Suryavanshi & Chandravanshi Lineages

Do you know Sri Ram (राम) & Sri Krishna (कृष्ण) surnames? What if I told you they’re related & not in the way you think!

Here’s the tea!

So while the concept of a family name is believed to have first originated in ancient China around 2800 BCE, our ancestors identified people by their Vamsha (वंश) - their lineage.

Both bloodlines of Ram & Krishna begin with Lord Vishnu (विष्णु).From Vishnu comes Brahma (ब्रह्मा).

Brahma creates several mind-born sons, one of whom is the sage Marichi (मरीचि).

Marichi has a son named Kashyapa (कश्यप).

Kashyapa marries Aditi (अदिति), the daughter of Daksha (दक्ष), who was another of Brahma’s creations.Kashyapa & Aditi give birth to Surya (सूर्य), the Sun God.

Surya has a son named Vaivasvata Manu (वैवस्वत मनु), the first man of this age who survives the great flood.

From this Manu, the family tree splits into two massive branches.Let us follow the first branch.

Manu has an eldest son named Ikshvaku (इक्ष्वाकु). Ikshvaku founds the Suryavansha (सूर्यवंश) - the Solar Dynasty.

Generations down this line comes a great king named Raghu (रघु), who creates the Raghuvanshi (रघुवंशी) sub-clan.

Raghu's grandson is King Dasharatha (दशरथ), who gives us Sri Rama.

This is why Rama is called Raghunandana (रघुनन्दन), a descendant of Raghu, and a proud Suryavanshi.But how does Krishna connect?

Let us go back up the tree to Manu.

During a ritual to obtain children, a mis-chanted mantra leads to Manu getting a daughter named Ila (इला).Ila marries Budha (बुध), the deity personifying the planet Mercury.

Budha is the son of Chandra (चन्द्र), the Moon God, born from Chandra's union with Tara (तारा).Together, Budha and Ila have a son named Pururavas (पुरूरवस्).

He founds the Chandravansha (चन्द्रवंश) - the Lunar Dynasty.Generations down this lunar line, King Yayati's eldest son, King Yadu (यदु), founds the Yadava (यादव) clan.

Down this exact line comes the Vrishni (वृष्णि) sub-clan, leading to Vasudeva (वसुदेव), the father of Sri Krishna.

Therefore, Krishna is a Yadava of the Lunar Dynasty.

Because both the Solar and Lunar dynasties branch out from the children of Manu, Rama and Krishna are technically distant relatives on the exact same family tree.