Was Bhanumati wife of Duryodhana a Kamboja princess?


Was Bhanumati wife of Duryodhana a Kamboja princess?

There are lot of articles written about the matrimonial alliances between Kamboja, Kuru and Sindhu royal families. One of the queens of Jayadratha, the king of Sindhu/Sovira, was a Kamboja princess. [ Mahabharata 11.23.11.] Princess Bhanumati, a very beautiful and sprightly princess from Kamboja royal family was married to Duryodhana, the Crown Prince of Hastinapura. [ Krishnavtara, 1962, pp 215, 224, Dr Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi (Dr K. M.Munshi).] [ Bhavan's Journal, 1963, p 25 (v-9), published by Bombay, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, ISSN: 0006-0518,OCLC: 1774256.] [There is disagreement on the actual identity of princess Bhanumati, chief queen of Kuru prince Duryodhana. One version is that she was the sister of prince Susharma, and this Susharma is stated to be ruler of Trigarta. Yet another source claims Susharma, the brother of Bhanumati, to be prince of Vidarbha. And accordingto yet another claim, Duryodhana's chief queen (Bhanumati) belonged to Kalinga royal family. Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya, Chapter XIX attests Kuru queen to have been the daughter of king of Kashi (i.e. Susharma, the brother of princess Bhanumati, is stated to be the king of Kashi). Yet one source also claims her to be daughter of Balrama, the elder brother of Krishana. Bangali version of Mahabharata (by Kashiram Das) claims that she was daughter of prince Bhagadatta of Pragjyotisha. Indonesian version of Mahabharata claims that Duryodhana' Chiefqueen, princess Banowati,(Bhanumati), was daughter of king Shalya, the ruler of Madra kingdom. Based on some versions of Mahabharata and other ancient sources, scholars like Dr K. M. Munshi (the distinguished scholar / educationist / phillosopher, founder of Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, author of 125 books, and who wrote forwards to illustious historical series: "The History and Culture of the Indian People", as also the author of Voluminous 9 volume, Krishanavtara), identify Kuru queen Bhanumati as the Kamboja princess. According to Cherusseri Bharatham (Bharatagatha) (English Summary), Chpater 11, Bhanumati (Duryodhana's wife) was daughter of certain Bhanuman who is not identified.] [There is reference to a young princeling "Angaraka" from Kamboja who had come to join the "Yuddha-shala" of Dronacharya for education and training. The young Kamboja prince Angaraka is stated to be related to Duryodhana's wife, princess Bhanumati, and is described as a youth wearing a superior self-pride and lacking humility of a good student. Prince Angaraka was, therefore, disallowed admission into Dronacharya's accadamy for these reasons.] Princess Bhanumati was the younger sister of the first chief queen of Kuru prince Duryodhana, on whose premature death, Acharya Dronacharya is said to have brought aboutthe marriage of the younger Kamboja sister, princess Bhanumati, to king Duryodhana, since her father was a great friend of Dronacharya. [ Krshnavtara, 1962, p 224, Dr Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi; Bhavan's Journal, p 26,published by Bombay, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.] Source: https://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/2114820

Deepak Kamboj

Deepak Kamboj

Deepak Kamboj started and conceptualized the powerful interactive platform - KambojSociety.com in September 2002, which today is the biggest and most popular online community portal for Kambojas in the world. He was inspired by the social and community work carried out by his father Shri Nanak Chand Kamboj. He has done research on the history, social aspects, political growth and economical situation of the Kamboj community. Deepak Kamboj is an author of various articles about the history of Kamboj community and people.