Bhanumati (Wife of Duryodhana)
Mandodari the wife of Ravana, the demon king of Lanka and Bhanumati the wife of Duryodhana the prince of the Kaurava dynasty, were the two women characters we come across in the great Indian epics Sri Ràmàyana and Sri Mahabharata respectively.
They were highly pious and helpless witnesses in the face of sorrows they had to suffer because their adamant, arrogant and jealous husbands trod the path of non-righteousness or adharma.
Swayamvara
Chitravarma the king of Kambhoj invited all the kings for the ‘Swayamvara’, a ceremony in which the bride selects the bridegroom of her choice, for his daughter Bhanumati. She was the most beautiful and intelligent and had gained mastery over martial arts.
Prominent kings
The prominent kings among the invitees were Duryoddhana, Karna, Shishupala, Jarasandha, Bhishmaka, Vakra, Kapotaroman, Nila, Rukmi, Sringa, Asoka and Satadhanwan. As the swayamvara commenced Bhanumati, accompanied by her close friend Supriya entered the court hall, holding a garland in her hands.
She slowly started to walk in front of the invited kings while the minister introduced one after the other. Thus, she moved ahead of Duryodhana. This rejection from Bhanumati flared up his anger and he caught hold of her hand and forcibly led her onto his chariot, and rode back to Hastinapura.
Karna defeated the other kings who challenged Duryodhana’s act of arrogance in the battle. Duryodhana justified his act as ‘kshatra dharma’ and by referring to an incident in the life of his great grandfather Bhishma wherein he abducted three princesses – Amba, Ambica, Ambalika of Kashi as brides for his stepbrothers.
Bhanumati with great concern towards the reputation of her parents and also that of the Kaurava family, at last, gave her consent to marry Duryodhana.
After Marriage
After her marriage, Bhanumati came to know about Duryodhana’s jealous, arrogant attributes, non-righteous acts and about his rivalry with Pandavas. Several times she advised him to tread the path of righteousness and to put an end to the rivalry with Pandavas. Though he loved his wife most did never care to heed her words.
As the time lapsed, one day Bhanumati understood that the negative attributes of Duryodhana which crept into his mind by birth were the hardest nuts impossible to crack. She was endowed with an apex level of mature thinking and like an ideal wife, she is reconciled to his ways, accepts him as he is and loves Duryodhana.
Bhanumati at all times took every care of the needs, comforts and pleasures of her husband Duryodhana.
Twins – Lakshmana Kumara and Lakshmana
In due course, Bhanumati became the mother of twins, a son Lakshmana Kumara and a daughter Lakshmana. She was an ideal mother too. She nurtured her two children with utmost love and care. Consequently, both Lakshmana Kumara and Lakshmana grew up into perfect individuals endowed with all ideal attributes.
Samba, the son of Jambavati and Sri Krishna abducts Lakshmana on the occasion of her Swayamvara. But Kaurava soldiers capture him and detain him in the prison. Balarama who was very angry over this waged a war against Duryodhana. But Duryodhana was in a battle with his guru. At this juncture, Bhanumati by her pleasant conversation greatly impressed Balarama and he too accepts the marriage of Samba with Lakshmana.
Bhanumati always wished victory for dharma
Bhanumati was a god-fearing pious woman. She always wished victory for dharma. At the same time, she was equally worried about the fate of her husband Duryodhana, because her strong belief was that evil deeds will invariably reap evil consequences.
After the defeat of Dharmaraja in the game of dice, when Duhshasana tried to disrobe Draupadi in the Kaurava court, Bhanumati knows well that the flames of the curse of anger and the tears of Draupadi would devastate the entire Kaurava clan. So she raised her voice against the ill-treatment of Draupadi and came running to help Draupadi, and took her away from the court into the Draupadi’s chamber inside the palace.
Devotee of Sri Krishna
Bhanumati was an ardent devotee of Sri Krishna. She strongly believed that in Dwaparayuga Lord Vishnu himself took birth as Sri Krishna. Once when Sri Krishna visited the palace of Duryodhana, Bhanumati invited him into the palace with great respect, offered him her prayers and impressed him with her rich hospitality.
Also when Sri Krishna comes to Hastinapura as an ambassador for a peace treaty between Kauravas and Pandavas, Bhanumati to avert the battle of Kurukshetra, advises Duryodhana to listen to the word of Sri Krishna.
The battle of Kurukshetra became inevitable. Bhanumati pathetically lamented at the corpses of her son and husband who lost their lives in the battle of Kurukshetra. But she never blamed Pandavas over this.
Bhanumati was a noble royal lady, who considered family reputation and the Hindu marriage system in high esteem.
