Candra Vaṃśa: The Lunar Dynasty

The Candra Vaṃśa (Lunar Dynasty) is one of the two great royal family lines of the Purāṇas. The other is the Ikshvāku or Solar Dynasty. The Lunar Dynasty begins with Soma, also called Candra, the moon, who was born from the tapas (austerity) of Atri Ṛshi. It then passes from Budha to Purūravas, Āyu, Nahusha and Yayāti, and divides into five branches through Yayāti’s sons Yadu, Turvasu, Druhyu, Anu and Pūru. In time it reaches the Pāṇḍavas, the Kauravas, and the Yādava line of Śrī Kṛshṇa.

Chapters 65 to 71 of the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa give that Purāṇa’s most detailed account of this dynasty.

Origin: Soma Born from Atri

The Lunar Dynasty begins with the birth of Soma (Candra) from the divine tapas of Atri Ṛshi. As Atri performed intense tapas, the divine energy gathered in his eyes. From those eyes came forth the shining being Soma, the lord of the moon. Brahmā saw Soma’s greatness and made him ruler of medicinal plants, the stars, the brāhmaṇas and the yajñas (fire offerings). Soma became the one who keeps plant life alive through his nightly dew and his monthly cycles.

Daksha’s 27 Daughters and Soma’s Favouritism

Soma married the 27 daughters of Daksha. These 27 wives are the 27 nakshatras (lunar mansions, the star groups the moon passes through). But Soma clearly favoured Rohiṇī, the most beautiful of the 27, and neglected the others.

The other 26 daughters complained to their father Daksha. Daksha warned Soma twice. When Soma kept favouring Rohiṇī, Daksha cursed him with rāja-yakshmā (a wasting disease, consumption). Soma’s light faded, and all the plants and beings who depended on him suffered.

The ṛshis appealed to Brahmā. Brahmā sent them to the Prabhāsa tīrtha (holy place), where Soma performed tapas to Śiva. Śiva softened the curse: instead of fading away forever, Soma would wax and wane each month, partly recovering and then partly shrinking again. Atri Ṛshi later cured him of what remained of the disease.

Soma’s Rājasūya and the Tārakāmaya War

Soma performed a great Rājasūya yajña (the royal consecration sacrifice). Brahmā himself served as the Brahman (the chief overseeing priest), and Vishṇu as the Sadasya (member of the assembly). This rite raised Soma to supreme rule among the devas.

But Soma’s pride grew, and he carried off Tārā, the wife of Bṛhaspati, the guru of the devas. This began the Tārakāmaya war, the war over Tārā. Śukrācārya took Soma’s side and Rudra took Bṛhaspati’s side, and the whole universe was divided. In the end Brahmā stepped in and ordered Soma to return Tārā, and Soma obeyed. Soma’s child Budha was born from Tārā.

Budha and Ilā: The Start of the Earthly Line

Budha (the planet Mercury), born from Tārā, met Ilā (also known as Sudyumna) in the holy forest of Śiva and Pārvatī. From their union was born Purūravas, the first king of the Lunar Dynasty to rule on earth. With Purūravas, the dynasty that began in svarga became a dynasty of the earth.

From Purūravas to Nahusha

The line runs:

  1. Purūravas
  2. Āyu, the eldest of Purūravas’s six sons
  3. Nahusha, a great cakravartin (universal emperor). He ruled svarga for a short time while Indra was in hiding, grew arrogant, and was finally cursed by Agastya Ṛshi to become a serpent.

Nahusha had six sons: Yati (who renounced the world), Yayāti, Saṃyāti, Āyāti, Viyāti and Kṛti.

Yayāti and the Five Branches

Yayāti was the great king whose story is told in Chapter 68. His five sons divided the Lunar Dynasty into five great branches:

  1. Yadu: the Yādava, Haihaya and Vṛshṇi dynasties, leading at last to Śrī Kṛshṇa
  2. Turvasu: the Pāṇḍya, Kerala and Cola kingdoms (Chapter 74)
  3. Druhyu: Gāndhāra and the northern frontier lands (Chapter 74)
  4. Anu: Uśīnara, Śibi and the eastern kingdoms; through Bali of the east came Aṅga, Vaṅga and Kaliṅga
  5. Pūru: the Paurava dynasty, leading to Bharata, then Kuru, then the line of Dhṛtarāshṭra and Pāṇḍu, and so to the Pāṇḍavas and Kauravas

The Line of Amāvasu and Viśvāmitra

A line descended from Amāvasu, the third son of Purūravas. It included Jahnu. The Gaṅgā entered Jahnu’s ear and came out again, and so she earned the name Jāhnavī. Further down this line came Saunahotra, Kāśu, Gṛtsamada, Śunaka and Śaunaka, the great ṛshi of the Naimisha forest. Viśvāmitra, the brahmarshi (ṛshi who knows Brahman), also belongs to this Amāvasu line, through Gādhi’s link to the family of Ṛcīka.

The Dhanvantari Branch and Kāśī

The Kāśī branch of the Lunar Dynasty runs:

Āyu → Nahusha → Kshatravṛddha → Saunahotra → Kāśu → … → Dhanvantari → Ketumān → Bhīmaratha → Divodāsa (king of Vārāṇasī)

Dhanvantari first appeared from the samudra-manthana (the churning of the ocean of milk), and in a second birth was born as the son of the king of Kāśī. This branch gave rise to the holy history of Avimukta (Kāśī).

Why the Lunar Dynasty Matters

The Lunar Dynasty has the most complex family tree of all the Purāṇic dynasties. Its importance is not only as royal history. It also carries a spiritual message: the earthly world of Bhāratavarsha is ruled by the descendants of the moon’s light. That light feeds all plant life. It guides the rhythm of time through the months and tithis (lunar days). Its very radiance is Soma, the amṛta (nectar) of the devas. The great events of the Mahābhārata, the life of Śrī Kṛshṇa, and the founding of the classical kingdoms of India all trace back through this one shining family line.

Sources

  • Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa, Madhyama Bhāga, Chapters 60 and 65–71
  • Brahmāṇḍa Mahā Purāṇa, Madhyama Bhāga, Chapter 74
  • Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Pūrṇa Kāṇḍa, Chapters 1–4