Kshatriya Kings and Queens

Citrasena was a king of grave pāpa who kept the Janmāshṭamī vow by chance on the Yamunā bank and rose with his ancestors to the abode of Bhagavān Vishṇu.

Ketumanta was a Kaliṅga commander who came to the Kurukshetra war with the Kaliṅga elephant corps as an ally of the Kauravas.

Śailālaya was the father's father of Bhagadatta, king of Prāgjyotisha. By the power of his tapas he reached the abode of Mahendra.

Uddhava was the friend, disciple and minister of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa, who received the Uddhava Gītā and carried Kṛshṇa's message to Vṛndāvana.

Citrāyudha was a warrior allied with the Pāṇḍavas, named among their *rathas* in Bhīshma's count of warriors before the war at Kurukshetra.

Khāṇḍikya was a Janaka king who lost his kingdom to his cousin Keśidhvaja, refused to take it back, asked for liberation instead and attained it.

Śakuni of the Ikshvāku line was a prince who came to Hāṭakeśvara for the great gathering told in the Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa.

Ugrā was the queen of King Cakrapāṇi of Gandakī-nagara and the mother of the daitya Sindhu, who was born from the ocean.

Citraketu was a Pāñcāla prince who fought for the Pāṇḍavas at Kurukshetra and was killed by Droṇācārya in the Droṇa Parva.

Khāṭvāṅga Mahārāja fought for the devas, learned he had one muhūrta to live, gave up all attachment and reached moksha in that time.

Śalya, king of Madra and uncle of Nakula and Sahadeva, was bound by his word to fight for the Kauravas. He drove Karṇa's chariot and fell to Yudhishṭhira.

Ugrabāhu was the king of Avantī in the days of Rāma-rājya, named at two svayaṃvaras in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa.

Citraketu was a king of Śūrasena with ten million wives and no son, who met Bhagavān Saṃkarshaṇa, was cursed by Pārvatī and was reborn as Vṛtrāsura.

Khaṭvāṅga was a Solar dynasty king and ancestor of Bhagavān Rāma who reached sāyujya moksha in one muhūrta after serving the devas.

Samādhi was a merchant whose greedy family drove him out; he met Medhasa Ṛshi with King Sūratha and asked Devī Durgā for jñāna.

The Padma Purāṇa tells of Ugrasena, king of Mathurā, his queen Padmāvatī, and the daitya Gobhila, from whom Kaṃsa was born.

Citrāṅgada of Daśārṇa was a mighty warrior who fought Arjuna when the Aśvamedha horse reached his kingdom, then submitted and was invited to the yajña.

Kīcaka was the commander of King Virāṭa's army and brother of Queen Sudeshṇā, killed by Bhīmasena after he harassed Draupadī.

Sāmba, son of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa and Jāmbavatī, was healed by Bhagavān Sūrya at Chandrabhāgā and later became the source of the iron mushala.

Ugrasena was the king of Mathurā and father of Kaṃsa. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa restored him to the throne after Kaṃsa's death.

Citrāṅgadā was the daughter of Viśvakarmā, builder of the devas, and was married to Sūratha, king of Vidarbha, at the tīrtha of Hāṭakeśvara.

Brahmadatta was a Solar dynasty king who practised tapas at the Brahmacārīśa tīrtha on the Śābhramatī river.

Sandhyāvalī was the first wife of King Rukmāṅgada of Śrāvastī and mother of Dharmāṅgada, a woman of firm dharma and Vishṇu-bhakti.

Ulūka, son of Śakuni, carried Duryodhana's taunts to the Pāṇḍava camp before the Kurukshetra war and died at the hands of Sahadeva.

Two figures share this name: King Citrāṅgada at Hema's svayaṃvara in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, and Citrāṅgadā, princess of Maṇipūra and wife of Arjuna.

King Citra of Drāviḍa hated Bhagavān Vishṇu, became a wandering evil spirit, and was freed by the Māgha bath at Prayāga.

Sañjaya, son of Gavalgaṇa, was the minister and charioteer of Dhṛtarāshṭra and told him the war at Kurukshetra by the divya-dṛshṭi that Vyāsa gave him.

Uparicara Vasu was a devout king of Cedi, a friend of Indra and a devotee of Bhagavān Vāsudeva, who fell for one untrue word and was lifted up by Garuḍa.

Citraratha was a Pāñcāla warrior on the Pāṇḍava side at Kurukshetra, killed by Droṇācārya in the Droṇa Parva.

Kukardama, a king of Piṇḍāraka who broke dharma, became an evil spirit and was freed by śrāddha at the Śābhramatī on the ṛshi Kahoda's advice.

Śantanu, son of Pratīpa, was the Kuru king who married Gaṅgā and Satyavatī and was the father of Bhīshma, Citrāṅgada and Vicitravīrya.

Ūrmilā was the daughter of Janaka and the wife of Lakshmaṇa, who waited in Ayodhyā for fourteen years and later bore two sons.

Citrasena was a son of Dhṛtarāshṭra, a Kaurava warrior in the northern cattle raid on Virāṭa and mourned by Gāndhārī in the Strī Parva.

Vidāruṇa, king of Campaka, hated Bhagavān Vishṇu and fell ill with leprosy; water of the Vetravatī river cured him and he became a devotee.

Śarabhā and Karakarsha were two brothers of the Cedi kingdom named among the allies of the Pāṇḍavas in the Udyoga Parva.

Ushā, daughter of the asura Bāṇāsura, saw Aniruddha in a dream and became his wife at Śoṇitapura and then at Dvārakā.

Citravarmā was a Pāñcāla warrior on the Pāṇḍava side at Kurukshetra, killed by Droṇācārya in the Droṇa Parva.

Viśvadatta was a Lunar dynasty king who won the grace of Gaṇeśa at the Gaṇatīrtha on the Śābhramatī river.

Sāramā, wife of Vibhīshaṇa of Laṅkā, comforted Sītā in the Aśoka grove and later spoke to Bhagavān Rāma of Sītā's sufferings.

King Uśīnara gave his own flesh to save a pigeon that had come to him for shelter, and so passed the test set by Agni and Dharma.

King Cōḷa of Kāntipura gave his name to the Cōḷa country, entered his own yajña fire after seeing Vishṇudāsa reach Vaikuṇṭha, and became the doorkeeper Suśīla.

Śuka Mahārshi tells Parīkshit which dynasties will rule the earth in the Kali Yuga, from the Pradyotas to Viśvasphūrji, in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa.

Sāraṇa, a son of Vasudeva and brother of Kṛshṇa, led the Vṛshṇi youths who mocked the ṛshis at Dvārakā and so brought on the śāpa that ended the Vṛshṇis.

Uttama, son of Uttānapāda, exiled his queen Bahulā in anger, won her back, and became the third Manu of the present cycle.

Damayantī, daughter of King Bhīma of Vidarbha, chose Nala at her svayaṃvara and stayed faithful through exile, separation and reunion.

The fifteen warriors born from Bhagavān Vishṇu's gem became kings, among them Prajāpāla, who learned from the ṛshi Mahātapa.

The fifteen gem-warriors were born again in the Tretāyuga as kings, among them Daśaratha and Janaka, and all reach svarga.

Śarmishṭhā, daughter of the asura king Vṛshaparvan, became the second wife of King Yayāti and the mother of Druhyu, Anu and Pūru.

Uttamauja was a Pāñcāla prince and commander on the Pāṇḍava side, a guard of Arjuna's chariot wheels, killed by Aśvatthāmā.

Dambhodbhava was a proud king who challenged Nara and Nārāyaṇa and was overcome by their kuśa-grass arrows, as Paraśurāma told in the Kaurava sabhā.

Kīrti was the senior queen of King Priyavrata of Madra and a devoted worshipper of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa, whose son was revived and later blessed at Kāśī.

Śaryāti was a righteous king, father of Sukanyā, who gave her to Cyavana Maharshi and held the yajña where the Aśvins received soma.

Uttamaujas was a Pāñcāla prince and mahāratha who guarded Arjuna's chariot wheels with Yudhāmanyu, and whom Yudhishṭhira missed in Svarga.

King Daṇḍa of the solar dynasty wronged Arājā, daughter of his guru Śukrācārya, and his kingdom was destroyed by a rain of dust, becoming Daṇḍakāraṇya.

Kīrtiman was a king of Kāśī of the Ikshvāku line who made every citizen keep the Vaiśākha rites, until the narakas stood empty and Yama was defeated.

Śaśaloma was a supremely righteous king who reached svarga through tapas, as Nārada tells in the Āśramavāsika Parva of the Mahābhārata.

Uttarā, daughter of King Virāṭa, was Arjuna's dance pupil, wife of Abhimanyu and mother of Parīkshit.

Daṇḍa was a king who wronged Araja, daughter of Śukrācārya, at Hāṭakeśvara. Śukrācārya's śāpa destroyed his kingdom and left Daṇḍakāraṇya.

Koka and Vikoka were twin dānava brothers who revived each other with a glance, until Bhagavān Kalki struck both heads with his fists at the same instant.

Śaśabindu was an ancient king of Bhārata, famed for his wealth and gifts, and the eleventh of the sixteen great kings Nārada names to Sṛñjaya.

Uttara, also called Bhūmañjaya, was Virāṭa's son who drove Arjuna's chariot in the Gograhaṇa battle and fell on the first day at Kurukshetra.

Daṇḍadhāra was a warrior on the Kaurava side, named by Bhīshma as a ratha in his count of the Kaurava host before the Kurukshetra war.

Kośakāra was a brāhmaṇa, son of Mudgala ṛshi, whose son Niśākara was thought dull but remembered five past lives and left for Badarikāśrama.

Śatruṃjaya, king of Suvīra, received from the ṛshi Bharadvāja the teaching of Kaṇika on statecraft in an emergency, and restored his kingdom.

Uttara, son of Virāṭa of Matsya, fell early at Kurukshetra and returned to the Viśvedevas, as the Svargārohaṇa Parva tells.

Dantavaktra was the king of Karūsha, a close ally of Śiśupāla and an enemy of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa, who slew him after the Rājasūya.

Koṭikāsya was a king of the Śibī warriors, son of Suratha, sent by Jayadratha to Draupadī and later killed by Bhīmasena in battle.

Satyabhāmā, daughter of Satrājit, was one of the eight chief queens of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa in Dvārakā, and an avatāra of Bhūmidevī, the earth.

Vaidarbhī, a princess of Vidarbha and queen of King Sagara, chose the single son Asamañja when Aurva offered Sagara a choice of sons.

Daśaratha was the Solar-dynasty king of Ayodhyā, son of Aja and father of Rāma, Bharata, Lakshmaṇa and Śatrughna, who died of grief after Rāma's exile.

Kṛtavarman was a Yādava mahāratha of the Bhoja-Vṛshṇi alliance, one of the three Kaurava survivors of Kurukshetra, killed by Sātyaki at Prabhāsa.

Satyadeva was a Kaliṅga warrior on the Kaurava side who was killed by Bhīmasena on the second day of the Kurukshetra war.

Vaivasvata Manu, son of Sūrya and Saṃjñā, is the seventh Manu, who was saved from the great flood by Bhagavān Matsya and fathered the Solar dynasty.

The Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa tells of Daśaratha's past birth as Dharmadatta, his three marriages, the Śravaṇakumāra śāpa and his return from svarga at Rāma's coronation.

