Princess of Hastinapura. Crown Prince Duryodhana's daughter Lakshmana was adored since birth. Her twin brother Lakshman and she had charmed lives...but perhaps no fairy tale lasts forever.

Why Lakshmana's story is so tragic

She was the apple of Duryodhana's eye, but her father was also the man who had manipulated his cousins into losing their inheritance, tried to murder them by fire and when that failed, used gambling to humiliate their wife, Draupadi, and send them to exile for 14 years. All this was to cause upheavals in Lakshmana's life, though she knew it not.

Her father was bad. Whispers ran around the palace of his cruel acts but her mother Bhanumati did not let the gossip graze her children. Her husband might have been truly evil, but he was a good husband and a brilliant father. And in the end, that was what mattered.

She grew up, this strong-willed Princess of Hastinapura. As skilled in driving a chariot, wielding a bow and arrow and fighting with the mace as her twin...because her parents had insisted on it...Lakshmana was a coveted prize in the royal marriage market.

Oh, and she was beautiful. Ah....well!

Duryodhana decided that he would let his daughter choose her husband. The great kings and princes of India were invited to the swayamvara. Among them, the most fortunate one would be Lakshmana's husband.

Was Lakshmana thrilled with her swayamvara? Probably. For she knew who she would choose. Vrishasena, Crown Prince of Anga, her father's great friend Karna's son and as mighty a warrior as his father. They had loved each other since childhood.

Picture her eagerly waiting with her ladies-in-waiting, the garland in her hands, ready to put around Vrishasena's neck....

Picture her smiling with her heart in her eyes one last time...

And then swept down Samba...the most handsome prince in the world...

Son of Krishna, this Yadava prince had been smitten by the beauty of Lakshmana. He took her off in his chariot while his friends held off her father's men...

Before her stunned and enraged father had time to react, Samba had reached Dwarka. His mother, Jambavati, took the Princess in her arms and kept her in her apartments, while outside Dwarka, Krishna and Balarama led a furious battle against the Kauravas.

But ultimately the night passed...

And now no man could marry Lakshmana, for she had spent a night under another man's roof. No one could marry her except the man who had abducted her.

Even if she was Hastinapura's Princess.

Even if she was Duryodhana's daughter.

Duryodhana pleaded, but the elders of the Kuru house led by Grandsire Bhishma were implacable.

Neither Karna nor Vrishasena said a word while Lakshmana and her father stormed.

A forced marriage

Finally, Duryodhana's daughter got married to whom? Krishna's son Samba and Lakshmana were married.

Perhaps she smiled again. Samba was not a cruel man. Careless and heedless, but not sadistic... And she was a vibrant woman.

Then came the Kurukshetra war and again her world collapsed. Her twin Lakshman died in battle. Vrishasena was slain in the last days of the war. All her uncles died. Her adored father was killed too.

And her mother... Her beloved mother...that feisty princess refused to live as a dependent on the Pandavas and entered the pyre of her love.

Her gentle mother-in-law Jambavati must have shielded her daughter-in-law then. Krishna too knew how to be kind.

And then years later came the Yadava civil war where her husband died.

Everything fell apart as her father-in-law was killed and her mother-in-law followed him. Lakshmana must have returned to Hastinapura then.

Her uncles must have treated her kindly, but they were the ones who had slaughtered her family...and her love.

No place was home anymore...

Samb (Son Of Lord Krishna) Kidnapped Lakshmana ( The Daughter Of Duryodhana):

However strange it may sound but it is the truth that Samb (The son of Lord Krishna) kidnapped Lakshmana ( The daughter of Duryodhana).

Samb- (The son of Lord Krishna) was madly in love with (Lakshmana)- The daughter of Duryodgana. Samb was son of Lord Krishna and Jambwanti. Jambwanti was daughter of Jambwant who married Lord Krishna when Lord Krishna defeated Jambwant in a duel. Lakshmana was daughter if Duryodhana and Bhanumati.

When the marriage ceremony of Abhimanyu and Uttara was going on, at that very much time Samb kidnapped Lakshmana. Duryodhana did not like Krishna and never wanted that his daughter Lakshmana to marry son of Krishna. He also attacked Samb. But because of Lord Balrama he had to agree for marriage. 

