The Naga Princess

The Nagas (symbolically snakes) were a tribe who were well acquainted with life in forests and on rivers. They were said to be the ones who ruled the waters. Historically speaking, the Nagas lived at around the North Eastern parts of Aryavarta, close to Manipur, and extended their villages up to the land of Burma. The Naga tribe staying in the current state of Nagaland are proof of this. Now, this brings us to the story. The Naga Chief was Kauravya, he ruled the waters of the Ganges. His daughter was Ulupi. Some say she was a widow at a tender age and some say she was unmarried.

The Pandava prince Arjun was roaming around Aryavarta in exile, for he had broken a promise and entered his elder brother's intimate room with their Shared wife. The punishment was this. He roamed all the way from Indraprastha to the mystic lands of Manipur and Nagaland. Ulupi like any other princess of that time desired the handsome and brave prince of Hastinapur. On hearing of his arrival to their land she was quite in awe at the thought of meeting him.

As Arjun sat in a clearing beside the river, lost in his thoughts, the sound of a woman's anklet broke his chain of thoughts. He looked up to see the beautiful Ulupi clad in finery. She smiled like the dazzling stars and her eyes were as dark as the night sky. The eyes were mesmerizing and captive.
" You must be the Prince of Hastinapur."
" How do you know me, Lady?"
" Who doesn't know you, My Lord? You are the greatest archer in the whole of Aryavarta." Arjun smiled modestly.
" Who are you, my Lady?"
" I am Ullupi, Princess of the Nagas. "
" Nagas?" His smile faded. The grip around his bow tightened. His family had a long-drawn love-hate relationship with the tribe. The Nagas were not to be trusted his father had told him.
" Yes my Lord, we live at the Ganges, do accompany me to my father's palace under the waters. He is Kauravya, the King of the Waters." Ullupi went on unaware, hoping he would come with her and she could convince him to marry her.
" I am sorry Princess, I can not accompany you to the Palace of your father."

" But..."
" I will prefer living like a hermit away from any palace luxury."
" But my Lord, not going with me will mean you are insulting our Royal invite."
" I can not help if you think so." Arjun was determined to stay away from the Nagas.

Angry at this rejection Ullupi lost her cool. She was too determined to take him back to her Palace. She took out a mystic powder and intoxicated him in moments. Before he could realise it, Arjun was unconscious in one of the rooms of Ullupi's palace. She was happy to have him. He came into consciousness only after a few hours and was surprised to find himself underwater. In a flash, he remembered what happened and a smile curved his face. He liked the Naga Princess' determination.

" The Princess of Nagas is arriving at the chambers."
He turned around to see the same girl, clad in simple clothes, balm in hand, an ever-smiling face looking at him.
" Here is a potion you can drink to get rid of your drowsiness." She handed him the bowl.
" I have never seen a girl like you. You make me unconscious and bring me here then give me this to clear my head. Why were you so determined?"
" I would not have let any Prince insult my father by refusing his invitation. Whoever he might be."
" You are a strong woman. I admire that."
" Not all Nagas are bad Rajkumar Arjun, like people, there are some bad Nagas and some good Nagas, your conception needed to be corrected."
" By kidnapping me?" He was amused.
" My father will be meeting you shortly." He watched her leave.

At the King's Chamber Arjun got a hero's welcome from the Nagas. The princess was indeed right about them being the good ones. At the gala dinner organised in his honour, the King took him aside and gave him a proposal. " Rajkumar, my only daughter Ulupi is in love with you, She wished to marry you and upon you agreeing to this proposal, the Nagas and all other living creatures in the water shall be your slave thereupon and the kingdom will belong to you. Please accept this proposal and oblige."
Arjun was taken aback. Marriage to a Naga? Was it worth hurting Panchali and his brother's sentiments? Wouldn't his cousins laugh at him for marrying a Naga? He looked at Ullupi across the room. But she has come a long way in his love, there was no turning back for her.

" I need some time to think and I want to talk to Ullupi." The King agreed.

The next morning, Ullupi came to his chambers with eyes clearly asking a lot of questions about why he called upon her.
" Ullupi, when you have heard everything about me, I hope you know that my loyalty to Panchali is irreplaceable, and no other wife can accompany me to Indraprastha."
" I don't wish to leave Nagaland for you too, Rajkumar, I will rule in the absence of my father, and am training in warfare to do so..."
" Then I can marry you."

The Nagas rejoiced in the grand wedding of their Princess and a son Iravan was born to them. Arjun left Ullupi and Iravan with his other wife Chitrangada, Princess of Manipur. When the Kurukshetra war broke out, Iravan, an eighteen-year-old lad was sent by his mother to fight for his father. However, Arjun could not remember either Ullupi or her son before selfishly asking him to sacrifice his head to the goddess Kali. Iravan who always wanted to please his father did so without hesitation. Upon losing her own son, Ullupi trained Chitrangada's son Babhruvahan in the art of warfare to make him an ideal king. Such was her training that during the Ashwamedha Yajna of the Pandavas, Babhruvahan killed Arjun with his arrow when he stopped their horses at Manipur. Ullupi hearing this rushed to the spot and saved Arjun's life with the Mritunjay Mantra she learned from the goddess Ganga herself. Ullupi met her long-lost husband and never even once blamed him for sacrificing their son. She stayed all her life in Manipur, helping her stepson with the administration of the land. A proud Naga princess, she never depended on Arjun, or expected his support, and was brave and independent enough to take care of herself.

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