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Karenumati — Princess of Chedi, Daughter of Shishupala, and Second Wife of Nakula
Karenumati · Karenumati of Chedi · princess of Chedi · wife of Nakula
Karenumati was a princess of the Chedi kingdom and the daughter of Shishupala, king of Chedi, and granddaughter of King Damaghosha and Queen Shrutashrava, who was a daughter of Shurasena of Mathura and sister of Vasudeva, the father of Krishna. She became the second wife of Nakula, the fourth of the five Pandava brothers and the elder of the twin sons born to Pandu and Madri through the grace of the Ashvini Kumaras. Their son was Niramitra. Karenumati is attested in the Adi Parva of the Mahabharata, where her marriage to Nakula and the birth of Niramitra are recorded, and in the Bhagavata Purana. Her figure is notable as a link between the Chedi royal line — whose king was among the foremost enemies of Krishna — and the Pandava family.
✦ The Name
The name Karenumati is derived from karenu, which in Sanskrit refers to a female elephant, and the suffix mati, meaning possessed of or endowed with. The compound thus suggests one endowed with the qualities of a she-elephant — a common figure of feminine grace, dignity, and steadiness in classical Sanskrit poetry. The Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary records Karenumati as the name of the wife of Nakula and daughter of a king of the Cedis, attested in the Mahabharata and the Bhagavata Purana.
✦ Lineage
- Father: Shishupala — king of Chedi; son of Damaghosha and Shrutashrava; first cousin of Krishna through his mother; killed by Krishna at the Rajasuya sacrifice of Yudhishthira.
- Paternal grandmother: Shrutashrava — daughter of Shurasena of Mathura and sister of Vasudeva, the father of Krishna.
- Brothers: Dhrishtaketu — eldest son of Shishupala, king of Chedi after his father's death, killed by Drona in the Kurukshetra War; Sarabha — who succeeded Dhrishtaketu as king; Mahipala — killed on the ninth day of the Kurukshetra War; Suketu — also named among the sons of Shishupala.
- Husband: Nakula — the fourth Pandava; elder twin son of Pandu and Madri, born through the grace of the Ashvini Kumaras; renowned in the tradition for his exceptional physical beauty and skill in horse-craft and swordsmanship; also the husband of Draupadi, the common wife of all five Pandavas.
- Son: Niramitra — son of Nakula and Karenumati; attested in the Mahabharata Adi Parva, Chapter 95, verse 79, and the Bhagavata Purana IX.22.31.
✦ Marriage to Nakula
The Mahabharata records in the Adi Parva that Nakula obtained Karenumati, the princess of Chedi, as his wife and that she bore him a son named Niramitra. The text of the Adi Parva at Chapter 95, verse 79, is the primary attestation of this marriage. The manner of the marriage — whether by formal negotiation, by conquest during one of the Pandava military campaigns, or through another arrangement — is not specified in the surviving primary text. Secondary tradition holds that the marriage was a political alliance strengthening ties between the Chedi kingdom and the Pandavas, a reading consistent with the fact that Dhrishtaketu, the king of Chedi and Karenumati's brother, subsequently aligned fully with the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra War.
✦ Textual Variants
There is a genuine textual ambiguity in the Mahabharata regarding whether Karenumati was the daughter of Shishupala or of his son Dhrishtaketu. The Chedi Kingdom article in the Wikipedia tradition notes this unresolved question, observing that while she is described elsewhere as having a brother who was the husband of one of the Pandavas, the text does not always specify her exact parentage clearly. The Adi Parva verse most commonly cited (Chapter 95, verse 79) describes her as the daughter of the king of Chedi without naming the king; since Shishupala was the reigning king of Chedi at the time of Nakula's marriage, the identification with Shishupala as father is the standard reading. The Wisdomlib entry for Karenumati identifies her as the daughter of Shishupala, as does the Bhagavata Purana IX.22.31. This profile follows those primary attestations. The alternate identification with Dhrishtaketu as her father, found in some secondary treatments, is likely a later confusion arising from Dhrishtaketu's subsequent prominence.
✦ Connection to the Wider Genealogy
Through her father Shishupala's mother Shrutashrava, Karenumati was the great-granddaughter of Shurasena of Mathura and thus distantly related by blood to the Yadava-Shurasena line that included Vasudeva and Kunti. Through her marriage to Nakula she entered the Pandava family and became a sister-in-law of Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, and Sahadeva, as well as a co-wife with Draupadi, the common wife of all five brothers. Her son Niramitra was among the grandchildren of Pandu. The marriage united the line of Shishupala — whose enmity toward Krishna had been one of the defining antagonisms of the age — with the line of the Pandavas, who were close allies of Krishna. Karenumati's position thus literally embodies the post-Rajasuya reconciliation between the Chedi royal house and the Pandava-Krishna alliance.
✦ References
Primary Sources
- Mahabharata, Adi Parva, Chapter 95, verse 79 (Sambhava Parva): Records Nakula's marriage to Karenumati, princess of Chedi, and the birth of their son Niramitra; the principal primary attestation for this figure.
- Mahabharata, Vana Parva, Chapter 22, verse 40: References Dhrishtaketu's sister, understood to be Karenumati, as the wife of one of the Pandavas.
- Bhagavata Purana, IX.22.31: Corroborates Karenumati as the daughter of the Chedi king and the mother of Niramitra by Nakula.
Secondary Sources
- Wisdomlib, entry "Karenumati": Identifies her as the daughter of Shishupala, king of Chedi, and wife of Nakula; cites Adi Parva Chapter 95 verse 79 and the Bhagavata Purana; provides the Monier-Williams and Böhtlingk-Roth Sanskrit dictionary attestations.
- Wikipedia, article "Nakula": Confirms the marriage to Karenumati and the birth of Niramitra.
- Wikipedia, article "List of Characters in the Mahabharata": Notes the textual ambiguity regarding whether Karenumati was the daughter of Shishupala or Dhrishtaketu.
- Mani, Vettam — Puranic Encyclopaedia (1975): Cross-reference for genealogical verification.