Mitrayu

THE LIVING ARCHIVE

About Mitrayu

Bahvashva is his grandfather, and Ahalya is his father Divodasa’s twin sister in this account. The royal sequence passes from Mitrayu to Chyavana, Sudasa and Saudasa, who is also called Sahadeva, before reaching Somaka.

AT A GLANCE

Identity & Context

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

Family & Relationships

ParentDivodasa
Divodasa is the parent of Mitrayu.
ChildChyavana
Mitrayu is the parent of Chyavana.

IN THE TRADITION

Recorded Context

From Divodasa Toward Drupada

The later Somaka has a hundred sons. Prishata, the youngest, becomes Drupada’s father. Mitrayu is one of the older generations between Divodasa and that later household, rather than a contemporary of Drupada’s children.

Drupada’s family becomes central to the Mahabharata through Draupadi and Dhrishtadyumna. Its older ancestry passes through Mitrayu, Divodasa and Mudgala to the Panchala branch of the Paurava house.

ROLE & ESSENCE

Attributes & Significance

Mitrayu belongs to the family connecting Divodasa with the later Panchala kings. The royal Chyavana in his household has a different place and biography from the sage associated with Sukanya and the Ashvins.

Role

Mitrayu is a royal ancestor of Panchala, the son of Divodasa and the father of Chyavana in the Vishnu Purana. His descendants lead toward Somaka and the later house of Drupada.

TRADITION & MEANING

Traditions & Interpretations

The Bhagavata gives the names Chyavana, Sudasa, Sahadeva and Somaka after Mitrayu. The Vishnu Purana explicitly presents them as successive generations, which is the arrangement followed in this branch.

The Vishnu Purana gives Chyavana, Sudasa, Saudasa and Somaka as successive generations after Mitrayu. A Bhagavata translation groups Chyavana, Sudasa, Sahadeva and Somaka as Mitrayu’s sons. The succession here follows the Vishnu Purana; the different arrangement is not silently combined with it.