Bhadra[a] is aSanskrit word meaning 'good', 'fortune' or 'auspicious'.[1] It is also the name of many men, women and objects inHinduism.[2][3]
Bhadra was a king ofChedi Kingdom who participated in theKurukshetra War from the side of thePandavas. He was killed by the warriorKarna.[2]
The first manSvayambhuva Manu and hisShatarupa had a daughter named Shraddha. Bhadra was one of her twelve sons.[2]
Bhadra was also the name of aYaksha who served their king,Kubera. Due to a curse of sageGautama, he was born as a lion.[2]
The godKrishna married the river goddessKalindi and had 10 sons. Bhadra was one of them.[2]
Bhadra was a renownedMaharishi. He was the son of Pramati and the father of Upamanyu.[2]
Bhadrā or Bhadrakālī is one of the fierce forms of the supreme goddessDevi.[2]
Bhadrā is the queen ofYakshas. She was the first wife ofKubera, the god of wealth. She is also known by the names Yakshi, Chhavi, Riddhi, Manorama,[4] Nidhi,[5] Sahadevi[6] and Kuberi. Bhadrā and Kubera had three sons namedNalakuvara,Manigriva and Mayuraja, and a daughter namedMinakshi.[2][7][8][9]
Bhadrā was also the name of a daughter ofChandra (alias Soma), the moon god. She once did penance to gain the sage Utathya as her husband. Seeing this, sageAtri, her grandfather, got her married to Utathya. The god of the seas,Varuna, became enamoured of her and eloped with her from Utathya's hermitage and hid her inside the sea. Despite attempts by the sageNarada to make him return Bhadrā, Varuna refused to give her, causing an enraged Utathya to drink up the entire sea.Seeing the sage's divine powers, Varuna submitted himself to him and returned Bhadrā back. The sage was pleased to get her back, and released both the world and Varuna from their sufferings.[2][10]
Bhadrā is one of theAshtabharya, the eight principal queen-consorts of Hindu god Krishna. The Vishnu Purana and the Harivamsa refer to her as 'the daughter of Dhrishtaketu' or 'the princess of Kekeya'.[2]
Krishna's fatherVasudeva also had a wife named Bhadrā. She died on the funeral pyre of her husband.[2]
Bhadrā was a beautiful princess, who was the daughter of King Kakshivan. She married King Vyushitashva of Puru dynasty. After his untimely death, she lamented over his body. The spirit of her husband appeared in the sky and blessed her with six sons.[2]
Bhadrā was a princess of Vishala who once did penance to married King Karusha. Shishupala, a king, disguised himself as Karusha and married her.[2]
