List of Kuru kings explained

Border:royal
Royal Title:Raja
Realm:Kuru
Last Monarch:Kṣemaka
Style:His Majesty
Residence:
Appointer:Sabhā[1]
Began:c. 1200 BCE
Ended:350 BCE

Kuru was an ancient Indian kingdom. The kingdom was emerged as a branch of Rigvedic Puru tribe and lasted until Nandas of Magadha dethroned them in 350s BCE.[2] Kuru kingdom is famous for Mahabharata[3] and Kurukshetra War.[4] Its capital was Hastinapura and Indraprastha.[5]

Kuru Kingdom was split into three parts: Kuru proper (which itself also spilt into Vatsa kingdom) "Kurujangala" and "Uttarakuru".Kuru proper was in the middle region of Ganga-Yammuna Doab, Kurujangala was in western part and Uttarakuru was in eastern region.

Origin of lineage

King Kuru II of Puru dynastyafter whom the dynasty was named 'Kuruvansha' or 'Kaurava'. After his name, the district in Haryana was called as Kurukshetra.[6] By the glory, zenith and name of this king the dynasty hence renamed from Paurava Kingdom to Kuru Kingdom.[7] After these Kings several kings of this dynasty established several kingdoms. He had three sons, namely Vidhuratha I who became the ruler of Pratisthana, Vyushitaswa who died at a very young age, and Sudhanva, who became the ruler of Magadha. Henceforth, Vidhuratha became the first kuru king of Hastinapura.[8]

List of kings

  1. Vidhuratha I
  2. Jahnu
  3. Suratha
  4. Vidhuratha II
  5. Sarvabhauma II
  6. Jayasena
  7. Radhika
  8. Ayutayu
  9. Akrodhana II
  10. Devaththi II
  11. Riksha III
  12. Dilipa
  13. Anaswan II
  14. Parikshit II
  15. Janamejaya III
  16. Bheemasena
  17. Pratishravas
  18. Pratipa
  19. Shantanu
  20. Chitrāngada (son of Shantanu, who was killed prematurely. Bhishma, who was the eldest son of the Shantanu and Ganga; had functioned as the regent of the Kurus, under Chitrāngada, Vichitravirya, Pandu and Dhritarashtra II)
  21. Vichitravirya (younger brother of Chitrāngada, who died prematurely).
  22. Pandu (son of Vichitravirya and Ambalika. Vidura, who was his half brother, served as his, and his elder brother's Prime Minister)
  23. Dhritarashtra II (older half-brother of Pandu, and son of Ambika who didn't succeed Vichitravirya directly due to his blindness).
  24. The Kauravas, led by Duryodhana (sons of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari, who were slain in the Kurukshetra War).
  25. The Pandavas, led by Chakravarti Samrat Yudhishtira (who were the main protagonists of the Mahabharata).
  26. Parikshit III was the son of Abhimanyu; and grandson of the Pandava Arjuna
  27. Janamejaya IV
  28. Śatānīka
  29. Ashwamedhatta (Ashwamedhaja)
  30. Asīmakṛṣṇa
  31. Nemicakra
  32. Citraratha
  33. Vṛṣṭimān
  34. Suṣeṇa
  35. Sunītha
  36. Nṛcakṣu
  37. Sukhīnala
  38. Pariplava
  39. Sunaya
  40. Nṛpañjaya
  41. Timi
  42. Bṛhadratha
  43. Sudāsa
  44. Śatānīka
  45. Udayana
  46. Mahīnara
  47. Daṇḍapāṇi
  48. Nimi
  49. Kṣemaka

Kuru family tree

Family of Pandavas

See main article: Pandavas and Upapandavas.

Pandavas means sons of King Pandu. Pandavas were five in number as: Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. The first three of five Pandavas were the sons of Kunti and Pandu while the younger two were born to Madri after Pandu's request.[9]

See also

Notes and References

  1. https://web.archive.org/web/20160817151315/http://dli.ernet.in/handle/2015/131690
  2. Book: B. Kölver . 1997 . Recht, Staat und Verwaltung im klassischen Indien . Law, State and Administration in Classical India . de . München . R. Oldenbourg . 27–52.
  3. Book: Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. 2018. 978-0-008-28437-4. 13th. Mahabharata.
  4. Book: Narayan, R. K.. The Mahabharata. 2001-03-01. Penguin Books Limited. 978-0-14-119081-5. en.
  5. Web site: Uttar Pradesh - History. Encyclopedia Britannica. en. 2019-12-16.
  6. Web site: Kurukshetra (India) . Encyclopædia Britannica . 9 August 2014 . 10 August 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140810005148/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/325415/Kurukshetra . live .
  7. The Chronology of India: From Manu to Mahabharata
  8. Book: Dalal, Roshen . Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide . 2014-04-18 . Penguin UK . 978-81-8475-277-9 . en.
  9. Bonnefoy, Yves. Asian Mythologies. translated under the direction of Wendy Doniger. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press. 1993. pp. 180–183.
  10. Book: The Mahābhārata. registration. 1981. University of Chicago Press. Chicago. 9780226846644. Phoenix. van Buitenen, J.A.B. . van Buitenen.