It is very little known fact that prior to the Mahabharat War , Krishna and Duryodhana has already become closely related to each other as daughter of Duryodhana (i.e. Lakshmana) had become daughter in Law of Lord Krishna.

It is a matter of surprise that how Samb could muster courage to kidnap a woman. This adventure traces its origin from the time of Dhrishrashtra Marriage.

 Bhshma Pitamah Kidnapped Amba, Ambika and Ambalika against their desire to marry his younger brother. Bhishma Pitamah iagain forced the Kandhar Kingdom to marry Gandhari to blind King Dhritrashra.

The theme of kidnapping a women is the theme which has been repeated many times in Mahabharata. 

Lord Krishna also Kidnapped Rukmini to marry her , inspite of strong resistance of her brother Rukmin.

Arjun also kidnapped Subhadra (The sister of Lord Krishna) and married her. 

Duryidhana himself also married Bhanumati after kidnapping her against her desire. 

But there is huge difference between the kidnapping of Bhisma Pitamaha and Duryodhana at one hand the kidnapping of Lord Krishna and Arjuna on the other hand. 

Bhisma Pitamaha and Duryidhana kidnapped the women against their desire, while Lord Krishna and Arjuna Kidnapped the women because Rukmini and Subhadra loved them.

Perhaps Samb must have taken inapirarion from his history. Lakshmana and Samb were in deep love with each other. Samb was aware that his father Lord Krishna himself kidnapped Rukmini who loved him. Samb was also aware that his father Lord Krishna helped Arjuna in kidnapping Subhdra. Hence Samb was certain in his mind that his father would not oppose his marrying Lakshmana , even he kidnap her. The reason for kidnapping Lakshman was also become more evident that Duryodhan would never had acceded for marriage of his daughter with Samb. This is the reason why Samb kidnapped Lakshmana and married her.

Duryodhana, the son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, had a marriageable daughter by the name of Lakṣmaṇā. She was a very highly qualified girl of the Kuru dynasty, and many princes wanted to marry her. In such cases, the svayaṁvara ceremony is held so that the girl may select her husband according to her own choice. In Lakṣmaṇā's svayaṁvara assembly, when the girl was to select her husband, Sāmba appeared. He was a son of Kṛṣṇa's by Jāmbavatī, one of Lord Kṛṣṇa's chief wives. This son Sāmba was so named because be was a pet child and always lived close to his mother. The name Sāmba indicates a son who is very much his mother's pet. Ambā means "mother," and sa means "with." So this special name was given to him because he always remained with his mother. He was also known as Jāmbavatī-suta for the same reason. As previously explained, all the sons of Kṛṣṇa were as qualified as their great father. Sāmba wanted Duryodhana's daughter, Lakṣmaṇā, although she was not inclined to have him. Therefore Sāmba kidnapped Lakṣmaṇā by force from the svayaṁvara assembly.

Because Sāmba took Lakṣmaṇā away from the assembly by force, all the members of the Kuru dynasty, such as Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Bhīṣma, Vidura and Arjuna, thought it an insult to their family tradition that the boy, Sāmba, could possibly have kidnapped their daughter. All of them knew that Lakṣmaṇā was not at all inclined to select him as her husband and that she was not given the chance to select her own husband; instead she was forcibly taken away by this boy. Therefore, they decided that he must be punished. They unanimously declared that he was most impudent and had degraded the Kurus' family tradition. Therefore, all of them, under the counsel of the elder members of the Kuru family, decided to arrest the boy but not kill him. They concluded that the girl could not be married to any boy other than Sāmba, since she had already been touched by him. (According to the Vedic system, once being touched by some boy, a girl cannot be married or given to any other boy. Nor would anyone agree to marry a girl who had already thus associated with another boy.) The elder members of the family, such as Bhīṣma, wanted to arrest him. Thus all the members of the Kuru dynasty, especially the great fighters, joined together just to teach him a lesson, and Karṇa was made the commander in chief for this small battle.

