List of Kuru kings

Kuru was an ancient Indian kingdom.^[2] The kingdom was emerged as a branch of Rigvedic Puru tribe and lasted until Nandas of Magadha dethroned them in 350s BCE.^[3] Kuru kingdom is famous for Mahabharata^[4] and Kurukshetra War.^[5] Its capital was Hastinapura and Indraprastha.^[6]

Core region of Kurus

Raja of Kuru
A Karshapana (½ silver coin) of Kuru ruler
Last to reign Kṣemaka 350s BCE
Details
Style	His Majesty
First monarch	Vidhuratha I (as the successor to the Puru king)
Last monarch	Kṣemaka
Formation	c. 1200 BCE
Abolition	350 BCE
Residence	Hastinapura Indraprastha Kosambi
Appointer	Sabhā[1]

Kuru Kingdom was split into three parts: Kuru proper (which itself also split 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.^[7]

Origin of lineage

King Kuru II of Puru dynasty after whom the dynasty was named 'Kuruvansha' or 'Kaurava'. After his name, the district in Haryana was called as Kurukshetra.^[8] By the glory, zenith and name of this king the dynasty hence renamed from Paurava Kingdom to Kuru Kingdom.^[9] 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.^[10]

List of kings

1. Vidhansabha I
2. Jahnu
3. Suratha
4. Vidhur At II
5. Sarvabhauma II
6. Jayasena
7. Radhika
8. Attaya
9. Akrodhana II
10. Devatha Thi II
11. Riksha III
12. Dilipa
13. Ana Swan II
14. Parikshit II
15. Janamejaya III
16. Bheemasena
17. Pratiksha
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 Yudhishthira (who were the main protagonists of the Mahabharata).
26. Parikshit III was the son of Abhimanyu; and grandson of the Pandava Arjuna
27. Janamejaya
28. Śatānīka
29. Ashwaa
30. Ashika
31. Nicakṣu
32. Citra Pratha
33. Vitamine
34. Sunega
35. Sunita
36. Nanak
37. Sikhana
38. Pari Plava
39. Sunaya
40. Nagaraja
41. Timi
42. Bṛhadratha
43. Sudarshan
44. Śatañika
45. Udayana
46. Mahindra
47. Dasgupta
48. Nimi
49. Karmakar

Kuru family tree

This shows the line of royal and family succession, not necessarily the parentage. See the notes below for detail.

v t e Kuru family tree
Kurua Anasawana Bheemasena(1)a Pratisravasa Pratipaa Gangā Shāntanua Satyavati Pārāshara Bhishma Chitrāngada Ambikā Vichitravirya Ambālikā Vyāsa Dhritarāshtrab Gāndhāri Shakuni Surya Devaa Kunti Pāndub Mādri Karnac Yudhishthirad Bhimad Arjunad Subhadrā Nakulad Sahadevad Duryodhanae Dussalā Dushāsana (98 sons) Abhimanyuf Uttarā Parikshit Madravti Janamejaya

Key to Symbols

• Male: blue border
• Female: red border
• Pandavas: green box
• Kauravas: yellow box

Notes

• a: Shantanu was a king of the Kuru dynasty or kingdom, and was some generations removed from any ancestor called Kuru. His marriage to Ganga preceded his marriage to Satyavati.
• b: Pandu and Dhritarashtra were fathered by Vyasa in the niyoga tradition after Vichitravirya's death. Dhritarashtra, Pandu and Vidura were the sons of Vyasa with Ambika, Ambalika and a maid servant respectively.
• c: Karna was born to Kunti through her invocation of Surya, before her marriage to Pandu.
• d: Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva were acknowledged sons of Pandu but were begotten by the invocation by Kunti and Madri of various deities. They all married Draupadi (not shown in tree).
• e: Duryodhana and his siblings were born at the same time, and they were of the same generation as their Pandava cousins.
• f : Although the succession after the Pandavas was through the descendants of Arjuna and Subhadra, it was Yudhishthira and Draupadi who occupied the throne of Hastinapura after the great battle.

The birth order of siblings is correctly shown in the family tree (from left to right), except for Vyasa and Bhishma whose birth order is not described, and Vichitravirya and Chitrangada who were born after them. The fact that Ambika and Ambalika are sisters is not shown in the family tree. The birth of Duryodhana took place after the birth of Karna, Yudhishthira and Bhima, but before the birth of the remaining Pandava brothers.

Some siblings of the characters shown here have been left out for clarity; this includes Vidura, half-brother to Dhritarashtra and Pandu.

Family of Pandavas

Main articles: 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.^[11]

• Yaudheya was the son of Yudhishthira and Devika.
• Ghatotkacha was the son of Bhima and Hidimbi
• Abhimanyu was the son of Arjuna and Subhadra.
• Babruvahana was the son of Arjuna and Chitrāngadā.
• Iravan was the son of Arjuna and Ulupi.
• Niramitra was the son of Nakula and Karenumati.
• Suhotra was the son of Sahadeva and Queen Vijaya.
• Upapandavas were the 5 sons of Pandava and Draupadi (daughter of King Drupada of Panchala). Their names were Prativindhya (from Yudhishthira), Sutasoma (from Bheema), Shrutakarma (from Arjuna), Satanika (from Nakula) and Shrutasena (from Sahadeva).^[12]

See also

• Uttara Kurus
• Janapada
• Mahajanapada
• Mahabharata
• Kurukshetra War
• Krishna
• Painted Grey Ware culture

Notes

References

1. "Janapada State in Ancient India".
2. Pletcher 2010, p. 63. sfn error: no target: CITEREFPletcher2010 (help)
3. B. Kölver, ed. (1997). Recht, Staat und Verwaltung im klassischen Indien [Law, State and Administration in Classical India] (in German). München: R. Oldenbourg. pp. 27–52.
4. "Mahabharata". Collins English Dictionary (13th ed.). HarperCollins. 2018. ISBN 978-0-008-28437-4.
5. Narayan, R. K. (1 March 2001). The Mahabharata. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 978-0-14-119081-5.
6. "Uttar Pradesh - History". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
7. Raychaudhuri 1953, p. 21-23. sfn error: no target: CITEREFRaychaudhuri1953 (help)
8. "Kurukshetra (India)". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
9. The Chronology of India: From Manu to Mahabharata ISBN 978-8194321309
10. Dalal, Roshen (18 April 2014). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin UK. ISBN 978-81-8475-277-9.
11. Bonnefoy, Yves. Asian Mythologies. translated under the direction of Wendy Doniger. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press. 1993. pp. 180–183. ISBN 0-226-06456-5
12. van Buitenen, J.A.B., ed. (1981). The Mahābhārata. Translated by van Buitenen (Phoenix ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226846644.