Aravan's three boons and the Kali sacrifice

Variant

In Sanskrit Aravan dies on day 8 to a demon; in Tamil he volunteers for self-sacrifice before the war even starts.

In Tamil tellings Duryodhana (or Krishna) arranges that Aravan, Arjuna's son by the Naga princess Ulupi, be the pre-war victim offered to Kali. Krishna redirects the offering to the Pandavas and tricks Surya and Chandra so the new moon falls a day early. Aravan asks three boons: a hero's death, to watch the whole war through his severed head, and marriage before dying. He cuts his body into 32 pieces for Yudhishthira to offer to Kali; Adi-Shesha restores him until Alambusha, disguised as Garuda, scares Shesha away and beheads him.

Who: Aravan (Iravan), Arjuna, Ulupi, Krishna, Kali, Alambusha, Duryodhana

Bound to

Aravan's one-night marriage to Krishna as Mohini causes

Aravan's head becomes the child Kuttantavar causes

Irawan and Titisari: the Javanese Aravan same-story-other-version

Villiputhurar: Krishna offers himself first, elephant sacrifice same-story-other-version

Places: Tamil Nadu

Where this comes from

commentary · Wikipedia: Iravan (citing Hiltebeitel 1988/1995, Peruntevanar Parata Venpa)
regional-literary · Villiputuralvar's Makaparatam / Peruntevanar's Parata Venpa as summarised on Wikipedia Parata Venpa (9th c.); Makaparatam (14th c.)

See it on the tree · All stories

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