Who was the wife of King Virata?

Who was the wife of King Virata? Sudeshna was the wife of King Virata.

Sudeshna was the chief queen of Virata, ruler of the Matsya Kingdom. Their court becomes the setting for the Mahabharata’s Virata Parva, when the Pandavas spend their thirteenth year of exile living in disguise. Virata does not recognize them: Yudhishthira serves as a court adviser, Bhima works as a cook, Arjuna teaches dance as Brihannala, Nakula tends horses, and Sahadeva cares for cattle.

Draupadi also enters Sudeshna’s household in disguise, adopting the name Sairandhri and posing as a maid. Sudeshna sends her to deliver wine to her brother Kichaka, whose harassment of Draupadi leads to his death at Bhima’s hands. The episode exposes the dangers within Virata’s own court while the Pandavas remain hidden.

Sudeshna and Virata were the parents of Prince Uttara, Prince Shankha, and Princess Uttarā in commonly followed accounts. Uttarā later married Abhimanyu, Arjuna’s son. This marriage connected the Matsya royal family to the Pandava line and made their child Parikshit the future heir of the Kuru dynasty.