Arjuna Falls in Love with Bhadra and Plans Her Abduction
At a grand festival on Mount Raivataka, Arjuna sees Krishna's beautiful sister Bhadra and is instantly smitten. When Krishna offers to speak to their father, Arjuna insists on obtaining her himself, leading Krishna to advise the one method certain for a warrior: abduction.
The festival on Mount Raivataka was a spectacle of light, sound, and wealth. The Vrishnis and Andhakas had turned the entire region into a glittering city for the occasion. Palaces studded with jewels rose from the ground. Every tree was hung with lamps. Musicians played, dancers danced, and singers sang while the Vrishni youth, adorned with gold and gems, rode through the crowds on chariots that shone like the sun. The king Ugrasena was there with his thousand wives. Balarama, intoxicated with his wife Revati, moved like a god followed by gandharvas (celestial musicians). The heroes of the clan — Satyaki, Kritavarma, Akrura, Samba, Pradyumna — all sported with their wives amidst the music and celebration.
Krishna wandered through this commotion with Arjuna at his side. As they walked, they saw a group of young women. Among them was Bhadra, Krishna’s sister, ornamented and radiant. The sight struck Arjuna like an arrow from the god of love. His mind fixed on her completely.
Krishna noticed the change in his friend — the arrested gaze, the sudden stillness. He smiled, his lotus eyes crinkling. “How is it,” he asked, “that the mind of one who lives in the forest is agitated by desire?” He identified her. “O Partha, she is my sister, from the same womb as Sarana. If your mind is set on her, I can speak to my father myself.”
Arjuna’s reply was direct. “She is Vasudeva’s daughter and Vasudeva’s sister. She is beautiful. How can I not be captivated? If this daughter of the Vrishni lineage, your sister, becomes my wife, I must certainly have performed only good deeds.” Then he turned practical. “O Janardana, tell me how I can obtain her. I will do everything that any man can.”
Krishna considered. “O bull among men, a svayamvara (self-choice ceremony) is the form of marriage for kshatriyas. But that is uncertain if one doesn’t know the inclination.” He then stated the alternative, the method reserved for their caste. “Those who are learned in the ways of dharma say that for kshatriyas, who are warriors, abduction for marriage is permissible.” His advice was clear and strategic. “O Arjuna, therefore, abduct my beautiful sister. Who knows what she might do in a svayamvara?”
The decision was made. Together, Arjuna and Krishna dispatched swift messengers to Indraprastha to inform Yudhishthira, the Dharmaraja (king of righteousness), of their plan. When the eldest Pandava heard everything, the mighty-armed king gave his approval.