Chitrangada, in the Mahabharat, is simply a princess of Manipur. Her father has no sons and so he allows her to marry Arjun provided Arjun does not claim the children born of the union. It suggests a kind of matriarchal society, where the daughter’s children become heirs. Later, Chitrangada’s son, Babruvahan, fails to recognize Arjun, and defeats him in battle.
But Rabindranath Tagore gave this ancient tale an amazon twist, perhaps influenced by folk narratives based on the Mahabharat. In his opera, Chitrangada’s father wants a son but is given a daughter by the gods. He raises this daughter as a man, a warrior, and during a hunt she captures the handsome Arjun, who is on a twelve-year exile from his own land. She falls in love with him but fears Arjun will reject her because she is manly (in fact, he assumes she is a man because she is such a good warrior). So Chitrangada asks Madan, god of love, to make her more womanly. She approaches Arjun thus, and Arjun falls for her. When Manipur is attacked, people cry out for the warrior-princess and Arjun learns of her for the first time. He longs to meet this woman who he feels is extraordinary. A pleasantly surprised, Chitrangada, begs Madan to restore her to her original form, and Arjun loves her even more. Thus Arjun loves Chitrangada for who she is, not what she pretends to be.
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