Kubera

Quick Facts

About Kubera

Vaishravana, son of Visrava, king of the yakshas and rakshasas and one of the four regents of the quarters, keeper of the world's wealth on the shoulder of Kailasa. He is a god repeatedly relieved of his property in this epic: Ravana, his half-brother, took Lanka and the Pushpaka car from him by force and earned his curse; Usanas entered his body by yoga, paralysed him and walked off with the entire hoard; and Bhima broke into his lotus lake for Draupadi's flowers and killed his champion Maniman. He came out to Bhima not in anger but to say the death had freed him from an old curse, and among the Lokapalas he gave Arjuna the weapon of disappearance.

In Their Words

The treasure is mine to keep. Whether it stays is not mine to decide.

Kubera

Traits

• wealthy
• forbearing
• regal
• generous

Story Appearances

• Bhima at Kubera's LakeThe god whose lake was stormed for flowers
• The Sage Inside the GodRobbed from inside his own body❧ 17 min
• The Boons of Visrava's SonsHalf-brother dispossessed of Lanka❧ 17 min

Stories Featuring Kubera

34 further tales on this site name Kubera, in canonical reading order.

• Kunti's BlessingA mother-in-law names seven wives, a throne nobody owns yet, and a son not yet bornAdi Parva ‧ 12 min
• The Hundred Questions of NaradaA sage audits an emperor before he lets him boastSabha Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Sage at the LimitA skeleton ascetic marks the line mortals may not crossVana Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Map of the WorldsA priest naming the four quarters of the cosmos from a mountain shoulderVana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Grove of Ashoka TreesA captive refuses, and a rakshasi tells her dreamVana Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Testimony of the ElementsWhat Rama said when she was brought back to himVana Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Net and the Mountain HoneyTwo birds who quarrelled in flight, and a cliff nobody came down fromUdyoga Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Cow at the Bottom of the WorldSurabhi, the four cows of the quarters, and the cities beneath PatalaUdyoga Parva ‧ 16 min
• Garuda's Map of the WorldThe four directions described from a bird's backUdyoga Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Consecration of the GrandsireBhishma takes command on two conditions, and the sky rains bloodUdyoga Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Yaksha Who Lent His ManhoodSthuna, Sikhandini, and the curse that made the loan permanentUdyoga Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Tree and the ForestKrishna answers Sanjaya at Upaplavya and decides to go to the Kurus himselfUdyoga Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Evening After Bhishma FellBoth armies stop the war for a night, and Arjuna gives the grandsire the only pillow he will accept.Bhishma Parva ‧ 19 min
• Sanjaya Describes the EarthThe blind king asks what the earth is worth, and his charioteer answers with the whole of itBhishma Parva ‧ 24 min
• The One Who Walked Before the CarVyasa tells Arjuna whose lance was breaking the ranks in front of himDrona Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Brothers of AvantiTwo kings see Arjuna's horses tire, and one of them walks up to Krishna with a maceDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Vows Before the Final DuelKarna, Shalya, Krishna and Arjuna each say what they will do when the other man diesKarna Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Anointing of the War GodEvery god brings a gift to a six-day-old commanderShalya Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Lords of the Waters and the TreasuresBalarama walks the Sarasvati past the fords where Varuna, Kubera, Indra and Surya won what they holdShalya Parva ‧ 18 min
• Muchukunda and the Lord of TreasureThe King Who Refused a Borrowed VictoryShanti Parva
• Ushanas the BrightHow Shukra Became the Teacher of the AsurasShanti Parva
• The Age Before KingsHow men who protected one another stopped, and what had to be writtenShanti Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Day the Rod VanishedWhat happened to the world when Chastisement disappearedShanti Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Sweat That Became FeverA drop from Shiva's forehead, and the disease scattered through the worldShanti Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Tribes Beyond the PaleBhishma names the peoples of the borders and dates them to the ending of the first ageShanti Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Fourth Portion of VishnuSanatkumara tells the defeated Vritra what holds up the universe, and Bhishma tells Yudhishthira who Krishna isShanti Parva ‧ 23 min
• The Savitri Mantra of SalutationsBhishma gives Yudhishthira the roll of names to be said at dawnAnushasana 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
• Tandi and the Ten Thousand YearsA rishi meditates for a hundred centuries, sees Mahadeva, and hymns him as the end of all five roadsAnushasana Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Elephant the Sage Called SonGautama argues his way through every heaven for a stolen calfAnushasana Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Naked Priest of VaranasiHow a king outbid Indra for a brother nobody wantedAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 31 min
• Satayupa and the Forest KingsNarada Names the Rulers Who Chose the WoodsAshramavasika Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Night the Dead ReturnedVyasa Calls the Fallen Out of the GangaAshramavasika Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Return of the PortionsWho everybody turned out to have beenSvargarohana Parva ‧ 17 min

Character Arc

1. 1The DispossessionLoses Lanka and the Pushpaka to Ravana, and curses him
2. 2The RobberyUsanas walks out of his paralysed body with the whole hoard
3. 3The LakeCalls the yaksha's death at Bhima's hands a release, not an offence

Key Relationships

• Father➝Visrava
• Half-brother➝Ravana
• Friend➝Shiva
• Robbed by➝Shukracharya

Places in Kubera's Story

Drawn from the stories Kubera appears in.

• Kurukshetraकुरुक्षेत्र
• Gandhamadanaगन्धमादन
• Mount Kailasaकैलास
• Forest Hermitageवन आश्रम
• Mount Meruमेरु
• Uttarakuruउत्तरकुरु
• Brahmalokaब्रह्मलोक
• Amaravatiअमरावती
• Prabhasaप्रभास
• Pushkaraपुष्कर
• Naimisharanyaनैमिषारण्य
• Banks of the Gangaगङ्गा तट

Related Characters

Others counted among the Divine Beings.

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