Brihadratha

THE LIVING ARCHIVE

About Brihadratha

His father, Uparichara Vasu, rules Chedi and gives his sons authority over different regions. Brihadratha receives Magadha. This makes his household one regional branch of Vasu’s larger Paurava family, whose ancestry leads back through Kuru.

AT A GLANCE

Identity & Context

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

Family & Relationships

ParentUparichara Vasu
Uparichara Vasu is the parent of Brihadratha.
ChildJarasandha
Brihadratha is the parent of Jarasandha.

IN THE TRADITION

Recorded Context

The Magadha Family

Brihadratha has a son named Kushagra, and the royal genealogy follows Kushagra’s descendants through several generations. It then returns to Brihadratha to introduce another son, Jarasandha. The two passages describe different branches of one father’s family; Jarasandha is not the son of the last man named in Kushagra’s branch.

Jarasandha’s unusual birth gives that second branch its best-known story. The child is born in two parts, which a being named Jara brings together. Once joined, he becomes a living boy. His name recalls that joining, and he later becomes a powerful ruler of Magadha.

More Than One Branch

Jarasandha’s later line continues through Sahadeva, Somapi and Shrutashravas. Brihadratha’s other descent begins with Kushagra and contains several generations of its own. Jarasandha is introduced separately as another son of Brihadratha, not as the child of the final ruler named in Kushagra’s branch.

ROLE & ESSENCE

Attributes & Significance

Jarasandha’s position as a Magadha ruler begins with this older family. Brihadratha supplies the connection to Uparichara Vasu, while the separate branches of his children explain why the genealogy names both Kushagra’s descendants and Jarasandha’s later house.

Role

Brihadratha is a king of Magadha and the father of Jarasandha. A son of Uparichara Vasu, he belongs to the royal family that connects Chedi with one of the Mahabharata’s most important eastern kingdoms.

TRADITION & MEANING

Traditions & Interpretations

Other kings also bear the name Brihadratha in later dynastic lists. The father of Jarasandha is identified here by Uparichara Vasu and the distinctive birth story of his son.