Parikshit

Parikshit
Kauravya Raja Vishvajanina
18th century illustration of Sage Shuka and King Parikshit
King of Kuru
Reign12th-9th centuries BCE
PredecessorYudhishthira (Grand Uncle) according to Mahabharata
SuccessorJanamejaya (Son)
SpouseMadravati
Issue
DynastyKuru
FatherAbhimanyu
MotherUttarā
ReligionHistorical Vedic Religion

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.