Who is related to whom

Family tree

Six generations of the house of Kuru, from Shantanu to Parikshit. Both sides of the war are Kurus, the hundred sons of Dhritarashtra and the five sons of Pandu, and the Panchala, Vrishni and Matsya families marry into them. Every quarrel in the story is a quarrel between cousins on this page. Pick a part of the tree, drag to move about, and click a portrait to open the card.

Parasharaa wandering sage
Satyavatiraised by the fisher chiefShantanuking of HastinapuraGangathe river goddessVyasathe poet of the epic
Chitrangadakilled by a gandharva
Vichitraviryadied without children
Ambikaprincess of Kashi
Ambalikaprincess of Kashi
Bhishmaeighth son of Ganga · vowed never to marryShakuniprince of GandharaGandhariblindfolded for lifeDhritarashtraborn blind · by AmbikaViduraby a maidservant · the wise ministerDrupadaking of PanchalaMadriprincess of MadraPanduborn pale · by AmbalikaKuntiraised by Kuntibhoja · Karna's mother
VasudevaKunti's brother · Krishna's father
Duryodhanaeldest of a hundredDuhshasanathe second son
9898 more sonsthe Kauravas
Duhshalamarried Jayadratha
Yuyutsuby a vaishya woman · joins the PandavasKarnaKunti's first son, by Surya · raised by a charioteerShikhandiAmba rebornDhrishtadyumnaborn of the fire · kills DronaDraupadiborn of the fireNakulaby the AshvinsSahadevaby the AshvinsYudhishthiraby Dharma · the eldestBhimaby VayuArjunaby IndraSubhadraKrishna's sisterKrishnaby DevakiBalaramaby RohiniVirataking of Matsya
5Five sonsone by each Pandava
Ghatotkachawith Hidimbaa, a rakshasiAbhimanyudies on the thirteenth dayUttaraamarried AbhimanyuUttarathe prince who drove ArjunaShvetafalls on the first dayParikshitking after the Pandavas
IThe foundersShantanu, his two queens, and the sage who fathered Vyasa
IISons of ShantanuBhishma gives up the throne; his half-brothers die young
IIIThe three brothersVyasa fathers heirs for the dead Vichitravirya
IVThe cousinsA hundred Kauravas and five Pandavas, raised together
VThe grandchildrenAlmost all of them die in the war
VIThe heirParikshit, born after the war, carries the line on

Drag to move · pinch or Ctrl-scroll to zoom · click a portrait for the card

Marriage Parent to child Child by a god Niyoga: Vyasa fathers heirs for his dead brother Born outside a marriage Siblings
The family tree laid out as a printed poster

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The House of Kuru, as a poster

The whole family, Kaurava and Pandava, on one sheet, with portraits, a legend and a colophon. Vector PDF, so it prints sharp at any size; A2 fits a standard frame, A1 is the same sheet larger. Best on a matte 200 to 250 gsm paper.

Download A2 · 594 × 420 mmDownload A1 · 841 × 594 mm

The tree follows the Critical Edition (Adi Parva, chapters 90–125 and 190–221). Dhritarashtra’s hundred sons and Draupadi’s five are shown as groups. Not shown: Arjuna’s wives Ulupi and Chitrangada and their sons, Duryodhana’s son Lakshmana, and the many wives of Krishna.