Narayani Sena or Gopayan or Yadava Sena, the army of

Lord Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one of ...

of Dwarka Kingdom is called as the supreme Sena of all time. The ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

'' describes its soldiers as being of the Abhira people. They were the basic threat to the rival kingdoms. Fearing Narayani Sena, many Kings didn't try fighting against Dwaraka. Because Dwaraka sorted most of the threats through Krishna's politics and talent of Yadavas. Using Narayani Sena, the

Yadavas The Yadava (literally, descended from Yadu) were an ancient Indian people who believed to be descended from Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the Abhira, Andhaka, Vrishni, and Satv ...

extended their empire to most of India.

Composition of Narayani Sena

The Sena includes Krishna’s 18,000 brothers and cousins. The Sena had 7 Maharathis (Krishna,

Balaram Balarama (Sanskrit: बलराम, IAST: ''Balarāma'') is a Hindu god and the elder brother of Krishna. He is particularly significant in the Jagannath tradition, as one of the triad deities. He is also known as Haladhara, Halayudha, Balad ...

Samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...

, Ahuka, Charudeshna, Chakradeva and

Satyaki Yuyudhana ( sa, युयुधान, '), better known as Satyaki ( sa, सात्यकि, ), was a powerful Yadava chieftain of Narayani Sena, belonging to the Vrishni clan to which Krishna also belonged. According to the Puranas, he was ...

) and 7 Athirathis (

Kritavarma Kritavarma ( sa, कृतवर्मा, translit=Kṛtavarmā) is a Yadava warrior in Hinduism. He appears as a minor character in the Mahabharata, fighting in the Kurukshetra war for the Kauravas. According to F.E. Pargiter, he was the son o ...

, Anadhrishti, Samika, Samitinjaya, Kanka, Sanku, Kunti).

Involvement in Kurukshetra war

Before the war started in the Kurukshetra battlefield in

Mahabharat The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

(one of the two major epics of ancient India), both sides – the

Kaurava ''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his wif ...

s and the

Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledg ...

s started out in all directions to meet various kings to solicit support. Incidentally, both

Duryodhana Duryodhana ( sa, दुर्योधन, ) also known as Suyodhana, is the primary antagonist in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata.'' He was the eldest of the Kauravas, the hundred sons of the blind king Dhritarashtra and his queen Gandhari. Being ...

(from Kauravas side) and

Arjuna Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Panda ...

(from Pandavas side) reached Dwarika, the kingdom of Shree Krishna together. Lord Krishna put forward a condition in front of both – you can have either me on your side or my entire army, the Yadav army – known as the Narayani Sena. He also told both that he wouldn't take to any arms or weapon during the entire war. So when Krishna first asked Arjun what he wanted, much to Duryodhana's delight, he opted for the Lord- 'Narayan' and Duryodhana got these great warriors of the strong army-'the Narayani Sena. When Narayani Sena was fighting for Kauravas, only Kritavarma and his army unit fought for the Kauravas. Satyaki fought for the Pandavas. The rest of the Atirathis and Maharathis were withheld from the Kurukshetra war on the advice of Balram and Krishna.

Post-war attack on Arjuna

These

Gopas Gopa or Gop or Gope is a synonym of the Yadav ( Ahir) caste. It is generally used as a title by the Ahir caste in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal of East India and even in Terai region of Nepal. Etymology The sanskrit word Gopa, ...

, whom

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

had offered to Duryodhana to fight in his support when he himself joined Arjuna's side, were no other than the

themselves, who were also the

Abhiras The Abhira tribe is mentioned in the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata. A historical people of the same name are mentioned in the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea''. They are thought to be people who moved in from eastern Iran in the aftermath of ...

. They were the supporters of the

and

s, and in the Mahabharata,

Abhir Ahir or Aheer are a community of traditionally non-elite pastoralists in India, most members of which identify as being of the Indian Yadav community because they consider the two terms to be synonymous. The Ahirs are variously described as a ...

Gopa Gopi ( sa, गोपी, ) or Gopika in Hinduism are worshipped as the consorts and devotees of Krishna within the Vaishnavism and Krishnaism traditions for their unconditional love and devotion (''Bhakti'') to god Krishna as described in the S ...

Gopal Gopal may refer to: * Gopal (caste), a social community of Odisha in India * Gopal (Krishna), the infant/child form of Lord Krishna * Gopal Bansa, ancient Kingdom in Nepal * The Gopalas, an early Gaudiya Vaishnava institution * Gandhian Organisatio ...

and Yadavas are all synonyms. They defeated the hero of Mahabharatha war (Arjuna), and spared him when he disclosed the identity of the members of the family of Sri Krishna.

Reference

{{reflist Kurukshetra Mahabharata Kurukshetra War War in mythology Puranic chronology Ahir

Composition of Narayani Sena

Involvement in Kurukshetra war

Post-war attack on Arjuna

See also

Reference