Parva 1 Chapter 15: ādityasya vaṁśānukīrtanam - dynasty of Solar kings

How emperor sagara begot sixty-thousand valiant and all-conquering sons, or in which way... vaiśampāyana uvāca - vaiśampāyana replied: dve bhārye sagarasya āstāṁ tapasā dagdha-kilbiṣe | jyeṣṭhā vidarbha-duhitā keśinī nāma viśrutā || 1-15-2 kanīyasī tu yā tasya patnī parama-dharmiṇī | ariṣṭanemi-duhitā rūpeṇa apratimā bhuvi || 1-15-3 sagara had two wives who by their devoutness have become impeccable ladies... elder one is lady keshini, the daughter of vidarbha king, and the younger one is the daughter of ariṣṭanemi who is highly virtuous and has no coequal on earth in her beauty. Second wife's name is said to be īlini - kanīyasī patnī īlinī saṣjā - nk. This name has close resemblance with īlini or Illinois Indians of America, and there are numerous web pages referring this name īlini. ili, or ilī in Sanskrit is a cudgel, a short sword; and īlini is one who has a cudgel ready at hand. aurvaḥ tābhyāṁ varaṁ prādāt taṁ nibodha janādhipa | ṣaṣṭhiṁ putra sahasrāṇi gṛhṇātu ekā tapasvinī || 1-15-4 ekaṁ vaṁśadharaṁ tu ekā yatheṣṭaṁ varayatu iti | tatra ekā jagṛhe putrān lubdhā śūrān bahūn tathā || 1-15-5 ekaṁ vaṁśadharaṁ tu ekā tathā iti āha ca tāṁ muniḥ | Sage aurva, who nurtured sagara, has accorded a boon to those two ladies putting this condition, "one lady may have sixty-thousand sons with great might... and the other may have one son who rules over entire earth... choice is yours..." keshinya sūta sagarāt asamaṣjasam ātmajam || 1-15-6 rājā paṣchajano nāma babhūva sumahābalaḥ | Elder wife keshini jhas chosen one son, and delivered the first son of sagara named paṣchajana who is a great mighty prince who became the successive king after sagara. itarā suṣuve tumbīṁ bīja-pūrṇām iti śrutiḥ || 1-15-7 tatra ṣaṣṭhi-sahasrāṇi garbhāḥ te tila sammitāḥ | The other wife chose to deliver sixty-thousand sons, but she delivered a gourd-like thing in which there are sixty-thousand foetuses, each of the size of a sesame seed. sambabhūvuḥ yathā kālaṁ vavṛdhuḥ ca yathā kramam || 1-15-8 ghṛta pūrṇeṣu kumbheṣu tān garbhān nidadhe pitā | dhātrīḥ ca eka ekaśaḥ prādāt tāvatīreva poṣaṇe || 1-15-9 Their father sagara placed each sesamoid foetus in each jar filled with ghee, the clarified butter, and arranged a governess to each to look after them, and those seeds started to grow up according to time and course of growing. This situation is the precursor of the birth of suyodhana et al in mbh. tataḥ daśasu māseṣu samuttasthur yathā sukham | kumārāḥ te yathā kālaṁ sagara-prīti-vardhanāḥ || 1-15-10 ṣaṣṭiḥ putra sahasrāṇi tasya evam abhavat nṛpa | garbhāt alābu madhyāt vai jātāni pṛthivīpate || 1-15-11 teṣāṁ nārāyaṇaṁ tejaḥ praviṣṭānāṁ mahātmanām | After a ten month durance in ghee-jars, all of the princes have come forth comfortably... thus, emperor sagara begot sixty thousand sons... all at a time from the entrails of a gourd-like thing... later, of course, they had to merge into the resplendence of nārāyaṇa, when nārāyaṇa donning the form of sage kapila incinerated their bodies with his fiery glance, when they