Illustrator: S.S. Havaldar

ISBN: 80-7508-053-1

Vol. No:  629

Uloopi was the daughter of Kauravya, the King of the Nagas. The Nagas are a historical race and there are many refernces to them in the Puranas and Mahabharata. According to mythology, Nagadwipa was one of the seven divisions of India. There were Naga kingdoms in Mathura, Padmavati and Eastern India. Perhaps like the Asuras, Daitya and Danavas, the Nagas too, offered strong resistance to the spread of Aryan culture. The favourite theory is that the Nagas were so named because they worshipped serpents (Nagas) and held them in awe. Mythology described them as having the face and torso of human beings but the lower extremities of serpents. Of the various racial groups that inhabited India at the time of the advent of the Aryans, the Nagas seem to have been been in a sufficiently advanced stage of civilization. There are accounts of many Aryan princes marrying Naga princesses. Arjuna met Uloopi when he was in exile. Uloopi wielded great influence on Babhruvahana, the king of Manipur, who was her step-son. Hence her story assumes importance in the Mahabharata.