Chapter 6 - Kings of the Solar Race

Lomaharṣaṇa said:

1. Lord Satyavrata, abiding by the rules of graceful behaviour maintained the wife of Viśvāmitra, out of sympathy and as a result of his own vow.

2. He killed wild buffaloes, boars and deer and tied up the pieces of their meat to a tree near Viśvāmitra’s hermitage.

3-6. He adopted the holy rite of Upāṃśu Vrata (maintaining silence) and took to initiation (for a penance) lasting for twelve years. He stayed there at the instance of his father. When the king went to the forest it was sage Vasiṣṭha who administered the city of Ayodhyā, and the whole kingdom. He looked after the affairs of the harem as well in view of his relationship as the preceptor and the family-priest of the monarch. O sinless ones, whether it was due to his childishness or to the unavoidability of the fixture events, Satyavrata maintained a perpetual grudge against Vasiṣṭha: For, when he was banished, in spite of his being a favourite son, by his father, sage Vasiṣṭha had not tried to intercede.

7-8. The Mantras chanted at the celebration of a marriage become effective when the seventh step is taken.^[1] Hence Satyavrata killed the bridegrooms at the seventh step. But O brahmins, Satyavrata cherished anger against Vasiṣṭha thinking in his mind—“Although Vasiṣṭha knows Dharma he does not save me.”

9-10. It was on ethical grounds that Vasiṣṭha the saintly lord, did not intervene on behalf of Satyavrata. This silent behaviour was not understood by Satyavrata. The noble father too was dissatisfied with him. Therefore, Indra did not shower rain for twelve years.

11-16. But now he took upon himself the vow of a great holy rite which is very difficult to maintain on the Earth. O brahmins, he maintained it thinking that expiation for his sin would be done thereby and the family saved. Vasiṣṭha the saintly lord did not restrain his father when he was being banished because the sage thought that his father might crown his son.

The powerful Satyavrata maintained the vow for twelve years.

Once when there was no meat anywhere, the prince saw Kāmadhenu^[2] cow of sage Vasiṣṭha.^[3] O excellent sages, the king who followed the convention of the land where he stayed killed that cow. He had been so hungry and utterly exhausted. Due to his anger against Vasiṣṭha and delusion (he did not hesitate in this heinous crime). He ate the meat of cow and fed the sons of Viśvāmitra therewith. On knowing about it, Vasiṣṭha became furious.

Vasiṣṭha said:

17-19. O ruthless one, undoubtedly I shall fix this peg of sin even if the previous two pegs are not effective. Now your sin is threefold, dissatisfying your father, abducting another man’s wife and slaying of the cow belonging to your preceptor. Seeing thus his three pegs of sin, the sage of great penance called him Triśaṅku.^[4] Hence he is known as Triśaṅku.

20. Since he maintained his wife, sage Viśvāmitra was pleased and he granted him boons.

21. When the prince was asked to choose a boon as he pleased he said “I shall like to go to heaven in this physical form”.

22-23. When the drought of twelve years^[5] had passed off, the sage Viśvāmitra crowned him in the ancestral kingdom and performed a sacrifice on his behalf. This sage of great penance made him ascend heaven in his physical form even as the gods and Vasiṣṭha looked on.

24. His wife Satyarathā born of the family of Kaikeya^[6] Lore him a sinless son, Hariścandra.

25. That king is known (both as Hariścandra and Traiśaṅkava. He is well-known as an emperor and the performer of Rājasūya sacrifice.

26. Hariścandra’s son was the king named Rohita. Harīta was Rohita’s son and his son is known as Cañcu.

27. O excellent sage, Vijaya was the son of Cañcu. He was the conqueror of the entire Earth, hence, he was called Vijaya.

28. Ruruka was his son; and he was an expert on Royal wealth and virtue. Vṛka was the son of Ruruka and Bāhu was born of Vṛka.

29-30. The kings Haihayas and Tālajaṅghas ousted him from power. His pregnant wife took shelter in the hermitage of Aurva. Even in that righteous Yuga he was not very pious. Sagara the son of Bāhu was born along with the poison.

31-34. He went to the hermitage of Aurva and was well protected by Bhārgava. From Bhārgava the king Sagara obtained the miraculous weapon belonging to Agni. He conquered Earth after killing Haihayas and Tālajaṅghas^[7]. That unerring king the knower of real Dharma suppressed the religious rituals of Śakas,^[8] Pahlavas^[9], Kṣatriyas and the Pāradas,^[10] O excellent sages.