dug the earth to locate ritual horse... ekaḥ paṣchajano nāma putro rājā babhūva ha || 1-15-12 sutaḥ paṣchajanasya āsīt aṁśumān nāma vīryavān | dilīpaḥ tanayaḥ tasya khaṭvāṅga iti viśrutaḥ || 1-15-13 yena svarga adihāgatya muhūrtaṁ prāpya jīvitam | trayaḥ anusandhitā lokā buddhyā satyena ca anagha || 1-15-14 However, the single son begotten by sagara's elder wife lady keshini is there whose name is paṣchajana, alias asamaṣjasa. He had a valiant son named aṁśumān, and dilīpa, alias khaṭvāṅga is the son of that aṁśumān. This dilīpa went to heaven after his mortal period on earth, but he again obtained mortal life for two hours. Within those two hours he acquired sagacity about the nature of three worlds and about the nature of brahman, thus dilīpa became legendary. Though there are four more sons remaining to sagara, out of the lot of sixty-thousand burnt by nārāyaṇa, this paṣchajana, alias asamaṣjasa becomes the legatee to throne as an eldest son and as the son of elder wife. This is the problem in rāmāyaṇa when kaikeyi asked to enthrone bharata. dilīpasya tu dāyādo mahārājo bhagīrathaḥ | yaḥ sa gaṅgāṁ sarit śreṣṭhām avātārayata prabhuḥ || 1-15-15 kīrtimānsa mahābhāgaḥ śakra-tulya-parākramaḥ | samudramānayat ca enāṁ duhitṛtvena kalpayat | tasmāt bhāgīrathī gaṅgā kathyate vaṁśa-cintakaiḥ || 1-15-16 dilīpa's son is the great king bhagīratha who effectuated the descent of the best river ganga to earth from heaven, amalgamating her with the ocean. He gave daughterhood to river ganga, hence the chronologists of dynasties call river ganga with a patrilineal name bhāgīrathi. bhagīratha suto rājā shruta iti abhiviśrutaḥ | nābhāgaḥ tu shrutasya āsīt putraḥ paramadhārmikaḥ || 1-15-17 ambarīṣaḥ tu nābhāgiḥ sindhu-dvīpa pitā abhavat | ayutājit tu dāyādaḥ sindhu-dvīpasya vīryavān || 1-15-18 ayutājit sutaḥ tu āsīt ṛtaparṇo mahāyaśāḥ | divya-akṣa-hṛdayajṣo vai rājā nala sakho balī || 1-15-19 From bhagīratha the successive lineage of princes is; bhagīratha--> shruta--> nābhāga--> ambarīṣa--> sindhu-dvīpa--> ayutājit--> ṛtaparṇa, an expert in dice game and a friend of emperor nala... Here he is to be known as ṛta-parṇa, but not as ṛtu-parṇa - nk. ṛtaparṇa sutaḥ tu āsīt ārtaparṇiḥ mahīpatiḥ | sudāsaḥ tasya tanayo rājā tu indra-sakho'bhavat || 1-15-20 sudāsasya sutaḥ tu āsīt saudāso nāma pārthivaḥ | khyātaḥ kalmāṣapādo vai nāmnā mitrasahaḥ tathā || 1-15-21 kalmāṣapādasya sutaḥ sarvakarma iti viśrutaḥ | anaraṇyaḥ tu putro'bhūt viśrutaḥ sarvakarmaṇaḥ || 1-15-22 From ṛtaparṇa the successive princes are: ṛtaparṇa --> ārtaparṇi--> sudāsa--> saudāsa, alias kalmāṣapāda, alias mitrasaha--> sarva-karma--> anaraṇya... anaraṇya suto nighno nighna putrau babhūvatuḥ | animitro raghuḥ caiva pārthivarṣabha sattamau || 1-15-23 anaraṇya's son is nighna, and nighna got two sons, namely animitra and raghu... anamitrasya dharmātmā vidvān duliduho abhavat | dilīpaḥ tanayaḥ stasya rāma pra-prapitā-mahaḥ || 1-15-24 anamitra's son is scholarly duliduha; and king dilīpa, the great-grandfather of rāma, is the son of this duliduha... This dilīpa is different from dilīpa, the son of kaṭvānga. dīrghabāhuḥ dilīpasya raghuḥ nāmnā abhavat sutaḥ | ayodhyāyāṁ mahārājo raghuḥ ca āsīt mahābalaḥ || 1-15-25 ajastu raghuto jajṣe ajāt daśaratho'bhavat | rāmo daśarat ājjajṣe dharmātmā sumahāyaśāḥ || 1-15-26 This dilīpa's son is dīrghabāhu who is also called as raghu, and this mighty one became an important king of ayodhya... aja is the son of this raghu, and daśaratha is the son of aja... and the righteous and highly renowned rāma is the son of daśaratha... rāmasya tanayo jajṣe kusha iti abhiviśrutaḥ | atithiḥ tu kuśāt jajṣe niṣadhaḥ tasya ca ātmajaḥ || 1-15-27 niṣadhasya nalaḥ putro nabhaḥ putro nalasya tu | nabhasya puṇḍarīkaḥ tu kṣema-dhanvā tataḥ smṛtaḥ || 1-15-28 The sucession from rāma is: rāma --> kusha --> atithi --> niṣadha --> nala --> nabha, or nagha --> puṇḍarīka --> kṣema-dhanvā... kṣemadhanva sutaḥ tu āsīt devānīkaḥ pratāpavān | āsīt ahīnaguḥ nāma devānīka sutaḥ prabhuḥ || 1-15-29 ahīnagoḥ tu dāyādaḥ sudhanvā nāma pārthivaḥ | sudhanvanaḥ sutaḥ caiva tato jajṣe'nalo nṛpaḥ || 1-15-30 uktho nāma sa dharmātmā anala putro babhūva ha | vajranābhaḥ sutaḥ tasya ukthasya ca mahātmanaḥ || 1-15-31 śaṅkhaḥ tasya suto vidvān vyuṣitāśva iti śrutaḥ | puṣpaḥ tasya suto vidvān artha-siddhiḥ tu tat sutaḥ || 1-15-32 sudarśanaḥ sutaḥ tasya agnivarṇaḥ sudarśanāt | agnivarṇasya śīghraḥ tu śīghrasya tu maruḥ sutaḥ || 1-15-33 kṣemadhanva --> devānīka --> ahīnagu --> sudhanvā --> anala --> uktha --> vajranābha --> śaṅkha, or called as vyuṣitāśva --> puṣpa --> artha-siddhiḥ --> sudarshana --> agni-varṇa --> śīghra --> maru... maruḥ tu yogam āsthāya kalāpa-dvīpam-āsthitaḥ | tasya āsīt viśrutavataḥ putro rāja bṛhadbalaḥ || 1-15-34 This king maru by the dint of his yogic powers used to reside in the island called kalāpa... and maru's son is bṛhadbala.... nalau dvāu eva vikhyātau purāṇe bharatarṣabha | vīrasena ātmajaḥ caiva yat ca ikṣvāku kula udvahaḥ || 1-15-35 Two persons with the name of nala occur in mythologies, one is the son of vīrasena, and the other is this one born in ikśvāku dynasty... ikṣvāku vaṁśa prabhavāḥ prādhāṇyena iha kīrtitāḥ | ete vivasvato vaṁśe rājāno bhūri tejasaḥ || 1-15-36 paṭhan samyag imāṁ sṛṣṭim ādityasya vivasvataḥ | śrāddha-devasya devasya prajānāṁ puṣṭidasya ca || 1-15-37 prajāvān iti saāyujyam ādityasya vivasvataḥ | vipāpmā virajāḥ caiva āyuṣmān ca bhavati uta || 1-15-38 I have recounted the legends of some important personalities of ikśvāku dynasty, who are all highly resplendent kings, alike sungod, occurring in the dynasty of very same sungod, āditya... those who carefully read the emergence of these descendants of āditya, which god governs the obsequial rituals, will thrive successfully... he becomes one with āditya after his mortal life, which he lives with many offspring, longevity, sinless, and finally goes into the returnelss abode of āditya... --o)0(o-- iti śrīmahābhārate khileṣu harivaṁśaparvaṇi ādityasya vaṁśānukīrtanam nāma paṣchadaśo'dhyāyaḥ Thus, this is the fifteenth chapter of first canto called harivamsha-parva, in harivamśa-purāṇa, the sequel of mahābhārata, narrating the legend of kings of solar dynasty, namely ikśvākus. --o)0(o--