Solar dynasty

"Ikshvaku dynasty" redirects here. For early ruling dynasty of Andhra Pradesh, see Andhra Ikshvaku. For other uses, see Ikshvaku (disambiguation).

In Indian tradition, the Ikshvaku dynasty was founded by the legendary king Ikshvaku.^[2] The dynasty is also known as Sūryavaṃśa ("Solar dynasty" or "Descendants of the Sun"), which means that this dynasty prays to the Sun as their God and their originator, and along with the Lunar dynasty, comprises one of the main lineages of the Kshatriya Varna.^{[3][failed verification]}

House of Ikshvaku Suryavamsha
Country	Kingdom of Kosala, Kingdom of Kashi, Nishadha Kingdom
Founder	Ikshvaku
Final ruler	Sumitra (historical claimant) ^[1]
Style(s)	Chakravartin, Raja of Kosala
Deposition	362 BCE
Cadet branches	Raghuvaṃśa

According to the Jain tradition, the first Tirthankara of Jainism, Rishabhanatha himself was King Ikshvaku. Further, 21 Tirthankaras of Jainism were born in this dynasty.^[4][5]

According to Buddhist texts and tradition, The Buddha^{[citation needed]} descended from this dynasty. Many later kings^[who?] of the Indian subcontinent claimed to be of Suryavamsha descent.^{[citation needed]}

The important personalities belonging to this royal house are Mandhatri, Muchukunda, Ambarisha, Bharata Chakravartin, Bahubali, Harishchandra, Dilīpa, Sagara,^[6] Raghu, Rama and Pasenadi. Both the Hindu Puranas and the Buddhist texts include Shuddodhana, Gautama Buddha, and Rahula in their accounts of the Ikshvaku dynasty but, according to the Buddhist texts, Mahasammata, an ancestor of Ikshvaku who was elected by the people as the first king of the present era, was the founder of this dynasty.^[7]

Origins

Suryavamsha, or the Solar Dynasty, is one of the two major legendary Kshatriya dynasties found in Hindu Puranic and epic literature, the other being Chandravamsha or the Lunar Dynasty. According to Harivamsa, Ikshvaku is considered the primogenitor of the dynasty of, and was granted the kingdom of Aryavarta by his father Vaivasvata Manu. Manu settled down in the Aryavarta region after he survived the great flood. A. K. Mozumdar states that Manu is the one who built a city on the Sarayu (being the river that his mother Sanjana was the goddess of) and called it Ayodhya meaning the 'invincible city'. This city served as the capital of many kings from the solar dynasty and is also believed to be the birthplace of Rama.^[8]

Some Hindu texts suggest Rishi Marichi, one of the seven sages and first human creations of Brahma as the progenitor of the dynasty. Marichi's eldest son Kashyapa is said to have settled down in Kashmir (Kashyapa-Meru or Kashyameru). He also contributed to the verses of the Vedas. Later, Vivasvan, son of Kashyapa and Aditi, famously known as the Hindu god Surya married Saranyu who was the daughter of Vishvakarman, the architect of devas. He had many children but Manu was given the responsibility of building the civilization and as a result it formed a dynasty that was named 'Suryavamsha' or the solar dynasty. Manu is also the progenitor of the Lunar Dynasty because he married his daughter Ila to Budha, the son of Chandra or the moon god and the couple gave birth to the magnanimous King Pururavas who became the first king of the Chandravamsha, or the Lunar dynasty.^[9]

Historical claimants

After the death of the powerful king Prasenjit and disappearance of his successor Viḍūḍabha after defeating the Shakyas, the kingdom of Kosala declined. King Sumitra, who regarded himself to be the last Suryavamsha ruler, was defeated by the powerful emperor Mahapadma Nanda of Magadha in 362 BCE. However, he wasn't killed, and fled to Rohtas, located in present-day Bihar.^[10]

Bhagavata Purana

Ikshvaku and his ancestor Manu are also mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana (Canto 9, Chapter 1),

योऽसौ सत्यव्रतो नाम राजर्षिर्द्रविडेश्वर: । ज्ञानं योऽतीतकल्पान्ते लेभे पुरुषसेवया ॥ स वै विवस्वत: पुत्रो मनुरासीदिति श्रुतम् । त्वत्तस्तस्य सुता:प्रोक्ता इक्ष्वाकुप्रमुखा नृपा: ॥ yo ’sau satyavrato nāma rājarṣir draviḍeśvaraḥ jñānaṁ yo ’tīta-kalpānte lebhe puruṣa-sevayā sa vai vivasvataḥ putro manur āsīd iti śrutam tvattas tasya sutāḥ proktā ikṣvāku-pramukhā nṛpāḥ

Satyavrata, the saintly king of Dravida kingdom received spiritual knowledge at the end of the last millennium by the grace of the Supreme. He became known as Vaivasvata Manu, the son of Vivasvān. In the next manvantara [period of Manu], I will have received this knowledge from you. I also understand that such kings as Ikṣvāku were his sons, as you have already explained.

