Divine Beings
Parnasa
पर्णाशा
The River Mother
Who was Parnasa?
Parnasa (पर्णाशा): The River Mother, one of the divine beings in the Mahabharata. The goddess of the cool river Parnasa, who bore King Srutayudha to Varuna and then went to the god begging that her son be made unslayable on earth.
Quick Facts
| Sanskrit name | पर्णाशा |
|---|---|
| Title / Epithet | The River Mother |
| Faction | Divine Beings |
| Key traits | Maternal, Anxious, Flowing, Bereaved |
| Notable relationships | Consort: Varuna, Son: Srutayudha, Her Son's Adversary: Arjuna |
| Featured in | 1 story |
About Parnasa
The goddess of the cool river Parnasa, who bore King Srutayudha to Varuna and then went to the god begging that her son be made unslayable on earth. Varuna could not give that, and gave instead a mantra-charged mace with a single condition attached: it must never be hurled at a man who is not fighting. On the fourteenth day at Kurukshetra her son threw it at the unarmed Krishna, and the weapon came back through the air and killed him.
In Their Words
Let this my son become unslayable upon the earth.
Parnasa
Traits
- Maternal
- Anxious
- Flowing
- Bereaved
Story Appearances
Character Arc
- The PetitionAsks the lord of waters to make her son deathless
- The ConditionReceives a mace with a rule her son will forget
Key Relationships
- ConsortVaruna
- SonSrutayudha
- Her Son's AdversaryArjuna
Places in Parnasa's Story
Drawn from the story Parnasa appears in.
Related Characters
Others counted among the Divine Beings.