Kshatradeva is a king named among the warriors reckoned for the Kurukshetra war in the Udyoga Parva of the Mahābhārata.

Satyadhṛti was a warrior allied with the Pāṇḍavas, named in the Udyoga Parva among those who followed Yudhishṭhira to Kurukshetra.

Vajra, son of Aniruddha, was the Yādava king crowned at Indraprastha to carry on the line of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa's family after the Yādavas perished.

Devahūti was the daughter of Svāyambhuva Manu, wife of Kardama Prajāpati and mother of Bhagavān Kapila, whose teaching on Sāṃkhya and bhakti-yoga brought her moksha.

Kshemadaśī was a prince of the Kosala dynasty who lost his kingdom, sought the muni Kālakavṛkshīya, and was reconciled with King Janaka of Videha.

Satyajit was a son of King Drupada of Pāñcāla, a brother of Dhṛshṭadyumna, Śikhaṇḍī and Draupadī, and a warrior on the Pāṇḍava side at Kurukshetra.

Vajradatta, son of Bhagadatta, was king of Prāgjyotishapura and fought Arjuna for three days from the back of a war-elephant.

Devāpi of the Candravaṃśa and Maru of the Sūryavaṃśa live in Kalāpa village and will restore varṇāśrama dharma when Bhagavān Kalki comes.

Kshatradharma was a son of Dhṛshṭadyumna who fought for the Pāṇḍavas at Kurukshetra and was killed by Droṇācārya.

Satyakarman was a Kaurava warrior killed by Arjuna with a kshurapra arrow on the eighteenth day of the Kurukshetra war.

Vajranābha, great-grandson of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa, was crowned king of Mathurā and, guided by Śāṇḍilya, settled and consecrated Vraja.

Devavatī was the daughter of the daitya Kandaru, one of the women whose weddings were held at the great gathering at Hāṭakeśvara.

Kshatradharman was a Pāṇḍava warrior at Kurukshetra whom Bhīshma classed as an ardharatha, a half-ratha, in the Rathātiratha-Saṃkhyāna.

Satyaketu, king of Vidarbha, was the father of Padmāvatī and father-in-law of Ugrasena of Mathurā in the Padma Mahā Purāṇa.

Vāli was the powerful vānara king of Kishkindhā, son of Indra, who was slain by Bhagavān Rāma and whose death led to the vānara alliance against Rāvaṇa.

Devāvṛdha was a king remembered in the Mahābhārata for giving a golden umbrella of a hundred ribs to a brāhmaṇa for a yajña.

Kshemadhurti was a Śālva king who fought for the Kauravas at Kurukshetra and was killed by Sātyaki on the eighteenth day.

Satyaketu was a great king of the Kekaya dynasty and the father of Pratāpabhānu, as told in the Bāla Kāṇḍa of the Tulasī Rāmāyaṇa.

The unnamed king of Vaṅga (Bengal) joined the Kauravas at Kurukshetra and sent ten thousand war elephants against Ghaṭotkaca on the eighth day.

Devayānī was the daughter of Śukrācārya and the wife of King Yayāti. She is the mother of Yadu and Turvaśu and attained moksha through devotion to Śrī Kṛshṇa.

Kshipraprasādana, also named Paraśubāhu, was a prince of Madra, poisoned at birth and revived through the śamī pūjā puṇya of the ṛshi Gṛtsamada.

Sātyaki, also called Yuyudhāna, was a great Yādava warrior, Arjuna's disciple in archery and a chief Pāṇḍava ally at Kurukshetra.

Vapushṭamā was the queen of King Janamejaya and the daughter of Suvarṇavarma, king of Kāśī.

Dharmadhvaja was a king of the Janaka line of Videha and the father of Mitadhvaja and Kṛtadhvaja, as told in the Vishṇu Mahā Purāṇa.

Kshuva was a kshatriya king who quarrelled with the ṛshi Dadhīci, called on Vishṇu for help, and saw Vishṇu defeated by Dadhīci's Śivabhakti.

Satyavān, king of Tejahpura on the Gaṅgā, was a jīvanmukta and devotee of Rāma who received Śatrughna and the Aśvamedha horse in the Padma Mahā Purāṇa.

Vārdhakshemi was a warrior on the Pāṇḍava side at Kurukshetra, named as a ratha in Bhīshma's count of the warriors.

Dharmanakha was a Kekaya king with a hundred wives and no sons. He bathed at Hanumat Kuṇḍa in the Setu-kshetra and received a hundred sons.

Bhīma Mahārāja is a king of the Vidarbha kingdom mentioned in the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa: Upāsanā Khaṇḍa. He is described as a sovereign of immense strength and valor, profoundly charitable, and…

Kshupa was born from Brahmā's sneeze and was the first holder of daṇḍa, the force of rule, in the Daṇḍotpatti Kathā of the Śānti Parva.

Satyavān was the truthful son of the blind king Dyumatsena of Śālva and the husband of Sāvitrī, who won his life back from Yama.

Varṇya, also called Vareṇya, was king of Māhishmatī and the disciple to whom Gajānana taught the Gaṇeśa Gītā.

Dharmāṅgada was the son of King Rukmāṅgada and Queen Sandhyāvalī. He offered his head for his father's oath and was taken to Vaikuṇṭha by Bhagavān Śrī Hari.

Pṛshadhra was a son of Manu and a king of the solar lineage. He is known for the tragic episode in which he unknowingly killed the homadhenu of an Agnihotrī…

Kuntī, also called Pṛthā, was the wife of Pāṇḍu and mother of Karṇa and the Pāṇḍavas, and a devoted bhakta of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa.

Prince Satyavanta argued with his father King Dyumatsena that killing is never sanātana dharma, and Dyumatsena came to accept graduated punishment.

Vasudāna was a Pāñcāla chariot warrior on the Pāṇḍava side, killed by Droṇācārya on the fifteenth day of the Kurukshetra war.

Dharmavarmā was a king of Saurāshṭra whose tapas brought a riddle about dāna from the sky. Nārada alone explained it, and the king gave him land near Mahīsāgara Saṃgama.

Nābhāga was the son of King Dishṭa and a prince of the solar lineage. He is known for the events surrounding his love for a Vaiśya maiden, his defiance of…

Kuru was a great king of the solar line who ploughed Samantapañcaka with Rudra's bull and Yama's buffalo and made it holy as Kurukshetra.

Satyavatī, also called Matsyagandhā and Yojanagandha, was the ferryman-king's daughter, mother of Veda Vyāsa and queen of Śantanu.

Vasudatta is the new Indra, ruler of svarga, who was earlier Suvrata and, before that, the prince Dharmāṅgada, as told in the Padma Mahā Purāṇa.

Dhṛshṭadyumna, son of Drupada and twin brother of Draupadī, was born from a yajña fire to kill Droṇa and led the Pāṇḍava army at Kurukshetra.

Daksha (the skillful one) is a royal figure mentioned in the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa Upāsanā Khaṇḍa, distinguished as the ancestor of (great king Bhīma). His life, as narrated by Viśvāmitra Maharshi…

Kuśa and Lava are the twin sons of Śrī Rāma and Sītā, raised by Vālmīki Maharshi and the first singers of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa.

Satyeshu was a Kaurava warrior killed by Arjuna on the eighteenth and last day of the Kurukshetra war.

Vasuhoma was a king of the Aṅga dynasty whose question to Māndhātā brought out the Mahābhārata's account of how daṇḍa, the rod of law, began.

Dhṛshṭaketu was the king of Cedi and the son of Śiśupāla. He brought one akshauhiṇī to the Pāṇḍava side and fell to Droṇa at Kurukshetra.

Kuśa is the elder twin son of Bhagavān Rāma and Sītā, raised by Vālmīki, a singer of the Rāmāyaṇa, and king of Kuśāvatī after Rāma's departure.

Saucitti was a warrior who marched with Yudhishṭhira's army to Kurukshetra, named in Udyoga Parva Chapter 196.

Vasumana was a wise, steady and pious king who asked Vāmadeva how a king can stay always in dharma, and so received the Vāmadeva Gītā.

A king of Pañcāla who learned the duties of a king from the ṛshi Baka-Dālbya, as told in the Śalya Parva of the Mahābhārata.

Khanitra was the chief among the five sons of Prajāti and a descendant of the solar lineage through Vatsaprī, Bhalandana, and Nābhāga. He was renowned as a peaceful, truthful, and…

Kuśaketu was the brother of King Janaka of Mithilā and the father of Māṇḍavī and Śrutakīrti, who married Bharata and Śatrughna.

Sāvitrī, daughter of King Aśvapati of Madra, followed Yama and won back the life of her husband Satyavān by the power of her pativratā-dharma.

Vasumanas is one of four righteous kings who rose to svarga in a divine chariot after Ashṭaka's Aśvamedha, as told in the Vana Parva.

On the last day of the Kurukshetra war, Bhīmasena killed thirteen more sons of Dhṛtarāshṭra, as the Śalya Parva records.

Kuvalayāśva, also called Ṛtadhvaja, was the son of King Śatrujit, husband of Mādālasā and father of Alarka, in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa.

Senābindu and Krodhahasta were two Pāṇḍava-allied warriors named together among the rathas in Bhīshma's Rathātiratha-Saṃkhyāna.

Vedavatī, daughter of Parjanya, was one of the women whose weddings were held at Hāṭakeśvara, as told in the Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa.

Dhṛtarāshṭra was the blind king of Hastināpura, father of Duryodhana and the hundred Kauravas, and uncle of the five Pāṇḍavas.

Lakshmaṇa, the dear son of Duryodhana, was killed by Abhimanyu with a single bhalla arrow inside the Cakravyūha on the thirteenth day of the war.

Senajit is a king deep in grief, taught by a brāhmaṇa friend in the Mokshadharma Parva of the Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Chapter 174.

Vena, son of Aṅga and Sunīthā, banned all yajñas and was ended by the ṛshis; from his body came the Nishāda ancestor and the king Pṛthu.

Bhalandana was the son of Nābhāga and the grandson of King Dishṭa of the solar lineage. Although born to a father who had fallen to vaiśyatva due to marrying a…

Dhṛtasena was a Kaurava warrior who lived through seventeen days of the Kurukshetra war and rallied with Śalya's group before the last day.

Lakshmaṇa, son of Duryodhana, fought for the Kauravas at Kurukshetra and is named in Bhīshma's list of rathas and in Gāndhārī's lament in the Strī Parva.

Śaibhyā was the second queen of King Sagara. She chose sixty thousand sons, who were reduced to ash by Kapila's glance.

Vicikhna Mahārāja was a king who taught that ahiṃsā, non-violence, is the highest dharma, higher than any yajña that involves harm.

Vatsaprī was the son of King Bhalandana and a descendant of the solar lineage through Nābhāga and Dishṭa. He surpassed his father in guṇas and became renowned for his extraordinary…

Dhrumasena was a warrior in the Kurukshetra war who was killed by Dhṛshṭadyumna, as told in the Droṇa Parva.

Lakshaṇā, also called Sulakshaṇā or Sulakshmaṇā, is one of the eight chief wives of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa, who won her at her svayaṃvara in Madra.

Śaibyā was a queen of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa at Dvārakā. After his departure she entered the funeral fire with Rukmiṇī and others.

Vidhṛta was a wicked king of the Tretāyuga who spoke the word Prahara at death, and so reached Śiva's realm instead of Yama's.

Dhruva, son of King Uttānapāda, won the Dhruvaloka, the pole-star position, through tapas to Śrī Hari at Madhuvana.

The story of Madālasā is a celebrated narrative found in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa that highlights themes of devotion, spiritual wisdom, and the restoration of life through divine intervention. The account…

Lakshmaṇa is the third son of Daśaratha, the devoted younger brother of Śrī Rāma, and Ādi Śesha in the Vaishṇava tradition.

Śaibya was the wife of King Dyumatsena and mother of Satyavat. She went into forest exile with her husband and welcomed Sāvitrī as her daughter.

Vidūratha was a Yādava warrior of the Vṛshṇi and Andhaka clans who, at the end, entered the Viśvedevas, as told in the Svargārohaṇa Parva.

Dhruvasandhi was a king of Kośala at Ayodhyā, killed by a lion while hunting, father of Sudarśana and Śatrujit.

From Gaṇeśa Purāṇa: Upāsanā Khaṇḍa Rukmāṅgada (रुक्माङ्गद) is a king featured in the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa, a central figure in the lineage of kings who upheld the worship of Gaṇeśa. His…

Lava is the younger twin son of Bhagavān Rāma and Sītā, raised by Vālmīki, who sang the Rāmāyaṇa and fought Śatrughna's army.

Śakradeva was a prince of Kaliṅga who fought for the Kauravas at Kurukshetra and was killed by Bhīmasena on the second day of the war.

Vijaya was the king of Karnāṭa who attended Sumatī's svayaṃvara at Vaṭapura and was passed over when she chose Lava.

Ṛtadhvaja, a prominent figure in the Purāṇic literature, specifically the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, was the son of the valiant King Śatrujit. Known for his exceptional physical beauty, immense strength, and profound…

Dhundhu, a daitya son of Kaśyapa and Danu, seized Indra's throne and was defeated by Bhagavān Vishṇu as Trivikrama at the Devikā river.

Lavaṇāsura was the son of Madhu and king of Madhupurī on the Yamunā, who held Śiva's śūla and was killed by Śatrughna.

The six Gāndhāra princes Gaja, Gavāksha, Vṛshabha, Carmavān, Ārjuna and Śuka, brothers of Śakuni, were killed by Irāvanta on the eighth day at Kurukshetra.

Vikarṇa was a son of Dhṛtarāshṭra and Gāndhārī who alone among the Kauravas spoke for Draupadī in the dice-game assembly.

Viviṃśa was the grandson of King Kshupa and a descendant of the solar lineage through Khanitra, Prajāti, and Bhalandana. He was born to the son of Kshupa and Pramathā, and…

Kuvalāśva, an Ikshvāku king of Ayodhyā, killed Dhundhu with Bhagavān Vishṇu's tejas and earned the name Dhundhumāra.

Līlāvatī was a courtesan and devotee of Bhagavān Śiva who gave the lavaṇācala dāna at Pushkara and was reborn as the queen Bhānumatī.

Śakuntalā was the daughter of Viśvāmitra and the apsaras Menakā, raised by Kaṇva Maharshi. She married Dushyanta and was the mother of Emperor Bharata.

Vikramāditya was the great Kali Yuga king of Ujjayanī, born to defeat the Śakas, and the king of the Betāla stories in the Bhavishya Purāṇa.

Khanīnetra was the son of King Viviṃśa and a descendant of the solar lineage. He was renowned as a king of great strength and parākrama, and was celebrated as the…

King Dilīpa of the solar dynasty asked Vasishṭha about the Māgha month, as told in the Uttara Khaṇḍa of the Padma Purāṇa.

Madanasundarī was the daughter of the Draviḍa king Kambukantha and became the wife of Yūpaketu, son of Śatrughna.

Śala, son of Sāmyamani, was a Kaurava warrior killed by Dhṛshṭadyumna on the fourth day of the Kurukshetra war.

Vinda and Anuvinda were the two kings of Avantī who fought for Duryodhana in the Kurukshetra War and were killed by Sātyaki.

Karandhama, originally named Balāśva, was the son of King Khanīnetra, born by the grace of Indra after his father performed fierce tapas on the bank of the Gomatī. He was…

Dilīpa, an Ikshvāku king, hears the Uttara Khaṇḍa of the Padma Purāṇa from Vasishṭha and is told Vishṇu will be born in his line as Rāma.

Madirā was a wife of Vasudeva, father of Kṛshṇa and Balarāma, who entered his funeral pyre together with Devakī, Bhadrā and Rohiṇī.

Śala is named among the Kurukshetra warriors who rose from the Gaṅgā at Vyāsa's call, and later among those who entered the Viśvedevas.

King Vinītāśva was a universal ruler who did the Sarvamedhā yajña but gave no food, and so suffered hunger in svarga until the five dhenu gifts freed him.

Avīkshita was the son of Mahārāja Karandhama and his queen Vīrā, the daughter of Vīryacandra. Born under highly auspicious celestial configurations, he grew to become a warrior of extraordinary prowess,…

Dimbhaka, a daitya king and brother of Haṃsa, took his own life after Bhagavān Kṛshṇa killed Haṃsa, as the Hari Vaṃśa tells.

Madrāśva was a rājarshi who gave his daughter to the ṛshi Hiraṇyahasta and reached the lokas of the devas.

Śālivāhana was the grandson of Vikramāditya, a cakravartī of Kali Yuga who won many lands, met a fair-skinned teacher of the Mlecchas, and ruled for sixty years.

Vipracitti is the chief of the Dānavas, the sons of Danu and Kaśyapa, and the father of Rāhu and the other Saimhikeyas.

Marutta was the son of Avīkshita and Bhāminī, born in the gandharvaloka and destined from birth to become a cakravartī. Named by an ākāśavāṇī because the Guru Tumburu had repeatedly…

Dīnanātha, a Dvāpara Yuga king without a son, planned a Naramedha yajña, and Viśvāmitra's intervention brought him a son.

King Śatrujit was a legendary monarch belonging to the solar dynasty whose life is primarily detailed in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa. He is celebrated as a righteous ruler and the father…

Mahījit was a righteous king of Māhishmatī who had no son until his subjects kept the Putradā Ekādaśī vow for him.

Śālva was king of the Saubha kingdom and master of the flying city Saubha. He attacked Dvārakā to avenge Śiśupāla and was killed by Kṛshṇa.

Vīrabāhu was the king of Cedi who honoured Damayantī as a royal guest and sent her safely home to Vidarbha.

Dīvodāsa was a famous king of Vārāṇasī, a descendant of Bhagavān Dhanvantari, whose reign shaped the sacred history of Kāśī.

Mainda and Dvivida were twin vānara commanders in Sugrīva's army, sons of the Aśvins, who fought in the war at Laṅkā.

Śambūka was a śūdra who did tapas in the Tretāyuga. Rāma struck off his head, and the brāhmaṇa's dead son came back to life.

Vīradhanu was a Kaurava warrior at the Kurukshetra war who was killed by Dhṛshṭaketu in the Droṇa Parva.

Narishyanta was the eldest and best among the eighteen sons of the emperror King Marutta. Inheriting the kingdom after his father's departure to the forest, he reflected deeply on the…

Draupadī, born from the fire of King Drupada, was the shared wife of the five Pāṇḍavas, and was revealed at the end to be Śrī, the devī Lakshmī.

Māladhara was the prince who married Śyāmābālā through the grace of Devī Lakshmī and who ate the unsalted meal in the salt episode.

Śaṅkha was a son of Virāṭa, king of Matsya, who fought for the Pāṇḍavas at Kurukshetra and later entered the Viśvedevas.

Vīradyumna is a king in the Ṛshabha Gītā who wanders in search of his lost son Bhūridyumna, kept alive by hope of reunion.

Dama was the son of King Narishyanta and his queen Indrasenā, the daughter of Babhru. Born after spending nine years in his mother's womb, he was named Dama by the…

Drumasena was a Kaurava warrior struck by sixty-four arrows from Yudhishṭhira on the last day of the Kurukshetra war.

Māmti of Vārāṇasī was a devotee of Bhagavān Śiva who did Rudra-japa for a hundred years and received a son, Kālabhīti.

Śaṅkhabhūpati, also called Śaṅkhu, was a Haihaya king and devotee of Bhagavān Vishṇu who was sent to Veṅkaṭādri and saw Him there.

Vīraketu was a Pāñcāla prince who fought for the Pāṇḍavas at Kurukshetra and was killed by Droṇācārya in the Droṇa Parva.

Five sons of King Drupada, Suratha, Śatruñjaya, Balānika, Jayānika and Jayāśva, were killed by Aśvatthāmā in the Droṇa Parva.

Māṇḍavī, daughter of Kuśadhvaja, was the wife of Bharata and the mother of Pushkara and Taksha.

Śāntā was the daughter of Daśaratha, raised by King Romapāda of Aṅga, and became the wife of the ṛshi Ṛśyaśṛṅga.

Viramāṇi was the righteous king of Devapura, a devotee of Bhagavān Śiva, who fought Śatrughna's army and then surrendered to Bhagavān Rāma.

Durjaya was one of the hundred Kaurava sons of Dhṛtarāshṭra, killed by Bhīmasena in the Droṇa Parva.

Māndhātā was a great cakravartī of the Sūryavaṃśa, son of Yuvanāśva, born from his father's right side and ruling the whole earth.

Śaśikalā was the daughter of King Subāhu of Kāśī. Told by Parādevī in a dream to choose Sudarśana, she held to her choice against all pressure.

Vīrasena was the king of Nishadha and the father of Nala, the hero of the Nala-Damayantī Upākhyāna in the Mahābhārata.

Durmukha was one of Dhṛtarāshṭra's hundred sons, a Kaurava warrior in the cattle raid on Virāṭa's kingdom and mourned by Gāndhārī.

Mandodarī was the chief queen of Rāvaṇa, daughter of Maya, one of the five great pativratās, who urged Rāvaṇa to return Sītā.

Śaśidhvaja was the king of Bhallāṭanagara, a great warrior and devotee of Bhagavān Vishṇu who fought Bhagavān Kalki, then gave him his daughter Ramā.

Babhru and Śaṃkha, sons of Virāṭa, and his brothers Sūryadatta and Madirāksha, are named among the Pāṇḍava allies in the Udyoga Parva.

An ancient rājarshi of the Ikshvāku line, husband of Narmadā and father of Sudarśanā, whom Agni asked to marry.

Manojava was a righteous king who lost his kingdom through pride and regained it by bathing at Maṅgalatīrtha on the advice of Parāśara.

Śatadyumna was a king who gave his palace of gold, full of every comfort, to the ṛshi Maudgalya and so reached svarga.

Virāṭa was the king of Matsya who sheltered the disguised Pāṇḍavas for a year and whose daughter Uttarā married Abhimanyu.

Duḥśāsana, the second of Dhṛtarāshṭra's hundred sons, dragged Draupadī into the assembly and was killed by Bhīmasena on the seventeenth day.

Manoramā, senior queen of King Dhruvasandhi of Kośala, saved her infant son Sudarśana and raised him at Bharadvāja's āśrama.

Śatānīka was Nakula's son by Draupadī, one of the five upapāṇḍavas, killed by Aśvatthāmā in the night raid of the Sauptika.

Vīravarman was a king in the Padma Mahā Purāṇa and the husband of the virtuous queen Hemāṅgī.

