JANMEJAY

Janmejay was a Kuru king who reigned during the Middle Vedic period (12th-9th centuries BCE). Along with his father and predecessor Parikshit, he played a decisive role in the consolidation of the Kuru state, the arrangement of Vedic hymns into collections, and the development of the orthodox srauta ritual, transforming the Kuru realm into the dominant political and cultural center of northern India. He also appears as a figure in later legends and traditions, the Mahabharata and the Purans.

Ancestry of Anu-Janmejay :

Ancestry of Anu as per Bhagavat Puran

Yayati → Anu → Sabhanar→ Kalanar → Janmejay → Maha Shal → Mahamans → (1.Ushinar + 2.Titiksh)

1. Ushinara → Nriga + Krimi + Nava + Suvrata + Shivi

• Nrig → Yaudhey

• Shivi → Vrishadarv + Suvir + Madra + Kakaya

2. Titiksh→ Rushadrath → Hom → Sutapas → Bali

Jat clans :

Janmed, Janmeja, Jaymeja, Janmejay, Janmejay is gotra of Jats found in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. These are said to have ben originated from ancestor Janmejay.

History :

According to Bhim Singh Dahiya, the Dahiyas have already been described. However, here we want to draw attention to the mention of their country and some of their princes. Asandivat is mentioned as the capital of Janmejay in Ramayan and Panini. Commenting on Panini, Kasik mentions Asandi along with Dahisthalam. Har Datta, the author of Padamanjarikar mentions Asandi and Dahisthalam as names of particular countries or areas.

Inscriptional evidence mentions Dahisthal on the bank of Saraswati river where Kshemaraja Chalukya of Anhilvad did penance.

From the above discussion it is clear that the places mentioned is somewhere in the Haryana area. Now there is an important town near Panipat which is called Asandh even today and the area of Dahiya clan is not far from this place. It is therefore clear that the ancient Asandi or Asandivat is the present Asand town and Dahisthal is the country of the Dahiya clan. Kinsariya inscriptions of Chachha Dahiya of 1056-57 SV. are reported in El, Vol. XII, pp. 56-57. He is mentioned as "Kulam Dahiyakam Jatam" and the inscriptions gives at least four generations of that prince. Another inscription of Chandravati Sitaleshvara Mahadeva temple mentions a Rauta Bhivasiha Dahiya and his son Rauta Uda Dahiya (Sl. No. 1856 of Inscriptions of North India).

In Vedic Literature :

Janmejay is mentioned as a great king and conqueror in a number of late Vedic texts. The Aitareya Brahmana (VIII.21) states that his priest Tura Kavasheya anointed him with the Aindra Mahabhishek (great anointing of Indra). The Shatapath Brahman mentions that he performed an ashvamedh, for getting himself rid of the Brahmahatya (sin associated with killing of a Brahmin), and the priest who performed it for him was Indrot Daivap Shaunak at a place named Asandivat.

Historicity :

H.C. Raychaudhuri dates Parikshit, his father, in ninth century BC. Michael Witzel dates the Parik?ita Dynasty of the Kuru Kingdom to the 12th-11th centuries BC.

Only one Janmejay is mentioned in Vedic literature; however, post-Vedic literature (Mahabharat and Purans) seems to indicate the existence of two kings by this name, one who lived before the Kurukshetra War was an ancestor to the Pandavs, and one who lived later and was a descendant. Historian H. C. Raychaudhuri believes that the second Janmejay's description better corresponds to the Vedic king, whereas the information available about first is scanty and inconsistent, but Raychaudhuri questions whether there were actually two distinct kings. He suggests that there "is an intrusion into the genealogical texts" of the late, post-Vedic tradition, which also has two of Janmejay's father Parikshit, possibly "invented by genealogists to account for anachronisms" in the later parts of the Mahabharat, as "a bardic duplication of the same original individual regarding whose exact place in the Kuru genealogy no unanimous tradition had survived."

Four copper-plate grant inscriptions purportedly issued during Janmejay's reign were discovered in the 20th century, but were proved to be fake by historians.

In Puranic Literature :

He was the son of King Parikshit and Queen Madravati according to the Mahabharat (I.95.85), but according to the Bhagavat Puran (I.xvi.2), his mother was Iravati, daughter of Uttara. He was the grandson of Abhimanyu and the great-grandson of Arjun, the valiant warrior hero of the Mahabharat. He ascended to the Kuru throne following the death of his father. His significance comes as the listener of the first narration of the Mahabharat, narrated by Vaishampayan, pupil of Vyas. According to the Vayu Puran and the Matsya Puran, there was a dispute between him and Vaishampayan. Possibly, as its aftermath, he abdicated and his son Shatanik succeeded him.

In Mahabharat :

In Mahabharat, Janmejay was mentioned as having six able brothers viz, Kakshasen, Ugrasen, Chitrasen, Indrasen, Sushen and Nakhaysen. The initial chapters of the epic narrates various aspects of his life including his conquest of Takshasila and about his encounter with Nag Takshak. He wanted to exterminate the race of Nags, since Takshak was responsible for the death of his father Parikshit.

Emperor Janmejay was responsible for the retelling of the famous epic Mahabharat, a story of Janmejay's ancestors from the time of Bharat up to the great Kurukshetra war between his great-grandfathers the Pandavs and their paternal cousins the Kauravas. The Mahabharat states that it was recited to Janmejay at the sarp satra (snake sacrifice) by the sage Vaishampayan to whom it had been imparted by his perceptor Vedvyas,] after he asked Vaishampayan about his ancestors.

Sarpa satra (snake sacrifice) :

Emperor Janmejay ascended to the throne of Hastinapur upon the death of his father Parikshit. According to legend, Parikshit, the lone descendant of the House of Pandu, had died of snakebite. He had been cursed by a sage to die so, the curse having been consummated by the serpent-chieftain Takshak.

Janmejay bore a deep grudge against the serpents for this act, and thus decided to wipe them out altogether. He attempted this by performing a great Sarp satra – a sacrifice that would destroy all living serpents. At that time, a learned sage named Astik, a boy in age, came and interfered. His mother Manasa was a Nag and his father a Brahmin. Janmejay had to listen to the words of the learned Astik and set the then-imprisoned Takshak free. He also stopped the massacre of the Nags and ended all enmity with them (1,56). From that time onward, the Nags and Kurus lived in peace. The mass sacrifice was started on the banks of the river Arind at Bardan, now Known as Parham, a corrupt form of Parikshitgarh. A masonry tank (reservoir) said to have been built by Emperor Janmejay to mark the site of the sacrificial pit, known as Parikshit kund, still exists in Mainpuri district. This is known as Gowdvana. Close to this village a very large and high khera containing the ruins of a fort and some stone sculptures has been found. It is said to date back to the time of Emperor Parikshit. A popular local legend is that as a consequence of the virtues of that sacrifice snakes are still harmless in this place and its neighborhood.

Succession :

According to Purans, Janmejay was succeeded by his grandson Ashwamedatt. Further in the lineage, are mentioned, Adhisim-krishna and Nichakshu. After the time of his successors, the dynasty came to an end.

Source :

https://www.jatland.com/
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