While making the plan to arrest Sāmba, the Kurus counseled amongst themselves that upon his arrest the members of the Yadu dynasty would be very angry with them. There was every possibility of the Yadus' accepting the challenge and fighting with them. But they also thought, "If they came here to fight with us, what could they do? The members of the Yadu dynasty cannot equal the members of the Kuru dynasty because the kings of the Kuru dynasty are the emperors whereas the kings of the Yadu dynasty are able to enjoy their land only because we have granted it to them." The Kurus thought, "If they come here to challenge us because their son was arrested, we shall accept the fight and teach them a lesson, so that automatically they will be subdued under pressure, as the senses are subdued by the mystic yoga process of prāṇāyāma." (In the mechanical system of mystic yoga, the airs within the body are controlled, and the senses are subdued and checked from being engaged in anything other than meditation upon Lord Viṣṇu.)

After consultation and after receiving permission from the elder members of the Kuru dynasty, such as Bhīṣma and Dhṛtarāṣṭra, five great warriors—Karṇa, Śala, Bhūri, Yajñaketu and Duryodhana, the father of the girl—who were all mahā-rathīs and who were guided by the great fighter Bhīṣmadeva, attempted to arrest the boy Sāmba. There are different grades of fighters, including mahā-rathī, eka-rathī and rathī, classified according to their fighting ability. These mahā-rathīs could fight alone with many thousands of men. All of them combined together to arrest Sāmba. Sāmba was also a mahā-rathī, but he was alone and had to fight with the six other mahā-rathīs. Still he was not deterred when he saw all the great fighters of the Kuru dynasty coming up behind him to arrest him.

Alone, he turned toward them and took his nice bow, posing exactly as a lion stands adamant in the face of other animals. Karṇa, leading the party, challenged Sāmba, "Why are you fleeing? Just stand, and we shall teach you a lesson!" When challenged by another kṣatriya to stand and fight, a kṣatriya cannot run away; he must fight. Therefore, Sāmba accepted the challenge and stood alone before them, but as soon as he did so he was overpowered by showers of arrows shot by all the great warriors. A lion is never afraid of being chased by many wolves and jackals. Similarly, Sāmba, the glorious son of the Yadu dynasty, endowed with inconceivable potencies as the son of Lord Kṛṣṇa, became very angry at the warriors of the Kuru dynasty for improperly using arrows against him. He fought them with great talent. First of all, he struck each of the six charioteers with six separate arrows. He used another four arrows to kill the charioteers' horses, four on each chariot. Then he used one arrow to kill the driver and one arrow for Karṇa as well as the other celebrated fighters. While Sāmba so diligently fought alone with the six great warriors, they all appreciated the boy's inconceivable potency. Even in the midst of the fighting they admitted frankly that this boy Sāmba was wonderful. But the fighting was conducted in the kṣatriya spirit, so all together, although it was improper, they obliged Sāmba to get down from his chariot, now broken to pieces. Of the six warriors, four took care to kill Sāmba's four horses, one struck down his chariot driver, and one managed to cut the string of Sāmba's bow so that he could no longer fight with them. In this way, with great difficulty and after a severe fight, they deprived Sāmba of his chariot and were able to arrest him. Thus, the warriors of the Kuru dynasty accepted their great victory and took their daughter, Lakṣmaṇā, away from him. Thereafter, they entered the city of Hastināpura in great triumph.

The great sage Nārada immediately carried the news to the Yadu dynasty that Sāmba had been arrested and told them the whole story. The members of the Yadu dynasty became very angry at Sāmba's being arrested, and improperly so by six warriors. Now, with the permission of the head of the Yadu dynasty, King Ugrasena, they prepared to attack the capital city of the Kuru dynasty.

Although Lord Balarāma knew very well that by slight provocation people are prepared to fight with one another in the Age of Kali, He did not like the idea that the two great dynasties, the Kuru dynasty and the Yadu dynasty, would fight amongst themselves, even though they were influenced by Kali-yuga. "Instead of fighting with them," He wisely thought, "let Me go there and see the situation, and let Me try to see if the fight can be settled by mutual understanding." Balarāma's idea was that if the Kuru dynasty could be induced to release Sāmba along with his wife, Lakṣmaṇā, then the fight could be avoided. He therefore immediately arranged for a nice chariot to go to Hastināpura, accompanied by learned priests and brāhmaṇas, as well as by some of the elder members of the Yadu dynasty. He was confident that the members of the Kuru dynasty would agree to this marriage and avoid fighting with the Yadus. As Lord Balarāma proceeded toward Hastināpura in His chariot, accompanied by the brāhmaṇas and elders, He looked like the moon shining in the clear sky amongst the glittering stars. When Lord Balarāma reached the precincts of the city of Hastināpura, He did not enter but stationed Himself in a camp outside the city, in a small garden house. Then He asked Uddhava to meet with the leaders of the Kuru dynasty and inquire from them whether they wanted to fight with the Yadu dynasty or to make a settlement. Uddhava went to see the leaders of the Kuru dynasty, and he met all the important members, including Bhīṣmadeva, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Droṇācārya, Duryodhana and Bāhlika. After offering them due respects, he informed them that Lord Balarāma had arrived at the garden outside the city gate.

