Lunar dynasty: Difference between revisions

'''Lunar dynasty''' ([[IAST]]: '''Candravaṃśa''' or '''Somavaṃśa''' in [[Sanskrit]]) is a legendary principal house of the [[Kshatriyas]] [[varna in Hinduism|varna]], or warrior–ruling caste mentioned in the ancient Indian texts. This legendary dynasty was said to be descended from moon-related deities (''[[Soma (deity)|Soma]]'' or ''[[Lunar ]]'').<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TGyzMJYZn-0C&pg=PA21 |title=Message of the Purans |publisher=Diamond Pocket Books Ltd |first=B. B. |last=Paliwal |year=2005 |page=21 |isbn=978-8-12881-174-6}}</ref> The Hindu deity [[Krishna]] is believed to be born in the [[Yaduvansh]] branch of Lunar dynasty.  

According to the ''[[Shatapatha Brahmana]]'', [[Pururavas]] was the son of [[Budha]] (himself often described as the son of Soma) and the gender-switching deity [[Ila (Hinduism)|Ila]] (born as the daughter of [[Shraddhadeva Manu|Manu]]).{{sfn|Thapar|2013|p=308}} Pururavas's great-grandson was [[Yayati]], who had five sons named [[Yadus|Yadu]], [[Turvashas|Turvasu]], [[Druhyus|Druhyu]], [[Anu (tribe)|Anu]], and [[Puru (Vedic tribe)|Puru]]. These seem to be the names of five Indo-Aryan tribes as described in the [[Vedas]].<ref>{{cite book |author=A. K. Warder |author-link=A. K. Warder |title=An Introduction to Indian Historiography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nCluAAAAMAAJ |year=1972 |publisher=Popular Prakashan |pages=21–22 }}</ref>

According to the ''Mahabharata'', the dynasty's progenitor [[Ila (Hinduism)|Ila]] ruled from [[Allahabad|Prayag]], & had a son Shashabindu who ruled in the country of Bahli.<ref>{{cite book |first=Wendy |last=Doniger |title=Splitting the difference: gender and myth in ancient Greece and India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G4pgM3birUwC&pg=PA273 |access-date=25 August 2011 |year=1999 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-15641-5 |page=273}}</ref> Ila's descendants were also known as the Ailas or Lunar Dynasty.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=w9pmo51lRnYC&pg=PA17&dq=aila+Ila&hl=en&ei=MoazTte5DYnYsga-4eTSAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CEIQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=aila%20Ila&f=false Encyclopaedia of the Hindu world, Volume 1 By Gaṅgā Rām Garg]</ref>

In Hindu texts, the [[Kurukshetra War|Kurukshetra war]] that form the subject of the Indian Epic [[Mahabharata|Mahabarata]], was largely fought between rival branches of the Lunar Dynasty, famously resulting in the hesitation of [[Arjuna]] away from war and the reprimand of his mentor Krishna. Krishna reminds Arjuna that Dharma stands above everything and the text forms an integral cultural cornerstone for all four [[Kshatriya]] houses.

By the conclusion of the Kurukshetra war most of the Yadhuvanshi lineage is in peril. The sinking of [[Dwarka kingdom|Dwarka]] sees the destruction of the entire Yaduvanshi lineage with the exception of [[Vajra (king)|Vajranabh]] who was saved by [[Arjuna]] & later becomes the King of Mathura.