The Lunar dynasty ( IAST: Candravaṃśa) is a legendary principal house of the Kshatriyas varna, or warrior–ruling caste mentioned in the ancient Indian texts. This legendary dynasty was said to be descended from moon-related deities ('' Soma'' or '' Lunar''). The Hindu deity

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...

is believed to have been born in the Yaduvamsha branch of the Lunar dynasty. According to the ''

Shatapatha Brahmana The Shatapatha Brahmana ( sa, शतपथब्राह्मणम् , Śatapatha Brāhmaṇam, meaning 'Brāhmaṇa of one hundred paths', abbreviated to 'SB') is a commentary on the Śukla (white) Yajurveda. It is attributed to the Vedic ...

'', Pururavas was the son of Budha (himself often described as the son of Soma) and the gender-switching deity Ila (born as the daughter of

Manu Manu may refer to: Geography *Manú Province, a province of Peru, in the Madre de Dios Region ** Manú National Park, Peru **Manú River, in southeastern Peru * Manu River (Tripura), which originates in India and flows into Bangladesh *Manu Temp ...

). Pururavas's great-grandson was Yayati, who had five sons named Yadu, Turvasu, Druhyu,

Anu Anu ( akk, , from wikt:𒀭#Sumerian, 𒀭 ''an'' “Sky”, “Heaven”) or Anum, originally An ( sux, ), was the sky father, divine personification of the sky, king of the gods, and ancestor of many of the list of Mesopotamian deities, dei ...

, and Puru. These seem to be the names of five Vedic tribes as described in the

Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute th ...

. According to the ''Mahabharata'', the dynasty's progenitor Ila ruled from Prayaga, and had a son Shashabindu who ruled in the country of Bahli. The son of Ila and Budha was Pururavas who became the first Chandravamsha emperor of the entirety of the earth. Ila's descendants were also known as the Ailas.Encyclopaedia of the Hindu world, Volume 1 By Gaṅgā Rām Garg
/ref> LUNAR_DYNASTY_(Chandravamsha)

Mahabharata

In Hindu texts, the Kurukshetra War, which forms the subject of the Indian epic ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the K ...

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

Arjuna Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Pand ...

'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 Kshatriya houses. By the conclusion of the Kurukshetra War, most of the Yaduvamsha lineage is in peril. The sinking of Dvaraka sees the destruction of the entire Yaduvamsha lineage, with the exception of

Vajra The Vajra () is a legendary and ritual weapon, symbolising the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force). The vajra is a type of club with a ribbed spherical head. The ribs may meet in a ball-shape ...

, who was saved by

, and later becomes the King of Mathura.

References

Sources

External links

*{{Commonscatinline Kshatriya Mythological peoples Kingdoms in the Mahabharata

Mahabharata

See also

References

Sources

External links