Kingship

 Kartavirya Arjuna was a great king. He was from the Haihaya dynasty, a branch of the Yadava dynasty. He ruled from Mahishmati on the banks of the Narmada river. Kartavirya Arjuna was also known as Sahasrabahu Arjuna. He ruled the entire Earth and was a great conqueror. He was a great worshiper of Bhagvati Amba. But with all the power he became arrogant and cruel, so he was killed by Parshurama.

King Kritavirya of Haihaya had many wives but he didn’t have even one son. He performed many penances but still didn’t obtain a son. One of his wives, Padmini, unable to bear the anguish of Kritavirya, went to Anasuya, the wife of Atri rishi, for assistance.

Ansuya told her about the specific days that they should do penance to beget a son. Kritavirya and Padmini went to the forest and did penance on those days.

Once, while they were lost in meditation, a voice came from the sky saying, “Open your eyes”. They opened their eyes and were astonished to find Lord Dattatreya standing in front of him. “I will bless you with what you want,” Lord Dattatreya said, smiling.

“O Lord, all we want is a son. A son that is unconquered and will rule the entire world. A son that can’t be defeated by anybody except you,” Kritavirya requested. Dattatreya nodded and disappeared.

Soon after, Kritavirya and Padmini had a son. He was named Kartavirya Arjuna. He was born with a 1000 arms, so he was also called Sahasrabahu Arjuna. Soon, Kritavirya had other sons with his other wives and a daughter named Bhanumati.

Becoming King and Disciple to Dattatreya

Soon, Kritavirya died and there was peril in the kingdom. The candidates for the throne were Kritavirya’s 3 brothers, his son-in-law Ahamyati, and his sons including Kartavirya Arjuna.

The ministers and citizens discussed who should be the next king. Rishi Garga asserted that Kartavirya Arjuna should become the king. Soon, people realized that Rishi Garga was correct and that there was no good candidate except for Kartavirya Arjuna. It was decided that Arjuna would become the next king of Haihaya.

But Kartavirya Arjuna didn’t want to be king. He didn’t want all the power and fame or the kingdom itself.

“If I am unable to protect the subjects, I will go to hell. I cannot take this responsibility. I might fail in protecting the citizens. I might be defeated by another king or fail my duties. Pick someone else, not me,” Arjuna argued.

“No one can see the future. As long as you try your best, you are following your duties. Do not fear the future right now. Look at the present,” Rishi Garga argued back.

“As long as I know I am not powerful enough, I will not accept kingship,” Arjuna replied firmly.

“Well then go to Lord Dattatreya, the avatar of Lord Vishnu. He will make you realize your duties and make you powerful,” Rishi Garga replied.

Arjuna went to Dattatreya. He became a perfect disciple, observing all his duties with alertness and punctuality. He soon realized his duties. At the end of his training, Dattatreya told him to ask for six boons. Arjuna asked for these boons:

1. Give me the power to protect my subjects
2. Make me know the secret to anyone’s heart
3. Make me invincible
4. Make it so that my thousand arms don’t disable my body
5. Make it so that even if I give away wealth, my wealth won’t decrease

Dattatreya was impressed with the boons Arjuna asked for. He requested Arjuna to ask for 2 more boons. For the two additional boons, Arjuna asked for:

1. Make it so that I die at the hands of a great person after a glorious reign
2. Make it so that I never waver from the path of righteousness. Make it so that there are always people guiding me to the right path.

Dattatreya granted all eight boons to Arjuna. Dattatreya also gave him a flying chariot. Kartavirya Arjuna then came back to Mahishmati and accepted kingship

Kartavirya Arjuna conducted 10 great yagnas in each of the seven continents. So in total, he conducted 700 yagnas. All of the yagnas were splendorous and had plenty of grandeur. Gold altars were used in all of them. All of them were performed with sacrificial pots made of gold. The Devas, Gandharvas, and Apsaras watched these yagnas from the sky.