Chyavana

THE LIVING ARCHIVE

About Chyavana

His father is Suhotra, the son of Kuru’s son Sudhanush. His own son is Kritaka in the Vishnu Purana, and Kritaka becomes the father of Uparichara Vasu. These adjoining relationships identify the royal Chyavana without borrowing a namesake’s separate life story.

AT A GLANCE

Identity & Context

Identity: King
Form: Kuru Royal House
Tradition: Puranic Royal Genealogy

Family & Relationships

ParentSuhotra
Suhotra is the parent of Chyavana.
ChildKritaka
Chyavana is the parent of Kritaka.

IN THE TRADITION

Recorded Context

The Ancestry of Uparichara Vasu

The family proceeds through Kritaka to Uparichara Vasu and then Brihadratha. Vasu’s descendants form regional royal branches, and Brihadratha’s family becomes part of Magadha’s history. Chyavana belongs to the ancestry before those events, not to the younger generation ruling beside Jarasandha.

The branch later reaches Brihadratha and his son Jarasandha. Jarasandha is born in two parts that the being Jara joins together; his name recalls that joining. After him the list continues through Sahadeva, Somapi and Shrutashravas, identifying these rulers with Magadha. The episode belongs to Jarasandha’s birth, not to the life of every ancestor in the branch.

ROLE & ESSENCE

Attributes & Significance

This Chyavana links Suhotra’s household to Kritaka, the father of Uparichara Vasu. His descendants belong to the royal ancestry of the Cedi and Magadha houses; the famous sage’s marriage and rejuvenation concern a different narrative family.

Role

Chyavana is a royal ancestor in the Kuru branch leading to Uparichara Vasu and Magadha. He is not the sage Chyavana associated with Sukanya and the Ashvins.

TRADITION & MEANING

Traditions & Interpretations

A second royal Chyavana appears in the Panchala sequence after Mitrayu. That figure also needs a separate identity: the names match, but the parents, children and branch are different.