Parva 1 Chapter 34: vṛṣṇi vaṁśa varṇanam - dynasty of vṛṣṇi

King kroṣṭu, the third son of yadu, had two wives gāndhāri and mādri; lady gāndhāri gave birth to the highly powerful anamitra and lady mādri to yudhājit and devamīḍhuṣa... each one individually perpetuated vṛṣṇi dynasty making it to threefold... mādryāḥ putrasya jajṣāte sutau vṛṣṇi andhakāu ubhau | jajṣāte tanayau vṛṣṇeḥ śva-phalkaḥ citrakaḥ tathā || 1-34-3 śvaphalkaḥ tu mahārāja dharmātmā yatra vartate | na asti vyādhi bhayaṁ tatra na avarṣa bhayam api uta || 1-34-4 Lady mādri’s son yudhājit begot two sons namely vṛṣṇi and andhaka, of them vṛṣṇi begot two sons called shva-phalka and citraka... wherever the virtuous souled shvaphalka lived, oh, king janamejaya, there existed no fear of disease or of draught... kadācit kāśi-rājasya vibhoḥ bharatasattama | trīṇi varṣāṇi viṣaye na avarṣat pākaśāsanaḥ || 1-34-5 sa tatra vāsayāmāsa śvaphalkaṁ paramārchitam | shvaphalka parivarte ca vavarṣa hari-vāhanaḥ || 1-34-6 śvaphalkaḥ kāśi rājasya sutāṁ bhāryām avindata | O foremost of bharatā-s, once indra, the controller of rain, poured no showers in the territories of the king of kāśi for three years, hence the king of kāśi brought the reverend shvaphalka to sojourn in kāśi, and As soon as shvaphalka set foot in kāśi, indra showered rain... whereupon king of kāśi gratefully gave his daughter lady gāndini to this pious-soul shvaphalka in marriage... gāndinīṁ nāma sā gāṁ tu dadau vipreṣu nityaśaḥ || 1-34-7 sā mātuḥ udarasthā tu bahūn varṣa gaṇān kila | nivasantī na vai jajṣe garbhasthāṁ tāṁ pita abravīt || 1-34-8 jāyasva śīghraṁ bhadraṁ te kim artham iha tiṣṭhasi | provāca ca enaṁ garbhasthā kanyā gāṁ ca dine dine || 1-34-9 yadi dadyāṁ tataḥ adya āhaṁ jāyayiṣyāmi tāṁ pitā | tatha iti uvāca taṁ ca asyāḥ pitā kāmam apūrayat || 1-34-10 Lady gāndini had an observance of donating one cow a day to brāhmaṇas. Why because, she remained as an undelivered child in her mother's womb for many years, and her father asked the child in the womb, "Be born very soon. May you farewell, why do you live there?" The daughter from the womb replied "I have a vow to donate one cow per a day to the eligible. If you agree to this I shall take my birth now itself..." to this her father, the king of kāśi said, "so be it..." and later when she took birth, that king implemented his daughter’s go-dāna vrata, cow-donation... hence she got her name gāṁ+dini; gām dadati... dātā yajvā ca dhīraḥ ca śrutavān atithi priyaḥ | akrūraḥ suṣuve tasmāt śvaphalkāt bhūri dakṣiṇaḥ || 1-34-11 upāsaṅgaḥ tathā madruḥ mṛduraḥ ca arimejayaḥ | avikṣipaḥ tatha upekṣaḥ śatrughnaḥ atha arimardanaḥ || 1-34-12 dharmadhṛk yatidharmā ca gṛdhro bhojaḥ andhakaḥ tathā | āvāha prativāhau ca sundarī ca varāṅganā || 1-34-13 shvaphalka begot on lady gāndini the heroic and liberal akrūra, who is well read in scriptures, celebrated many vedic rituals, a philanthropist and fond of guests... upāsaṅga, madru, mṛdura, arimejaya , avikṣipa, upekṣa, shatrughna, ari-mardana, dharma-dhṛk,. yati-dharm, gṛdhra, bhoja, andhaka, āvāha