Bhanumati (wife of Duryodhana)

Bhanumati
An illustration of Bhanumati.
Information
Affiliation	Kuru queen
Family	Chitrangada (father)
Spouse	Duryodhana
Children	Laxman Kumara (son) Lakshmanaa (daughter)
Home	Kalinga (by birth) Hastinapur (by marriage)

Bhanumati is the wife of Duryodhana, the main antagonist of the epic Mahabharata. Originally unnamed in the epic, the name of Duryodhana's wife is found in later versions. Bhanumati has a son Laxman Kumara and a daughter, Lakshmanaa. It is described that Duryodhana loved her immensely.

In the Mahabharata, Duryodhana's wife is mentioned thrice. In the Shanti Parva book, Duryodhana abducted king Chitrangada's daughter from her swayamvara with the help of his best friend Karna. Later, she is described by her mother-in-law, Gandhari, in the Stri Parva book.

Textual sources and development

Bhanumati is never directly mentioned in the Mahabharata. In the Shalya Parva, Duryodhana expresses his sorrow over the fate of the mother of his son, Laxman Kumara. In the Stri Parva, Gandhari (mother of Duryodhana) mentions her daughter-in-law. In the Shanti Parva, the sage Narada narrates a story about the friendship of Duryodhana and Karna. Here, Karna helps his friend in abducting the daughter of Kalinga king Chitrāngada from her Swayamvar. As Duryodhana's wife is unnamed in the epic, her name is provided by the folktales.

Description in the Mahabharata

In the Stri Parva of Mahabharata, Gandhari, mother of Duryodhana, describes her daughter in law to Krishna in the following manner.

Behold, again, this sight that is more painful than the death of my son, the sight of these fair ladies weeping by the side of the slain heroes! Behold, O Krishna, the mother of Lakshmana, that lady of large hips, with her tresses dishevelled, that dear spouse of Duryodhana, resembling a sacrificial altar of gold. Without doubt, this damsel of great intelligence, while her mighty-armed lord was formerly alive, used to sport within the embrace of her lord’s handsome arms! Why, indeed, does not this heart of mine break into a hundred fragments at the sight of my son and grandson slain in battle?

— Gandhari, Translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli,

Gandhari continues,

Alas, that faultless lady now smells (the head of) her son covered with blood. Now, again, that lady of fair thighs is gently rubbing Duryodhana’s body with her fair hand. At one time she is sorrowing for her lord and at another for her son. At one time she looketh on her lord, at another on her son. Behold, O Madhava, striking her head with her hands, she falls upon the breast of her heroic spouse, the king of the Kurus. Possessed of complexion like that of the filaments of the lotus, she still looketh beautiful like a lotus. The unfortunate princess now rubbeth the face of her son and now that of her lord.

Marriage with Duryodhana

Duryodhana's marriage is found in the Shanti Parva of Mahabharata. The tale of the Swayamvar of Chitrangada's daughter is narrated by Narada, the god sage. The text never mentions the name of the princess but states that she is fair and beautiful.

Duryodhana was invited to the Swayamvara of the daughter of King Chitrangada of Kalinga. Duryodhana went to the city of Rajapura, taking along his dear friend Karna. Many legendary rulers like Shishupala, Jarasandha, Bhishmaka, Vakra, Kapotaroman, Nila, Rukmi, Sringa, Asoka, Satadhanwan etc. attended the ceremony. After the commencing of the ceremony, the lovely princess entered the arena with a garland in her hand, surrounded by her nursemaid and bodyguards. As she was being informed about the names of the participants & their lineage, she walked away from Duryodhana. Duryodhana refuses to accept her rejection and already smitten by the princess, took her away on his chariot challenging other suitors to beat him & Karna. Karna successfully battled with the rest of the suitors to protect his friend. Karna easily defeated the pursuing Kings and the other royal suitors abandoned their pursuit after seeing Karna's fighting prowess. On reaching Hastinapur, Duryodhana justified his act by giving the example of his great grandfather Bhishma abducting three princesses of Kashi for his stepbrother, Vichitravirya. Finally, the fair lady consented and married Duryodhana.

Bhanumati's story end with Gandhari's mentions after Duryodhana's death. In the Mahabharata, it is never mentioned that she married another man.

Regional stories and folktales

Though Bhanumati is a minor character in the original Mahabharata, she appears in many regional stories and folktales.

The dice match with Karna

The popular tale is a Tamil folktale and is not mentioned in the Mahabharata. One day, Duryodhana requested Karna to take care of Bhanumati and entertain her for the evening as he had duties to be taken care of. To pass time, Karna and Bhanumati began playing a game of dice. The game soon got very interesting, engrossing the two of them completely. Gradually, Karna started winning. Meanwhile, Duryodhana returned early and entered the room. Seeing her husband come in, Bhanumati immediately stood up as a mark of respect. Karna, whose back was facing the door, did not realize this and misconstrued her intent, thinking that she was leaving because she was on the losing side.

Karna, before realizing his friend's arrival, grabbed Bhanumati's shawl and pulled her towards him. His action leads her pearl ornaments to scatter, making it more inappropriate. Her veil also slipped along with the shawl, so she was half-dressed. Bhanumati, who was as yet, not so familiar with Karna, froze at the thought of how her husband would react.

Karna, following Bhanumati's stunned gaze, turned around to see Duryodhana observing them both carefully. He stood in shame, embarrassment and guilt, considering the wrath and inevitable punishment he was going to face from his friend. He was sure Duryodhana would immediately accuse them of impropriety. However, much to both their surprise, Duryodhana looked past Karna, and addressed his wife, "Should I just collect the beads, or would you like me to string them, as well?”

Bhanumati and Karna could only look at each other in shock, mutely, feeling ashamed at the way they had both severely misjudged him. He had implicit faith and great love for his queen, and even greater was his faith in his friend Karna. Not for a moment did he suspect that the man he had considered his brother would ever betray him, and only quietly picked up the pearls trustfully. This story is not present in the Vyasa Mahabharata, but is often commonly told when discussing Karna and Duryodhana's genuine friendship.

Supriya's marriage

In later stories, it is described that Bhanumati had a maid named Supriya, who was very close to her. As per the story, when Duryodhana and Karna abducted Bhanumati, Supriya also followed them. Later, when Bhanumati accepted Duryodhana as her spouse, Supriya chose Karna as her husband.

Shalya's daughter in Indonesia

According to a folktale of Indonesia, Bhanumati is the daughter of Shalya, uncle of Nakula and Sahadeva, making her their cousins. As per the story, Bhanumati wanted to marry Arjuna but she married Duryodhana as per her father's wish. As Duryodhan was his son in law, Shalya supported the Kaurava side in the Kurukshetra War.