The Turvasu dynasty (Sanskrit: तुर्वसुवंश, romanized: Turvasuvaṃśa), Druhyu dynasty (Sanskrit: द्रुह्युवंश, romanized: Druhyuvaṃśa) and the Anu dynasty (Sanskrit: अनुवंश, romanized: Anuvaṃśa) are the names of three legendary cadet branches of the Lunar dynasty in Hindu literature, featured in the Puranas and the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Legend

According to Hindu mythology, King Yayati surreptitiously married the daitya princess and his wife Devayani's maid, Sharmistha, after she begged him to bear her children. When Devayani learnt of her husband's infidelity to her, she hastened to inform her father, the sage Shukra. Angered, Shukra cursed his son-in-law with premature old age and infirmity. When Yayati begged him to temper the curse, the sage consented, allowing him to exchange its consequences with one of his sons. Yayati asked each of his sons to bear the curse for a time, and all of them refused, except his youngest, Puru. After a thousand years of enjoying the sensual company of his wives, Yayati named Puru his heir and retired to the forest.[1][2] The Vishnu Purana states that owing to the fact that they had refused to accept their father's curse, Turvasu, Druhyu, and Anu received smaller regions of Yayati's domains to rule for themselves.[3]

Genealogy

Turvasu, Druhyu, and Anu are all described to be the sons of King Yayati. Turvasu is stated to be the king's second son from his first wife, Devayani, while Druhyu and Anu are his first and second sons from his second wife, Sharmishtha.[4] Yadu, the first son of Yayati from Devayani, went on to form a cadet branch named the Yaduvamsha due to being stripped of his heirdom, while Puru, his youngest son from Sharmishtha and eventual heir, continued the main line of the Lunar dynasty, which later also came to be known as Puruvamsha.[5]

The Harivamsha offers descriptions of the descendants and successors of Turvasu, Druhyu, and Anu:[6]

Turvasu dynasty

Druhyu dynasty

Anu dynasty

See also

References

  1. ^ Doniger, Wendy; O'Flaherty, Wendy Doniger (1988). The Origins of Evil in Hindu Mythology. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 238. ISBN 978-81-208-0386-2.
  2. ^ Dalal, Roshen (2014-04-18). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin UK. p. 428. ISBN 978-81-8475-277-9.
  3. ^ Chaturvedi, B. K. (2006). Vishnu Purana. Diamond Pocket Books (P) Ltd. p. 84. ISBN 978-81-7182-673-5.
  4. ^ Burnett, Leon; Bahun, Professor Sanja; Main, Roderick (2018-05-01). Myth, Literature, and the Unconscious. Routledge. p. 86. ISBN 978-0-429-91645-8.
  5. ^ www.wisdomlib.org (2019-01-27). "Puruvamsha, Pūruvaṃśa, Puru-vamsha: 1 definition". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 2023-01-29.
  6. ^ Krishna's Lineage: The Harivamsha of Vyasa's Mahabharata. Oxford University Press. 2019-07-02. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-19-027920-2.

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Ramayana
Mahabharata
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