हिंदीOn this day

Chandravansha (Lunar line: Yadavas, Pauravas and Kurus)

The Lunar dynasty runs from Soma through Budha and Pururavas to Yayati, whose sons Yadu and Puru founded the Yadava and Paurava houses. From Puru came Bharata, after whom the land is named, and Kuru, whose descendants fought at Kurukshetra.

  1. Soma (Chandra)traditional
  2. Budhatraditional
  3. Pururavastraditional
  4. Ayutraditional
  5. Nahushatraditional
  6. Yayatitraditional
  7. Yadutraditional
  8. +15
Period: Treta and Dvapara Yugas into the Kali Yuga (traditional reckoning)Region: Prayaga, then the Ganga–Yamuna doab (Kuru-Panchala), and the Yadava lands of Mathura and DwarkaCapitals: Pratishthana (Jhusi, Prayagraj), Hastinapura, Indraprastha, Mathura (Yadavas), Dwarka (Yadavas), Kaushambi (after Hastinapura was lost to the Ganga)
Photo: SpeakingArch · CC BY-SA 4.0

01Soma, Budha, Pururavas

Soma, the Moon, son of Maharshi Atri, was father of Budha. Budha married Ila, daughter of Vaivasvata Manu, so the Lunar and Solar lines share a common root in Manu. Their son Pururavas ruled from Pratishthana, on the far bank of the Sangam at Prayaga, where Jhusi stands today. His love for the apsara Urvashi is a dialogue hymn of the Rigveda (10.95) and the subject of Kalidasa’s Vikramorvashiyam. Their son Ayu was father of Nahusha, who for a time sat on Indra’s throne.

02Yayati’s five sons

Nahusha’s son Yayati had five sons: Yadu and Turvasu by Devayani, daughter of Shukracharya, and Druhyu, Anu and Puru by Sharmishtha. When Shukracharya’s curse brought old age on Yayati, only the youngest, Puru, agreed to take it on himself, and Yayati gave him the central kingdom. Yadu’s descendants became the Yadavas, the house of Kartavirya Arjuna, of the Vrishnis and Andhakas, and in the Dvapara Yuga of Shri Krishna. The four elder sons took the lands around, and the Puranas trace many peoples of the west and north from them.

The Mahabharata War at Kurukshetra
Battle · Traditional reckoning: c. 3138 BCE, 36 years before Kali YugaThe Mahabharata War at KurukshetraThe war of the Itihasa, fought on the Dharmakshetra of the Kurus over eighteen days. Before the first arrow flew, Shri Krishna spoke the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna between the two armies.Read →

03Bharata, Hastin, Kuru

In Puru’s line came Dushyanta, who married Shakuntala in Kanva’s ashram, and their son Bharata, a chakravartin who performed many Ashvamedhas. The land is Bharatavarsha after him. Hastin built Hastinapura on the Ganga. Kuru ploughed the field at Kurukshetra and made it a dharmakshetra; the Kurus are named after him. Later came Pratipa, then Shantanu, husband of Ganga and of Satyavati, and father of Bhishma.

04Kurukshetra and after

Shantanu’s line through Vichitravirya gave Dhritarashtra and Pandu. The war of their sons at Kurukshetra ended with Yudhishthira on the throne of Hastinapura. Thirty-six years later the Yadavas fell at Prabhasa and Shri Krishna left the world; by the traditional reckoning the Kali Yuga began then, in 3102 BCE. Parikshit, Arjuna’s grandson, was crowned, and his son Janamejaya held the sarpa-satra at which Vaishampayana first recited the Mahabharata. The Vishnu Purana says that when the Ganga carried away Hastinapura, King Nichakshu moved to Kaushambi, and the line ended with Kshemaka.

Hastinapura
Place · Capital of the Kurus in the Mahabharata; excavated by B. B. Lal, 1950–52HastinapuraThe capital of the Kuru kings, where Bhishma took his vow and the dice game was played. The Puranas say the Ganga swept it away and Nichakshu moved to Kaushambi; B. B. Lal’s excavation found a flood layer in the right place.Read →

