List of Ikshvaku dynasty kings in Hinduism

According to Hindu traditions, Shraddhadeva Manu (Sanskrit manuśraddhādeva) is the current Manu and the progenitor of the current manvantara. He is considered as the seventh of the fourteen Manus of the current kalpa (aeon).^[1]

Manu and the Saptarishi on a boat carried by Matsya, saved from the Pralaya.

Shraddhadeva Manu was the king of the Dravida kingdom^[2] before the Pralaya, the great flood. Forewarned about the flood by the Matsya avatar of Vishnu, he saved humanity by building a boat that carried his family and the saptarishi to safety. He is the son of Vivasvana and is therefore also known as Vaivasvata Manu, and his dynasty as the Suryavaṃśa. He is also called Satyavrata (always truthful). Ikshvaku (Sanskrit; ikṣvāku, from Sanskrit ikṣu; Pali: Okkāka), is one of the ten sons of Shraddhadeva Manu, and is credited to be the founder of the Ikshvaku Dynasty.^[3]

Suryavamsha kings

Folio from a Bhagavata Purana manuscript - The Sudarshana Chakra appearing before Emperor Ambarisha and Sage Durvasa

Harischandra loses his wealth, by Raja Ravi Varma

Sagara sitting upon his throne

The genealogy of the Ikshvaku dynasty to Rama is mentioned in the Ramayana in two lists. The only difference between the two lists is that, Kukshi is mentioned only in the second list. In the first list, Vikukshi is mentioned as the son of Ikshavaku. The descendants of Vikukshi are known as Vikauva.^[4]

Shiva blesses Bhagiratha after allowing Ganga to descend from his matted hair upon the earth.

A bazaar art depicting Dasharatha grieving inconsolably at his obligation to banish Rama to the forest.

The coronation of Rama, with Sita by his side; flanked by Bharata and Shatrughna, with Lakshmana genuflecting and Hanuman prostrating before Rama.

1. Vaivasvata Manu or Satyavrata or Nabhi^[5]
2. Ikshvaku
3. Kukshi^[6] or Vikukshi^{[lower-alpha 1]} or Śaśāda
4. Bāna or Shakuni
5. Kakutstha or Puranjaya (Purañjaya) or Anaranya I
6. Anena (Anenā)^{[lower-alpha 2]}
7. Prithu (Pṛthu)
8. Vishtarashva (Viṣṭarāśva), Visvarandhi, or Viśvagandhi
9. Chandra (Cāndra-yuvanāśva)
10. Yuvanashva I (Yuvanāśva)
11. Shravasta (Śrāvasta)
12. Brihadashva (Bṛhadaśva)
13. Dhundumār (Dhundhumāra) or Kuvalayashva (Kuvalayāśva)
14. Dhreedhashva (Dṛḍhāśva) or Kapilashva (Kapilāśva) or Bhadrashva (Bhadrāśva)
15. Pramoda
16. Haryashva I
17. Nikumbha
18. Baharnashva (Barhaṇāśva)
19. Giritashva
20. Amitashva (Amitāśva)
21. Krishashva (Kṛśāśva) or Akrutashva
22. Prasenajit I
23. Yuvanashva II
24. Mandhata
25. Purukutsa I (or Vasuda) and Muchukunda
26. Ambarisha
27. Trasadasyu
28. Sambhruta
29. Anaranya II
30. Preeshadashva
31. Haryashva II
32. Hastya
33. Sumana
34. Tridhanva
35. Trayyaruni
36. Trishanku or Satyavrata II
37. Harishchandra
38. Rohitashva
39. Harita
40. Chanchu
41. Chakshu or Sudeva
42. Vijaya
43. Ruruka or Brahuka
44. Pratapendra
45. Bruka
46. Sushandhi
47. Bahuka
48. Vrika or Bharata II
49. Bahu or Asita
50. Sagara
51. Amshuman
52. Dilipa I
53. Bhagiratha
54. Suhotra
55. Shruti
56. Kukutsa II
57. Raghu I
58. Nabhaga
59. Ambarisha II
60. Shindhudvipa
61. Ayutayu
62. Pratayu
63. Rituparna
64. Sarvakama I
65. Sudasa
66. Kalmashapada
67. Asmaka (Aśmaka)
68. Mulaka or Sarvakama II
69. Dasharatha I
70. Ilibil or Ananaranya III
71. Vishvamashaha
72. Nidhna
73. Animitra (Anamitra)
74. Duliduh or Mūlaka
75. Dilipa II or Dirghabhahu or Khaṭvāṅga
76. Raghu II
77. Aja
78. Dasharatha II
79. Bharata III
80. Rama

The other sons of Dasharatha; Lakshmana and Shatrughna were said to be the kings of Karupada and Malla, and Madhupuri and Vidisha respectively.

Suryavamsha kings after Rama

1910 depiction of Lava and Kusha, the twin sons of Rama and Sita, capturing the sacrificial horse of his ashvamedha yajna.

Emperor Parikshit of the Kurus, getting bitten by the Nāga King Takshaka, who is said to be a member of the Ikshvaku clan.

