Kartavirya Arjuna was a king of an ancient Haihayas kingdom with capital at Mahishmati which is on the banks of Narmada River in the current state of Madhya Pradesh. Kartavirya was son of Kritavirya, king of the Haihayas. According to the Puranas, Haihaya was the grandson of Sahasrajit, son of Yadu. This is his patronymic, by which he is best known; he is also referred to simply as Arjuna. He is described as having a thousand hands and a great devotee of god Dattatreya.

In the Mahabharata epic, the Heheya Kingdom is one of the kingdoms ruled by Chandravanshi (Yadava) kings in central and western India. It was ruled by Kartavirya Arjuna, who defeated Ravana. Its capital was Mahishmati on the banks of river Narmada in present-day Madhya Pradesh. Talajangha was an allied kingdom to the east of Heheya. They conquered many other kingdoms of India until enmity with the warrior Bhargavas resulted in their demise. Parasurama was the Bhargava leader who ended the kingdom.