#dhata

This is a compilation of the women who appear in different versions of the Mahabharata as well as the folkloric literature that enriches it further.

Written versions being actively covered so far are Vaishampayana Mahabharata (considered the mainstream original), Harivamsha (appendix to the Vaishampayana version), Vishnu Puran (written around the same time and hence considered as a supplementary narrative), and Jaimineya Mahabharata (only from the Ashvamedha Parva that still survives).

I sometimes also supplement interesting information about these women if I find them in other purans.

Other sources occasionally used/planned for future: Bhasa's plays, Kabi Sanjay's Bangla Mahabharat, Kashiram Dash's Bangla Mahabharat and the Bheel Mahabharat.

To be added if I find good translations: Souther Recension of Mahabharata, Javanese and Balinese Kakawins, Sarala Mahabharata, Jain and Jataka versions. I might also add more here if I find more versions to be excited about.

Link: Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Shataroopa

Devahooti

Prasooti

Aditi

Diti

Danu

Kadru

Vinata

Simhika

Danayu

Kaala

Pradha

Muni

Kapila

Khyati

Dhata

Vidhata

Lakshmi

Mohini

Sura

Surabhi

Gaandharvi

Saraswati

Mrityu

Shibaa

Chandrani Rohini

Gargi Vachaknavi

Sulabha

Svaha

Anasuya

Arundhati

Lopamudra

Puloma

Shubha

Sinivali

Devasena

Daityasena

Kavyamata

Shachi

Upasruti

Mamata

Pradveshi

Sudeshna (Bengal)

Aushinari

Suneeta

Tara

Svetaketu's Mother

Sujata

Ila

Urvashi

Sukanya

Indumati

Keshini

Viraja Ashokasundari

Jayanti

Urjasvati

Devayani

Sharmishtha

Ghurnika

Shandili

Madhavi

Bindumati

Yadavi

Iravati

Sumati

Kunigarga's Daughter

Vaidisheyi

Kausalya

Shooraseni

Paushtri Madhavi

Mishrakeshi

Sauviri

Ashmaki

Varangi

Haiheyi Bhanumati

Kaikeyi Sunanda

Sushrava

Maryada

Aangi

Suyajna

Kaama

Karambha

Maryada Vaidehi

Sudeva

Jvala

Kalingi

Rathantari

Sammata

Menaka

Shakuntala

Pramadvara

Sunanda Kaushalya

Vijaya Dasarhi

Suvarna

Yashodhara

Dhata is described primarily as a son of Khyati and Bhrigu (or Aditi and Kashyapa), a sibling of Lakshmi, and a solar god who presides over the health of his devotees.

However, in Mahabharata, in the tale of Uttanka, he appears as a woman in the Naga realms, alongside Vidhata, where they weave the black-and-white threads of days and nights, on the wheel of time which is turned by the six seasons.

She is described as a son/daughter of Khyati and Bhrigu. Her siblings are Dhata and Lakshmi.

In Mahabharata, in the tale of Uttanka, she appears as a woman in the Naga realms, alongside her sister Dhata, where they weave the black-and-white threads of days and nights, on the wheel of time which is turned by the six seasons.

SAHASARA NAMA OF VISHNU: 43/1,000

DHĀTĀ (धाता):

He, who is the substratum, the foundation for the world of names, forms, experiences, happiness and sorrow (the mixture of opposites). He supports all of these experiences however ephemeral and impermanent because he is the “screen” for the ‘movie’ of empirical, experiential, sensory, and even illusory experiences of the apparent world that we live in – This is an expanded take…

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