Dushyanta was a king of the Paurava line of the Lunar dynasty, a descendant of Pūru, and the father of Emperor Bharata.

Māteśvara was a Kaurava warrior struck by two arrows from Sātyaki on the eighteenth day of the Kurukshetra war.

Śatānīka was the beloved brother of King Virāṭa of Matsya, and Bhīshma killed him with bhalla arrows on the tenth day of the war.

Virocana, son of Prahlāda and father of Bali, is named in the Vana Parva in its account of the divine weapons given to Arjuna.

Duḥsaha was one of the hundred sons of Dhṛtarāshṭra and Gāndhārī. He fell in the Kurukshetra war and is mourned by Gāndhārī in the Strī Parva.

Matimanta was the Pāṇḍya king of Nāgapaṭṭana who attended Campikā's svayaṃvara at Vaṭapura in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa.

Śatarūpā is the first woman, born from the left half of Brahmā's body, and she became the wife of Svāyaṃbhuva Manu.

Virocana, son of Prahlāda and father of Bali, was an asura king who learned ātmajñāna from Sanatkumāra and who stood before Kēśinī against Sudhanya.

The son of Duśśāsana is a Kaurava warrior whom Bhīshma lists as a ratha, a chariot warrior, in the Rathātiratha-Saṃkhyāna Parva of the Udyoga Parva.

Maya is a Dānava, the master builder of the asuras and father of Mandodarī, who built the Maya Sabhā for the Pāṇḍavas at Indraprastha.

Śatayūpa was a king of Kekaya who became a rājarshi at Kurukshetra and hosted Dhṛtarāshṭra in his āśrama.

Virūpāksha was the charioteer of the rākshasa Ghaṭotkaca, son of Bhīmasena, in the Kurukshetra war.

Dyumatsena was the blind king of the Śālvas who lost his throne, lived in the forest, and was father of Satyavat and father-in-law of Sāvitrī.

Mitrasaha was a king who offered his beloved wife Madayantī to Vasishṭha and went to svarga, as Bhīshma tells in the Anuśāsana Parva.

Śatānīka was Nakula's son by Draupadī, one of the five upapāṇḍavas, who fought at Kurukshetra and died in Aśvatthāmā's night attack.

Virūpāksha was a generous rākshasa king of Mēru-vraja and a close friend of the crane king Nāḍījaṅgha in the Kṛtaghnopākhyāna.

Alarka, a significant figure in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, was the fourth and youngest son of King Ṛtadhvaja and Queen Madālasā. While his elder brothers, Vikrānta, Subāhu, and Śatrumardana, were led…

Dyutimanta was a rājarshi who gave his whole kingdom to the ṛshi Ṛcīka and so reached the best lokas, as Bhīshma tells Yudhishṭhira.

Early Life Hariśchandra was a king of the Tretā-yuga whose unwavering commitment to satya (truth) and dharma (righteous order) is tested through extreme loss, humiliation and suffering. He falls from…

Mitravindā is one of the eight chief queens of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛshṇa, remembered for her teaching on hearing Vishṇu-kathā in her previous birth.

Śatrughna, youngest son of Daśaratha and Sumitrā, slew the asura Lavaṇa, founded Mathurā, and is an aṃśa of Aniruddha.

Viśākhayūpa was the king of Mahishmatī who met Bhagavān Kalki at Śambhala, became his devotee and received his teaching.

Acala and Vṛshaka were brothers of Śakuni of Gāndhāra and maternal uncles of Duryodhana, who fought in the Kaurava army.

Ekalavya was the Nishāda prince who learned archery before a clay image of Droṇa and gave his right thumb as guru-dakshiṇā.

Mucukunda, a king of the Ikshvāku line, helped the devas, slept in a cave and burned Kālayavana with a glance. He kept Ekādaśī in his whole city.

Śibi Auśīnara, son of Uśīnara, was a king famed for his compassion, who gave his own flesh to save a dove, and one of the sixteen great kings.

Vishṇuyaśas was the brāhmaṇa of Śambhala village whom Bhagavān Vishṇu chose as the father of the Kalki avatāra.

Āgnīdhra was the eldest son of Priyavrata, ruler of Jambū-dvīpa, and father of nine sons who each received a varsha.

Ekavīra was the founder of the Haihaya dynasty, born of Lakshmī Devī and Bhagavān Vishṇu in horse form and raised by King Turvasu.

Nābhi, son of Āgnīdhra, ruled Bhārata-varsha and held a yajña in which Bhagavān Vishṇu promised to be born as his son Ṛshabhadeva.

Śikhaṇḍī, son of Drupada, was Ambā reborn, became male through the yaksha Sthūṇakarṇa, and was the reason Bhīshma lowered his bow.

Viśoka was the charioteer of Bhīmasena at Kurukshetra, named in the Bhīshma Parva and the Droṇa Parva.

Āhuka was a leading chief of the Yādavas in Kṛshṇa's time, named in the Śānti Parva and the Mausala Parva of the Mahābhārata.

Gada was a Vṛshṇi hero and younger brother of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. He stayed with the Pāṇḍavas at Kurukshetra and fell in the slaughter at Prabhāsa.

Subāhu was the second son of the legendary King Ṛtadhvaja and Queen Madālasā. He is a prominent figure in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, known for his early renunciation of worldly life…

Nāgnajiti, also called Nīlā, is one of the eight chief queens of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa, who won her by taming seven bulls at her svayaṃvara.

Śreṇimān and Vasudāna were Pāṇḍava warriors who marched with Yudhishṭhira to Kurukshetra. Vasudāna was the son of the king of Kāśī.

Viśvarūpa Prajāpati is the father of Siddhi and Buddhi, the two wives of Gaṇeśa, in the Kumāra Khaṇḍa of the Śiva Purāṇa.

Aja and Bhoja were two allied kings who fought on the Pāṇḍava side at Kurukshetra and are named as rathas by Bhīshma.

Gāndhārī was a queen of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa at Dvārakā who entered the fire after he left the world.

The Udyoga Parva tells how Nahusha became Indra for a time, desired Śacī, kicked Agastya, and was cursed to become a serpent.

Śrīdhara was a rich king of the Tretā Yuga who had no son. Vyāsa told him the cause, and a son was born to him within a year.

Viviṃśati, a son of Dhṛtarāshṭra, was a Kaurava mahāratha in the northern cattle raid and was mourned by Gāndhārī in the Strī Parva.

Ajāmīḍha was the last Candra-vaṃśa king installed at Hastināpura, chosen by Brahmā to stay on earth under Kuśa's rule after the war with Rāma.

Gārgya was a brāhmaṇa insulted by the Yādavas, whose tapas to Bhagavān Śiva led to the birth of Kālayavana.

Nahusha was a righteous king of the lunar dynasty and father of Yayāti who became Indra for a time, fell through pride, and was freed by Yudhishṭhira.

Śrutakīrti was Sahadeva's son by Draupadī, the youngest of the five upa-Pāṇḍavas. Aśvatthāmā killed him in the night attack of the Sauptika Parva.

Vṛddhakshatra was the father of Jayadratha of Sindhu. His own head burst when his son's head fell in his lap and then to the ground.

Akampana is the name of a king of the Kṛtayuga who lost his son Hari, and of a rākshasa of Khara's army who brought Rāvaṇa news of Janasthāna.

Gaya was a righteous king of Bhārata-varsha, descended from Bharata, after whom the tīrtha of Gayā is named.

Nala of the lunar dynasty was a great conqueror of the directions who, in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, fought Kuśa at Hastināpura and then went to svarga with Brahmā.

Śrutakīrti was the daughter of Kuśadhvaja and the wife of Śatrughna. She married him at Mithilā and gave birth to the twins Subāhu and Yūpaketu.

Vṛddhakshatra the Paurava was a king of the Paurava line who fought for the Pāṇḍavas and was killed by Aśvatthāmā on the fifteenth day.

Ākāśarāja was the righteous Candra-vaṃśa king of Nārāyaṇapura, earthly father of Padmāvatī and father-in-law of Bhagavān Śrīnivāsa.

Ghaṭotkaca was the son of Bhīma and the Rākshasī Hiḍimbā, a mighty lord of the Rākshasas who fell to Karṇa's Śakti on the fourteenth night of the war.

Nala, king of Nishadha, husband of Damayantī, a master of horses who lost his kingdom at dice and won it back.

Śrutāyu was a Kaurava warrior at Kurukshetra. He fought Yudhishṭhira on Day 7 and stood at the rear of the Sarvatobhadra-Vyūha on Day 9.

Vṛshādarbhi was a king who, in the Śānti Parva, is named among four kings who overcame lobha, and who also appears in the Anuśāsana Parva.

Akrūra was a senior Yādava of the Vṛshṇi line and a great devotee of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa, whom he brought from Vṛndāvana to Mathurā at Kaṃsa's order.

Ghosha was a king of the solar dynasty who was healed at a lake in Ayodhyā and set up Bhagavān Sūrya's mūrti there.

Nala, son of Viśvakarmā, was the vānara builder who directed the making of the Rāma-setu across the ocean to Laṅkā.

Śveta was the eldest son of Virāṭa, king of Matsya. He fought for his father on Day 1 at Kurukshetra and was killed by Bhīshma.

Vṛshasena was the son of Karṇa. He fought for the Kauravas at Kurukshetra and was killed by Arjuna before his father's eyes.

Alambusha was a rākshasa who fought for the Kauravas at Kurukshetra and was killed by Ghaṭotkaca in the Droṇa Parva.

Ghuśmā, also called Kusuma, was a devoted wife of Sudharmā whose forgiveness led Bhagavān Śiva to stay as Ghuśmeśvara.

Nanda and Yaśodā are the foster parents of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa in Gokula, known for their vātsalya bhakti, devotion shown as the love of a parent.

Śibi Auśīnara, son of Uśīnara, was a great cakravartin known for his dāna. The Mahābhārata tells of three tests of his giving.

Vṛshka and Acala, sons of Subala and brothers of Śakuni, fought for the Kauravas and were killed by one arrow of Arjuna on the thirteenth day.

Ambarīsha was a Sūryavaṃśa king and a great devotee of Bhagavān Vishṇu, protected by the Sudarśana Cakra when the ṛshi Durvāsa came to harm him.

Guṇanidhi, a brāhmaṇa who fell into bad ways, won Bhagavān Śiva's grace by lighting a lamp, was reborn as King Dama and then as Kubera.

Nandabhadra, a devout merchant who worshipped the Kapīleśvara Liṅga, tested every path of dharma and was taught by a leprous boy who was Sūrya.

This Śibi was a king of the Śibi tribe who fought for the Pāṇḍavas at Kurukshetra. Droṇācārya killed him in the Droṇa Parva.

Vṛshabhānu was the king from whose sacrificial ground Śrī Rādhā appeared, and so he is her earthly father.

The king of Ambashṭha fought for the Kauravas at Kurukshetra and attacked Abhimanyu on the eighth day of the war.

Haimavatī was a queen of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa at Dvārakā who entered the fire after he left the world.

Nandayantī was the daughter of the yaksha Añjana, one of the brides whose marriage was celebrated at Hāṭakeśvara.

Sindhudvīpa was a king named among the great rājarshis who reached the highest siddhi through tapas and dāna in the Aśvamedhika Parva.

Vyāghradatta and Candrasena are two warriors allied with the Pāṇḍavas, named together among the rathas at Kurukshetra.

