About
Janamejaya — Son of Puranjaya, Anu Lineage
Janamejaya · Janamejaya Anava
Janamejaya is a king of the Anu lineage within the Chandravamsha, the Lunar dynasty. He is the son of Puranjaya (in the Vishnu Purana, Brahma Purana, and Harivamsa accounts) or of Srnjaya directly (in the Bhagavata Purana's compressed account), and the father of Mahasala (Mahamani). He is attested in all the primary genealogical sources for the Anu line — the Bhagavata Purana (9.23.2), the Vishnu Purana (IV.18), the Brahma Purana (Chapter 11), and the Harivamsa — as a consistent figure in this genealogical position. No narrative episode is recorded for him in the Anu-lineage sources. Identification requires care, as the name Janamejaya is shared by several celebrated figures across the Puranic and epic corpus, of which the most prominent is Janamejaya son of Parikshit of the Kuru line, the king who performed the great serpent sacrifice (sarpasattra) in which the Mahabharata was first recited. That figure belongs to an entirely different dynasty and must be distinguished from this Anu-lineage Janamejaya.
✦ The Name
The name Janamejaya is a compound of jana (people, creature, or person) and ejaya, a causative form from the root ej (to tremble, to shake), giving the meaning one who causes the people to tremble or one who shakes the people — a name implying martial terror and the power to make subjects and enemies quake. It is a name of ancient standing, attested in the Rigveda as well as the Puranas and epics. The Mahabharata's famous Janamejaya of the Kuru line — son of Parikshit, grandson of Abhimanyu, and great-grandson of Arjuna — is the most widely known bearer of this name. The present Janamejaya of the Anu line is an entirely distinct figure of the same name occupying a much earlier genealogical position.
✦ Lineage
- Dynasty: Chandravamsha (Lunar dynasty), Anu lineage
- Father: Puranjaya (Vishnu Purana, Brahma Purana, Harivamsa) or Srnjaya directly (Bhagavata Purana)
- Son: Mahasala (Bhagavata Purana, Brahma Purana) or Mahamani (Vishnu Purana) — both names designating the same figure in this genealogical position; see the profile for that figure
✦ Textual Record
Janamejaya of the Anu line appears in each of his sources within the king-list only. The Bhagavata Purana (9.23.2) gives him as the son of Srnjaya and the father of Mahasala. The Vishnu Purana (IV.18) places him as son of Puranjaya and father of Mahamani. The Brahma Purana (11.17) records him as son of Puranjaya and father of Mahasala, with a brief note that Mahasala was a pious king recognised by the gods whose fame spread across the earth. No campaigns, marriages, or personal episodes are recorded for Janamejaya himself in any of these passages.
✦ References
- Primary Sources:
- Bhagavata Purana, Skandha 9, Adhyaya 23, verse 2: Gives Janamejaya as son of Srnjaya and father of Mahasala in the Anu genealogical sequence
- Vishnu Purana, Book IV, Chapter 18 (H.H. Wilson translation): Places Janamejaya as son of Puranjaya and father of Mahamani
- Brahma Purana, Chapter 11, verse 17 (Wisdomlib translation): Includes Janamejaya as son of Puranjaya and father of Mahasala; notes the piety of Mahasala his son
- Secondary Sources:
- Wisdomlib, vedabase.io, SB 9.23: Confirms the Bhagavata Purana genealogical position of Janamejaya in the Anu line
- Vettam Mani, Puranic Encyclopaedia: General reference for disambiguation from the Kuru-lineage Janamejaya son of Parikshit