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.” In this genealogical account, the succession of sons establishes the lines of descent that later shape royal legitimacy and the unfolding of dynastic duty (dharma) in the epic’s history.
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.