Mahabharata Family Line in 90s

If you thought Game of Thrones was complicated, the family tree of the Mahabharata, which is part of our rich cultural history, will blow your mind.

We start with Chandra Dev, the Moon god, whose marriages begin the divine Chandravansh i.e. divine royal lineages of ancient India. Of these, King Yayati fathers various clans, including Yadavas (Krishna’s family) and Purus, from where the Kuru family begins with King Kuru.

Shantanu of Kuru has a son Bhishma with Ganga & two sons with Satyavati. When both the sons die childless, Vichitravirya’s half-brother Vyasa, who is Shantanu’s step son (from Satyavati’s previous union) performs an ancient ritual called niyoga with the widows to continue the lineage birthing Dhritarashtra, Pandu & Vidura, who is born to a maidservant.

Pandu’s wives pray to the Gods to bear kids since he’s unable to help, birthing the 5 Pandavas - Bhima, Arjuna, Yudhishthira, Nakula & Sahdeva.

Meanwhile, Dhritarashtra, born blind, has a wife Gandhari who performs a long ritualistic process under Vyas’ guidance & blessings to birth 1 daughter & 100 sons called the Kauravas, led by Duryodahana.

Here we meet Karna, who is actually the half-brother of Pandavas, but sides with their cousins Kauravas because of his mother Kunti having abandoned him since she was young & unmarried when she had him.

The Pandavas marry Draupadi & lose their kingdoms in a rigged game, which leads to their exile. They come back to claim the throne but the epic war that ensues kills almost everyone, leaving a few survivors. Parikshit, Arjuna’s grandson, continues to rule for some time before their lineage dissipates.