^[11]

In Buddhism

The Buddhist text, Buddhavaṃsa and Mahāvaṃsa (II, 1–24) traces the origin of the Shakyas to king Okkaka (Pali equivalent to Sanskrit Ikshvaku) and gives their genealogy from Mahasammata, an ancestor of Okkaka. This list comprises the names of a number of prominent kings of the Ikshvaku dynasty, namely, Mandhata and Sagara.^[12] The genealogy according to the Mahavamsa is as follows:^[13][14]

1. Okkāka^[15]
2. Okkāmukha
3. Sivisamjaya
4. Sihassara
5. Jayasena
6. Sihahanu
7. Suddhodana
8. Gautama Buddha
9. Rāhula

In Jainism

 

Medieval era Indian art depicting King Ikshvaku (Rishabhanatha) imparting the skill of pottery to his people.

Rishabhanatha, the first Tirthankar is identified with King Ikshvaku and the founder of the Ikshvaku dynasty. The earliest recorded reference to the Ikshvaku dynasty can be found in the Swayambhustotra, a Sanskrit epic poem composed by Acharya Samantabhadra, a Jain poet originally from Tamil Nadu. The Swayambhustotra praises the 24 Tirthankars, including Rishabhanatha, and mentions the lineage of the Ikshvaku dynasty:

Rishabhanatha or Ikshvaku, the first of the kings of the Ikshvaku dynasty, was the seeker of liberation, won over His senses to get established in the pure Self, independent, endured afflictions, and steadfast in His resolve. He relinquished the expanse of the faithful lady earth, clothed, as it were, up to the ocean, and embraced the noble asceticism.^[16] The Ikshvaku dynasty has a significant place in Jainism, as twenty-two Tirthankaras were born in this dynasty.^[17]

• Origin
  • Rishabhanatha (son of King Nabhi), the founder of Jainism in the present Avasarpani era (descending half time cycle as per Jain cosmology and Manvantara in hindu cosmology) is said to have founded the Ikshvaku dynasty. The name for the Ikshvaku dynasty comes from the word ikhsu (sugarcane), another name of Rishabhanatha,^[18] because he taught people how to extract ikshu-rasa (sugarcane-juice).^[19]
  • Bharata Chakravarti (first Chakravartin) and Bahubali (first Kamadeva), sons of Rishabha
  • Arkakirti and Marichi, son of Bharata
• at the time of Ajitanatha
  • Jitashatru (father of Ajitanatha) and his younger brother Sumitra (father of Sagara)
  • Ajitanatha (the 2nd Tirthankara) and Sagara (2nd Chakravartin)
  • Janhu (eldest son of Sagara), the one who flooded village of Nagas with waters of Ganga leading to turning of sixty thousand sons of Sagara into ashes by Jawalanprabha (emperor of Nagas)
  • Bhagiratha (eldest grandson of Sagara)
• at the time of Sambhavanatha
  • Jitari (father of Sambhavanatha)
  • Sambhavanatha, the 3rd Tirthankara
• at the time of Abhinandananatha
  • Sanvara (father of Abhinandananatha)
  • Abhinandananatha, the 4th Tirthankara
• at the time of Sumatinatha
  • Megha (father of Sumatinatha)
  • Sumatinatha, the 5th Tirthankara
• at the time of Padmaprabha
  • Sidhara (father of Padmaprabha)
  • Padmaprabha, the 6th Tirthankara
• at the time of Suparshvanatha
  • Pratishtha (father of Suparshvanatha)
  • Suparshvanatha, the 7th Tirthankara
• at the time of Chandraprabha
  • Mahasena (father of Chanraprabha)
  • Chandraprabha, the 8th Tirthankara
• at the time of Pushpadanta
  • Sugriva (father of Pushpadanta)
  • Pushpadanta, the 9th Tirthankara
• at the time of Shitalanatha
  • Dridharatha (father of Shitalnatha)
  • Shitalanatha, the 10th Tirthankara
• at the time of Shreyanasanatha
  • Vishnu (father of Shreyanasanatha)
  • Shreyanasanatha, the 11th Tirthankara
• at the time of Vasupujya
  • Vasupujya (father of Tirthankara Vasupujya)
  • Vasupujya, the 12th Tirthankara
• at the time of Vimalanatha
  • Kritavarma (father of Vimalanatha)
  • Vimalanatha, the 13th Tirthankara
• at the time of Anantanatha
  • Simhasena (father of Anantanatha)
  • Anantanatha, the 14th Tirthankara
• at the time of Dharmanatha
  • Bhanu (father of Dharmanatha)
  • Dharmanatha, the 15th Tirthankara
• at the time of Shantinatha
  • Visvasena (father of Shantinatha)
  • Shantinatha, the 16th Tirthankara and 5th Chakravarti
  • Chakrayudha, son of Shantinatha
  • Kuruchandra, son of Chakrayudha^[20]
• at the time of Kunthunatha
  • Sura (father of Kunthunatha)
  • Kunthunatha, the 17th Tirthankara and 6th Chakravarti
• at the time of Aranatha
  • Sudarsana (father of Aranatha)
  • Arahnatha, the 18th Tirthankara and 7th Chakravarti
• at the time of Mallinatha
  • Kumbha (father of Mallinatha)
  • Māllīnātha, the 19th Tirthankara
• Munisuvrata(Munisuvrata himself was not from Ikshvaku, but Harivamsa)the 20th Tirthankara^[21]
• at the time of Naminatha
  • Vijaya (father of Naminatha)
  • Naminatha, the 21st Tirthankara
• at the time of Parshvanatha
  • Asvasena (father of Parshvanatha)
  • Parshvanatha, the 23rd Tirthankara
• at the time of Mahavira
  • Siddhartha (father of Mahavira)
  • Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara

Rulers

See also: Ancestors of Rama and List of Ikshvaku dynasty kings in Hinduism

See also

• Hinduism
• Kosala Kingdom
• Ramayana
• Rama
• Ikshvaku
• Lunar Dynasty
• List of Hindu empires and dynasties
• List of Jain states and dynasties

References

Citations

1. Debroy, Bibek (25 October 2017). The Valmiki Ramayana, Volume 3. Penguin Random House India Private Limited. ISBN 9789387326286.
2. Geography of Rigvedic India, M.L. Bhargava, Lucknow 1964, pp. 15-18, 46-49, 92-98, 100-/1, 136
3. Zimmer 1952, p. 218
4. Jain, Champat Rai (1929). "Riṣabha Deva, the Founder of Jainism".
5. Zimmer 1952, p. 220
6. Ikshaku tribe The Mahabharata translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli (1883 -1896), Book 3: Vana Parva: Tirtha-yatra Parva: Section CVI, p. 228 'There was born in the family of the Ikshaku, a ruler of the earth named Sagara, endued with beauty, and strength...".
7. Malalasekera, G. P. (2007) [1937]. Dictionary of Pāli Proper Names: A-Dh. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 461–2. ISBN 978-81-208-3021-9.
8. A.K.Mazumdar 2008, p. 161.
9. A.K.Mazumdar 2008, p. 159.
10. Debroy, Bibek (25 October 2017). The Valmiki Ramayana, Volume 3. Penguin Random House India Private Limited. ISBN 9789387326286.
11. "ŚB 9.1.2-3". vedabase.io. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
12. Law, B.C. (1973). Tribes in Ancient India, Bhandarkar Oriental Series No.4, Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, p.246
13. Misra, V.S. (2007). Ancient Indian Dynasties, Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, ISBN 81-7276-413-8, p.286
14. Geiger, Wilhelm (tr.) (1912). "Mahavamsa, Chapter II". Ceylon Government Information Dept., Colombo (in lakdvia.org website). Retrieved 26 October 2009.
15. "Okkāka". Palikanon. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
16. "Svayambhūstotra (स्वयम्भूस्तोत्र)". 2015.
17. Jain 1991, p. 2.
18. Jain 1991, p. 5.
19. Shah 2004, p. 15.
20. Shah, Chandraprakash, Shri Shantinatha, 16th Tirthankara
21. Jain 1991, p. 161.

Sources

• Zimmer, Heinrich (1952), Joseph Campbell (ed.), Philosophies of India, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd, ISBN 978-81-208-0739-6
• Shah, Natubhai (2004), Jainism: The World of Conquerors, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-81-208-1938-2
• Jain, Kailash Chand (1991), Lord Mahavira and his times, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-81-208-0805-8
• A.K.Mazumdar (2008). The Hindu history. Rupa Publications India. ISBN 978-81-86772-17-1.

Preceded by Kulakara (in Jainism)

Ikshvaku Dynasty

Succeeded by

External links

•   Media related to Solar dynasty at Wikimedia Commons