Introduction
Satyabhama is a queen of Krishna, the daughter of the Yadava Satrajit. She is the main wife in several Puranic stories.
Family
- Husband: Krishna
The Syamantaka jewel
Satrajit's jewel, the Syamantaka, was lost, and Krishna was falsely accused of stealing it. After he cleared his name, Satrajit gave him Satyabhama as his wife.
Narakasura and the identification with Bhudevi
Satyabhama is best known for her part in the defeat of Narakasura (Bhaumasura), the demon king of Pragjyotisha. Naraka was the son of Bhudevi, the earth, and Vishnu in his Varaha form. He became a tyrant, who had taken the earrings of Aditi, the umbrella of Varuna and a peak of Mount Mandara, and had imprisoned sixteen thousand and a hundred princesses.
According to the Bhagavata Purana (Book 10) and the Harivamsha, Krishna went to Pragjyotisha on Garuda, taking Satyabhama with him. He killed Naraka's general Mura (hence the name Murari) and other demons, and then killed Naraka with his discus. Bhudevi herself then came, returned Aditi's earrings to Krishna, and prayed for her grandson, Naraka's son Bhagadatta, to be spared. Krishna crowned Bhagadatta as king and freed the princesses, who became his wives.
A later and very popular version, told especially in South Indian and Vaishnava tradition and in performing arts such as Yakshagana, says that Naraka had received a boon that only his mother could kill him. In this version, Krishna is struck unconscious by the demon's weapon, and Satyabhama, who is an incarnation of Bhudevi, takes up the bow and kills her son. This identification of Satyabhama with Bhudevi is not in the earlier Puranas. Many Vaishnava traditions regard Satyabhama as Bhudevi's avatar, and Rukmini as the avatar of Lakshmi.
The victory over Naraka is celebrated as Naraka Chaturdashi, the first day of Diwali in many regions, on the fourteenth day of the dark half of Ashvina (or Kartika), with an early oil bath.
The Parijata tree
Another story is told in the Bhagavata Purana and the Harivamsha. When the sage Narada brought Krishna a flower of the heavenly Parijata tree, Krishna gave it to Rukmini, and Satyabhama was hurt. To please her, Krishna went to Indra's heaven on Garuda and took the Parijata tree itself. Indra fought, and lost, and Krishna planted it in Satyabhama's garden at Dwaraka. In some tellings, the tree was so placed that its flowers fell in Rukmini's courtyard, teaching Satyabhama humility. The story is often told as an illustration of her pride and love for Krishna.