Shloka 21
Āśramadharma and the Marks of the Muni
Yayāti–Aṣṭaka Saṃvāda
यदुर्ज्येष्ठस्तव सुतो जातस्तमनु तुर्वसु: । शर्मिष्ठाया: सुतो द्रह्मुस्ततो5नु: पूरुरेव च,“यदु आपके उज्येष्ठ पुत्र हैं। उनके बाद तुर्वसु उत्पन्न हुए हैं। तदनन्तर शर्मिष्ठाके पुत्र क्रमशः ट्रह्यु, अनु और पूरु हैं
yadur jyeṣṭhas tava suto jātas tam anu turvasuḥ | śarmiṣṭhāyāḥ suto drahyus tato 'nuḥ pūrur eva ca ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Your eldest son is Yadu; after him was born Turvasu. Thereafter, from Śarmiṣṭhā were born her sons—Druhyu, then Anu, and also Puru.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the importance of lineage and rightful succession in the epic’s moral-political world: dynastic origins are carefully recorded because they ground later claims to kingship and the responsibilities (dharma) attached to each royal line.
Vaiśampāyana is recounting a genealogical sequence: Yadu is named the eldest son, followed by Turvasu, and then Śarmiṣṭhā’s sons—Druhyu, Anu, and Puru—thereby mapping the progenitors of major dynastic branches.