and prativāha are his brothers... and a beautiful damsel named sundari is his sister... akrūreṇa ugrasenāyāṁ sugātryāṁ kurunandana | prasenaḥ ca upadevaḥ ca jajṣāte deva-varchasau || 1-34-14 akrūra begot two sons on lady sugātri, the daughter of king ugra-sena, named prasena and upadeva who looked akin to celestials... citrakasya abhavat putrāḥ pṛthuḥ vipṛthuḥ eva ca | aśvagrīvaḥ aśvabāhuḥ ca supārśvaka gaveṣaṇau || 1-34-15 ariṣṭanemiḥ aśvaḥ ca sudharmā dharmabhṛt tathā | subāhuḥ bahubāhuḥ ca śraviṣṭha śravaṇe striyau || 1-34-16 citraka, the second son of vṛṣṇi, begot many children of whom the sons are: pṛthu, vipṛthu, aśva-grīva, aśva-bāhu, su-pārśvaka, gaveṣaṇa, ariṣṭanemi, ashva, su-dharma, dharma-bhṛt, su-bāhu, and bahu-bāhu... he had two daughters too whose names are: śraviṣṭha and śravaṇa... aśmakyāṁ janayāmāsa śūraṁ vai devamīḍhuṣaḥ | mahiṣyāṁ jajṣire śūrāt bhojyāyāṁ puruṣā daśa || 1-34-17 vasudevo mahābāhuḥ pūrvam ānaka-dundubhiḥ | jajṣe yasya prasūtasya dundubhyaḥ praṇadan divi || 1-34-18 ānakānāṁ ca saṁhrādaḥ sumahān abhavat divi | papāta puṣpa varṣaṁ ca śūrasya bhavane mahat || 1-34-19 manuṣya loke kṛtsne'pi rūpe nāsti samo bhuvi | yasya āsīt puruṣāgryasya kāntiḥ candramaso yathā || 1-34-20 deva-mīdhṣa is the third son of king kroṣṭu, where kroṣṭu himself is the third son of king yadu... this deva-mīdhṣa begot a son named śūra through lady ashmaki, while śūra begot ten sons through his queen lady bhojya, aka lady māriṣa, of whom the mighty armed vasu-deva is the first one... at the time of the birth of vasu-deva celestial drums have been reverberated in the heaven, hence, he is also known as ānaka-dundubhi.... further, bugles echoed heaven and earth, a great flower-shower took place on the palace of his father, namely king śūra... in the entire world none equalled vasu-deva in charm... and emergence of this neonate seemed to be the emergence of full moon – pūrṇachandrodayam... deva-bhāgaḥ tato jajṣe tathā deva-śravāḥ punaḥ | anādhṛṣṭiḥ kanavako vatsāvān atha gṛṣjimaḥ || 1-34-21 śyāmaḥ śamīko gaṇḍūṣaḥ paṣcha ca asya varāṅganāḥ | pṛthu-kīrtiḥ pṛthā caiva śruta-devā śruta-śravāḥ || 1-34-22 rājādhi-devī ca tathā paṣchaitā vīra-mātaraḥ | Then the other sons of king śūra are: deva-bhāga,, deva-shrava, anādhṛṣṭi, kanavaka, vatsāvān, gṛṣjima, śyāma, śamīka, and gaṇḍūṣa... besides these sons king śūra also had five beautiful daughters: pṛthu-kīrti, pṛtha, shruta-deva, shruta-shrava and rājādhi-devi... every one of these ladies gave birth to heroic sons... pṛthāṁ duhitaraṁ vavre kuntiḥ tāṁ kurunandana || 1-34-23 śūraḥ pujyāya vṛddhāya kunti-bhojāya tāṁ dadau || tasmāt kuntīti vikhyātā kunti-bhoja-ātmajā pṛthā || 1-34-24 The king kunti chose to adopt damsel pṛtha as his daughter, and śūra conferred her on the aged and worshipful kunti-bhoja for adoption... she is therefore renowned as the daughter of kunti-bhoja... antyasya śrutadevāyāṁ jagṛhuḥ suṣuve sutaḥ | śruta-śravāyāṁ caidyasya śiśupālo mahābalaḥ || 1-34-25 hiraṇyakaśipuḥ yaḥ asau daitya rājo abhavat purā | pṛthukīrtyāṁ tu tanayaḥ saṁjajṣe vṛddhaśarmaṇaḥ || 1-34-26 karūṣādhipatirvīro dantavaktro mahābalaḥ | pṛthāṁ duhitaraṁ cakre kuntistāṁ pāṇḍurāvahat || 1-34-27 yasyāṁ sa dharma-vit rājā dharmāt jajṣe yudhiṣṭhiraḥ | bhīmasenaḥ tathā vātāt indrāt caiva dhanaṣjayaḥ || 1-34-28 loke a-prati-ratho vīraḥ śakra tulaya parākramaḥ | antya married lady shruta-devi and begot a son named jagṛhu; king of chedi married lady shruta-shrava and begot the highly powerful śiśu-pāla, who in his previous birth the daitya king named hiraṇya-kaśipu; vṛddhaśarma married lady pṛthu-kīrti and begot a son on her who is the highly powerful hero danta-vaktra, and who later became the king of karūṣa; and as already said kunti-bhoja adopted lady pṛtha as his daughter, from whom yudhiṣṭhira, a proficient one in ethics, took birth from the haecceity of dharma, the presiding god of ethics; bhīmasena from the quiddity of wind-god, and dhanaṣjaya aka arjuna from the quintessence of indra, wherefore arjuna became an untrammelled chariot-warrior in the world, valorous battler, no less vanquisher than indra... anamitrāt śiniḥ jajṣe kaniṣṭhāt vṛṣṇi nandanāt || 1-34-29 śaineyaḥ satyakaḥ tasmāt yuyudhānaḥ ca sātyakiḥ | asaṅgo yuyudhānasya bhūmiḥ tasya abhavat sutaḥ || 1-34-30 bhūmeḥ yugadharaḥ putra iti vaṁśaḥ samāpyate | The youngest of vṛṣṇi dynasts, namely anamitra, the son of king kroṣṭu and lady gāndhāri, begot a son named shini; the lineage from him is: shini --> sātyaka --> sātyaki aka yuyudhana --> asaṅga--> bhūmi--> yugadhara, with whom this particular lineage has ended.... uddhavo deva-bhāgasya mahābhāgaḥ sutaḥ abhvat | paṇḍitānāṁ paraṁ prāhuḥ deva-shravasam udbhavam || 1-34-31 aśmakyāṁ prāptavān putram anādhṛṣṭiḥ yashasvinam | nivṛtta-śatruṁ śatrughnaṁ deva-śravā vyajāyata || 1-34-32 Of the sons of king śūra and the second brother of vasu-deva, deva-bhaga begot a highly fortunate son named uddhava, who is said to be the foremost among the learned and whose renown is like that of a celestial – deva vat śravaḥ - kīrtiḥ – yasya; deva-shravasam... the fourth brother of vasu-deva, namely anādhṛṣṭi begot on his wife ashmaki an illustrious son by name nivṛtta-śatru, and deva-shrava, the third brother of vasu-deva, begat a son by name shatrughna... devaśravāḥ prajātaḥ tu naiṣādiryaḥ prati-śrutaḥ | ekalavyo mahārāja niṣādaiḥ pari-vardhitaḥ || 1-34-33 There is hearsay that deva-shrava had another son who for some reason is discarded in his infant stage, and brought up by tribal people and they call him as ekalavya... prati-shruti = unconfirmed news, rumour. vatsāvate tu a-putrāya vasudevaḥ pratāpavān | adbhiḥ dadau sutaṁ vīraṁ śauriḥ kaushikam aurasam || 1-34-34 vatsavān, aka vatsa-bhānu, the other brother of vasudeva, is sonless... therefore, shauri, i.e., śūra's son, namely vasu-deva, gave him his own son, the heroic kaushika, with water-libation... gaṇḍūṣāya tu a-putrāya viṣvakseno dadau sutān | cārudeṣṇaṁ sucāruṁ ca paṣcālaṁ kṛtalakṣaṇam || 1-34-35 a-saṁgrāmeṇa yaḥ vīro na āvartata kadācana | raukmiṇeyo mahābāhuḥ kanīyān puruṣarṣabha || 1-34-36 vāyasānāṁ sahasrāṇi yaṁ yāntaṁ pṛṣṭhato'nvayuḥ | cāru māṁsāni bhokṣyāmaḥ cārudeṣṇa hatāni tu || 1-34-37 gaṇḍūṣa, another brother of vasu-deva, too had no issue and therefore viṣvaksena, viṣṇu, gave him four sons namely cārudeṣṇa, sucāru, paṣcāla, and kṛta-lakṣaṇa... The heroic (cārudeṣṇa) 'never used to return from a battle without fighting. O foremost of men janamejaya, the large-armed raukmiṇeya is the youngest of all... whenever he used to travel thousands of crows followed him with the hope "we shall feed upon the sweet meat of various animals slain by cārudeṣṇa..." These three verses have difficult parsing – kliṣṭānvayam, and MN Dutt translated it very dryly as above bracketing cārudeṣṇa. By the nomenclature viṣvaksena, cārudeṣṇa and raukmiṇeya, it is incongruously said in the available vernacular translations that cārudeṣṇa is the youngest son rukmiṇi, the prospective wife of yet-to-take-birth Krishna, took birth by the grace of viṣvaksena, aka Krishna himself, to gaṇḍūṣa. This then means that Krishna has graced his father’s brother gaṇḍūṣa to have a son named cārudeṣṇa from his yet-to-marry-wife rukmiṇi. Whoever may be raukmiṇeyā-s and viṣvaksenā-s the word cārudeṣṇa means: cāru= miṣṭān, bhakśyān= very good eatables; dishati= atisṛjati= gives, a giver; hence cārudeṣṇa. This should be the name given by crows to the character in question, saying, “Because he gives very good eatables, carcases, let us follow him...” tandrijaḥ tandri-pālaḥ ca sutau kanavakasya tu | vīraḥ ca aśva-hanaḥ caiva vīrau tau āvagṛṣjimau || 1-34-38 śyāma putraḥ śamīkaḥ tu śamīko rājyam āvahat | jugupsamānau bhojatvāt rājasūyam avāpa saḥ | ajāta-śatruḥ śatrūṇāṁ jajṣe tasya vināśanaḥ || 1-34-39 kanavaka, another brother of vasu-deva, had two sons namely tandrija and tandri-pāla. gṛṣjima had two valiant sons namely vīra and ashwa-hana. Another brother of vasu-deva, namely śyāma looked after his younger brother śamīka as his own son... hence śamīka obtained the kingdom of bhojā-s, but considered himself unworthy for being the king of one province of bhojā-s and to stunt himself to one bhoja dynasty... accordingly he undertook conquering many kings whereby he performed a rājasūya ritual. Later, having secured the help of ajāta-śatru, namely yudhiṣṭhira, that enemy eliminator śamīka became a king of vast province.... śamīka is also read as sumitra. Again some inconsistency is there in the above verses. vasudeva sutān vīrān kīrtayiṣyāmi tāṣ śṛṇu || 1-34-40 vṛṣṇeḥ tri-vidham etat tu bahu-śākhaṁ mahaujasam | dhārayan vipulaṁ vaṁśaṁ na anarthaiḥ iha yujyate || 1-34-41 Hear now as I narrate about the descendants of vasu-deva. He who meditates on this very powerful threefold vṛṣṇi lineage, consisting of many branches, is never visited by any misfortune in this world. --o)0(o-- iti śrīmahābhārate khileṣu harivaṁśe harivaṁśaparvaṇi vṛṣṇi-vaṁśa kīrtanaṁ nāma chatustriṁśo'dhyāyaḥ Thus, this is the thirty-fourth chapter of first canto called harivamsha-parva, in harivamśa-purāṇa, the sequel of mahābhārata, narrating the dynasty of vṛṣṇi.