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Purujanu — King of the Nila-Panchala Line, Son of Sushanti, Father of Chakshu
Purujanu · Puruja · Purujati · Puranjaya
Purujanu is a king of the Paurava-Panchala lineage, son of Sushanti who was son of Shanti son of Nila son of Ajamidha, and the father of Chakshu. He is attested in the Vishnu Purana (Book IV, chapter 19) under the name Purujanu and in the Bhagavata Purana (Canto IX, chapter 21, verse 31) under the variant name Puruja. The Vayu Purana records a further variant Purujati for the same figure. The Wisdomlib full-text index for the Sushanti entry lists both Puruja and Purujanu as attested forms for this figure across the two principal Puranic sources. No independent narrative, episode, or theological elaboration is attested for Purujanu in any consulted source beyond his genealogical position.
✦ The Name
The name Purujanu is a Sanskrit compound of puru — much, many, or abundant — and janu, derived from the root jan meaning birth, origin, or creature — yielding the sense of one born of many or the abundantly born, a royal name implying prolific or illustrious descent. The Bhagavata Purana variant Puruja is a shortened form of the same compound dropping the final element. The Vayu Purana variant Purujati substitutes jati — birth-group or lineage — for janu, yielding the sense of one of many lineages or abundantly lineaged — a semantically parallel name. The name Puranjaya, listed in the Wisdomlib full-text index in association with this figure, is a separate compound meaning conqueror of cities and may represent a further scribal variant or a distinct secondary epithet used in certain manuscript traditions.
✦ Lineage
- Father: Sushanti — son of Shanti son of Nila son of Ajamidha
- Son: Chakshu — next king in the sequence; called Arka in the Bhagavata Purana, Riksha in the Vayu Purana, and Prithu in the Matsya Purana; the Brahma Purana omits this generation entirely, jumping from Purujanu directly to Haryyashva
✦ References
Primary Sources
- Vishnu Purana, Book IV, chapter 19 — Names Purujanu as son of Sushanti and father of Haryyashva in the Nila sub-line; the Brahma Purana omits Chakshu making this appear as a direct Purujanu-to-Haryyashva link in that tradition.
- Bhagavata Purana, Canto IX, chapter 21, verse 31 — Names Puruja (variant of Purujanu) as son of Sushanti and father of Arka (variant of Chakshu) in the same verse sequence.
- Vayu Purana, 99.168–169 — Records Purujati as the variant name for this figure; confirms his position between Sushanti and Chakshu-Arka.
Secondary Sources
- Wisdomlib.org, "Sushanti" definition entry full-text index — Lists Puruja and Purujanu as attested forms for the son of Sushanti; records Puranjaya as a further possible variant.
- Wikipedia, "Mudgala" article — Reproduces Bhagavata Purana IX.21.31 naming Puruja within the full Nila-to-Bharmyashva sequence.