Chapter Twenty-three
The Dynasties of the Sons of Yayati
1. Sukadeva Gosvami said: Anu, the fourth son of Yayati, had three sons, named Sabhanara, Caksu and Paresnu. O King, from Sabhanara came a son named Kalanara, and from Kalanara came a son named Srnjaya.
2. From Srnjaya came a son named Janamejaya. From Janamejaya came Mahasala; from Mahasala, Mahamana; and from Mahamana two sons, named Usinara and Titiksu.
3-4. The four sons of Usinara were Sibi, Vara, Krmi and Daksa, and from Sibi again came four sons, named Vrsadarbha, Sudhira, Madra and atma-tattva-vit Kekaya. The son of Titiksu was Rusadratha. From Rusadratha came Homa; from Homa, Sutapa; and from Sutapa, Bali.
5. By the semen of Dirghatama in the wife of Bali, the emperor of the world, six sons took birth, namely Anga, Vanga, Kalinga, Suhma, Pundra and Odra.
6. These six sons, headed by Anga, later became kings of six states in the eastern side of India. These states were known according to the names of their respective kings. From Anga came a son named Khalapana, and from Khalapana came Diviratha.
7-10. From Diviratha came a son named Dharmaratha, and his son was Citraratha, who was celebrated as Romapada. Romapada, however, was without issue, and therefore his friend Maharaja Dasaratha gave him his own daughter, named Santa. Romapada accepted her as his daughter, and thereafter she married Rsyasrnga. When the demigods from the heavenly planets failed to shower rain, Rsyasrnga was appointed the priest for performing a sacrifice, after being brought from the forest by the allurement of prostitutes, who danced, staged theatrical performances accompanied by music, and embraced and worshiped him. After Rsyasrnga came, the rain fell. Thereafter, Rsyasrnga performed a son-giving sacrifice on behalf of Maharaja Dasaratha, who had no issue, and then Maharaja Dasaratha had sons. From Romapada, by the mercy of Rsyasrnga, Caturanga was born, and from Caturanga came Prthulaksa.
11. The sons of Prthulaksa were Brhadratha, Brhatkarma and Brhadbhanu. From the eldest, Brhadratha, came a son named Brhanmana, and from Brhanmana came a son named Jayadratha.
12. The son of Jayadratha, by the womb of his wife Sambhuti, was Vijaya, and from Vijaya, Dhrti was born. From Dhrti came Dhrtavrata; from Dhrtavrata, Satkarma; and from Satkarma, Adhiratha.
13. While playing on the bank of the Ganges, Adhiratha found a baby wrapped up in a basket. The baby had been left by Kunti because he was born before she was married. Because Adhiratha had no sons, he raised this baby as his own. [This son was later known as Karna.]
14. O King, the only son of Karna was Vrsasena. Druhyu, the third son of Yayati, had a son named Babhru, and the son of Babhru was known as Setu.
15. The son of Setu was Arabdha, Arabdha’s son was Gandhara, and Gandhara’s son was Dharma. Dharma’s son was Dhrta, Dhrta’s son was Durmada, and Durmada’s son was Praceta, who had one hundred sons.
16. The Pracetas [the sons of Praceta] occupied the northern side of India, which was devoid of Vedic civilization, and became kings there. Yayati’s second son was Turvasu. The son of Turvasu was Vahni; the son of Vahni, Bharga; the son of Bharga, Bhanuman.
17. The son of Bhanuman was Tribhanu, and his son was the magnanimous Karandhama. Karandhama’s son was Maruta, who had no sons and who therefore adopted a son of the Puru dynasty [Maharaja Dusmanta] as his own.
18-19. Maharaja Dusmanta, desiring to occupy the throne, returned to his original dynasty [the Puru dynasty], even though he had accepted Maruta as his father. O Maharaja Pariksit, let me now describe the dynasty of Yadu, the eldest son of Maharaja Yayati. This description is supremely pious, and it vanquishes the reactions of sinful activities in human society. Simply by hearing this description, one is freed from all sinful reactions.
