The Lunar dynasty (

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Brahmic family, Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that ...

: Candravaṃśa) is a legendary principal house of the

Kshatriya Kshatriya () (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority"; also called Rajanya) is one of the four varnas (social orders) of Hindu society and is associated with the warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...

s varna, or warrior–ruling varna (Social Class) mentioned in the ancient Indian texts. This legendary dynasty was said to be descended from moon-related deities ('' Soma'' or ''

Chandra Chandra (), also known as Soma (), is the Hindu god of the Moon, and is associated with the night, plants and vegetation. He is one of the Navagraha (nine planets of Hinduism) and Dikpala (guardians of the directions). Etymology and other ...

''). According to the ''

Shatapatha Brahmana The Shatapatha Brahmana (, , abbreviated to 'SB') is a commentary on the Yajurveda, Śukla Yajurveda. It is attributed to the Vedic sage Yajnavalkya. Described as the most complete, systematic, and important of the Brahmanas (commentaries on the ...

'', Pururavas was the son of

Budha Budha () is the Sanskrit word for the planet Mercury (planet), Mercury, personified as a god. Also a god who represented the intelligence. He is also known as Somaya, Rohinaya, and rules over the nakshatra, ''nakshatra''s (lunar mansions) of A ...

(himself often described as the son of Soma) and the gender-switching deity Ila (born as the daughter of Manu). Pururavas's great-grandson was Yayati, who had five sons named Yadu, Turvasu, Druhyu, Anu, and Puru. These seem to be the names of five Vedic tribes as described in the

Vedas FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...

. According to the ''Mahabharata'', Lunar dynasty's progenitor Ila ruled from Prayaga, and had a son Shashabindu who ruled in the country of Bahli. The son of Ila and

was Pururavas, who became the first Chandravamsha, emperor of all of the earth. Ila's descendants were also known as the Ailas.Encyclopaedia of the Hindu world, Volume 1 by Gaṅgā Rām Garg
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In Mahabharata

In Hindu texts, the

Kurukshetra War The Kurukshetra War (), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the Hindu Indian epic poetry, epic poem ''Mahabharata'', arising from a dynastic struggle between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, for the thr ...

, which forms the subject of the Indian epic ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

'', was largely fought between rival branches of the Lunar dynasty, famously resulting in

Arjuna Arjuna (, , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, �ɾd͡ʒun̪ə is one of the central characters of the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is the third of the five Pandava brothers, and is widely regarded as the most important and renowned among them. ...

's turn away from war and the reprimand of his mentor Krishna. Krishna reminds Arjuna that dharma stands above everything, and the text forms an integral cultural cornerstone for all four

houses. By the conclusion of the Kurukshetra War, most of the Yaduvamsha lineage is in peril. The sinking of

Dvārakā Dvārakā, also known as Dvāravatī (Sanskrit द्वारका "the gated ity, possibly meaning having many gates, or alternatively having one or several very grand gates), is a sacred historic city in the sacred literature of Hi ...

sees the destruction of the entire Yaduvamsha lineage, with the exception of

Vajra The Vajra (, , ), is a legendary and ritualistic tool, symbolizing the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force). It is also described as a "ritual weapon". The use of the bell and vajra together as s ...

, who was saved by

, and later becomes the King of Mathura.

Branches and rulers of dynasty

References

Sources

External links

*{{Commonscatinline Kshatriya Mythological peoples Kingdoms in the Mahabharata

In Mahabharata

Branches and rulers of dynasty

See also

References

Sources

External links