Aṃśumān, grandson of Sagara, fetched the Aśvamedha horse from Kapila and was told that only Gaṅgā could free his sixty thousand uncles.

Haṃsa was a powerful daitya king who fought the Yādavas of Dvārakā and was slain by Bhagavān Kṛshṇa in the Kāliya-hrada.

Nīla, king of Māhishmatī on the Narmadā, whose city was guarded by Agni, gave tribute to Sahadeva and later joined the Kauravas.

Śiśupāla was the king of Cedī, the third birth of the Vaikuṇṭha doorkeeper Jaya, slain by Bhagavān Kṛshṇa's Sudarśana Cakra at the Rājasūya.

Vyāghradatta was a prince of Magadha who fought for the Kauravas and was killed by Sātyaki in the Droṇa Parva.

King Anaraṇya wished to wear a divine lotus at Mānasa-sarovara, fell ill with leprosy, and was cured by the Ārogya Vrata of Bhagavān Sūrya.

Hema is a princess whose svayaṃvara led to a battle between the kings Citrāṅgada and Ugrabāhu, in Chapter 17 of the Rājya Khaṇḍa of the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa.

Nīla Rāja was a Pāṇḍava-allied king with a blue chariot, armour, flag and horses, killed by Aśvatthāmā in the Droṇa Parva.

Somadatta was a Kuru king, son of Bāhlīka and father of Bhūriśravas, who fought for the Kauravas and was slain by Sātyaki at Kurukshetra.

Yadu Mahārāja was the ancestor of the Yādava line. He asked the wandering avadhūta Dattātreya the source of his joy and heard the twenty-four gurus.

Aṅga was a pious rājarshi of Dhruva's line whose son Vena became a tyrant, and who left his palace in the night to give up the world.

Hemamālin was a warrior of the Pāṇḍava side who was killed by Aśvatthāmā in the Droṇa Parva of the Mahābhārata.

Nīla, son of Agni, was a senāpati of Sugrīva's vānara army who helped build the bridge to Laṅkā and killed Prahasta.

Somaka was a king with a hundred wives and one son, Jantu, who chose to share his priest's punishment in Yama's realm rather than go alone to svarga.

Yajñakīrti was the king of Haridvāra, one of the kings who came to Campikā's svayaṃvara at Vaṭapura in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa.

Aṅgada, firstborn son of Lakshmaṇa and Ūrmilā, was one of eight princes of Ayodhyā born in Rāma-rājya, as told in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa.

Hemāṅga was a generous Ikshvāku king who refused the gift of water in Vaiśākha, suffered eleven wretched births and was freed to be born again as Kakutstha.

Nimi Mahārāja, son of Ikshvāku, gave up his body after a mutual śāpa with Vasishṭha; the first Janaka was born from his body and founded Mithilā.

Somakānta, king of Devapura, was cured of leprosy by hearing the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa from Bhṛgu and then took his whole city to the dhāma of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa.

Yayāti, son of Nahusha, was a great king of the Lunar dynasty and the forefather of both the Yādava and Paurava lines.

Aṅganādha, king of Vidarbha, was one of the kings at Sumatī's svayaṃvara in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa and was passed over when she chose Lava.

Hemāṅgada was the king of Kaliṅga who attended the svayaṃvara of Campikā at Vaṭapura in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa.

Nimi, king of Vidarbha, gave his kingdom and his daughter to Agastya Maharshi and went to svarga with his sons, cattle and kinsmen.

Somaśarman was a brāhmaṇa who became a preta because his family neglected his śrāddha rites, and was freed with the help of the merchant Sudharmā.

Yudhājit was Kaikeyī's brother and Bharata's maternal uncle. He took Bharata to Kekaya, so Bharata was away during Rāma's exile.

Āṅgarishṭha was a king who questioned the ṛshi Kāmandaka on dharma, artha and kāma, and on how a king can make good his wrongs, in the Śānti Parva.

Hemaprabhāvatī was the queen of King Śrīdhara of the Tretā Yuga, who was childless until Vyāsa told them why and gave them the remedy.

Nimi, king of Videha, hosted the nine Yogīśvaras in the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa and asked them nine questions about bhakti, avatāras and Parameśvara.

Śoṇa was a brāhmaṇa on the bank of the Gaṅgā who lost his wife Kalā to the rākshasa Mārīca and later reached the realm of Bhagavān Śiva.

Yudhāmanyu was a Pāñcāla prince and Pāṇḍava commander who guarded a wheel of Arjuna's chariot and was killed by Aśvatthāmā at night.

Añjanaparvan, son of Ghaṭotkaca, was a warrior in the Pāṇḍava army at Kurukshetra and was killed by Aśvatthāmā.

Hiraṇyavarman was the king of Daśārṇa whose daughter married Śikhaṇḍī, and whose threat of war against Drupada led to Śikhaṇḍī's change into a man.

Niramitra, a prince of Trigarta, fought for the Kauravas at Kurukshetra and was killed by Sahadeva in the Droṇa Parva.

Sṛñjaya was a king of the Śaibyā line who hosted Parvata and Nārada, received the golden son Suvarṇashṭhīvin, and was consoled by Nārada.

Yudhishṭhira, also called Dharmarāja, was the eldest of the five Pāṇḍavas, son of Kuntī and Dharma, and later the emperor of Hastināpura.

Anuhlāda, eldest son of Hiraṇyakaśipu and elder brother of Prahlāda, was a daitya warrior who fought Kubera in Bali's wars.

Hiraṇyāksha was the daitya son of Kaśyapa and Diti who sank the earth in the cosmic ocean and was slain by Bhagavān Vishṇu as Varāha.

Niśākara, son of the brāhmaṇa Kośakāra, was born remembering all his past lives and told them to his parents before leaving for Badarikāśrama.

Śrutāyudha, king of Kaliṅga, fought for the Kauravas at Kurukshetra and led one akshauhiṇī with 60,000 chariots and 10,000 elephants.

Yūpaketu was the second twin son of Śatrughna and Śrutakīrti, a prince of Ayodhyā in Rāma-rājya, and the husband of Mālatī and Madanasundarī.

Arajā was the daughter of Śukrācārya, whose suffering led to Śukrācārya's curse on King Daṇḍa and the making of Daṇḍakāraṇya.

Hotravāhana was a royal ṛshi and the maternal grandfather of Ambā, who sent her to Paraśurāma on Mahendra parvata to seek justice against Bhīshma.

Niśaṭha was a hero of the Vṛshṇi and Andhaka clans who, at the end of the Mahābhārata, entered into the Viśvedevas.

Śrutāyus is a king named by Arjuna among the Kaurava allies the Pāṇḍavas expected to face at Kurukshetra, in the Udyoga Parva.

Yuvānāśva was a king of the Ikshvāku solar dynasty and the father of the emperor Māndhātā, whom he bore himself after drinking consecrated water.

Arcī was the queen of King Pṛthu and an aṃśa-avatāra of Lakshmīdevī, who entered the funeral fire after Pṛthu left his body.

Ikshvāku, son of Manu and king of Kośala with his capital at Ayodhyā, led the royal hunt in the Padma Purāṇa that freed the gandharva Raṅgavidyādhara.

Nṛga Mahārāja, a king famed for giving cows, became a lizard because he unknowingly gave away a brāhmaṇa's cow a second time.

Subāhu was the firstborn son of Śatrughna and Śrutakīrti, twin of Yūpaketu, and the heir who was installed at Mathurā.

Abhimanyu was the son of Arjuna and Subhadrā, husband of Uttarā and father of Parīkshit, who died fighting inside the Cakravyūha at Kurukshetra.

Arishṭasena was a Kaurava warrior who survived to the seventeenth night of the Kurukshetra war and camped at the foot of the Himavat.

Iḷā, daughter of Vaivasvata Manu, became the wife of Budha and mother of Purūravas, joining the solar and lunar dynasties.

Padmāvatī, queen of Ugrasena, was deceived by the daitya Goḥbila, who took her husband's form, and she bore Kaṃsa.

Sudakshiṇa, king of Kāmboja, joined the Kauravas with one akshauhiṇī and fell at Kurukshetra, where Gāndhārī shows him to Kṛshṇa.

Ambā, eldest princess of Kāśī, was carried off by Bhīshma, rejected by all, and reborn as Śikhaṇḍī to bring about his end.

Arjuna, third of the five Pāṇḍavas, son of Kuntī and Indra, was the greatest archer of his age and the friend of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa.

Indradyumna, once a king who saw the churning of the ocean, was reborn as a brāhmaṇa, received jñāna from Bhagavān Vishṇu and attained moksha.

Padmāvatī, daughter of King Bṛhadratha of Siṃhala Dvīpa, was an avatāra of Lakshmī and became the wife of Bhagavān Kalki.

Sudāmana was king of Daśārṇa, a realm the brāhmaṇas passed through while searching for Damayantī after Nala left her.

Ambālikā, youngest princess of Kāśī and wife of Vicitravīrya, became the mother of Pāṇḍu, who was born pale.

Ārshisheṇa was a king named among the ancient rājarshis who reached the highest siddhi through tapas and rightly given dāna.

Indradyumna, a righteous king cast out of svarga when his fame faded, was restored when the tortoise Akūpāra recognised him.

The five Kekaya brothers joined the Pāṇḍava army at Upaplavya and fell before Droṇa at Kurukshetra.

Sudarśana, son of King Dhruvasandhi, grew up in Bharadvāja's āśrama, repeated the bīja Klīṃ and won back Ayodhyā by the grace of Parādevī.

Ambikā, second princess of Kāśī and wife of Vicitravīrya, closed her eyes before Vyāsa, and her son Dhṛtarāshṭra was born blind.

Asamañja was the son of King Sagara and Vaidarbhī, sent into exile for his cruelty; his son Aṃśumān continued the Ikshvāku line.

Indradyumna, a Pāṇḍya king and devotee of Bhagavān Vishṇu, was cursed by Agastya to become the elephant Gajendra and was freed by Śrī Hari.

Malayadhvaja, king of the Pāṇḍyas, fought for the Pāṇḍavas at Kurukshetra and was killed by Aśvatthāmā on the seventeenth day.

Sudarśana, a king of Mālava on the Pāṇḍava side, was killed by Aśvatthāmā on the fifteenth day of the Kurukshetra war.

Aśmaka was the son of Madayantī, queen of Kalmāshapāda, born through niyoga with Vasishṭha after twelve years in the womb.

Ashṭaka, son of the ṛshi Viśvāmitra, was a great king who rose to svarga but, Nārada said, would be the first to fall back because he boasted of his gifts.

Indrasena was a devoted king of Māhishmatī who kept the Indirā Ekādaśī at Nārada's word and freed his father from Yama's realm.

Paraṃtapa, king of Magadha, was one of the kings at Sumatī's svayaṃvara and was passed over when she chose Lava.

Sudarśana, son of Agni and the princess Sudarśanā, vowed to conquer Mṛtyu by serving guests, passed Dharma's test and rose with Oghavatī to the highest worlds.

Babhruvāhana, king of Maṇipura and son of Arjuna and Citrāṅgadā, fought and struck down his own father, who was then revived by Ulūpī.

Aśvapati, the righteous king of Madra, won his daughter Sāvitrī through long tapas and let her choose her own husband, Satyavān.

