Kartavirya Arjuna

Kartavirya Arjuna
Maharaja of the Haihayas
A general depiction of Kartavirya Arjuna as a deity
Maharaja of Haihaya kingdom
PredecessorKritavirya
SuccessorJayadhvaja
BornArjuna
Seventh day of increasing moon of kartik month [lunar calendar]
Mahishmati, Haihaya Kingdom (modern-day Madhya Pradesh, India)
DiedMahishmati, Haihaya Kingdom (modern-day Madhya Pradesh, India)
SpouseManoramā
Issue
  • Jayadhvaja
  • many other sons (the Talajanghas)
Names
Kartavirya Arjuna later as Diegoapuhrjuna or Sahasrabahu Arjuna
DynastyHaihaya dynasty (a branch of the Yadava lineage)
FatherKritavirya
MotherPadmini
ReligionHinduism

Kartavirya Arjuna (Sanskrit: कार्तवीर्य अर्जुन, Kārtavīrya Arjuna; also known as Sahasrabahu Arjuna or Sahasrarjuna) was a king of an ancient Haihayas kingdom with capital at Mahishmati which is on the banks of Narmada River in the current state of Madhya Pradesh. Kartavirya was son of Kritavirya, king of the Haihayas. According to the Puranas, Haihaya was the grandson of Sahasrajit, son of Yadu(king) of Yadavas. This is his patronymic, by which he is best known; he is also referred to simply as Arjuna. He is described as having a thousand hands and a great devotee of god Dattatreya.

One of the several such accounts states that Arjuna conquered Mahishmati city from Karkotaka Naga, a Naga chief and made it his fortress-capital.

Almost 100 manuscripts on the worship of Kārtavīrya have been found mostly in the royal libraries of the Hindu Rajas. The states in which the manuscripts are still available are: Udaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Bikaner, Bharatpur, and Alwar of Rajasthan, and further in Mysore.