The sages said:

How was he born along with the poison in the forest? Why did that unerring king furiously suppress the traditional religious rites of Śakas and others as well as those of Kṣatriyas of mighty prowess? O highly intelligent one, narrate this to us in detail.

Lomaharṣaṇa said:

35-36. Bāhu was indulging in vice. Hence, he was entirely deprived of his kingdom, O excellent brahmins, by Haihayas and Tālajaṅghas along with Śakas. The five groups of kings viz Śakas, Yavanas,^[11] Pāradas, Kambojas^[12] and Pahlavas exhibited their valour on behalf of Haihayas.

37. Deprived of his kingdom king Bāhu went to the forest followed by his wife. In his unbearable misery he put an end to his life.

38. His pregnant wife hailing from the family of Yadus followed him. O sinless ones, previously poison had been administered to her by her co-wife.

39. This co-wife arranged the funeral pyre of their common husband in the forest and ascended it. O brahmins, Aurva, the descendant of Bhṛgu, protected her sympathetically.

40. The child in the womb came out along with the poison at the hermitage and thus the mighty king Sagara was born.

41. Aurva performed the post-natal and other rites for the child. He taught him Vedas and Śāstras. Thereafter, he taught him the mode of wielding miraculous weapons.

42-43. He taught him the miraculous weapons of fire, O highly blessed ones, which were unbearable even to the immortals. Endowed with great strength enhanced by the power of miraculous missiles the king, ere long, killed the Haihayas in battle like the infuriated Rudra destroying the Vasus. Foremost among the renowned persons he earned further reputation in the world.

44. Thereafter, he resolved to exterminate Śakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, Pāradas and Pahlavas.

45. Being slaughtered by that heroic noble Sagara they sought shelter in Vasiṣṭha after submitting to that learned sāge.

46. Vasiṣṭha the extremely brilliant sage offered them freedom from fear on certain conditions. He then restrained Sagara.

47. On hearing the words of his preceptor and being faithful to his promise Sagara suppressed their traditional rituals and changed their guise.

48. He released Śakas after shaving half of their heads. He completely shaved off the heads of Yavanas and Kambojas.

49. The Pāradas were made to keep their tresses untied and the Pahlavas were asked to grow moustaches and beards. They were deprived of Vedic studies and the chanting of Vaṣaṭkāra Manras by that noble king.

50-51. O excellent brahmins, all these Kṣatriyas—viz. “Śakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, Pāradas, Kālasarpas,^[13] Māhiṣakas,^[14] Daryas,^[15] Colas^[16] and Keralas were deprived of their traditional religious practices by king Sagara of noble soul at the instance of Vasiṣṭha.

52. After conquering this Earth, that virtuous and victorious king took initiation for the horse-sacrifìce and released the sacrificial horse to wonder at will.^[17]

53. His horse that was roaming about near the South-Eastern sea on the shore was stolen and taken underground.

54-55. Thereupon, the king got that place dug up through his sons. When the great ocean was being dug up they came upon the primordial Puruṣa, lord Hari, Prajāpati Kṛṣṇa and Lord Viṣṇu who was sleeping in the guise of Kapila.^[18]

56. O excellent sages, they were burned by the fiery splendour that came out of his eyes as he woke up. But four of them escaped.

57. They were Barhiketu, Suketu, king Dharmaratha and the valorous Pañcanada. These were the kings who maintained the line.

58-59. Lord Hari, Nārāyaṇa granted him the boon that Ikṣvāku’s race would be everlasting and they would have unreceding fame. The lord said that the ocean will be known as his son and his residence in the heavenly world would be everlasting. Taking Arghya unto him the ocean saluted the monarch.

60. Hence, the ocean earned the title Sāgara. Sagara got back the sacrificial horse from the ocean.

61. That king of great fame performed a hundred horse sacrifices. We have already heard that he had sixty thousand sons.

The sages said:

62. O Sūtaja, how were the mighty valorous sixty thousand sons of Sagara born? By what process or holy rite were they born?