The leaders of the Kuru dynasty, especially Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Duryodhana, were joyful because they knew very well that Lord Balarāma was a great well-wisher of their family. There were no bounds to their joy on hearing the news, and so they immediately welcomed Uddhava. In order to properly receive Lord Balarāma, they all took in their hands auspicious paraphernalia for His reception and went to see Him outside the city gate. According to their respective positions, they welcomed Lord Balarāma by giving Him in charity nice cows and arghya (a mixture of ārati water and an assortment of items such as honey, butter, flowers and sandalwood pulp). Because all of them knew the exalted position of Lord Balarāma as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they bowed their heads before the Lord with great respect. They all exchanged words of reception by asking one another about their welfare, and when such formalities were finished, Lord Balarāma, in a great voice and very patiently, submitted before them the following words for their consideration: "My dear friends, this time I have come to you as a messenger with the order of the all-powerful King Ugrasena. Please, therefore, hear the order with attention and great care. Without wasting a single moment, please try to carry out the order. King Ugrasena knows very well that you warriors of the Kuru dynasty improperly fought with the pious Sāmba, who was alone, and that with great difficulty and unrighteous tactics you have arrested him. We have all heard this news, but we are not very much agitated because we are most intimately related to one another. I do not think we should disturb our good relationship; we should continue our friendship without any unnecessary fighting. Please, therefore, immediately release Sāmba and bring him, along with his wife, Lakṣmaṇā, before Me."

When Lord Balarāma spoke in a commanding tone full of heroic assertion, supremacy and chivalry, the leaders of the Kuru dynasty did not appreciate His statements. Rather, all of them became agitated, and with great anger they said, "Oh! These words are very astonishing but quite befitting the Age of Kali; otherwise how could Balarāma speak so vituperatively? The language and tone used by Balarāma are simply abusive, and due to the influence of this age it appears that the shoes befitting the feet want to rise to the top of the head, where the helmet is worn. We are connected with the Yadu dynasty by marriage, and because of this they have been given the chance to come live with us, dine with us and sleep with us; now they are taking advantage of these privileges. They had practically no position before we gave them a portion of our kingdom to rule, and now they are trying to command us. We have allowed the Yadu dynasty to use the royal insignias like the whisk, fan, conchshell, white umbrella, crown, royal throne, sitting place and bedstead, along with everything else befitting the royal order. They should not have used such royal paraphernalia in our presence, but we did not check them due to our family relationships. Now they have the audacity to order us to do things. Well, enough of their impudence! We cannot allow them to do any more of these things, nor shall we allow them to use these royal insignias. It would be best to take all these things away; it is improper to feed a snake with milk, since such merciful activities simply increase his venom. The Yadu dynasty is now trying to go against those who have fed them so nicely. Their flourishing condition is due to our gifts and merciful behavior, and still they are so shameless that they are trying to order us. How regrettable are all these activities! No one in the world can enjoy anything if members of the Kuru dynasty like Bhīṣma, Droṇācārya and Arjuna do not allow them to. Exactly as a lamb cannot enjoy life in the presence of a lion, without our desire it is not even possible for the demigods in heaven, headed by King Indra, to find enjoyment in life, what to speak of ordinary human beings!" Actually the members of the Kuru dynasty were very much puffed up due to their opulence, kingdom, aristocracy, family tradition, great warriors, family members and vast, expansive empire. They did not even observe common formalities of civilized society, and in the presence of Lord Balarāma they uttered insulting words about the Yadu dynasty. Having spoken in this unmannerly way, they returned to their city of Hastināpura.