Yadu, Yādu: 17 definitions

Introduction
In Hinduism
1. Purana
2. General definition
Languages
1. Marathi
2. Sanskrit
3. Kannada
See also
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Introduction:

Yadu means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Marathi. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.

In Hinduism

Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

Source: Wisdom Library: Bhagavata Purana

Yadu (यदु):—One of the sons of Yayāti (one of the six sons of Nahuṣa) and Devayānī (daughter of Śukrācārya). (see Bhāgavata Purāṇa 9.18.33)

Source: archive.org: Puranic Encyclopedia

1) Yadu (यदु).—The founder of Yādava Vaṃśa or Yadu Vaṃśa. Genealogy. From Viṣṇu were descended in the following order:—Brahmā—Atri—Candra—Budha—Purūravas—Āyus—Nahuṣa—Yayāti—Yadu. (See full article at Story of Yadu from the Puranic encyclopaedia by Vettam Mani)

2) Yadu (यदु).—There is another Yadu mentioned in the Purāṇas, who was the son of Uparicara Vasu. Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Chapter 68, Verse 31, says that this Vasu was never defeated by anyone at any time.

3) Yadu (यदु).—King of Yadus. There are references to this king in many places in the 1st Maṇḍala of Ṛgveda.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Index

1a) Yadu (यदु).—Originator of the Yādava race; the eldest son of Yayāti and Devayānī. Father of Sahasrajit and other sons.¹ His line glorified by the birth of Kṛṣṇa, as the Malaya hill by the sandal tree; became overlord of the southern part of the kingdom. Refused to part with his youth to his father and hence was cursed to become the father of refractory sons and was also refused a share in the kingdom; father of five sons; debarred by his father to succeed him; was placed in charge of the southern territory;² his descendants;³ had a discourse on detachment and realisation of ātman from an Avadhūta sannyasin, when the ascetic spoke of his twenty-four gurus; earth, air, sky, waters, fire, moon, sun, kapota (pigeon), boaconstrictor, sea, moth, bee, elephant, honey-gatherer, deer, fish, Piṅgala, Kurara, child, girl, blacksmith, serpent, spider and wasp. From the exemplary ways of each of them, the ascetic learnt his lessons which are elaborated. Hearing this Yadu became free from all attachments and looked on all things as equal;⁴ equal to Indra.⁵

1) Bhāgavata-purāṇa IX. 18. 33; 23. 20-1; Matsya-purāṇa 4. 22; 24. 53; Vāyu-purāṇa 1. 155; Viṣṇu-purāṇa IV. 11. 1-5.
2) Bhāgavata-purāṇa I. 8. 32; IX. 19. 22; 18. 34-40; chh. 23 and 24 (whole); Matsya-purāṇa 33. 1-8; 34. 16-20, 30; 43. 6; Vāyu-purāṇa 93. 16, 30-40; Viṣṇu-purāṇa IV. 10. 12.
3) Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa I. 1. 166; III. 68. (whole); 69. 1-5; 73. 125; Vāyu-purāṇa 93. 89; Viṣṇu-purāṇa IV. 10. 31.
4) Bhāgavata-purāṇa XI. 7. 9; X. 1. 2.
5) Matsya-purāṇa 32. 9.

1b) A Yāma deva.^*

* Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa II. 13. 92; Vāyu-purāṇa 31. 6.

1c) (also Yadu kula and Yadu vaṃśa); members and descendants innumerable; one hundred and one families recognised.¹ Their king was Ugrasena. Ill-treated by Kaṃsa, they migrated to different countries like Kuru and Pāñcāla, and became delighted at Kaṃsa's death. Their Purohita was Garga.² Krsna born among them;³ cursed by Yayāti, his successors could not be kings; unacceptable to good men according to Śiśupāla;⁴ took part in the marriage festivities of Kṛṣṇa and Rukminī, and attended the Rājasūya of Yudhiṣṭhira; turned into a caste by Puramjaya;⁵ destroyed by Kṛṣṇa before he left the earth, under the pretext of the Brahmanas' curse; the rest lost their reason after Kṛṣṇa's departure to Heaven, drank wine and killed one another. Four or five alone left alive. Attained yoga through the grace of Datta; became defunct after the Mahābhārata war.⁶

1) Bhāgavata-purāṇa X. 90. 40-4.
2) Ib. X. 1. 69; 2. 2-3; 45. 15; 8. 1.
3) Matsya-purāṇa 246, 90.
4) Bhāgavata-purāṇa X. 45. 13; 74. 36.
5) Ib. X. 54. 58; 75. 12; XII. 1. 36.
6) Ib. XI. 1. 4-5; 31. 16; I. 15. 22-6; II. 7. 4; Matsya-purāṇa 70. 12.

Source: JatLand: List of Mahabharata people and places

Yadu (यदु) is a name mentioned in the Mahābhārata (cf. I.63.30, I.63, I.70.32) and represents one of the many proper names used for people and places. Note: The Mahābhārata (mentioning Yadu) is a Sanskrit epic poem consisting of 100,000 ślokas (metrical verses) and is over 2000 years old.