20-21. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, the Supersoul in the hearts of all living entities, descended in His original form as a human being in the dynasty or family of Yadu. Yadu had four sons, named Sahasrajit, Krosta, Nala and Ripu. Of these four, the eldest, Sahasrajit, had a son named Satajit, who had three sons, named Mahahaya, Renuhaya and Haihaya.
22. The son of Haihaya was Dharma, and the son of Dharma was Netra, the father of Kunti. From Kunti came a son named Sohanji, from Sohanji came Mahisman, and from Mahisman, Bhadrasenaka.
23. The sons of Bhadrasena were known as Durmada and Dhanaka. Dhanaka was the father of Krtavirya and also of Krtagni, Krtavarma and Krtauja.
24. The son of Krtavirya was Arjuna. He [Kartaviryarjuna] became the emperor of the entire world, consisting of seven islands, and received mystic power from Dattatreya, the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus he obtained the mystic perfections known as asta-siddhi.
25. No other king in this world could equal Kartaviryarjuna in sacrifices, charity, austerity, mystic power, education, strength or mercy.
26. For eighty-five thousand years, Kartaviryarjuna continuously enjoyed material opulences with full bodily strength and unimpaired memory. In other words, he enjoyed inexhaustible material opulences with his six senses.
27. Of the one thousand sons of Kartaviryarjuna, only five remained alive after the fight with Parasurama. Their names were Jayadhvaja, Surasena, Vrsabha, Madhu and Urjita.
28. Jayadhvaja had a son named Talajangha, who had one hundred sons. All the ksatriyas in that dynasty, known as Talajangha, were annihilated by the great power received by Maharaja Sagara from Aurva Rsi.
29. Of the sons of Talajangha, Vitihotra was the eldest. The son of Vitihotra named Madhu had a celebrated son named Vrsni. Madhu had one hundred sons, of whom Vrsni was the eldest. The dynasties known as Yadava, Madhava and Vrsni had their origin from Yadu, Madhu and Vrsni.
30-31. O Maharaja Pariksit, because Yadu, Madhu and Vrsni each inaugurated a dynasty, their dynasties are known as Yadava, Madhava and Vrsni. The son of Yadu named Krosta had a son named Vrjinavan. The son of Vrjinavan was Svahita; the son of Svahita, Visadgu; the son of Visadgu, Citramtha; and the son of Citraratha, Sasabindu. The greatly fortunate Sasabindu, who was a great mystic, possessed fourteen opulences and was the owner of fourteen great jewels. Thus he became the emperor of the world.
32. The famous Sasabindu had ten thousand wives, and by each he begot a lakh of sons. Therefore the number of his sons was ten thousand lakhs.
33. Among these many sons, six were the foremost, such as Prthusrava and Prthukirti. The son of Prthusrava was known as Dharma, and his son was known as Usana. Usana was the performer of one hundred horse sacrifices.
34. The son of Usana was Rucaka, who had five sons—Purujit, Rukma, Rukmesu, Prthu and Jyamagha. Please hear of these sons from me.
35-36. Jyamagha had no sons, but because he was fearful of his wife, Saibya, he could not accept another wife. Jyamagha once took from the house of some royal enemy a girl who was a prostitute, but upon seeing her Saibya was very angry and said to her husband, “My husband, you cheater, who is this girl sitting upon my seat on the chariot?” Jyamagha then replied, “This girl will be your daughter-in-law.” Upon hearing these joking words, Saibya smilingly replied.
37. Saibya said, “I am sterile and have no co-wife. How can this girl be my daughter-in-law? Please tell me.” Jyamagha replied, “My dear Queen, I shall see that you indeed have a son and that this girl will be your daughter-in-law.”
38. Long, long ago, Jyamagha had satisfied the demigods and Pitas by worshiping them. Now, by their mercy, Jyamagha’s words came true. Although Saibya was barren, by the grace of the demigods she became pregnant and in due course of time gave birth to a child named Vidarbha. Before the child’s birth, the girl had been accepted as a daughter-in-law, and therefore Vidarbha actually married her when he grew up.