Lomaharṣaṇa said:

63-64. Sagara had two wives. They had their sins burnt by penance. The elder wife was the daughter of Vidarbha named Keśinī. The younger one was Mahatī the daughter of Ariṣṭanemi. She was extremely righteous and unrivalled in beauty in the world.

65-72. Aurva granted them a boon, understand it, O excellent brahmins. (He said)—“one of you endowed with penance may accept sixty thousand sons. Let the other accept one son who will perpetuate the race. You can choose as you please”. One of them, accordingly accepted sixty thousand sons and the other accepted one son who would uphold the race. The sage said—“So be it”. Keśinī bore a son Asamañjasa to Sagara. That son of great bustle became the king by the name of Pañcajana. The other lady gave birth to a gourd full of seeds. So we hear. There, sixty thousand foetuses, each of the size of a gaṅgelly seed, grew up. As time passed they grew bigger comfortably. The nurses deposited those foetuses in pots filled with ghee. They gave each of them nourishing food. In the course of ten months they grew up in due order. These princes delighted Sagara in due course. O brahmins, thus he had sixty thousand sons. The sons of the king were born out of the gourd, like big foetus. The divine splendour of Nārāyaṇa had permeated the bodies of those noble persons.

73. The only son (of the other lady) named Pañcajana became the king. Pañcajana’s son was Aṃśumān. He was very valorous.

74-77. Dilīpa was his son. He became renowned as Khaṭvāṅga. He obtained only a Muhūrta-long span of life. He came down from heaven and conceived of the three worlds by means of his intellect and intrinsic strength. O sinless ones, Dilīpa’s successor was lord Bhagīratha. He was the person who made the sacred river Gaṅgā descend (from heaven). He took it to the ocean and made it his daughter. Hence, Gaṅgā is called Bhāgīrathī by the chroniclers. Bhagīratha’s son was renowned by the name Śruta.

78. Nabhaga was Śruta’s son. He was extremely virtuous. Ambarīṣa was the son of Nabhaga and the father of Sindhudvīpa.

79. Ayutajit was the valorous successor of Sindhudvīpa. Ayutajit’s son was Ṛtuparṇa of great fame.

80. He was conversant with the divine Mantra called Akṣahṛdaya. That mighty king was a friend of Nala. Ṛtuparṇa’s son was Ārtaparṇi. He had earned great fame.

81. Sudās was his son. That king became the friend of Indra. King Saudāsa was the son of Sudās.

82. King Mitrasaha became well known as Kalmāṣapāda. Kalmāṣapāda’s son was known as Sarvakarma.

83. Sarvakarma’s son was the famous Anaraṇya. Nighna was the son of Anaraṇya. Nighna had two sons.

84. They were Anamitra and Raghu. They were the most excellent of all good kings. Anamitra’s son was Duliduha who was a scholarly king.

85-87. Dilīpa was his son. He was the great-grand-father of Rāma. Dilīpa’s son Raghu was the mighty king of Ayodhyā. Aja was born as the son of Raghu. To him was born Daśaratha. Rāma was born to Daśaratha. Rāma’s son was Kuśa.

88. Atithi was born of Kuśa. He was a righteous king of great fame. The valorous son Niṣadha was born of Atithi.

89. Nala was the son of Niṣadha; Nabha was the son of Nala. Nabha’s son was Puṇḍarīka and his son was Kṣemadhanvan.

90. The valorous Devānīka was the son of Kṣemadhanvan. The son of Devānīka Ahīnagu was a great lord.

91. Ahīnagu’s successor was Sudhanvan. Sudhanvan’s son was king Śala.

92. Śala’s son was a righteous soul, Ukya. Vajranābha was his son and Nala was the son of that noble monarch.

93. O excellent sages, only two Nalas are known in the Purāṇas. One was Vīrasena’s son and the other a leading scion of the Ikṣvāku race.

94. The kings born in the family of Ikṣvāku have been glorified in accordance with their importance. Such were the kings of the solar race who were highly brilliant and brave.

95. He who reads this creation of Āditya, Vivasvān, lord Śrāddhadeva, the bestower of nourishment to the people shall be blessed with progeny. He will attain the world of Vivasvān.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Saptapadī: a rite of walking seven steps round the sacred fire at the conclusion of the marriage ceremony.

[2]:

Kāmadhenu: A mythical cow of Vasiṣṭha which satisfied all desires.