The rulers

  1. 1Soma (Chandra)Son of Maharshi Atri; source of the linetraditional
  2. 2BudhaMarried Ila, daughter of Manutraditional
  3. 3PururavasRuled from Pratishthana; husband of Urvashitraditional
  4. 4Ayutraditional
  5. 5NahushaHeld Indra’s seat for a timetraditional
  6. 6YayatiFather of Yadu, Turvasu, Druhyu, Anu and Purutraditional
  7. 7YaduAncestor of the Yadavas and of Shri Krishnatraditional
  8. 8PuruTook his father’s old age; got the central kingdomtraditional
  9. 9DushyantaHusband of Shakuntalatraditional
  10. 10BharataChakravartin; Bharatavarsha is named after himtraditional
  11. 11HastinFounded Hastinapuratraditional
  12. 12KuruMade Kurukshetra a dharmakshetratraditional
  13. 13PratipaDvapara Yuga (traditional)
  14. 14ShantanuFather of BhishmaDvapara Yuga (traditional)
  15. 15VichitraviryaDvapara Yuga (traditional)
  16. 16PanduFather of the five PandavasDvapara Yuga (traditional)
  17. 17DhritarashtraRuled at Hastinapura as elder brotherDvapara Yuga (traditional)
  18. 18YudhishthiraPerformed the Rajasuya and the Ashvamedha36 years after the war (traditional)
  19. 19ParikshitHeard the Bhagavata from Shukadevafrom 3102 BCE (traditional)
  20. 20JanamejayaThe Mahabharata was first recited at his sarpa-satraKali Yuga (traditional)
  21. 21NichakshuMoved the capital to KaushambiKali Yuga (Puranic list)
  22. 22KshemakaLast Paurava king in the Vishnu PuranaKali Yuga (Puranic list)

What they left

  • The Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita
  • The name Bharata for the land and its people
  • Kurukshetra, Hastinapura, Mathura and Dwarka as tirthas
  • The Bhagavata Purana, recited to Parikshit
  • Yadava descent claimed by later houses such as the Seunas of Devagiri

People

Maharshi VyasaRishi
End of the Dvapara Yuga (traditional reckoning)

Maharshi Vyasa

Divider of the Veda, author of the Mahabharata

Shri KrishnaRuler
End of the Dvapara Yuga; Kali Yuga began at his departure, 3102 BCE (traditional reckoning)

Shri Krishna

Lord of Dvaraka, teacher of the Gita

Places

HastinapuraExcavated
Vedic Rishis and the Itihasa

Hastinapura

The capital of the Kuru kings, where Bhishma took his vow and the dice game was played. The Puranas say the Ganga swept it away and Nichakshu moved to Kaushambi; B. B. Lal’s excavation found a flood layer in the right place.

Kurukshetra and JyotisarStanding
Vedic Rishis and the Itihasa

Kurukshetra and Jyotisar

The Dharmakshetra where the Mahabharata war was fought and Shri Krishna spoke the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna at Jyotisar. Harsha’s capital Thanesar stood here.

Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi, MathuraRebuilt
The Mughal era and the resistance

Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi, Mathura

The prison-cell of Kamsa where Shri Krishna was born at midnight. The Katra Keshavdev mound carried great temples that were destroyed in 1018 and 1670; the Shahi Idgah stands on part of it, and a new temple complex stands beside.

Delhi (Indraprastha)Standing
The long resistance: Sindh to Tarain

Delhi (Indraprastha)

The Pandavas’ Indraprastha stood on the Yamuna where the Purana Qila now stands, and the Tomaras and Chauhans built the first walled Delhi at Mehrauli. Seven or more cities have risen on the same ground since.

Dwarkadhish Temple, DwarkaRebuilt
Sultanates, Vijayanagara and the kingdoms that stood

Dwarkadhish Temple, Dwarka

The western dham of the Char Dham, Shri Krishna’s city on the Gomti creek, where the five-storeyed Jagat Mandir flies a flag changed several times a day.

Battles

The Mahabharata War at Kurukshetra

The war of the Itihasa, fought on the Dharmakshetra of the Kurus over eighteen days. Before the first arrow flew, Shri Krishna spoke the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna between the two armies.

Traditional reckoning: c. 3138 BCE, 36 years before Kali Yuga

On the timeline

  • 3138 BCE (traditional reckoning)

    Yudhishthira crowned at HastinapuraPolity

    After the war Yudhishthira took the throne of the Kurus and performed the Ashvamedha, as the Ashvamedhika Parva records. He ruled for 36 years.

  • 3102 BCE (traditional reckoning)

    Parikshit takes the Kuru thronePolity

    As the Pandavas set out on the Mahaprasthana, Arjuna’s grandson Parikshit was crowned. The Bhagavata Purana was first recited to him by Shuka on the Ganga bank.