Ushanas

THE LIVING ARCHIVE

About Ushanas

This Ushanas belongs to the succession through Prithushravas and Shashavindu. He is not Shukra, the teacher of the Asuras who is also called Ushanas. The royal father Tamas and the son Shiteyus establish a different family identity from the celestial teacher’s biography.

AT A GLANCE

Identity & Context

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

Family & Relationships

ParentTamas
Tamas is the parent of Ushanas in this account.
ChildShiteyus
Ushanas is the parent of Shiteyus in this account.

IN THE TRADITION

Recorded Context

Family and Wider Context

A horse sacrifice is a major royal rite associated with sovereignty. The account singles out Ushanas’s hundred performances within an otherwise concise chain of ancestors, giving his place a ritual distinction. It does not describe him acquiring Shukra’s powers, teaching the Asuras or becoming the planet Venus. Those associations belong to the other bearer of the name.

ROLE & ESSENCE

Attributes & Significance

After Ushanas, the succession proceeds through Shiteyus and Rukmakavacha to Paravrit. Jyamagha, one of Paravrit’s sons, becomes the father of Vidarbha through Shaivya. The family record thus connects a king distinguished by ritual activity with the later royal houses traced through Vidarbha’s descendants.

Role

Ushanas is a Yadava king, son of Tamas, credited with celebrating a hundred horse sacrifices. His son Shiteyus continues the royal line that later reaches Jyamagha and Vidarbha.

TRADITION & MEANING

Traditions & Interpretations

The hundred sacrifices belong to this king in the selected account. The fact that Shukra is called Ushanas elsewhere is not a reason to merge their identities or transfer either figure’s deeds to the other.