Chitrasena

Quick Facts

About Chitrasena

The celestial Gandharva king and master of music and dance, who taught Arjuna these arts in Indra's heaven - skills that later hid him as Brihannala in Virata's court. He also humbled and captured Duryodhana at the lake, forcing the Pandavas to rescue their own enemy.

In Their Words

A warrior who cannot dance has mastered only half of motion.

Chitrasena

Traits

• Celestial
• Artistic
• Proud
• Teacher

Story Appearances

• The Divine ArsenalTeaches Arjuna music and dance❧ 19 min
• Adventures in the ForestCelestial guru of Arjuna❧ 30 min

Stories Featuring Chitrasena

28 further tales on this site name Chitrasena, in canonical reading order.

• Vidura's Embassy to PanchalaThe envoy sent to bring the Pandavas home from Drupada's courtAdi Parva ‧ 12 min
• The Ghosha YatraDuryodhana Goes to Mock the Exiles and Is Saved by ThemVana Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Curse of UrvashiRestraint turned into a shieldVana Parva
• Chitrasena, Friend in Two WorldsThe arts master of heavenVana Parva
• The War Beneath the SeaThe fee Indra charged for the divine weaponsVana Parva
• The Quarrel Before the CattleAshwatthama tells Duryodhana what his kingdom is made ofVirata Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Grandsire Under the Golden PalmCelestial weapons, and Indra dropping flowersVirata Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Sleep Weapon and the Robes for the DollsSix great warriors disarmed, and a promise kept to some girlsVirata Parva ‧ 17 min
• Shveta Against the GrandsireThe Matsya prince who broke Bhishma's bow again and againBhishma Parva ‧ 19 min
• Kurukshetra Day 8: The Rakshasa's HourIravan falls and Ghatotkacha answers for himBhishma Parva ‧ 21 min
• Omens and the Ten Kings Around BhimaDrona reads the signs of Bhishma's last day and sends his son to fightBhishma Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Grandsire Chooses His HourBhishma remembers Santanu's boon and refuses to die in the wrong seasonBhishma Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Seventh Day After NoonBhima and Duryodhana wound each other twice, Sanjaya tells the blind king whose fault the war is, and Satanika kills DushkarnaBhishma Parva ‧ 23 min
• Six Duels on the Eighth DayShikhandi with a broken sword, Duryodhana on foot, and a mace that missedBhishma Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Shield Around BhishmaNinth day: Satyaki trades darts with the grandsire, Abhimanyu unhorses Chitrasena, and Duryodhana orders a wall of men built round BhishmaBhishma Parva ‧ 14 min
• The Wall Before BhishmaEvery Kaurava champion is given one Pandava to stop on the tenth dayBhishma Parva ‧ 15 min
• The Last Push on the Tenth DayTenth day: Bhishma asks Yudhishthira to kill him, and the champions of both armies pair off across the field while Dushasana alone stands between him and ArjunaBhishma Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Bow Tip and the BoastKarna keeps his word to Kunti and pays for it in insultsDrona Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Night They Lit the FieldDuryodhana's order that turned a battlefield into a lamp-lit hallDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Stones and the Golden KingSatyaki kills Sudarsana on the road to Arjuna, and cuts the mountaineers' stones out of the airDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• Duels by TorchlightSix single combats fought by lamplight on the road to Drona's carDrona Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Whole Host Against DronaYudhishthira sends every man he has at the preceptor, and the fifteenth morning breaks into duelsDrona Parva ‧ 23 min
• The Fourth CommanderA nephew's water poured on an uncle's head at the foot of HimavatShalya Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Sons of the Sun Go DownNakula's one great hour, and the end of Karna's lineShalya Parva ‧ 16 min
• Gandhari Shows Krishna the FieldWith the sight Vyasa gave her, the blindfolded queen walks Krishna through the dead of KurukshetraStri Parva ‧ 21 min
• What Gandhari SawThe blind queen, given sight for one afternoon, walks Kurukshetra naming the dead of both armiesStri Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Names That Cleanse SinAsked what destroys sin, Bhishma answers with a litany of gods, rivers, mountains, sages and kingsAnushasana Parva ‧ 15 min
• The Battle No One Else Can FightKrishna names the enemies still living in Yudhishthira's fleshAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 16 min

Character Arc

1. 1The LessonsTeaches Arjuna in Amaravati
2. 2The HumblingCaptures Duryodhana at the lake

Key Relationships

• Student & Friend➝Arjuna
• Captor of➝Duryodhana

Places in Chitrasena's Story

Drawn from the stories Chitrasena appears in.

• Amaravatiअमरावती
• Mount Kailasaकैलास
• Dvaitavanaद्वैतवन
• Dwaitavana Sacred Lakeद्वैतवन सरोवर
• Hastinapurहस्तिनापुर
• Hiranyapuraहिरण्यपुर
• Kshira Sagaraक्षीरसागर
• Kurukshetraकुरुक्षेत्र
• Virataविराट
• Pragjyotishaप्राग्ज्योतिष
• Nagalokaनागलोक
• Himavatहिमवत्

Related Characters

Others counted among the Divine Beings.

• ❉Krishna
• ◭Hanuman
• ❧Kacha
• ≈Goddess Ganga
• ★The Eight Vasus
• ॐSage Vyasa