Rama and his brothers were succeeded by their respective sons; Kusha had inherited South Kosala and Lava had inherited North Kosala, while Bharata's children, Taksha and Pushkara, had inherited Takshashila and Pushkalavati respectively. Lakshmana's children, Angada and Chandraketu, had inherited Karupada and Malla respectively, and Shatrughna's children, Subahu and Shatrughati had inherited Madhupuri and Vidisha respectively.

The Puranas provide a genealogical list from Kusha to Brihadbala, who was killed by Abhimanyu in the Kurukshetra War. This list is corroborated by the Raghuvamsha till Agnivarna.^[7]

1. Kusha and Lava
2. Atithi
3. Nishadha
4. Nala II
5. Nabhas
6. Paundrika
7. Kshemadhanva
8. Devanika
9. Ahinagu
10. Ruru
11. Pariyatra
12. Sala
13. Dala
14. Bala
15. Uktha
16. Sahasrasva
17. Para II
18. Chandravaloka
19. Rudraksh
20. Chandragiri
21. Banuchandra
22. Srutayu
23. Uluka
24. Unnabha
25. Vajranabha
26. Sankhana
27. Vyusitasva
28. Visvasaha
29. Hiranyanabha Kausalya
30. Para III
31. Brahmistha
32. Putra
33. Pusya
34. Arthasidhi
35. Dhruvasandhi
36. Sudarsana
37. Agnivarna
38. Sighraga
39. Maru
40. Parsusruta
41. Susandhi
42. Amarsana
43. Mahasvana
44. Sahasvana
45. Visrutvana
46. Visvabhava
47. Visvasahva
48. Nagnajit
49. Brihadbala

Suryavamsha kings after Mahabharata

The Puranas also provide the list of the kings from Brihadbala to the last ruler Sumitra. But these lists mention Shakya as an individual, and incorporate the names of Shakya, Shuddodhana, Siddhartha (Gautama Buddha), and Rahula between Sanjaya and Prasenajit. The names of the kings are:^[8]

Successors of Brihadbala-

1. Brihatkshaya (or Bruhadrunama)
2. Urukriya (or Gurukshepa)
3. Vatsavyuha
4. Prativyoma
5. Bhanu
6. Divakara (or Divaka)
7. Virasahadeva
8. Brihadashva II
9. Bhanuratha (or Bhanumana)
10. Pratitashva
11. Supratika
12. Marudeva
13. Sunakshatra
14. Pushkara (or Kinnara)
15. Antariksha
16. Suvarna (or Sutapa)
17. Sumitra (or Amitrajit)
18. Brihadraja (Okkaka)
19. Rudraksha

Descendants through the Shakya lineage-

Pictorial representation of King Pasenadi of Kosala (Prasenajit) paying a visit to Siddhartha Gautama, from "Hutchinson's Story of the Nations".

1. Kritanjaya (Sivisamjaya)
2. Ranajjaya (Sihassara)
3. Jayasena (Mahakoshala or Sanjaya)
4. Sihahanu (Shakya)
5. Śuddhodana
6. Siddhartha Shakya (Gautama Buddha)
7. Rāhula

Later Ikshvakus, of the original lineage and rulers of Kosala-

1. Sanjaya Mahākosala
2. Prasenajit
3. Viḍūḍabha
4. Kshudraka (or Kuntala)
5. Ranaka (or Kulaka)
6. Suratha
7. Sumitra

According to Bibek Debroy, King Sumitra claimed to be the last ruler of the Suryavamsha dynasty of Kosala, as he was defeated by Mahapadma Nanda of Magadha in 362 BCE. However, he wasn't killed, and fled to Rohtas, located in present-day Bihar, where his son Kurma had established his reign.^[9]

See also

• Solar dynasty
• Lunar dynasty
• Vedic science
• History of India
• Puranic chronology
• History of Hinduism
• Puru and Yadu Dynasties
• List of Hindu empires and dynasties

Notes

1. Vikukshi is the son of Kukshi in the Balakanda.
2. also depicted as son of Vikukshi

References

1. V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar (1935). The Matsya Purana: A Study. University of Madras. p. 5.
2. Rhonda Burnette-Bletsch, Jon Morgan (ed.). Noah as Antihero: Darren Aronofsky's Cinematic Deluge. Taylor & Francis, 2017. p. 45.
3. The Hare Krsnas - The Manus - Manus of the Present Universe
4. Vyas, R. T., ed. (1992). Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Text as Constituted in its Critical Edition. Vadodara: Oriental Institute, Vadodara. pp. 91–92, 255–56.
5. Doniger, Wendy, ed. (1993), Purana Perennis: Reciprocity and Transformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts, State University of New York Press, ISBN 0-7914-1381-0
6. Ramayana, Balakanda,verse 70
7. J.P Mittal (2006). Surya Dynasty:Name of Kings. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. ISBN 81-269-0616-2.
8. Misra, V.S. (2007). Ancient Indian Dynasties, Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, ISBN 81-7276-413-8, pp.283-8, 384
9. Debroy, Bibek (25 October 2017). The Valmiki Ramayana, Volume 3. Penguin Random House India Private Limited. ISBN 9789387326286.

Sources

• Thapar, Romila (2013), The Past Before Us, Harvard University Press, ISBN 978-0-674-72651-2