About
Chitraratha — Yadu King, Father of Shashabindu
Chitraratha
Chitraratha is a king of the Yadu dynasty, recorded in the Puranas as the son of Rusadru and the father of Shashabindu. The Yadu dynasty, to which Chitraratha belongs, was founded by Yadu, the eldest son of the lunar-dynasty emperor Yayati and his wife Devayani. Chitraratha's primary significance in the tradition is genealogical: he forms a critical generational link between Rusadru and his far more celebrated son Shashabindu, who is remembered in Puranic literature as a great emperor and a chakravartin — a universal sovereign. Chitraratha is named in the genealogical catalogues of the Bhagavata Purana and the Vishnu Purana but is not the subject of any independent narrative episode in the surviving primary texts.
✦ The Name
The name Chitraratha is a compound of the Sanskrit roots chitra, meaning variegated, brilliant, or wondrous, and ratha, meaning chariot. The name thus signifies one whose chariot is splendid or marvellous, a common epithet-type among royal figures in the Puranic and epic traditions. The name is shared by several other figures in the corpus — most notably a celebrated Gandharva king named Chitraratha who appears in the Mahabharata — but the Chitraratha recorded here is a distinct figure, a human king of the Yadu lineage.
✦ Lineage
- Father: Rusadru — a king of the Yadu dynasty, himself a descendant of Yadu, son of the emperor Yayati
- Son: Shashabindu — a celebrated emperor of the Yadu line, described in the Puranas as a chakravartin and one of the most powerful kings of his age, renowned for his wealth, his many wives, and his vast progeny
✦ References
- Bhagavata Purana, Skandha 9, Chapter 23: Includes Chitraratha in the Yadu dynastic succession as the son of Rusadru and father of Shashabindu.
- Vishnu Purana, Book 4, Chapter 12: Records the same genealogical placement of Chitraratha within the Yadu lineage.
- Vettam Mani, Puranic Encyclopaedia (1975): Distinguishes between the several figures of this name in the Puranic corpus and identifies the Yadu king Chitraratha separately from the Gandharva of the same name.