as having a thousand hands and a great devotee of god Dattatreya. Eventually Kartavirya was brutally defeated and slain by the powerful sage, Parashurama.

Vayu Purana extolls his virtues

Having worshipped a portion of the divine being called Dattatreya, sprung from the race of Atri, he sought and obtained these boons: a thousand arms and a golden Chariot that went wheresoever he willed it to go; the power of restraining wrong by justice; the conquest of the earth and the disposition to rule it righteously; invincibility by enemies, and death at the hands of a man who was more powerful than himself. By him this earth was perfectly governed," and of him it is said:-"No other king shall ever equal Kartavirya in regard to sacrifices, liberality, austerities, courtesy, and self-restraint." "Thus he ruled for 85,000 years with unbroken health, prosperity, strength, and valour.

The Mahabharata mentions him as one of the best warriors and introduces his divine origin, attributing it to the Padmini Ekadasi :

The king (Kartavirya Arjuna's father) was very happy to hear this. Naturally he asked for the son he had desired for so long: 'O master of the universe, O killer of the Madhu demon, kindly grant me a son who will never be conquered by demigods, human beings, snakes, demons, or hobgoblins, but whom only You can defeat.' The Supreme Lord immediately replied, 'So be it!' and disappeared.

The king became very pleased with his wife and returned to his palace in her company. Padmini soon became pregnant, and the many armed Kartaviryarjuna appeared as her son. He was the mightiest person in all the three worlds, and thus even tenheaded Ravana could not defeat him in battle. Except for Lord Narayana, who holds a club, a disc, and other symbols in his hands, no one could overcome him. By the merit that resulted from his mother's strict and faithful observance of Padmini Ekadasi, he could defeat even the dreaded Ravana. This is not at all surprising, O Naradaji, for Kartaviryarjuna was the fulfillment of the benediction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead." With these words, Pulastya Muni departed.

The Supreme Lord, Sri Krisna, concluded, 'O sinless Yudhishthira, as you have inquired from me, I have explained to you the power of this special Ekadasi. O best of kings, whoever observes this fast will surely attain to My personal abode. And similarly, if you want all your desires fulfilled, you should do likewise.

The prayer for return of lost or misplaced things is addressed to Kartavirya Arjuna.

Rise and Fall

Kartavirya Arjuna came to power thanks to the boons of righteousness and invincibility, along with a thousand strong human arms and a divine chariot he had acquired from Dattatreya. For 85,000 years, Arjuna ruled the earth with prosperity as a Chakravartin Samrat.

Towards the end of this period, all the kings suffered a diminution in wealth and were unable to rule well. Hence the Kshatriyas levied heavy taxes on their subjects and punished anyone who failed to do so. Soon they got carried away and became tyrannical in nature. Some Kshatriyas discovered that the Brahmanas were hoarding wealth and they were refusing to share it. Kartavirya believed that the Brahmanas wanted to grab his power for their own use and perceived them as unrighteous people and began to oppress the Brahmanas. The Brahmanas, tired with long lifespans wanted to attain salvation quickly. Hence they used the Kshatriyas as instruments for their deaths by conjuring wealth by their spiritual power.

The diverse clans of the Rakshasas, the Asuras, the Gandharvas and the Yakshas took advantage of this as means of consolidating power from Kartavirya. Many vassals of the Haihayas opposed the oppression of the Brahmanas and rebelled against the emperor. Wars broke out and made Kartavirya delusional. He used brute force to suppress them for the time being, but he himself lost the true meaning of Dharma and became a tyrant. Other kings followed his example and thus the Kshatriya race became violent and cruel, no longer benevolent and protective towards their subjects.

Encounter with Parashurama

Parashurama killing King Kartavirya Arjuna.

In the Mahabharata Vana Parva, according to the story of Akritavana, Kartavirya Arjuna became drunk with power, despite all the boons he had acquired. He lost control of his senses and began to oppress humans, Yakshas and the very gods themselves. Kartavirya even had the audacity to insult Indra in front of Sachi. Around this time, other Kshatriyas too had become drunk with power and oppressed innocents for pleasure.

Kartavirya once troubled Varuna and asked him if there was anyone equal to him in power. Varuna replied that only Jamadagni's son, Parashurama rivalled Kartavirya. Enraged, Kartavirya went to Jamadagni's hermitage to see Parashurama's prowess.

The Puranas recount that Kartavirya Arjuna and his army visited a rishi named Jamadagni, who fed his guest and the whole army with offerings from his divine cow Kamadhenu. The king demanded the cow for the betterment of his subjects; Jamadagni refused because he needed the cow for his religious ceremonies. King Kartavirya Arjuna sent his soldiers to take the cow. As the conflict developed among the Jamadagni and the King, Kartavirya Arjuna lost his cool and chopped off the head of Jamadagni. When Parashurama (Jamadagni's son and one of the Daśāvatāras of Vishnu) returned to the hermitage, he was informed of the context by his mother. In revenge, Parashurama killed the entire clan of Kartavirya Arjuna and the King with a battleaxe given to him by Shiva, thus conquering the entire earth, which he gave to Brahamanas.

In another legend, Kartavirya Arjuna visited the hermitage of Jamadagni, and was received by that sage's wife Renuka with all respect; but he made an ill return for her hospitality, and carried off by violence "the calf of the milch-cow of the sacred oblation." For this outrage Parashurama cut off his thousand arms and killed him.

In another legend, Kartavirya sent seventeen Akshauhinis to fight against the lone Parashurama who was on foot. The Brahmana single handedly slew the entire army and spared no one alive. Kartavirya arrived in his divine golden chariot which could go anywhere unobstructed. The King himself was a powerful archer, capable of simultaneously wielding five hundred bows and shooting five hundred arrows at a time. Parashurama broke Kartavirya's bows, slew his horses and charioteer and destroyed the chariot itself with his arrows.

Kartavirya hurled many weapons, rocks and trees at Parashurama, but the sage parried all these. Seized with fear, the invincible Kartavirya ran away like a coward, but Parashurama hacked off his thousand arms with his arrows and dismembered him with his axe.

In another place a different character is given to him, and more in accordance with his behavior at Jamadagni's hut. "He oppressed both men and gods," so that the latter appealed to Vishnu for succor. That God then came down to the earth as Parashurama for the special purpose of killing him.

Encounter with Ravana

Kartavirya Arjuna defeats young Ravana (right)

Kartavirya's power is popularly told in the Ramayana. He was the contemporary of Ravana. The story goes that once when Kartavirya Arjuna was having a bath in the river Godavari along with his wives, he stopped the force of the river with his thousand arms from both the sides. The teenage Dasagriva (Ravana), who was singing the hymns of Shiva and praying to him, made him lose his concentration. Enraged, he challenged the former for a combat. Ravana was defeated and was put to humiliation.Then on request of his paternal grandfather Pulastya the great emperor Kartaviryarjuna released Ravana. Another account states that when Ravana came "in the course of his campaign of conquest to Mahishmati (the capital of Kartavirya), he was captured without difficulty, and was confined like a wild beast in a corner of his city." The Vayu Purana states that Kartavirya invaded Lanka, and there took Ravana as prisoner, but later he was killed by Parashurama and Ravana was rescued from Karthavirya. .