[3]:

Vasiṣṭha or Vaśṣṭha: Son of Varuṇa, a celebrated sage, the family priest of the solar race of kings and author of several Vedic hymns, particularly of the seventh Maṇḍala of the Ṛgveda. He was the typical representative of the Brahmanic dignity and power. The efforts of Viśvāmitra to rise to his level form the subject of many legends.

[4]:

Triśaṅku: Satyavrata, son of king Trayyāruṇa. He was called Triśaṅku because he had committed three sins: (i) he had invited the wrath of his father by going astray, (ii) he abducted other men’s wives; (iii) he had consumed the cow’s flesh.

[5]:

Drought of twelve years: There are several references to such droughts in the Puranic lore.

[6]:

Kaikeya: the King of Kekaya deśa. The country and the tribe derived their names from him. The dynasty belonged to the solar race.

[7]:

Haihayas and Tālajaṅghas: The Haihaya race comprised the following tribes, Vītihotras (or Vītahavyas), Śaryātas, Bhojas, Avantis, Tuṇḍikeras (or Kuṇḍikeras), Tālajaṅghas, Bharatas, Sujātyas, Yādavas, Śūrasenas, Ānartas and Cedics.

[8]:

Śakas were originally Kṣatriyas, but they were demoted as Śūdras as they incurred the displeasure and anger of Brahmins.

Śakas and Yādavas had helped the Haihaya kings. Paraśurāma, Sagara and Bharata defeated them in war and drove them off from the country.

Mbh (Udyoga Parva Ch. 19) mentions that king Sudakṣiṇa of Kambojas approached Duryodhana with an Akṣauhiṇī, along with the Yavanas to take part in the Bhārata war.

[9]:

Pahlavas: Pahlavi people or ancient Persians who lived in the Punjab. King Sagara defeated their confederation, abrogated their laws, degraded them and made them wear beards.

[10]:

Pāradas: They are mentioned with hill tribes, to have dwelt in the Western portion of the Himālayas. Manu (x. 43-44) states they were Kṣatriyas but were degraded because they did not observe sacred rites. They were ordered by king Sagara to wear long hair and they became Mlecchas and Dasyus.

[11]:

Yavanas: They were originally Kṣatriyas, but became Śūdras by the curse of Brāhmaṇas. According to Mbh (Adi P. Ch. 85) the Yavana race originated from Turvasu, son of Yayāti. Mbh (Udyoga P. Gh. 19) mentions that king Sudakṣiṇa of Kamboja joined Duryodhana and fought on his side. His army consisted of Kambojas, Yavanas and other tribes. Paṇini derives the word Yavana from yu—to mix and not to mix, i.e. those who could be associated with in certain matters such as alliance in war but not in other matters such or alliance by marriage, since they were degraded people.

[12]:

Kambojas lived in the extreme north of India beyond Indus and were classed with Dāradas, Yavanas, Śakas and Chīnas. The country was famous for its large fleet, and breed of horses. Lessen places Kambojas south of Kashgar and east of modem Kafiristan. They were Aryans by speech. They were of Kṣatriya caste and became degraded through the extinction of sacred rites. They were called Mlecchas as they followed evil customs. They were degraded by King Sagara who ordered them to shave their heads like Yavanas.

[13]:

Kālasarpas—not identifiable.

[14]:

Māhiṣakas—the same as the Māhiṣmakas of Māhiṣmatī—an ancient city which was situated on Narmadā river at a place where the Vindhyas and Ṛkṣa mountains contact the valley. The town is identifiable with Oṅkāra Māndhātā in Madhya Pradesh.

[15]:

Daryas—the reading is defective.

[16]:

Colas—people living in the Cola country in the South. The Cola country extended along the Coromandal coastal plain from Tirupati to Puddukottai where it abutted on the Pāṇḍya territory. Its core was the middle Kāverī basin with Karur and Tiruchirpalli as its main centres.

[17]:

The horse-sacrifīce. A particular horse was let loose and allowed to wander at will for a year. If another king, out of jealousy or malice captured the horse, he had to fight with the army which protected the hone. The fight lasted till he was forced to submit. A hundred such sacrifices entitled the sacrificer to displace Indra from the Dominion of heaven. The horse was sometimes not immolated, but kept bound during the ceremony.

[18]:

Kapila: An ancient sage, identified with Viṣṇu and considered as the founder of Sāṃkhya system.