Mitravinda

Mitravinda

Mitravinda is the fifth of the Ashtabharya, the eight principal queen-consorts of Hindu god Krishna, an avatar of the god Vishnu and the king of Dwarka - in the Dwapara Yuga (epoch).

In the Bhagavata Purana, Mitravinda is described as the daughter of King Jayasena of the kingdom of Avanti, by his wife Rajadhidevi, the sister of Krishna's father Vasudeva. She is thus a first cousin of Krishna, being the daughter of his father's sister.

Mitravinda was known by the epithet "the virtuous" and called as Shaibya or Shaivya (meaning daughter/descendent of king Shibi/Shivi) in the Vishnu Purana. Ratnagarbha, a commentator on the Vishnu Purana, identifies Mitravinda with Kalindi, another chief queen of Krishna. In Harivamsa, she is referred to as Sudatta, the daughter (or patrilineal descendant) of Shibi. She was a very virtuous, noble and beautiful girl. The Bhagavata Purana describes that she had two brothers Vinda (Vindya) and Anuvinda (Anuvindhya), who ruled Avanti as co-regents at the time of her wedding. They were comrades of Duryodhana, the leader of the Kauravas. They were therefore opposed to the idea of Mitravinda marrying Krishna, since he had allied with the Pandavas, Kunti's sons and rivals of the Kauravas.

The Bhagavata Purana records a short description of Mitravinda's marriage to Krishna. She chooses Krishna as her husband in a Swayamvara ceremony, in which a bride chooses a groom from assembled suitors. However, her brothers do not like it and forbid the marriage. They join forces with the Kauravas and fight Krishna. Krishna defeats the princes and takes Mitravinda away forcibly, as the other suitors keep looking.Vallabhacharya's commentary on the Bhagavata Purana adds that Mitravinda and Krishna were deeply in love with each other, but her brothers and father were opposed to this and wanted Duryodhana for her husband. A svayamvara was arranged by her father for her to choose a husband. All the princes including Duryodhana were present for this competition. When Krishna came to know of this, he also came to the venue of the svayamvara and Mitravinda appraised Krishna of her problem and requested him to abduct her. Complying with her wishes, Krishna abducted her from the venue of the svayamavara. He was challenged by her brothers, Duryodhana and other princes who wanted to marry Mitravinda. Krishna defeated all of them and took Mitravinda to Dwaraka where he formally married her.

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