Kingdom of the Mahabharata
Kosala
कोसल
Kingdom of Brihadbala, slain by Abhimanyu
Kosala (Around modern Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh): Kingdom of Brihadbala, slain by Abhimanyu, located at coordinates 26.80°N, 82.20°E.
Key Facts
| Type | Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Sanskrit name | कोसल |
| Coordinates | 26.80°N, 82.20°E |
| Modern location | Around modern Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh |
| Significance | Kingdom of Brihadbala, slain by Abhimanyu |
About Kosala
The ancient kingdom of Ayodhya, homeland of Rama in the Ramopakhyana. In the epic's present its king Brihadbala fought for the Kauravas and was slain by Abhimanyu inside the Chakravyuha (Drona Parva).
Why it matters: Kingdom of Brihadbala, slain by Abhimanyu
Rulers and Custodians
- Rama (ancient)
- Brihadbala
Details
- Irony
- The last great Ikshvaku of the epic fell to a sixteen-year-old
On the Map
Kosala
Kosala sits at 26.80°N, 82.20°E, in Around modern Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.
View on the full mapEvents at Kosala
- The King Who Never LiedYear -2Narada tells Yudhishthira why one king alone is honored above all others in Indra's heaven. To keep a promise, the emperor Harishchandra gives away his kingdom, then sells his wife, his son, and finally himself into servitude at a cremation ground - and still will not speak a single lie, even when his own dead son is brought to his fire. Tested to the utmost, his truth is vindicated and all is restored.
- The King Who Hung Between WorldsYear 6King Trishanku wishes to ascend to heaven in his own mortal body. Refused by Vasishtha and cursed into an outcaste, he turns to the rival sage Vishvamitra, who lifts him bodily to heaven's gate by sheer penance - only for the gods to fling him back. In fury Vishvamitra halts his fall and begins building a rival heaven, until a compromise leaves Trishanku hanging upside down forever among new stars.
- The King Born of a KingYear 16A childless king, thirsty in the night, unknowingly drinks the consecrated water meant for his queen - and so conceives the child himself, who is born from the king's own body. With no mother to nurse him, Indra gives the infant his own hand to suckle, naming him Mandhata. The wondrously born child grows into one of the mightiest and most righteous universal emperors the world has known.
- The Devotee and the Sage's WrathYear 18King Ambarisha, a supreme devotee of Vishnu, takes a mere sip of water to keep a sacred vow before his guest returns - and the terrible sage Durvasa, enraged, conjures a demon to destroy him. The Lord's discus burns the demon and turns on Durvasa, who flees through all the worlds and finds no refuge, for the Lord himself says he is bound by his devotees. Only the king he wronged can save him.
- The King Who Became a DemonYear 37A proud king, cursed on a narrow path to become a man-eating demon and driven by the malice of Vishvamitra, devours all hundred sons of the sage Vasishtha. The grief-stricken sage tries to die, but nature itself refuses to let him - and he masters his sorrow with forbearance. When the restored, remorseful king begs forgiveness, Vasishtha pardons him and even gives his line a future.
- The Boy Bound for SacrificeYear 58Bought to be offered in a king's sacrifice in place of the prince, the boy Shunahshepha is bound at the stake; taught sacred hymns by the compassionate Vishvamitra, he prays to the gods, who loosen his bonds and free him. The sage adopts him - a tale that turns the world away from human sacrifice.
- The Price of a Hundred SonsYear 59King Somaka, longing for many sons, performs a hard rite that costs his only son Jantu and gains him a hundred; but when the priest who performed it suffers in a hell, the king refuses his own reward and insists on sharing the punishment, until both are released together.
- The King Who Had One HourYear 70King Khatvanga, rewarded by the gods for his valor, asks only to know how much life remains - and learns he has but a single hour. Wasting not a moment, he renounces the world, fixes his mind on the Lord, and wins in that one hour the liberation others seek through lifetimes.
- The King Consoled in GriefYear 76King Senajit, broken by the death of his son, is consoled by a wise brahmana who shows him that all unions end in parting, that grief helps neither the dead nor the living, and that attachment is the root of sorrow. Understanding these truths, the king is lifted from despair to the steady equanimity of the wise.
- The King Who Became a MotherYear 79King Bhangasvana, transformed into a woman at an enchanted lake by a vengeful Indra, bears a hundred sons as a mother having fathered a hundred as a king. Offered the choice, she has the children of her motherhood restored and chooses to remain a woman - declaring a mother's love the greater, having known both.
- The Truth That KilledYear 85The ascetic Kaushika, vowed always to speak truth, tells pursuing robbers where innocent travelers are hidden, and they are killed; for this he incurs sin despite his truthfulness. The tale teaches that the purpose of truth is the welfare of beings, that a rule kept without discernment can serve evil, and that dharma is subtle.
Stories Set at Kosala
Nala and Damayanti
The King Who Lost Everything at Dice and Won It Back
The Story of Rama
The Tale Markandeya Told in the Forest
The King Who Never Lied
Harishchandra's Trial of Truth
The King Who Hung Between Worlds
Trishanku and the New Heaven
The King Born of a King
Mandhata, Whom Indra Suckled
The Devotee and the Sage's Wrath
Ambarisha and the Discus of the Lord
The Wife Turned to Stone
Ahalya, Gautama, and the Touch of Rama
The King Who Became a Demon
Kalmashapada and the Forbearance of Vasishtha
The Slayer of the Sand-Demon
Kuvalashva and the Demon Dhundhu
The Boy Bound for Sacrifice
Freed from the stake by prayer and a sage's compassion
The Price of a Hundred Sons
A king who would not let his priest suffer alone
The King Who Had One Hour
Liberation won in a single hour of life
The King Consoled in Grief
A brahmana lifts a grieving king with the truth
The King Who Became a Mother
Having been both father and mother, he chose a mother's love
The Truth That Killed
Rigid truth without compassion becomes sin