List of Kuru kings

 List of Kuru kings

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

Kuru was an ancient Indian kingdom. The kingdom emerged as a branch of the Rigvedic Puru tribe and lasted until the Nandas of Magadha dethroned them in the 350s BCE. Kuru kingdom is famous for Mahabharata and Kurukshetra War. Its capitals were Hastinapura and Indraprastha.

Core region of Kurus

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

Origin of lineage

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

 

List of kings

Vidhansabha I

Jahnu

Suratha

Vidhur At II

Sarvabhauma II

Jayasena

Radhika

Attaya

Akrodhana II

Devatha Thi II

Riksha III

Dilipa

Ana Swan II

Parikshit II

Janamejaya III

Bheemasena

Pratiksha

Pratipa

Shantanu

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.

Vichitravirya (younger brother of Chitrāngada, who died prematurely).

Pandu (son of Vichitravirya and Ambalika. Vidura, who was his half brother, served as his, and his elder brother's prime minister.)

Dhritarashtra II (older half-brother of Pandu and son of Ambika, who didn't succeed Vichitravirya directly due to his blindness).

The Kauravas, led by Duryodhana (sons of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari, who were slain in the Kurukshetra War).

The Pandavas, led by Chakravarti Samrat Yudhishthira (who were the main protagonists of the Mahabharata).

Parikshit III was the son of Abhimanyu and grandson of the Pandava Arjuna

Janamejaya

Śatānīka

Ashwaa

Adhisimakrishna

Nicakṣu

Citra Pratha

Vitamin

Sunega

Sunita

Nanak

Sikhana

Pari Plava

Sunaya

Nagaraja

Timi

Bṛhadratha

Sudarshan

Śatañika

Udayana

Mahindra

Dasgupta

Nimi

Karmakar

 

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.

 

 

Family of Pandavas

Pandavas and Upapandavas

"Pandavas" means "sons of King Pandu." The Pandavas were five in number: 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

 

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 Bhima), Shrutakarma (from Arjuna), Satanika (from Nakula) and Shrutasena (from Sahadeva)