Janamejaya (Sanskrit: जनमेजय) was a Kuru king who reigned during the Middle Vedic period. 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 part of northern India. He also appears as a figure in later legends and traditions, the Mahabharata and the Puranas.
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The Kuru Kingdom was a Vedic Indo-Aryan tribal union in northern India of the Bharata and Puru tribes. The Kuru kingdom appeared in the Middle Vedic period (c. 1200 – c. 900 BCE) during the Iron age of India, encompassing parts of the modern-day states of Haryana, Delhi, and some North parts of Western Uttar Pradesh. The Kuru Kingdom was the first recorded state-level society in the Indian subcontinent.
The Kuru kingdom became a dominant political and cultural force in the middle Vedic Period during the reigns of Parikshit and Janamejaya, but declined in importance during the late Vedic period (c. 900 – c. 500 BCE) and had become "something of a backwater" by the Mahajanapada period in the 5th century BCE. However, traditions and legends about the Kurus continued into the post-Vedic period, providing the basis for the Mahabharata epic.
The Devi Bhagavata Purana (Sanskrit: देवी भागवतपुराणम्, devī bhāgavatapurāṇam), also known as the Devi Purana or simply Devi Bhagavatam, is one of the major Puranas of Hinduism. Composed in Sanskrit, the text is considered a Mahapurana for Devi worshippers (Shaktas), while others classify it as an Upapurana instead. It promotes bhakti (devotion) towards Mahadevi, integrating themes from the Shaktadvaitavada tradition (a syncretism of Samkhya and Advaita Vedanta). While this is generally regarded as a Shakta Purana, some scholars such as Dowson have also interpreted this Purana as a Shaiva Purana.
The Purana consists of twelve cantos with 318 chapters. Along with the Devi Mahatmya, it is one of the works in Shaktism, a tradition within Hinduism that reveres Devi or Shakti (Goddess) as the primordial creator of the universe, and as Brahman (ultimate truth and reality). It celebrates the divine feminine as the origin of all existence: as the creator, the preserver and the destroyer of everything, as well as the one who empowers spiritual liberation. While all major Puranas of Hinduism mention and revere the Goddess, this text centers around her as the primary divinity. The underlying philosophy of the text is Advaita Vedanta-style monism combined with the devotional worship of Shakti. It is believed that the text was spoken by Vyasa to King Janamejaya, the son of Parikshit.
Parīkṣit (Sanskrit: परीक्षित्, IAST: Parīkṣit) was a Kuru king who reigned during the Middle Vedic period (12th–9th centuries BCE). Along with his son and successor, Janamejaya, 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 Iron Age India. He also appears as a figure in later legends and traditions. According to the legendary accounts in Mahabharata and the Puranas, he succeeded his granduncle Yudhishthira to the throne of Hastinapur.