Chapter 19 - Yayāti’s son Puru

Parāśara

Puru’s son was Janamejaya. His son was Pracinvant. Pracinvant’s son was Pravīra. His son was Manasyu. Manasyu’s son was Abhayada. His son was Sudyu. Sudyu’s son was Bahugava. His son was Saṃyāti. Saṃyāti’s son was Ahaṃyāti. His son was Raudrāśva. Raudrāśva had ten sons, named Ṛteyu, Kakṣeyu, Sthaṇḍileyu, Dhṛteyu, Jaleyu, Sthaleyu, Dharmeyu, Sannateyu, Dhaneyu and Vaneyu.

Ṛteyu’s son was Rantināra. Rantināra’s sons were Sumati, Apratiratha and Dhruva. Apratiratha’s son was Kaṇva. His son was Medhātithi, from whom the Kāṇvāyana brahmins were descended. Apratiratha’s other son was Ailīna. He had four sons, the eldest of whom was Duṣyanta. Duṣyanta’s son was the universal sovereign Bharata. The deities sang this verse to explain his name:

‘A mother is but a pouch of skin. The son is indeed his father’s, as he is the begetter. Duṣyanta, cherish (bharasva) your son, and don’t belittle Śakuntalā. 1

The son, as the bearer of semen, saves his forefathers from destruction wreaked by Yama. You’re the maker of this embryo and Śakuntalā spoke the truth, your majesty.’^[1] 2

Bharata had nine sons with his three wives, but because the sons didn’t resemble him, their own mothers killed them fearing that Bharata would reject them. No further sons were born to him, but as he still yearned for progeny, he performed a soma sacrifice to the Maruts, the wind gods. When Dīrghatamas was still a foetus in the womb, he kicked out Bṛhaspati’s sperm. The Maruts therefore gave Bharata a son, Bharadvāja, with Mammatā, the wife of Utathya. 3 This verse is sung to explain the origin of his name: 4

‘Foolish woman, take care of (bhara) this child born of two fathers (dvājam).’ ‘No, Bṛhaspati, you take care of him!’ So saying, both parents left. That’s how Bharadvāja got his name. 5

Because Bharata’s desire for the birth of a son had been in vain (vitatha), Bharadvāja, who had been given to him by the Maruts, was also called Vitatha. 6 Vitatha’s son was Bhavanmanyu. The sons of Bhavanmanyu were Bṛhatkṣatra, Mahāvīrya, Nara and Garga. Nara’s son was Saṃkṛti. Saṃkṛti’s sons were Ruciradhī and Rantideva. Garga’s son was Śini. Their descendants, known as Gārgyas and Śainyas, were kṣatriyas by birth but later became brahmins. 7 Mahāvīrya had a son called Durukṣaya. He had three sons, Trayyāruṇa, Puṣkarin and Kapi, the last of whom also became a brahmin at a later date. Bṛhatkṣatra’s son was Suhotra. Suhotra’s son was Hastin, who founded the city of Hastināpura. The three sons of Hastin were Ajamīḍha, Dvimīḍha and Purumīḍha.

Ajamīḍha’s first son was Kaṇva. Kaṇva’s son was Medhātithi, from whom the Kāṇvāyana brahmins were descended. 8 Ajamīḍha’s other son was Bṛhadiṣu. His son was Bṛhaddhanu. His son was Bṛhatkarman. His son was Jayadratha. His son was Viśvajit. His son was Senajit. Senajit’s sons were called Rucirāśva, Kāśya, Dṛḍhahanu and Vatsahanu. Rucirāśva’s son was Pṛthusena. His son was Pāra. Pāra’s son was Nīpa. He had a hundred sons, among whom the foremost was Samara, king of Kāmpilya. 9 Samara had three sons, Pāra, Supāra and Sadaśva. Pāra’s son was Pṛthu. Pṛthu’s son was Sukṛti. Sukṛti’s son was Vibhrāja. His son was Aṇuha, who married Śuka’s daughter Kṛtvī. 10 Aṇuha’s son was Brahmadatta. His son was Viṣvaksena. His son was Udaksena. His son was Bhallāṭa.

