Kuru Kingdom was split into three parts: Kuru proper (which itself also spilt into Vatsa kingdom) "Kurujangala" and "Uttarakuru".
Kuru proper was in the middle region of Ganga-Yammuna Doab, Kurujangala was in
western part and Uttarakuru was in eastern region.[7]
Origin of lineage
King Kuru II of Puru dynastyafter whom the dynasty was named 'Kuruvansha' or 'Kaurava'. After his name, the district in Haryana was called as Kurukshetra.[8] By the glory, zenith and name of this king the dynasty hence renamed from Paurava Kingdom to Kuru Kingdom.[9] After these Kings several kings of this dynasty established several kingdoms. He had three sons, namely Vidhuratha I who became the ruler of Pratisthana, Vyushitaswa who died at a very young age, and Sudhanva, who became the ruler of Magadha. Henceforth, Vidhuratha became the first kuru king of Hastinapura.[10]
Chitrāngada (son of Shantanu, who was killed prematurely. Bhishma, who was the eldest son of the Shantanu and Ganga; had functioned as the regent of the Kurus, under Chitrāngada, Vichitravirya, Pandu and Dhritarashtra II)
Vichitravirya (younger brother of Chitrāngada, who died prematurely).
Pandu (son of Vichitravirya and Ambalika. Vidura, who was his half brother, served as his, and his elder brother's Prime Minister)
Dhritarashtra II (older half-brother of Pandu, and son of Ambika who didn't succeed Vichitravirya directly due to his blindness).
The Kauravas, led by Duryodhana (sons of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari, who were slain in the Kurukshetra War).
a: Shantanu was a king of the Kuru dynasty or kingdom, and was some generations removed from any ancestor called Kuru. His marriage to Ganga preceded his marriage to Satyavati.
b: Pandu and Dhritarashtra were fathered by Vyasa in the niyoga tradition after Vichitravirya's death. Dhritarashtra, Pandu and Vidura were the sons of Vyasa with Ambika, Ambalika and a maid servant respectively.
c: Karna was born to Kunti through her invocation of Surya, before her marriage to Pandu.
e: Duryodhana and his siblings were born at the same time, and they were of the same generation as their Pandava cousins.
f : Although the succession after the Pandavas was through the descendants of Arjuna and Subhadra, it was Yudhishthira and Draupadi who occupied the throne of Hastinapura after the great battle.
The birth order of siblings is correctly shown in the family tree (from left to right), except for Vyasa and Bhishma whose birth order is not described, and Vichitravirya and Chitrangada who were born after them. The fact that Ambika and Ambalika are sisters is not shown in the family tree. The birth of Duryodhana took place after the birth of Karna, Yudhishthira and Bhima, but before the birth of the remaining Pandava brothers.
Some siblings of the characters shown here have been left out for clarity; this includes Vidura, half-brother to Dhritarashtra and Pandu.
Family of Pandavas
Pandavas means sons of King Pandu. Pandavas were five in number as: Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. The first three of five Pandavas were the sons of Kunti and Pandu while the younger two were born to Madri after Pandu's request.[11]
Upapandavas were the 5 sons of Pandava and Draupadi (daughter of King Drupada of Panchala). Their names were Prativindhya (from Yudhishthira), Sutasoma (from Bheema), Shrutakarma (from Arjuna), Satanika (from Nakula) and Shrutasena (from Sahadeva).[12]
^Pletcher 2010, p. 63. sfn error: no target: CITEREFPletcher2010 (help)
^B. Kölver, ed. (1997). Recht, Staat und Verwaltung im klassischen Indien [Law, State and Administration in Classical India] (in German). München: R. Oldenbourg. pp. 27–52.
^"Mahabharata". Collins English Dictionary (13th ed.). HarperCollins. 2018. ISBN 978-0-008-28437-4.
^Narayan, R. K. (2001-03-01). The Mahabharata. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 978-0-14-119081-5.
^Raychaudhuri 1953, p. 21-23. sfn error: no target: CITEREFRaychaudhuri1953 (help)
^"Kurukshetra (India)". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
^The Chronology of India: From Manu to Mahabharata ISBN 978-8194321309
^Dalal, Roshen (2014-04-18). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin UK. ISBN 978-81-8475-277-9.
^Bonnefoy, Yves. Asian Mythologies. translated under the direction of Wendy Doniger. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press. 1993. pp. 180–183. ISBN 0-226-06456-5
^van Buitenen, J.A.B., ed. (1981). The Mahābhārata. Translated by van Buitenen (Phoenix ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226846644.
