Vajradatta ( sa, वज्रदत्त) was son and successor of the king

Bhagadatta Bhagadatta ( sa, भगदत्त) was the son of Narakasura, and the king of Pragjyotisha. Bhagadatta was born from a limb of the asura called Bāṣkala. He was a renowned warrior, and was known to be a great friend of Indra. When Arjuna emba ...

, third in line to throne of Naraka dynasty of

Pragjyotisha Kingdom Pragjyotisha is a mythological kingdom that is mentioned in a multitude of Hindu Epics. It came to be associated with the historical Kamarupa after Bhaskaravarman of the Varman dynasty by drawing his lineage from Naraka/ Bhagadatta of the leg ...

. Vajradatta had studied four

vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute th ...

along with

Anga Anga (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the Āṅgeyas. Counted among the "sixteen great nations" in Buddhist texts ...

s, and the Nitishastras of

Brihaspati Brihaspati ( sa, बृहस्पति, ), also known as Guru, is a Hindu deity. In the ancient Vedic scriptures of Hinduism, Brihaspati is a deity associated with fire, and the word also refers to a rishi (sage) who counsels the devas (god ...

and

Shukra Shukra (Sanskrit: शुक्र, IAST: ) is a Sanskrit word that means "clear" or "bright". It also has other meanings, such as the name of an ancient lineage of sages who counselled Asuras in Vedic history. In medieval mythology and Hindu as ...

. Vajradatta is mentioned in epics as powerful as Indra, speedy like

Vajra The Vajra () is a legendary and ritual weapon, symbolising the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force). The vajra is a type of club with a ribbed spherical head. The ribs may meet in a ball-shap ...

and who pleased the performer of hundred sacrifices, who is Indra again, in battle. He said to possess bolt-like lustre and conquered enemies like Indra.

Role in Mahabharata

The Aswamedha Parva of

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

gives account of Vajradatta. He was not able to accompany his father Bhagadatta in

Mahabharata war The Kurukshetra War ( sa, कुरुक्षेत्र युद्ध ), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the ''Mahabharata ( sa, महाभारत )''. The conflict arose from a dynastic succession struggle be ...

, as he was child then. King

Yudhishthira ''Yudhishthira'' (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira'') is the eldest among the five Pandava brothers. He is mentioned in the ancient epic Mahabharata. He was sired by King Pandu of the Kuru Dynasty and his firs ...

organised Aswamedha Parva, and Arjuna was appointed as guard of the Aswamedha horse. Horse after traversing different countries reached east to Pragjyotisha, then ruled by the Vajradatta. Vajradatta made an attempt to hold the horse to avenge his fathers humiliation in Mahabharata war in hands of Arjuna. He was defeated by Arjuna, after a prolong battle.

Mentions

In Kamarupa inscriptions, the

Naraka Naraka ( sa, नरक) is the realm of hell in Indian religions. According to some schools of Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism, ''Naraka'' is a place of torment. The word ''Neraka'' (modification of ''Naraka'') in Indonesian and Malay ...

, Bhagadatta and Vajradatta were mentioned as ancestors of Kamarupa kings. One such inscription is Nidhanpur inscription of

Bhaskar Varman Bhaskaravarman () (600–650), the last of the Varman dynasty, was an illustrious king of medieval Kamarupa. After being captured by the Gauda king during the reign of his father, he was able to re-establish the rule of the Varman's. He made ...

. Like in other epics, Vajradatta was also mentioned in

Kalika Purana The Kalika Purana ( sa, Kālikā Purāṇa), also called the Kali Purana, Sati Purana or Kalika Tantra, is one of the eighteen minor Puranas ('' Upapurana'') in the Shaktism tradition of Hinduism. The text was likely composed in Assam or Cooch B ...

and

Harshacharita The ''Harshacharita'' ( sa, हर्षचरित, ) (''The deeds of Harsha''), is the biography of Indian emperor Harsha by Banabhatta, also known as Bana, who was a Sanskrit writer of seventh-century CE India. He was the ''Asthana Kavi'', ...

. In Kalika Purana, Naraka said to have sons namely

, Mahasirsa, Madavan and Sumali and Vajradatta and Pushpadatta were sons of Bhagadatta. In Harshacharita Vajradatta is placed after Bhagadatta and Pushpadatta.

References

{{Mahabharata Characters in the Mahabharata Pragjyotisha Kingdom

Role in Mahabharata

Mentions

See also

References