Also known as Kartavirya. A famous king in the Hehaya dynasty.
Antecedents: Vishnu – Brahma – Atri – Chandra – Budha – Pururavas – Ayus – Nahusha – Yayati – Yadu – Sahasrajit – Shatajit – Hehaya – Dharma – Kunti – Bhadrasena – Dhanaka – Kritavirya – – Kartaviryarjuna
The Hehayas were kshatriyas and Bhargavas were brahmins and the spiritual advisors of the Hehayas. The Hehayas rewarded the Bhargavas handsomely but after a while, began to decline, while the Bhargavas prospered. The Hehayas then decided to get some wealth from the Bhargavas, but were told that the Bhargavas had no money. The Hehayas began killing the Bhargavas who buried their wealth and went to the Himalayas. But the killing continued until Arushi gave birth to Ourva from her thigh. Ourva managed to subdue the Hehayas. Many years passed and Kartaviryarjuna was born in the Hehaya dynasty while Jamadagni took birth in the Bhargava dynasty. They renewed the rivalry as Kartaviryarjuna set up his capital Mahishmati on the banks of the Narmada.
Once Narada arrived at Mahishmati. After greeting the sage, Kartaviryarjuna asked Narada how he could achieve moksha and enjoy worldly pleasures at the same time. Narada asked him to do the Bhadradipapratishta for this. The king began doing this along with his wife in a hermitage on the banks of the Narmada. Dattatreya, son of Atri, was his guru. At the end of the yajna, Dattatreya was pleased with the king and asked him to seek a boon, and as per the king’s request granted him a thousand hands. The King became arrogant and ruled Mahishmati for 86000 years as per Brahmandapurana Chapter 44.
When Kartaviryarjuna was returning to his palace after getting the boon, he heard a divine voice that said that brahmins were more illustrious than kshatriyas and a king could rule well only with the help of brahmins. The king understood that the voice belonged to the messenger of the devas – Vayu, and he mocked the wind god, and argued that the kshatriya was more important than brahmins. Vayu warned him that he would be cursed by a brahmin as per Mahabharata Anushasanaparva Chapter 152.
Once Agni approached Kartaviryarjuna and asked for food. The king asked Agni to consume any mountain or forests from his kingdom. Agni began doing this and accidentally destroyed the sage Aapava’s hermitage. The sage cursed that Parashurama would cut off all thousand of Kartaviryarjuna’s thousand hands.
When Ravana began his journey to conquer the worlds, he reached the river Narmada and liked the place enough to spend a night there. He woke in the morning, and as part of his morning rituals fixed a shivalinga on the river’s banks. At that time, Kartaviryarjuna reached a place downstream with his wives and began frolicking in the river. He stopped the river with his thousand hands and that caused the river to rise and Ravana and his offerings to be washed away. Ravana was enraged and sent his spies to find out what had happened. The spies reported back about Kartaviryarjuna and Ravana set out to fight him. After a fierce battle, Kartaviryarjuna defeated Ravana with a blow from his mace and imprisoned him. Ravana remained there for a year until his father Pulastya reached there and requested Kartaviryarjuna to release him. The two then parted as friends as per Uttararamayana.
When Parashurama was fourteen, his father Jamadagni once went to the forest to collect firewood. His wife Renuka cleaned the hermitage and left Parashurama there while she went to the river. She reached there to find Kartaviryarjuna and his wives and spent some time watching them. After they left, she found the river muddy and had to go to another part of its banks to fetch clean water. There she saw the king of Salva, Chitraratha with his wives and she spent more time watching them. She collected water only after they left. When she returned to the hermitage she found an impatient Jamadagni who ordered Parashurama to hack her head off as per Brahmandapurana Chapter 58.
As per the Brahmandapurana Chapter 16, Kartaviryarjuna conquered the entire world and even Suryavanshi kings like Harishchandra, Trairyaruna, Rohitashwa, Chunchu were defeated by him. He also defeated the devas, yakshas, several sages and then challenged Vishnu. He also embarrassed Indra as per Mahabharata Vanaparva Chapter 115. He then challenged the ocean and destroyed the creatures living in it with his arrows. Varuna appeared and asked him what he wanted. He asked for the name of a person who was worthy enough to fight him, and Varuna replied that Jamadagni’s son Parashurama was indeed one such person, as per Mahabharata Ashwamedhaparva Chapter 29.
Once Kartaviryarjuna went hunting with his attendants and finally reached the banks of the Narmada, tired. They bathed in the river and were about to leave when they spotted Jamadagni’s hermitage. The king went there alone and greeted the sage. The sage asked him to get his attendants too, and then proceeded to give them a sumptuous meal. They spent the night there and the king wondered how the sage had managed to feed them. While they returned, his minister Chandragupta told him that he had seen a cow in the hermitage, which had provided the food. The king sent Chandragupta to Jamadagni, requesting him to give the cow. Chandragupta reached there when Parashurama had gone out. The sage said that the cow was Kamadhenu’s sister Sushila and he was not willing to part with it. When Chandragupta tried to take the cow by force, it disappeared. He then tried to take the calf, and when Jamadagni tried to stop him, he killed the sage as per Brahmandapurana Chapters 67-71. Parashurama returned just then with a disciple named Akritavarna. He saw his dead father and burst out crying. Renuka beat her chest twenty one times, wailing. Parashurama vowed that he would roam the earth twenty one times and destroy kings. Shukra then appeared there with Sushila and revived Jamadagni.
Parashurama first reached Mahishmati along with Akritavarna and called out Kartaviryarjuna. The king came out with his army and a fierce battle took place. Parashurama hacked away all thousand of Kartaviryarjuna’s arms, killed his sons, beheaded him and fixed the head on the central pillar of the Hehaya kingdom as per Brahmandapurana Chapter 81.
Kartaviryarjuna had a hundred sons, all of whom were killed by Parashurama. Their names as per Brahmandapurana Chapter 76 were Nirmada, Rochana, Shanku, Ugrada, Dhundhubhi, Dhruva, Suparshi, Shatrujit, Krauncha, Shanta, Nirdaya, Antaka, Aakriti, Vimala, Dhira, Neeroga, Bahuti, Dama, Adhari, Vidhura, Saumya, Manasvi, Pushkala, Busha, Taruna, Rishabha, Rishaka, Satyaka, Subala, Bali, Ugreshta, Ugrakarma, Satyasena, Durasada, Viradhanwa, Deerkhabahu, Akambana, Subahu, Deerkhaksha, Varthulaksha, Charudamshtra, Gothravan, Mahojava, Oordhvabahu, Krodha, Satyakeerti, Dushpradharshana, Savyasandha, Mahasena, Sulochana, Raktanetra, Vakradamshtra, Sudamshtra, Kshatravarma, Manonuga, Dhumrakesha, Pingalochana, Avyanga, Jatila, Venuman, Sanu, Pashapani, Anudhata, Durantha, Kapila, Shambhu, Anantha, Vishwaga, Udaara, Kriti, Kshatrajit, Dharmi, Vyakhra, Khosha, Adbhuta, Puranjaya, Charana, Vagmi, Vira, Rathi, Govihvala, Sangramajit, Suparva, Narada, Satyaketu, Shatanika, Dridhayudha, Chitradhanva, Jayatsena, Virupaksha, Bhimakarma, Shatrutapana, Chitrasena, Duradharsha, Vidhuratha, Shura, Shurasena, Dhishana, Madhu, Jayadhwaja