Source: Shodhganga: The saurapurana - a critical study

Yadu (यदु) refers to one of the two sons of Devayānī (the daughter of Śukra) and Yayāti: one of the sons of Virajā and Nahuṣa, according to the Vaṃśānucarita section of the 10th century Saurapurāṇa: one of the various Upapurāṇas depicting Śaivism.—Accordingly, [...] Nahuṣa married Virajā (the daughter of Pitṛ) and was blessed with five sons of whom Yayāti was the most famous. Yayāti had two wives—Devayānī and Śarmiṣṭhā. Devayānī gave birth to Yadu and Turvasu.

Yadu had a famous son known as Śatajit and the latter begot Haihaya. [...] The Son of Yadu was Kroṣṭā in whose race the most glorious kings were born.

context information

The Purana (पुराण, purāṇas) refers to Sanskrit literature preserving ancient India’s vast cultural history, including historical legends, religious ceremonies, various arts and sciences. The eighteen mahapuranas total over 400,000 shlokas (metrical couplets) and date to at least several centuries BCE.

General definition (in Hinduism)

Source: WikiPedia: Hinduism

Yadu (यदु): A prince of the lunar dynasty; Yadu is the name of one of the five Aryan clans mentioned in the Rig Veda. His descendants are called Yadavas. The epic Mahabharata and Puranas refer to Yadu as the eldest son of mythological king Yayati.

Languages of India and abroad

Marathi-English dictionary

Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-English

yadū (यदू).—pron Who or which-used in comp.

context information

Marathi is an Indo-European language having over 70 million native speakers people in (predominantly) Maharashtra India. Marathi, like many other Indo-Aryan languages, evolved from early forms of Prakrit, which itself is a subset of Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages of the world.

Sanskrit dictionary

Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary

Yadu (यदु).—

1) Name of an ancient king, the eldest son of Yayāti and Devayānī and ancestor of the Yādavas.

2) Name of a country near Mathurā.

Derivable forms: yaduḥ (यदुः).

--- OR ---

Yādu (यादु).—A fluid, water; Naigh.1.12.

Derivable forms: yāduḥ (यादुः).

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Yadu (यदु).—m.

(-duḥ) 1. The name of a king, the ancestor of Krishna, and the eldest son of Yayati and Devayani, the sixth monarch of the lunar dynasty. 2. A country on the west of the Jamuna river about Mat'hura and Brindabana, over which Yadu ruled, and named after him: according to some authorities, however, the kingdom of Yadu, is the Dakshin or Peninsula of India. m. Plu.

(-vāḥ) I. The Yadavas, the people of Yadu. 2. Descendants of king Yadu: more usually however yādavāḥ .

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Yadu (यदु).—m. 1. The name of a king, [Śiśupālavadha] 9, 38. 2. The name of a country. 3. pl. a. The name of a people. b. The descendants of Yadu, [Johnson's Selections from the Mahābhārata.] 46, 73.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Yadu (यदु).—[masculine] [Name] of an ancient hero & his race; cf. turvaśa.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1) Yadu (यदु):—m. Name of an ancient hero (in the Veda often mentioned together with Turvaśa [or Turvasu] q.v., and described as preserved by Indra during an inundation; in epic poetry he is a son of Yayāti and brother of Puru and Turvasu, Kṛṣṇa being descended from Yadu, and Bharata and Kuru from Puru; Yadu is also called a son of Vasu, king of Cedi, or a son of Hary-aśva), [Ṛg-veda; Mahābhārata; Harivaṃśa; Purāṇa]

2) Name of a country on the west of the Jumnā river (about Mathurā and Vṛndā-vana, over which Yadu ruled; according to others the Deccan or Southern peninsula of India), [Horace H. Wilson]

3) [plural] the people of Yadu or the descendants of king Yadu (cf. yādava), [ib.]

4) Yādu (यादु):—[from yād] m. water, [Naighaṇṭuka, commented on by Yāska i, 12.]

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Yadu (यदु):—(duḥ) 1. m. A king, ancestor of Krishna; a country.

Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)

Yadu (यदु) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Jau.

[Sanskrit to German]

Yadu in German

context information

Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.

Kannada-English dictionary

Source: Alar: Kannada-English corpus

Yadu (ಯದು):—[noun] one of the ancestors of Kriṣna, after whom the family is named.

context information

Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.

Relevant text

Search found 51 books and stories containing Yadu, Yadū, Yādu; (plurals include: Yadus, Yadūs, Yādus). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:

Rig Veda 6.20.12 < [Sukta 20]

Rig Veda 1.174.9 < [Sukta 174]

Rig Veda 1.54.6 < [Sukta 54]

+ 16 more chapters / show preview

Verse 4.14.13 < [Chapter 14 - The Story of the Jālandharīs]

Verse 4.6.13 < [Chapter 6 - The Story of the Ayodhyā Women]

Verse 2.24.14 < [Chapter 24 - The Story of Asuri Muni in the Rāsa-dance Pastime]

+ 39 more chapters / show preview

Chapter 245 - The Brave Deeds of Kṛṣṇa < [Section 6 - Uttara-Khaṇḍa (Concluding Section)]

Chapter 248 - Rukmiṇī Formally Married to Kṛṣṇa < [Section 6 - Uttara-Khaṇḍa (Concluding Section)]

Chapter 249 - Kṛṣṇa’s other Marriages < [Section 6 - Uttara-Khaṇḍa (Concluding Section)]

+ 27 more chapters / show preview