Indrasenā was the queen of King Narishyanta of the Solar dynasty and the mother of Dama. She entered her husband's funeral pyre as a satī.

Parīkshit, grandson of Arjuna and son of Abhimanyu, was saved in the womb by Bhagavān Kṛshṇa, ruled as emperor and heard the Bhāgavatam from Śuka.

Sudeha was the elder wife of the brāhmaṇa Sudharmā and elder sister of Ghuśmā. She killed Ghuśmā's son, and Ghuśmā's forgiveness saved her.

Bhadrāyu, a prince of Kāśmīra, was reborn from the *pāpī* Maṃdara, regained his father's throne with Ṛshabha's help, and reached Śivaloka.

Aśvatthāmā, son of Droṇācārya and Kṛpī, was born with a divine jewel, fought for the Kauravas, led the Sauptika night massacre and lives on as a cirañjīvī.

Indravarma, king of Mālava, fought for the Pāṇḍavas. His war-elephant Aśvatthāmā was killed by Bhīmasena on the fifteenth day, which led to Droṇa's death.

Parīkshit, king of Ayodhyā, married Suśobhanā, daughter of the frog king Āyus, and lost her when he broke his promise about water.

Sudeshṇā was the queen of Matsya, wife of King Virāṭa and sister of Kīcaka. Draupadī served her as the handmaiden Sairandhrī.

Bhīmasena, also called Bhīma, was the second Pāṇḍava, son of Kuntī and Vāyu, known for his huge strength and his two oaths at the dice game.

Asita is a king named in the Ikshvāku line of the Sūryavaṃśa, in the family history Vasishṭha Maharshi recites in the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa.

Irāvanta was the son of Arjuna and the Nāga princess Ulūpī. He fought for the Pāṇḍavas and was killed on the eighth day by the rākshasa Alambusha.

Pauṇḍraka, king of Kāśī, won from Bhagavān Śiva a form like Bhagavān Kṛshṇa, claimed to be Vāsudeva, and was killed by Kṛshṇa.

Sudeva was the general of King Ambarīsha. After he fell in battle he reached a loka in svarga higher than the king's own.

Candrāṃgada, husband of Sīmantinī and grandson of King Nala, was seized by Takshaka but kept safe by the Somavāra vrata and later freed.

Atithi, eldest son of Kuśa and the nāga princess Kumudrā, becomes king after Kuśa and carries the Sūryavaṃśa forward, as Vasishṭha foretold.

Jabalī was the son of the ṛshi Ṛtadhvaja. The Vāmana Mahā Purāṇa mentions him in its account of the gathering at Hāṭakeśvara.

Paurava was a king of the Paurava line who joined the Kaurava side in the Kurukshetra war and is named by Bhīshma as a ratha.

Sudhanvan was a prince of Pāñcāla who fought for the Pāṇḍavas at Kurukshetra and was killed by Droṇācārya in the Droṇa Parva.

Candrasena was the king of Ujjayinī whose kingdom was saved by Bhagavān Śiva because of the Pradosha pūjā of the cowherd boy Śrīkara.

Babhru was a Vṛshṇi hero and companion of Kṛshṇa, sent to guard the women at Dvārakā and struck down by a fragment of the iron pestle.

Jaḍabharata was the third birth of King Bharata Cakravartī. He acted dull to avoid new attachment and taught King Rahūgaṇa the truth about the mind.

Paurika was an unrighteous king of Purika who was reborn as a jackal, became a tiger king's minister, and gave up his life by fasting.

Sudharmā was a merchant who met the preta of Somaśarman without fear and helped set him free through śrāddha rites, as the Vāmana Purāṇa tells.

Citrāṅgada, the elder son of Śāntanu and Satyavatī, became king of Hastināpura and was killed in battle by a Gandharva of the same name.

Bāhlīka, son of Pratīpa and elder brother of Śantanu, was king of the Bāhlīka country and the eldest of the Kuru elders, who fought for the Kauravas.

Jalasandha was a king who fought on the Kaurava side at Kurukshetra. Arjuna names him among the Kaurava warriors in his message to Sañjaya.

Pauṇḍraka was a king who falsely claimed to be Vāsudeva, ignored Nārada's warning, attacked Dvārakā and was slain by Bhagavān Kṛshṇa.

Sudyumna was the first child of Vaivasvata Manu, born as a daughter, Ilā, and later changed to a son. From Ilā and Budha came Purūravas.

Citrāṅgadā was the daughter of King Citravāhana of Maṇipura, wife of Arjuna and mother of Babhruvāhana.

Bāhu was a righteous king of the Solar dynasty who fell through pride, was defeated by the Haihayas, and was freed after death by Aurva Maharshi.

Jāmbavān was the king of the bhallūkas (bears) and a wise commander in Śrī Rāma's army. He sent Hanumān to the Oshadhi Parvata for the healing herbs.

Prabhāvatī was the daughter of the asura king Vajranābha of Vajrapura and the wife of Pradyumna, eldest son of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa.

Sugrīva was the vānara king of Kishkindhā, born of Sūrya. His friendship with Bhagavān Rāma led to the great campaign against Rāvaṇa.

Citravāhana was the king of Maṇipura and father of Citrāṅgadā, who gave his daughter to Arjuna by the putrikā rule.

Bali Cakravartī, grandson of Prahlāda, ruled the three worlds, gave them to Bhagavān Vishṇu as Vāmana, and now rules Sutala with Vishṇu at his gate.

Jāmbavatī was one of the eight chief queens of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛshṇa and the daughter of the bear-king Jāmbavān. She is also written Jāmbāvatī.

Prācīnabarhish was a king of Dhruva's line who covered the earth with darbha grass through his yajñas and fathered the ten Pracetasas.

Suhotra was a rājarshi who ruled Kurujāṅgala, the second of the sixteen great kings Nārada names to console Sṛñjaya in the Droṇa Parva.

Drupada was the king of Pāñcāla, son of Pṛshata, whose quarrel with Droṇa led to the birth of Dhṛshṭadyumna and Draupadī.

Bali, the generous asura king, grandson of Prahlāda and son of Virocana, gave the three worlds to Vāmana and now rules Sutala with Vishṇu at his gate.

Janaka of Mithilā, also called Sīradhvaja or Vaideha Janaka, was the philosopher-king of Videha and the father of Sītādevī.

Pradyumna was the eldest son of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa and Rukmiṇī, the avatāra of Manmatha, and a great Yādava warrior who slew the asura Śambara.

Sulocanā, wife of the gandharva Citragīva, was cursed to have a poisonous gaze and was freed when Bhagavān Kalki looked at her in Kāñcanīpura.

Duryodhana was the eldest of the hundred sons of Dhṛtarāshṭra and Gāndhārī, the head of the Kauravas and the chief opponent of the Pāṇḍavas in the Mahābhārata.

Bāṇāsura, the thousand-armed eldest son of Bali Cakravartī, was a devotee of Śiva who fought Bhagavān Kṛshṇa over Aniruddha and Ushā.

A king of the Solar dynasty, husband of Guṇārṇavā, who found moksha through yajña on the Gautamī and gave his name to Janasthāna.

Prahlāda, son of the asura king Hiraṇyakaśipu, is the great example of firm bhakti to Bhagavān Vishṇu and the king of the daityas.

Sumada, king of Ahicchatra and devotee of Bhagavān Rāma, was promised by Kāmākshā Devī that he would see Rāma's face, and joined Śatrughna's army.

Duśśalā was the only daughter of Dhṛtarāshṭra and Gāndhārī, the sister of the hundred Kauravas and the wife of Jayadratha, king of Sindhu.

Barbarīka, son of Ghaṭotkaca and grandson of Bhīma, held three ash-arrows and was beheaded by Bhagavān Kṛshṇa before the Kurukshetra war.

Janaka, the philosopher-king of Mithilā in Videha, was the father of Sītā and a student, teacher and examiner of the great ṛshis.

Pratāpabhānu was a powerful king of Kekaya who was tricked by his enemy Kālaketu, cursed by brāhmaṇas, and reborn as Rāvaṇa.

Sumanyu was a king who gave mountain-high heaps of food to the ṛshi Śāṇḍilya and so gained a lasting home in svarga, says the Mahābhārata.

Gāndhārī, princess of Gāndhāra and queen of Hastināpura, bound her eyes for life, bore the hundred Kauravas and cursed Kṛshṇa after the war.

Bhadrā is one of the eight chief queens of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa, remembered for her teaching on Hari-nāma given to her father in an earlier birth.

A son of Parīkshit who killed a brāhmaṇa without knowing it, was cast out, and was cleansed by the ṛshi Indrota.

Pratardana is one of four kings who rise to svarga in a divine chariot, known for giving away his chariot horse and, in another account, his own son.

Sumati Mahārāja, a cakravartī of the Lunar dynasty in Kṛta-yuga, was an ideal devotee of Bhagavān Vishṇu who raised a flag at the temple every dvādaśī.

Hiḍimbā was a rākshasī who protected the Pāṇḍavas, married Bhīma and bore Ghaṭotkaca, after Bhīma killed her brother Hiḍimba.

Bhadrā, a wife of Vasudeva, entered his funeral pyre with Devakī, Rohiṇī and Madirā after Bhagavān Kṛshṇa and Balarāma left the world.

Janamejaya, son of Parīkshit, held the great snake yajña to avenge his father and heard the Mahābhārata from Vaiśampāyana.

Pratīpa was king of the Haihayas and one of the kings at Campikā's svayaṃvara, named in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa and passed over when she chose Kuśa.

Sumatī, younger granddaughter of King Bhūrikīrti of Vaṭapura, chose Lava, son of Bhagavān Rāma, at her svayaṃvara and bore him eight sons and a daughter.

Jayadratha, king of Sindhu and husband of Duśśalā, abducted Draupadī, held back the Pāṇḍavas at the cakravyūha and was killed by Arjuna.

Bhadraśrava was a learned king of Saurāshṭra whose household lost all wealth after his queen struck Lakshmī, and regained it through the Lakshmī vow.

Jantu was the only son of King Somaka, offered in a ritual fire so that Somaka's hundred wives could bear a hundred sons.

This Pṛshadhra was a warrior killed by Aśvatthāmā in the Droṇa Parva of the Mahābhārata, and is not the son of Manu.

Sumatī, wife of Vishṇuyaśa of Śambhala-grāma, is the mother of Bhagavān Kalki in the Kalki Purāṇa; the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa names Devasena.

Karṇa, born Vasūsheṇa, was Kuntī's firstborn son by Bhagavān Sūrya, raised by a charioteer, crowned king of Aṅga, and killed by Arjuna on the seventeenth day.

Bhagadatta, king of Prāgjyotisha, was a famous elephant-warrior who fought for the Kauravas at Kurukshetra and fell to Arjuna.

Jarāsandha, king of Magadha, was born in two halves, joined by the rākshasī Jarā, and was slain by Bhīma at Kṛshṇa's direction.

Pṛthu was the first emperor of the whole earth, a partial avatāra of Bhagavān Vishṇu, who milked the Earth as a cow and settled the land.

Sumitrā, a Haihaya king who lost his kingdom and lived on hope, is the king in the Ṛshabha Gītā, where the thin muni Kṛśa teaches him about āśā.

Kubera Vaiśravaṇa, son of Viśravas, is the king of the yakshas, guardian of the north and the first ruler of Laṅkā, which Rāvaṇa took from him.

