How Matali Found a Groom for His Daughter – Stories from Udyoga Parva

After Parasurama completed the story of King Dhambhodbhava, Rishi Kanva spoke about the greatness of Narayana. He told Duryodhana not to think he was the strongest of everyone and that the Pandavas were superior since they had other capabilities too. He narrated how Matali, Indra’s charioteer, found a worthy groom for his daughter and achieved the task with help from Narada, Indra, and Narayana. 

Matali was Indra’s charioteer. He had a beautiful and well-mannered daughter named Gunakeshi. She was a kind, soft-spoken, and lovely girl. When Gunakeshi attained a marriageable age, Matali and his wife, Sudharma, wanted to find the most suitable groom for her. Since she was their only child, they didn’t want to rush and decided to take time to explore multiple options. He set high standards and wasn’t willing to budge. Matali knew his quest was difficult, but he would do it for his daughter’s future.

After much discussion, Matali and his wife felt there was none among the devas and humans to meet their requirements. They hoped to find a groom among the nagas. Matali told his wife he would start his search the next day.

As planned, Matali was traveling across heaven when he came face to face with Narada Muni, the celestial nomadic rishi. When asked, Matali told Narada that he was going to meet Varuna. Since Narada was traveling the same way, they went together. 

Narada wanted to know the reason for the visit, and Matali replied that he was searching for a suitable groom for Gunakeshi and finalized the nagas. Narada immediately offered help and said he would take Matali to various naga kingdoms in the underworld. After all, it was good to have a few options. Matali was happy with the suggestion. 

They first went to Varuna’s kingdom. Narada described the beauty of the place and praised Varuna and his qualities. Varuna’s son Pushkara was married to Soma’s daughter Jyotsnakali, who chose him as her husband. 

Narada and Matali walk by Varuna’s lake, where the divine weapons, including Krishna’s Chakra and Arjuna’s Gandiva, were created. They moved on and went to Patala, a city located in the center of the earth (underground) and frequented by daityas and danavas. Narada praised the region and listed the good qualities of the place. He told Matali to look around and see if anyone caught his eye. 

Matali didn’t see anyone worthy of his daughter and told Narada the same. They proceeded to Hiranyapura of the daityas, a city known for its maya. In fact, one could find hundreds of types of maya in this city. Hiranyapura was designed by Maya in his mind, and Vishwamarka executed the plan to build it. The city was located in the nether regions of Patala. Narada described its advantages and told Matali to see if he could find someone who might be suited as his son-in-law. 

Once again, Matali said no one caught his eye and he wanted to visit another city. Moreover, the danavas and devas were constantly fighting each other, so he didn’t want a groom from the other side. So, Narada took Matali to Surparna, the city of Garudas. The lineage of these citizens came from Vinata’s six sons – Sumukha, Sunamna, Sunetra, Suvarchasa, Surupa, and Subala. Narada said they bore the Srivatsa sign and were loyal to Vishnu. Being fearsome birds, they feasted on the nagas. Narada also listed a few famous descendants of Garuda to nudge Matali into choosing a groom from one of them. 

However, Matali wasn’t impressed. Seeing this, Narada finally took him to the seventh kingdom of Patala. It was called Rasatala and belonged to Surabhi (the mother of cows). The supreme sages lived in this city alongside Surabbi’s descendants and other celestial animals. Narada said living in Rasatala gave more happiness than living in the world of garudas or nagas. Yet, Matali wanted to see more. 

Narada then took the charioteer to the city of Bhogavati, owned by Vasuki, the naga. He said the city was as beautiful as Amaravathi and was the same place where Sesha (the naga who performed austerities and carried the earth on his hood) resided. As with other cities, Narada highlighted the beauty of Bhogavati and listed the names of famous nagas. 

This time, Matali was attentive (he wanted a naga son-in-law, after all!) and was observing a particular young naga. When Narada asked if he had found anyone, Matali pointed out the naga standing in front of Aryaka. Matali wanted to know who that young naga was and who his parents were. Matali said the naga had the right age, build, and energy to suit his daughter.

Narada replied that the young naga was Sumukha, the king of nagas, belonging to the Airavata lineage. He was the grandson of Aryaka and took Matali to meet Aryaka so they could discuss the match right away. Matali was satisfied and went along. He was sure he had found the perfect match for Gunakeshi. 

Narada and Matali greeted Aryaka with respect. They exchanged introductions and pleasantries. Narada got down to business by listing the positives of Matali and his daughter. Then, he shared their intentions of asking for Sumukha as a groom for Gunakeshi. However, Aryaka was saddened by the developments. Though he was delighted to get a match from Indra’s charioteer, he also knew things were complex. 

He sighed with a heavy heart and explained that Sumukha indeed had all the qualities of a worthy groom but was destined to die soon. Garuda killed and ate Sumukha’s father (Aryaka’s son). Garuda had threatened to eat Sumuhka in a month, which was almost over. Aryaka asked how he could agree to the match knowing his grandson was bound to die in a few days. 

Matali was determined. He said that he decided Sumukha would be his son-in-law, and he would do everything to make it happen. Matali promised to speak to Indra and seek his protection to save Sumukha from Garuda. He said he wanted his daughter to live with her life partner for a long time and would do anything for it. Arayaka trusted Matali’s words and gave his acceptance to the match. He said that if Sumukha’s life wasn’t under threat, he had no objection to the wedding and would happily accept Gunakshi as his granddaughter-in-law. 

Thus settled, Narada and Matali went straight to heaven to meet Indra, taking Sumukha with them. Indra was with Vishnu, so Narada told them about Matali’s desire to make Sumukha his son-in-law and the threat on the young naga’s life from Garuda. Vishnu told Indra to make Sumukha immortal by giving him amrita. Indra asked Vishnu to do the honors and give Sumukha a boon to live a long life. However, Vishnu told Indra that he too had the power to grant such a boon and said no one would stop him from doing so. Indra took Vishnu’s advice and blessed Sumukha to have a healthy and long life. The young naga glowed from Indra’s boon. He was no longer worried about the impending doom. 

The matter settled, Indra and Vishnu blessed Sumukha and Gunakeshi when they got married in a happy ceremony. Everyone was satisfied with the results. However, Garuda was furious. After all, he couldn’t keep his vow of eating Sumukha. Garuda went to Indra (who was his friend) and said it was unfair of him to protect Sumukha. He said that it was Indra himself who gave Garuda a boon to eat as many snakes has e wanted to satisfy his hunger, and now Indra countered that boon by blessing the young naga with a long lifespan. Garuda first said he would give up his life and then reminded Indra that he could carry the king of heaven on a single feather (and subtly threatened that he was the stronger of the two).

Vishnu reached the spot and overheard Garuda’s boasts. He told the bird not to be proud of his strength and said he was actually weak. To demonstrate, Vishnu asked Garuda to bear the weight of his right arm. Garuda thought he could hold it easily. However, Vishnu’s arm was so heavy that the mighty bird fell faint from the weight on his wings. When he woke up, he bowed to Vishnu and apologized for his actions. 

Vishnu smiled affectionately at Garuda and pardoned him. He advised that Garuda didn’t have to eat all the nagas and should spare Sumukha. Vishnu made Garuda and Smukuha become friends with each other. 

Matali found a groom he wanted, Sumukha’s life was spared, Garuda was humbled, and no one had to die. 

Concluding the story, Rishi Kanva advised Duryodhana not to act like Garuda but to realize that Krishna was Vishnu and do the right thing by adhering to the terms of the dice game (and returning Indraprastha to the Pandavas).