Vidarbha, Son of Jyāmagha
Vidarbha
Śaibyā has other meanings too: see all meanings of Śaibyā. Vidarbha has other meanings too: see all meanings of Vidarbha.
The Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa names Vidarbha among the kings of the Candra line in the Tretā Yuga, in the line that runs from Kroshṭu. He is the son of Jyāmagha and the father of Kratha, whose son was Kuntibhoja. Sūta tells the line to Śaunaka.
The Brahma Purāṇa tells how he was born: his mother Śaibyā, long childless and already old, bore him as the fruit of the tapas of a maiden whom his father Jyāmagha had won in battle and brought home as the wife of the son yet to be born. Vidarbha married that maiden, and she bore him the heroes Kratha and Kaiśika.
Per Brahma Purāṇa
The line from Kroshṭu
The Brahma Purāṇa gives Vidarbha in the line of Kroshṭu, son of Yadu. To Kroshṭu was born Vṛjinīvant; his son was Svāhi, the best among performers of yajña; Svāhi’s son Ushadgu performed yajñas with abundant dakshiṇā (gifts to the priests) for the sake of a son and obtained Citraratha. Then came Śaśabindu, Pṛthuśravas, Antara, Suyajña, Ushata, Śineyu, the rājarshi Maruta, Kambalabarhisha, Rukmakavaca, who slew a hundred armoured archers in battle, and Parājit, slayer of enemies. Parājit had five unconquered sons: Rukmeshu, Pṛthurukma, Jyāmagha, Pālita and Hari. Pālita and Hari were given to the kings of Videha, and Rukmeshu became king with the support of Pṛthurukma.
Jyāmagha, Śaibyā and the birth of Vidarbha
Sent away by his two brothers, Jyāmagha lived in an āśrama (a forest dwelling). Well instructed by brāhmaṇas, he set out alone with his bow, his banner and a chariot for another land. Wandering alone on the bank of the Narmadā, he conquered Mekala, Mṛttikāvatī and the mountain Ṛkshavanta, and lived in the city of Śuktimatī.
His wife was Śaibyā, strong and a pativratā (devoted to her husband). Though she had no children, he did not take another wife. Once, in a war he won, he gained a maiden as a gift. He brought her to his wife and, in fear, said: “Here is your daughter-in-law.” Śaibyā asked: “Whose daughter-in-law?” Jyāmagha said: “She is the wife of the son who is to be born to you.”
The maiden performed fierce tapas (spiritual austerity). As the fruit of that tapas, Śaibyā, though old, bore a son, Vidarbha.
His sons
Vidarbha begot two sons in that king’s daughter, the same maiden: Kratha and Kaiśika, both heroes, learned and skilled in war. The Purāṇa then names Vidarbha’s son Bhīma; Bhīma’s son was Kunti, and Kunti’s son was Dhṛshṭa, bold in battle and full of valour.
The Purāṇa gives a phala for this account: one who hears of the offspring of the mahātmā Jyāmagha always gains supreme joy and is blessed with children.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 15
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 1, Chapter 2
- Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 15