Bhagīratha, a king of the Solar dynasty, brought Gaṅgā down to earth through tapas and freed the sixty thousand sons of Sagara.

Jayadata, a king of Pratishṭhānapura, won a boon from Bhagavān Śiva, misused it, was cursed to be a turtle, and later bore witness for King Indradyumna.

Priyavrata of Madra was a king whose two queens and poisoned son frame the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa's teaching on the glory of the śamī leaf.

Sumitrā, third queen of Daśaratha, is the mother of Lakshmaṇa and Śatrughna, and the one who blessed Lakshmaṇa to go with Bhagavān Rāma into exile.

Kuntibhoja was the king of the Kunti kingdom who raised Kuntī as his daughter and set her to serve the ṛshi Durvāsa.

Bhaṅgāsvana was a righteous rājarshi whom Indra turned into a woman after the Agnishṭoma yajña, and who then chose to stay a woman.

Jayādhvaja, a son of Kārtavīryārjuna, worshipped Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa and slew the rākshasa Videha with the Sudarśana cakra that came when he remembered Bhagavān Vishṇu.

Priyavrata, the eldest son of Svāyambhuva Manu, was the first emperor of the earth and divided it into seven dvīpas among his sons.

Sunandā, the queen mother of Cedi, took in the ruined Damayantī and made her a companion to her own daughter.

Madayantī was the queen of Kalmāshapāda who stayed true to him through his twelve years of rākshasa possession and gave birth to Aśmaka.

Bhānu was a son of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa and a prince of the Yādava house of Dvārakā, named in the Svargārohaṇa Parva.

Jayanta and Amitaujas were Pāñcāla warriors on the Pāṇḍava side in the Kurukshetra war, named in Bhīshma's count of the Pāṇḍava rathas.

Pūru, youngest son of Yayāti and Śarmishṭhā, took his father's old age and became king and father of the Paurava line.

Sunayā, queen of Janaka of Mithilā and mother of Sītā and Urmilā, met the Ayodhyā queens and her daughter at Citrākūṭa.

Mādrī, princess of Madra and second wife of Pāṇḍu, bore the twins Nakula and Sahadeva through the Aśvins and died on Pāṇḍu's funeral pyre.

Bhānumanta was the king of Kaliṅga who fought for the Kauravas and was killed by Bhīmasena on the second day of the Kurukshetra war.

Jayarātha was a warrior in the Kurukshetra war who was killed by Bhīmasena, as told in the Droṇa Parva of the Mahābhārata.

Purukutsa, a son of Māndhātā, won svarga through tapas in the forest near Kurukshetra, and the river Narmadā became his wife.

Sunīthā, the mind-born daughter of Mṛtyu (Death), was the mother of the king Vena, whose misrule led to the birth of Pṛthu.

Mahābhisha was an Ikshvāku king admitted to Brahmā's assembly who was cursed to be reborn as Śāntanu after he looked at Gaṅgā with desire.

Bharata Cakravartī, eldest son of Ṛshabhadeva, was the emperor for whom Bhārata-varsha is named, and was reborn twice because of his love for a fawn.

Jayatsena, king of Magadha, fought for the Kauravas, struck Bhīmasena with eight arrows on the tenth day, was forced to retreat, and later lay fallen on the field.

Purumitrā is a warrior on the Kaurava side named in the Udyoga Parva among the commanders the Pāṇḍavas must face at Kurukshetra.

Supriya, a vaiśya merchant and devoted bhakta of Bhagavān Śiva, led fellow captives in pūjā, and this led to Nāgeśvara Jyotirliṅga.

Nakula, the fourth Pāṇḍava and elder twin son of Mādrī and the Aśvins, was the most handsome of the brothers and a master of horses and the sword.

The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa tells how Bharata, aṃśa of Saṃkarshaṇa, defeated Śailūsha in a seven-day battle and founded two cities.

Jayatsena, king of Magadha and son of Jarāsandha, joined the Pāṇḍavas with one akshauhiṇī before the Kurukshetra war and is named among the warriors in svarga.

Pūrūravas, son of Budha and Ilā, began the Candra-vaṃśa; his love for the apsarā Ūrvaśī led to the three Vedic fires.

King Śūrasena of Sahasrākhya-pura would not enter Gaṇeśa-loka alone, and by the grace of Bhagavān Gaṇeśa his whole city went with him.

Pāṇḍu, king of Hastināpura, was the father of the five Pāṇḍavas and died when the śāpa of the ṛshi Kiṃdama was fulfilled.

Bharata, son of Dushyanta and Śakuntalā, was the Paurava emperor for whom Bhāratavarsha is named. He performed 133 aśvamedha yajñas.

Jina, the Buddhist king of Kīkaṭapura, fought Bhagavān Kalki with two akshauhiṇīs and was killed by a single blow of Bhagavān Kalki's fist.

Purūravas, son of Ilā and Budha, was the first great king of the Candra-vaṃśa; the Purāṇas and the Mahābhārata give several accounts of him.

Suratacandrikā, queen of Bhadraśravas, struck Lakshmī who came to remind her of the Guruvāra vow, and lost all her wealth.

Pratīpa was a righteous Kuru king, father of Śāntanu, who promised Gaṅgā that she would marry his son.

Bharata, son of Daśaratha and Kaikeyī, refused the throne and ruled Ayodhyā for fourteen years in the name of Bhagavān Rāma's pādukās.

Jyāmagha, a king of the Yadu line, built and tended a grand temple of Bhagavān Vishṇu to fulfil the longing of his pitaras, and reached Vishṇuloka.

Puruyaśas, a king of Pāñcāla, lost his kingdom, kept the Vaiśākha Dharma on the ṛshis' advice, and received Bhagavān Vishṇu's grace on Akshaya Tṛtīyā.

Suratha, king of Kuṇḍala, seized the Aśvamedha horse out of love, so that Bhagavān Rāma would come and let him see His face.

Prativindhya, son of Draupadī and Yudhishṭhira, was the eldest of the five upapāṇḍavas and was killed in Aśvatthāmā's night attack.

Bhīshmaka was the king of Vidarbha and father of Rukmīṇī and Rukmi, who gave his daughter to Bhagavān Kṛshṇa.

Kaikasī, daughter of the rākshasa chief Sumāli, married the ṛshi Viśravas and became the mother of Rāvaṇa, Kumbhakarṇa, Śūrpaṇakhā and Vibhīshaṇa.

Pushkala, son of Bharata and nephew of Bhagavān Rāma, was a leading warrior in Śatrughna's Aśvamedha army in the Padma Purāṇa.

Sūratha was the son of Jayadratha and Duśśalā; his infant son's life was saved when Duśśalā begged Arjuna for peace.

Sahadeva, the youngest Pāṇḍava and twin of Nakula, was son of Mādrī and the Aśvinīs, known for wisdom and for killing Śakuni.

Bhīshma, son of Śāntanu and Gaṅgā, was the grand-uncle of the Pāṇḍavas and Kauravas, famed for his terrible vow, his archery and his bed of arrows.

Kaikeyī, second queen of Daśaratha and mother of Bharata, claimed the two varas that sent Rāma into exile, and was later freed by the sheep's cry.

Pushkara, younger brother of King Nala of Nishadha, won Nala's kingdom at dice under Kali's influence and lost it all when Nala returned.

Sūratha, king of Vidarbha, married Citrāṅgadā, daughter of Viśvakarmā, at the great gathering at Hāṭakeśvara.

Saṃvaraṇa, a Kuru king and ancestor of the Pāṇḍavas, married Tapatī, daughter of Bhagavān Sūrya, and became the father of Kuru.

Bhoja Rāja was a king of the Śālivāhana line in Kali Yuga who set out to conquer all directions, then turned back at Mahābalīśvara and defended Sanskrit.

Kakshasena was a rājarshi who gave away everything he owned to the ṛshi Vasishṭha by the rule of the śāstras, took saṃnyāsa and won great fame.

Pushkara was the first son of Bharata and Māṇḍavī, born in Ayodhyā in Rāma-rājya; the city Pushkarāvatī is named for him.

Sūratha was a just king who lost his kingdom, learned of Mahāmāyā from a ṛshi, pleased Devī Durgā by tapas, and was promised birth as Sāvarṇi Manu.

Śakuni, prince of Gāndhāra and brother of Gāndhārī, was Duryodhana's adviser and master of the dice game that sent the Pāṇḍavas into exile.

Bhūri was a Kaurava warrior at Kurukshetra, killed by Sātyaki with a śakti in the Droṇa Parva; he is a different man from Bhūriśravas.

Kakudmi, also called Kakudmin or Revata, was a king of Saurāshṭra who went to Brahmaloka to find a husband for his daughter Revatī and gave her to Balarāma.

Raghu was a great king of the Sūryavaṃśa, whose line is called Raghukula; he gave away all his wealth in the Viśvajit yajña and helped Kautsa.

Suśānta, queen of Bhallāṭanagara and wife of Śaśidhvaja, sang the Suśānta Stotra to Bhagavān Kalki and woke him from his apparent sleep.

Śrutakarma, son of Draupadī and Arjuna, was one of the five upapāṇḍavas and was killed in Aśvatthāmā's night attack.

Bhūri was a Kuru prince, son of Somadatta and brother of Bhūriśravas, who fought for the Kauravas and later returned to the Viśvedevas.

Kālabhīti, a devotee of Bhagavān Śiva born in Vārāṇasī, stayed four years in the womb for fear of Kāla and later became the Mahākāla Liṅga at Guptakshetra.

Rahūgaṇa, king of Sauvīra, met the brāhmaṇa Jaḍabharata as a palanquin-bearer and learned from him the truth of the manas and the Paramātmā.

Suśarman, king of Trigarta and ally of the Kauravas, led the southern cattle raid on Matsya, captured Virāṭa, and was later captured by Bhīma.

Śrutasena was the youngest of the five sons of Draupadī, born to Sahadeva under the Kṛttikā nakshatra, and one of the upapāṇḍavas.

Bhūridyumna was the son of King Vīradyumna in the Ṛshabha Gītā account; he refused a thin brāhmaṇa muni, who then vowed never to accept gifts from kings.

Kālindī, also called Yamunā or Yamānujā, is a daughter of Sūrya, a chief wife of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa, and the one who teaches the queens the secret of Rādhā and Kṛshṇa.

Rājī, a cakravartī king of the lunar line, fought the daityas for Indra and won the place of Indra; his five hundred sons later seized it.

Susheṇa, king of the Śūrasena realm around Mathurā, was one of the kings at Campikā's svayaṃvara in the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa.

Subala was the king of Gāndhāra, father of Gāndhārī and Śakuni, who gave Gāndhārī in marriage to the blind king Dhṛtarāshṭra of Hastināpura.

Bhūrikīrti Mahārāja, king of Vaṭapura, hosted the svayaṃvaras of his granddaughters Campikā and Sumatī and began sixteen yearly festivals for Bhagavān Rāma.

A vulture and a fox killed by mistake at Saukaraka were born as the Kaliṅga prince and the Kāntī princess Manoramā, married, and reached Śveta-dvīpa.

Rāmā, daughter of Śaśidhvaja and Suśānta, was the third wife of Bhagavān Kalki and the avatāra of Satyabhāmā; she bore Meghamāla and Bāhuka.

Susheṇa was the physician of the vānara army who used the herbs Hanumān brought to heal Rāma, Lakshmaṇa and many wounded vānaras.

