By ending the tyrannical King Kamsa in a fierce battle, Shri Krishna restored peace and justice to the land of Mathura. But the aftermath of Kamsa's downfall sent shockwaves rippling through the Vrishni and Bhoj dynasties, casting a shadow of fear o...
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Shurasen was a famous Yadav king hailing from the Vrishni sub-lineage, his kingdom was named after him. He was the father of Kunti, Vasudev, Shrutasrava Rajadhidevi and many other prominent figures of Mahabharat. Shurasen was succeeded by Ugrasen, who was from Bhoj sub-lineage of Yadavas. Vasudev was the most prominent son of Shurasen, who inherits the throne after Ugrasen.
Although Vasudev had many wives, Rohini, Devaki and Devaki's sister Devarakshita are the most prominent ones. Balram, Krishna and Gad are the most famous sons of theirs. And because they hailed from Shurasen, the descendants are called Shauri.
SHINI-VANSH :
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This sub-branch Vrishnis lineage of kings, were the most fierce Yadavas. Shini, the grandfather of Saatyaki, had helped Vasudev obtain Devaki by defeating all the kings at her swayamvar and winning her hand for Vasudev.
One of the defeated kings was Kuruvanshi Somdatta, the son of Bahlik (brother of Shantanu) who had challenged Shini for a duel and lost. Shini had seized Somadatta by the hair and kicked him before all the kings, before sparing him alive.
It was Shini's prowess that led to the marriage of Vasudev and Devaki. It is no surprise that the bond between the Shinivansh and Shurasenvansh was strong, given Shini's close association with Vasudev. The legacy of King Shini's ferocity lived on in Saatyaki, who is revered in the Mahabharat as the greatest warrior among the Yadavas, and whose valour is compared to Krishna, Balram and Arjun.
HAIHEYA-VANSH :
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Haiheyavansh was another branch of the Yaduvansh. The kings of this lineage were the direct descendants of Kartivirya or Sahasrabahu Arjun. They were the first ruling dynasty of Avanti, also known as the Heheya kingdom, and had Mahishmati as their capital but over time it was changed to Ujjain.
Rajadhidevi, daughter of Shurasen and sister of Kunti and Vasudev, had married King Jayasen of Avanti, she was the mother of Vinda and Anuvinda, who were the allies of Duryodhan. She was also the mother of Mitravinda, the fifth wife of Shri Krishna.
KURUVANSH -
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The Kurus were the direct descendants of Chakravarti Bharat, and that is why the Pandavas are referred to as Bhaarat in many places. In fact, that is the reason why the epic has been titled Mahabharat, because of the war among the descendants of the Bharat lineage. And the story focuses on the Kurus who are Shantanu's descendants, but there was another set of Kurus who were the children of Bahlik including Somdatta, Rohini, and Somdatta's son Bhurishrava.
Although all the members of this lineage can be referred to Kauravas, this name has been popularly associated with Dhratrashtras, the sons of Dhritrashtra and their associates. But many times in Mahabharat, Pandavas, the sons of Pandu, have also been called Kauravas.
And there were very strong relations between Kurus and Yadavas due to the following factors - First is the common ancestry traced to Yayati, who was the father of Puru and Yadu. Second is the fact that Bhishm and Rohini were first cousins and she was married to Vasudev. Thirdly the marriage of Pandu and Kunti. Fourth is that many Yadavas came to Hastinapur to study under Kripacharya and Dronacharya. Fifth is the friendship of Pandavas and Krishna, along with the marriage of Subhadra and Arjun. And lastly the marriage of Duryodhan's daughter Lakshmana and Krishna's son Samb.
