Tamas

THE LIVING ARCHIVE

About Tamas

His grandfather Shashavindu is remembered for royal wealth and an immense household. Prithushravas is one of the six sons singled out for distinction, and Tamas continues that particular branch. His name here identifies a person within a family, not the philosophical quality of darkness and inertia called tamas.

AT A GLANCE

Identity & Context

Identity: King
Form: Kroshtu Branch of the Yadavas
Tradition: Puranic Royal Genealogy

Family & Relationships

ParentPrithushravas
Prithushravas is the parent of Tamas in this account.
ChildUshanas
Tamas is the parent of Ushanas in this account.

IN THE TRADITION

Recorded Context

Family and Wider Context

The account credits Tamas’s son Ushanas with a hundred horse sacrifices. After Ushanas come Shiteyus, Rukmakavacha and Paravrit; Paravrit’s son Jyamagha becomes the central figure of the next household story. Jyamagha’s wife Shaivya bears Vidarbha, whose sons open further royal lines. Tamas belongs to their ancestry, but the ritual achievement and marriage narrative remain attached to their actual participants.

ROLE & ESSENCE

Attributes & Significance

Tamas connects the household of Shashavindu and Prithushravas with the ritual king Ushanas. Shashavindu is his grandfather, Prithushravas his father and Ushanas his son. The four people consequently occupy successive generations, despite the much fuller descriptions given to only some of them.

Role

Tamas is an early Yadava king, the son of Prithushravas and the father of Ushanas. He belongs to the branch selected from Shashavindu’s many descendants and continued toward Jyamagha and Vidarbha.

TRADITION & MEANING

Traditions & Interpretations

The king and the metaphysical term share a spelling in English. Nothing in this personal genealogy makes him a personification of a guna or assigns him a cosmic origin.