Kingdom of the Mahabharata
Virata
विराट
Site of Pandavas' Agyatvas (incognito exile)
Virata: Site of Pandavas' Agyatvas (incognito exile), located at coordinates 27.45°N, 76.18°E.
Key Facts
| Type | Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Sanskrit name | विराट |
| Coordinates | 27.45°N, 76.18°E |
| Significance | Site of Pandavas' Agyatvas (incognito exile) |
About Virata
The kingdom where the Pandavas spent their 13th year of exile in disguise. King Virata sheltered them without knowing their true identity. Identified with modern Bairat (Viratnagar), Rajasthan.
Why it matters: Site of Pandavas' Agyatvas (incognito exile)
Rulers and Custodians
- King Virata
Details
- Yudhishthira
- Disguised as Kanka, courtier
- Bhima
- Disguised as Ballava, cook
- Arjuna
- Disguised as Brihannala, eunuch dance teacher
- Nakula
- Disguised as Granthika, horse keeper
- Sahadeva
- Disguised as Tantripal, cowherd
- Draupadi
- Disguised as Sairandhri, queen's maid
On the Map
Virata sits at 27.45°N, 76.18°E.
View on the full mapEvents at Virata
- Entering Virata in DisguiseYear -16For the thirteenth year, the Pandavas hide their weapons in a shami tree and enter King Virata's service in disguise: a courtier, a cook, a dance-teacher, two keepers of horse and cattle, and a queen's hairdresser.
- Brihannala Teaches the PrincessYear -16As Brihannala, Arjuna teaches singing and dancing to Princess Uttaraa and her companions in the inner apartments, the world's greatest archer keeping time with bangled wrists.
- Virata Cattle TheftYear -15Duryodhana attacks Virata to expose the Pandavas. Arjuna, as Brihannala, defeats the entire Kaurava army including Bhishma and Drona.
- Year of HidingYear -15The Pandavas spend their thirteenth year in disguise at King Virata's court, with Yudhishthira as a dice player and Draupadi as a handmaiden.
- Abhimanyu Marries UttaraYear -15After the Pandavas reveal themselves, Abhimanyu marries Princess Uttara, daughter of King Virata.
- Kichaka KilledYear -15Bhima kills General Kichaka who tried to assault Draupadi while she was disguised as a maid named Sairandhri.
Stories Set at Virata
The Slaying of Kichaka
The Midnight Encounter in the Dance Hall
The Year of Disguise
The Pandavas Hidden at Virata's Court
The Oath of the Doomed
Susharma and the Samsaptakas - the Army That Swore to Die
The Southern Cattle Raid
Susharma Strikes at Matsya
The Northern Cattle Raid
Brihannala Turns the Chariot
Nakula, the Beautiful
The overshadowed twin's own account
Sudeshna of Matsya
The queen between her brother and her maid
Uttaraa, Mother of the Last Heir
A girl's widowhood and a dynasty's thread
Dhaumya, the Quiet Priest
The greatness of those who only serve
The Price of Shelter
Virata, the old king who gave everything
Matsya, the Kingdom of the Fish
The realm that hid five kings and a queen
Ballava in the Kitchens
Bhima's year in disguise
Brihannala, the Dancer in the Guarded Quarters
Arjuna's year in disguise
The Twins in the Stables and the Pens
Nakula and Sahadeva's year in disguise
Kanka, the King Who Dealt the Dice
Yudhishthira's year in disguise
Sairandhri, the Queen in Service
Draupadi's year in disguise
The Corpse in the Shami Tree
How the weapons slept for a year
Shveta Against the Grandsire
The Matsya prince who broke Bhishma's bow again and again
The Choice at Dwaraka
Ten crore soldiers on one side of the bed, one unarmed man on the other
The Net and the Mountain Honey
Two birds who quarrelled in flight, and a cliff nobody came down from
What Dhaumya Told Them About Kings
The rules for living inside another man's palace
The Goddess on the Road to Matsya
A king with nothing left prays walking
The Hands Marked With Corns
A night in the kitchen, and everything she had not said
The Pyre and the Uprooted Tree
A hundred and five kinsmen and one bound woman
Where a Good King Must Be Living
The Kuru court tries to find five men by their weather
The Ten Names of Arjuna
A frightened prince demands proof at the burning ground
The Quarrel Before the Cattle
Ashwatthama tells Duryodhana what his kingdom is made of
The Day Karna Ran
The boast in the dice hall, answered at last
The Grandsire Under the Golden Palm
Celestial weapons, and Indra dropping flowers
The Sleep Weapon and the Robes for the Dolls
Six great warriors disarmed, and a promise kept to some girls
Five Men on the Thrones
The morning the servants stopped pretending
The Lineage of Gandiva
Brihannala names five sets of weapons and the six who held the great bow
The Sacrifice of Battle
Duryodhana makes the coming war his own rite, and his father disowns him for it