Sutasoma was the second of the five sons of Draupadī, born to Bhīma with the lustre of a thousand somas, and one of the upapāṇḍavas.

Bhūriśravas, son of Somadatta, was a Kuru warrior and Vedic scholar who fought for the Kauravas at Kurukshetra and died in yoga after Arjuna cut off his arm.

A king of Kaliṅga was reborn as a buffalo at Badarikāśrama and was freed after meeting Devadāsa, as the Padma Purāṇa tells.

Rantideva, a Paurava king, gave away all his food and his last water after 48 days without food, and asked only to take on the suffering of all beings.

Suvarṇashṭhīvin was the son of King Sṛñjaya, born by Nārada's vara, whose body gave gold; thieves killed him, and Nārada later brought him back to life.

Śvetaki was a pious king who performed a twelve-year satra, which exhausted Agni and so became the indirect cause of the burning of the Khāṇḍava forest.

Brahma-datta was king of Kāmpilya in Pāñcāla, in whose palace the sparrow Pūjanī lived; Bhīshma tells their dialogue in the Śānti Parva.

Kalmāshapāda, also called Mitrasaha and Saudāsa, a king of the Ikshvāku line, received Vasishṭha's śāpa and lived twelve years as a rākshasa.

Revatī, daughter of King Kakudmi, was taken to Brahmaloka to find a husband, and on her return married Balarāma after twenty-seven mahāyugas had passed on earth.

Suvrata was a devotee of Bhagavān Vishṇu, son of Somaśarma and Sumanā, who was Dharmāṅgada in his past life and became the new Indra Vasudatta.

Tapatī was the radiant daughter of Sūrya. She married the Kuru king Saṃvaraṇa and became the mother of Kuru, who gave the Kuru dynasty its name.

Brahmadhatta is a king named in the Bhavishya Parva of the Harivaṃśa among those linked with the wars around Dvārakā.

Kalmāshapāda, born Saudāsa (also Mitrasaha), a Solar dynasty king, lived twelve years as a rākshasa after Vasishṭha's śāpa and was freed by a drop of Gaṅgā water.

Ṛtuparna, king of Ayodhyā, knew the Akshahṛdaya, the science of dice; he took Nala as his charioteer Bāhuka and traded that science for the Aśvahṛdaya.

Suyajña, also called Utkala, was a king of Dhruva's line who received the Rādhā mantra and went to Goloka; another Suyajña served Daśaratha as a purohita.

Vicitravīrya was the younger son of Śāntanu and Satyavatī and king of Hastināpura. He died childless, which led to the niyoga that gave birth to Dhṛtarāshṭra, Pāṇḍu and Vidura.

Bṛhadbala, king of Kośala from the Ikshvāku line, fought for the Kauravas at Kurukshetra and was killed by Abhimanyu on the thirteenth day.

Kāmakaṭaṅkaṭā, daughter of the asura Muru and sister of Bhagadatta, was defeated by Ghaṭotkaca, married him at Indraprastha and bore Barbarīka.

Rocamāna was a warrior allied with the Pāṇḍavas, listed by Bhīshma as a ratha among the Pāṇḍava forces at Kurukshetra.

Svarāshṭra was a long-lived king who lost his kingdom, did tapas by the Vitastā, met his queen Utpalāvatī as a doe, and became Tāmasa Manu.

Vidura, also called Kshattā, was the son of Vyāsa and a dāsī and the wise minister of Hastināpura. He was an aṃśa of Dharmarāja (Yama), born through Māṇḍavya's śāpa.

Bṛhatkshatra, a king of the Kekayas on the Pāṇḍava side at Kurukshetra, fought Kṛpācārya on Day 1 and was killed by Droṇācārya with the Brahmāstra.

Kambukaṇṭha, king of the Draviḍa realm at Śivakāñcīpura, left out Rāma's sons from his daughter's svayaṃvara and was defeated by Yūpaketu.

Rohiṇī, a wife of Vasudeva, gave birth to Balarāma in Gokula after Yogamāyā moved the child from Devakī's womb to hers.

Svaroci, born shining with his own light, married three women on Mandara, ruled from three cities and became Svārocisa, the second Manu.

Yuyutsu was Dhṛtarāshṭra's son by a Vaiśya woman. He left the Kauravas for the Pāṇḍavas at Kurukshetra and was the only son of Dhṛtarāshṭra to survive the war.

Bṛhadaśva, an Ikshvāku king, gave the kingdom to his son Kuvalāśva and sent Uttaṅka to him to slay the asura Dhundhu.

Kampa, a Yādava hero of the Bhārata age, is named in the Svargārohaṇa Parva among the great ones who returned to the Viśvedevas.

Romapāda was the king of Aṅga who ended a long drought by bringing the ṛshi Ṛshyaśṛṅga to his land and giving him his daughter Śāntā in marriage.

Svāyaṃbhuva Manu is the first of the fourteen Manus, born from the right half of Brahmā's body, and the father of the human line through Śatarūpā.

Bṛhadratha was king of Siṃhala Dvīpa and father of Padmāvatī, the avatāra of Lakshmī who became the consort of Bhagavān Kalki.

Kaṃsa, the cruel asura-born king of Mathurā and uncle of Kṛshṇa, jailed Devakī and Vasudeva and was slain by Bhagavān Kṛshṇa in the wrestling arena.

Ṛshabhadeva was a full avatāra of Bhagavān Vishṇu, son of King Nābhi, father of Bharata and teacher of the Ṛshabha-Gītā, who left the world as an avadhūta.

King Śveta of Ilāvṛta-varsha gave great wealth but never food, and was taught by Vasishṭha how to gain the merit of anna-dāna.

Cakrapāṇi was the king of Gandakī-nagara in Maithila deśa and the father of the daitya king Sindhu, born after the Sauravrata.

Two devoted wives named Kāntimatī: the queen of King Virabāhu of Kāmpilya, and the wife of Pushkala, who armed him for the Aśvamedha.

Rukmāratha, son of King Śalya of Madra, fought for the Kauravas and was killed by Abhimanyu inside the Cakravyūha on the thirteenth day of the war.

Śveta, king of Vidarbha and son of Vāsudeva, never gave food, suffered hunger in svarga, and was freed by Agastya, who passed his ornament to Rāma.

Campikā was the granddaughter of Bhūrikīrti Mahārāja who chose Kuśa, the elder son of Bhagavān Rāma, as her husband and bore him nine daughters.

Kārāla Janaka was a king of the Janaka line of Videha who received the Sāṃkhya-Yoga teaching on kshara and akshara from Vasishṭha Maharshi.

Rukmāṅgada, son of King Viramāṇi of Devapura, seized Bhagavān Rāma's Aśvamedha horse in the Vindhya forest and defeated Pushkala in battle.

Śveta, also called Śvetaka, was a royal ṛshi at Kālañjara whom Bhagavān Śiva saved from Kāla and raised to gaṇāpatya.

Cāndraṅgada, king of Mālava, was freed from pātāla by the Varada Gaṇeśa Vrata that his queen Indumatī kept on Nārada's word.

Kārtavīrya Arjuna, the thousand-armed cakravartī of the Haihaya line, ruled from Māhishmatī and was slain by Paraśurāma.

Rukmi, the proud elder brother of Rukmiṇī and prince of Vidarbha, opposed Kṛshṇa's marriage, was defeated at Kuṇḍina and was later killed by Balarāma.

Taksha, second son of Bharata and Māṇḍavī, was an Ayodhyā prince for whom Takshaśilā is named, and the husband of Kālikā and Capalā.

Candrasena was a warrior on the Pāṇḍava side killed by Aśvatthāmā after the death of Droṇācārya on the fifteenth day of the war.

Kārtavīryārjuna, also called Sahasrārjuna, was the thousand-armed cakravartī of the Haihayas, a devotee of Dattātreya who was slain by Paraśurāma.

Rukmiṇī, daughter of King Bhīshmaka of Vidarbha, is the foremost queen of Dvārakā and Mahālakshmī born on earth as the wife of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa.

Toṇḍamānadu was a king of the Candra-vaṃśa who first built the prākāra and gopura around Bhagavān Śrīnivāsa's abode on Veṅkaṭādri.

The Cedi Yuvarāja was the unnamed crown prince of Cedi who fought for the Pāṇḍavas and was killed by Aśvatthāmā with his whole retinue on the fifteenth day.

Kāśirāja, the king of Kāśī in the Gaṇeśa Purāṇa's Krīḍā Khaṇḍa, brought the child Mahotkaṭa to Kāśī and was later led by Gaṇeśa's gaṇas to Svānandabhuvana.

Ṛtambhara was a childless king who honoured a cow on the ṛshi Jābāli's advice and was given a son, Satyavān, who became the king of Tejahpura.

The five Trigarta brothers were kings of Trigarta who fought for the Kauravas at Kurukshetra, and their sons later fought Arjuna.

Cekitāna was a Yādava warrior and ally of the Pāṇḍavas, seen in their camp in the Udyoga Parva and among the risen warriors at the Gaṅgā.

Kāśirāja, the king of Kāśī, fought for the Pāṇḍavas at Kurukshetra and is named as a ratha in Bhīshma's count of the warriors.

Sagara was a cakravartī of the Sūryavaṃśa, born with poison in his body. His sixty thousand sons dug the ocean and were burned to ash by Bhagavān Kapila.

Triśaṅku, earlier called Satyavrata, was a king of the Sūrya-vaṃśa who rose bodily toward svarga through Viśvāmitra's tapas and hangs in the sky.

Candrasena was a Kaurava warrior struck down by Yudhishṭhira with seventy arrows on the eighteenth day of the Kurukshetra war.

Kauśalyā was the chief queen of Daśaratha of Ayodhyā and the mother of Bhagavān Rāma, who bore the grief of his exile with dignity.

Sahadeva of Magadha was the son of Jarāsandha. He fought for the Kauravas at Kurukshetra and was killed by Droṇācārya with the Brahmāstra.

Tulādhāra was a vaiśya merchant of Vārāṇasī who sold at equal prices to all and taught ahiṃsā to the brāhmaṇa Jābali in the Mokshadharma Parva.

Cārudeshṇa was a son of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa and a Vṛshṇi warrior of Dvārakā who fought against Śālva and fell in the mutual slaughter at Prabhāsa.

Kekasī was the rākshasī wife of Viśravā and the mother of Rāvaṇa, Kumbhakarṇa, Vibhīshaṇa and Śūrpaṇakhā.

Sahasracitya was a rājarshi who gave his own life for a brāhmaṇa and reached the most excellent lokas. He was also a king of the Kekayas.

Turu, also called Ruru, was the eldest son of Yayāti who refused to take his father's old age and was cursed in the Padma Mahā Purāṇa.

Citraketu was the second son of Lakshmaṇa and Ūrmilā, born in Ayodhyā in the years of Rāma-rājya, one of eight princes of the Ikshvāku line.

Keśidhvaja was a king of the Janaka line and a master of ātma-vidyā who taught the whole yoga system to his defeated cousin Khāṇḍikya.

Sahasrānīka, king of Kauśāmbī, was the vasu Vidhūma reborn. With his queen Mṛgāvatī and son Udayana he reached moksha at Cakratīrtha.

Udayana was the king of Kauśāmbī, son of Sahasrānīka and Mṛgāvatī, who was freed with his parents by bathing at Cakratīrtha.