Sages & Others
Ugrasena
उग्रसेन
King of the Bhojas
Who was Ugrasena?
Ugrasena (उग्रसेन): King of the Bhojas, one of the sages and supporting figures in the Mahabharata. Son of Ahuka and rightful king of Mathura, deposed and imprisoned by his own son Kamsa.
Quick Facts
| Sanskrit name | उग्रसेन |
|---|---|
| Title / Epithet | King of the Bhojas |
| Faction | Sages & Others |
| Key traits | patient, displaced, dutiful, aged |
| Notable relationships | Son: Kamsa, Restorer: Krishna, Kinsman: Balarama, Kinsman: Vasudeva |
| Featured in | 6 stories |
About Ugrasena
Son of Ahuka and rightful king of Mathura, deposed and imprisoned by his own son Kamsa. Krishna slew Kamsa in the arena and set the old king back on the Bhoja throne rather than take it himself, and Ugrasena remained the nominal sovereign of the Vrishnis down to the end at Dwaraka. It was he who ordered Samba's iron bolt ground to powder and cast into the sea, and who banned wine among the Yadavas.
In Their Words
Grind the bolt to powder and throw it in the sea. What is fated will find another road.
Ugrasena
Traits
- patient
- displaced
- dutiful
- aged
Story Appearances
Stories Featuring Ugrasena
5 further tales on this site name Ugrasena, in canonical reading order.
- Krishna at Sandipani's AshramThe Fee Paid to Death
- The Weapon Not Made of SteelKrishna tells Narada what his own kinsmen do to him
- The Horse Goes SouthEkalavya's son, and the day Dwaraka grabbed the bridle
- The Omens of DwarakaA City Watches Its Own Death Approach
- The Return of the PortionsWho everybody turned out to have been
Character Arc
- The Son Who Took the CrownKamsa imprisons his own father and rules Mathura
- The Throne ReturnedKrishna kills Kamsa and seats Ugrasena again
- The Bolt and the BanHe grinds the iron bolt to dust and forbids wine
Key Relationships
Places in Ugrasena's Story
Drawn from the stories Ugrasena appears in.
Related Characters
Others counted among the Sages & Others.