Dvimīḍha’s son was called Yavīnara. His son was Dhṛtimant. His son was Satyadhṛti. His son was Dṛḍhanemi. His son was Supārśva. His son was Sumati. His son was Sannatimant. Sannatimant’s son was Kṛta, to whom Hiraṇyanābha taught yoga, and who created twenty-four compendiums for brahmins in the east who sang the Sāma Veda. 11 Kṛta’s son was Ugrāyudha, by whom the Nīpa clan of kṣatriyas was almost annihilated. 12 Ugrāyudha’s son was Kṣemya. Kṣemya’s son was Suvīra. His son was Ripuṃjaya. His son was Bahuratha. Such were the descendants of Puru, the Pauravas.

Ajamīḍha’s wife was named Nalinī and they had a son called Nīla. His son was Śānti. Śānti’s son was Suśānti. Suśānti’s son was Purujānu. His son was Cakṣus. His son was Haryaśva. Haryaśva’s sons were Mudgala, Sṛñjaya, Bṛhadiṣu, Pravīra and Kāmpilya. Their father said, ‘My five (pañca) sons are able (alam) to protect their dominions’, hence their epithet, the Pāñcālas. 13 From Mudgala were descended the Maudgalyas, who were born kṣatriyas but later became brahmins. Mudgala’s son was Vadhyaśva. Vadhyaśva had twins, a son, Divodāsa, and a daughter, Ahalyā. With Ahalyā, Śaradvat had a son, Śatānanda. Śatānanda’s son was Satyadhṛti, who attained perfect knowledge of archery. While spying on the exquisite apsaras Urvaśī, Satyadhṛti ejaculated into a clump of grass. The clump split in half and brought forth two infants, a boy and a girl. One day, King Śāṃtanu was out hunting when he came upon the children and, feeling compassionate (kṛpā), he took them in. Accordingly, the boy was named Kṛpa, and the girl, Kṛpī. She later married Droṇa and was Aśvatthāman’s mother.

Divodāsa’s son was Mitrāyu. Mitrāyu’s son was the king called Cyavana. Cyavana’s son was Sudāsa. His son was Saudāsa Sahadeva. His son was Somaka. He had one hundred sons, of whom Jantu was the eldest and Pṛṣata the youngest. Pṛṣata’s son was Drupada. His son was Dhṛṣṭadyumna. His son was Dhṛṣṭaketu.

Ajamīḍha had another son by the name of Ṛkṣa. Ṛkṣa’s son was Saṃvaraṇa. Saṃvaraṇa’s son was Kuru, who created the sacred plain of Kurukṣetra. The preeminent sons of Kuru were Sudhanus, Jahnu and Parīkṣit. Sudhanus’s son was Suhotra. His son was Cyavana. Cyavana’s son was Kṛtaka. His son Uparicara was also known as Vasu. Vasu had seven sons led by Bṛhadratha, Pratyagra, Kuśāmba, Māvella and Matsya. Bṛhadratha’s son was Kuśāgra. His son was Ṛṣabha. His son was Puṣpavant. His son was Satyahita. His son was Sudhanvan. His son was Jantu. Bṛhadratha had another son who was born in two halves. These were joined together (saṃdhita) by a rākṣasī named Jarā. That’s why he was called Jarāsandha, ‘Joined by Jarā’. His son was Sahadeva. His son was Somapi. His son was Śrutaśravas. Such were the kings of Magadha. 14

So ends Chapter Nineteen in Book Four of the glorious Viṣṇu Purāṇa.

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

Mahābhārata, 1.90.30–33. These characters are at the heart of Kālidāsa’s great drama, Abhijñānaśākuntala.