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| Kartavirya Arjuna | |
|---|---|
 Kartavirya Arjuna defeats young Ravana (right) | |
| Caste | (Kshatriya) |
| In-universe information | |
| Nickname | Sahastrabahu Arjuna or Sahastrarjuna |
| Family | Kritavirya(father) |
| Spouse | Manoramā[1] |
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.[2]
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.[3]
- ^ Brahmavaivarta Purana Ganesha Khanda (Third Canto) Chapter 34.Verses 6-7, English translation by Shantilal Nagar Parimal Publications Page 643 Link: https://archive.org/details/brahma-vaivarta-puran-gita-press-gorakhpur
- ^ Pargiter, F.E. (1972) [1922]. Ancient Indian Historical Tradition, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, p.265-7
- ^ Tripathi, Gaya-Charan (1979). "The Worship of Kārtavīrya-Arjuna: On the Deification of a Royal Personage in India". The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. 111 (1): 37–52. doi:10.1017/S0035869X00135026. ISSN 0035-869X. JSTOR 25211000. S2CID 162854232.