Harita

Haritha (also known as Harita, Haritasya,

Haritra and Haritasa) was an ancient
prince or the Suryavansha dynasty, best
known as the ancestor of the Kshatriya
lineage, Harita gotra.

Although a Brahmin lineage, this gotra is

descended from Kshatriya prince of the
Suryavansha dynasty who was the great
grandson of legendary King Mandhatra.
Mandhatra was killed by Lavanasura who
was killed later by Rama's brother
Shatrughna. This is one of ancient India's
most prominent and famous lineages,
having produced Rama and his three
brothers (see Genealogy of Rama) and
Yadava lineage from Ikshvaku King
Haryaswa in which Krishna was born.
Jayadratha of Mahabharata also belonged
to solar line. The first notable king of the
dynasty was Ikshvaku. Other Brahmin
gotras from solar line are Vatula,
Shatamarshana, Kutsa, Bhadrayana and
Vishnuvriddha. Of these Kutsa and
Shatamarshana also descend from King
Mandhatra like Harita gotra and have
either Mandhatra or his sons
(Ambarish/Purukutsa) as part of their
Pravaras. The Puranas, a series of Hindu
mythological texts, document the story of
this dynasty. Harita was separated from
Ikshvaku by twenty-one generations.[1] To
this day, many Kshatriyas claim descent
from the Suryavanshi dynasty to
substantiate their claims to royalty.
Brahmins of the Harita gotra trace their
lineage to the eponymous prince. While
most Brahmins claim to be descended
from ancient sages, those of the Harita
gotra claim to be descended from
Kshatriyas trained by the Brahmin Angirasa
and hence they have some Kshatriya and
some Brahmin qualities. This created,
according to the Linga Purana, "Brahmins
with the qualities of Kshatriyas".[1]

This is recorded in the Hindu tradition in

the Vishnu Purana:
Ambarishasya Mandhdtus tanayasya
Yuvanasvah putro bhut tasmad Harito yato
ngiraso Haritah. "The son of Ambarisha,
son of Mandhatri was Yuvanasva From
him sprang Harita from whom the Harita
Angirases were descended.[1]

and in the Linga Purana:

Harito Yuvanasvasya Harita yata atmajah

ete hy Angirasah pakshe kshattropeta
dvijatayah. "The son of Yuvanasva was
Harita of whom the Haritash were sons".
"They were on the side of Angiras twice
born men." "Brahmans of Kshattriya
lineage."[1]

and in the Vayu Purana:

"they were the sons of Haritash / Angiras,

twice-born men (Brahmans), of Kshatriya
race",[2] or sons of Harita raised up by
Sage Angiras.[1]

Accordingly, from both Linga Purana and

Vayu Purana it can be inferred that
Brahmins with Harita gotra belong to
Ikshvaku lineage and because of the
training and tapo sakti of Angirasa and
blessings of Lord Adi Kesava obtained
Brahmin qualities, and became twice born.
Swami Ramanuja and his primary disciple
Sri Koorathazhwan were of Harita gotra.

The Pravara of this gotra, used in

ceremonies to reference the ancestors of
the participant Brahmin has two variations:

Angiras, Ambarisha, Yuvanaswa, which

is most commonly used
Harita, Ambarisha, Yuvanaswa.

Harita Smriti
Sage Harita, son of Chyavana, wrote the
Harita Smriti, a work of law, and taught his
student, Bappa Rawal of Guhilot (later to
be called Sisodia) martial arts and the four
cardinal duties for the service of the state:

1. To follow the principles of Manav

Dharma (the Religion of Man) and
preserve Vedic culture.
2. To serve all God's Creations as a
service to God, the creator of all life.
3. To endeavour constantly to keep the
human soul awakened and alive, in
 order that human beings would value
the dignity of man.
4. To help recognise man's special
status in the hierarchy of God's
creations-the eternal principles
underlying cosmic creation.

The story of how he became a

Brahmin
This Sthalapuranam was narrated by
Mudal (first) Thirthakar (priest) of the
Sriperumpudur temple.
Once there lived a great King named
Haritha; he was the grandson of King
Ambareesha, who is an ancestor of Sri
Rama.

Once he was passing by a dense forest

where he hears the shrill moaning of a
cow. He goes in the direction where the
voice was coming; he sees that a tiger has
caught the cow and was about to kill the
cow.

Since he is a Kshatriya and a king, he feels

that it is his duty to protect the weak, and
that there is no sin in killing the tiger. He
aims at the tiger. Meanwhile, the tiger also
thinks it should do something that the king
also suffers and with that it kills the cow
and King Haritha kills the tiger.

Since he has witnessed the Go

Hatya(Death of sacred cow) taking place,
the king is affected by the Go Hathi
Dosham (sin). He gets worried, when
suddenly he hears an Asareeri (Divine
Voice) which asks him to proceed to
Sathyavratha Kshetram and to take bath in
Ananthah Sarasu and worship Lord Adhi
Keshava, whereby his sins will vanish.

King Harita goes back to Ayodhya and

consults Vashishta Maharishi, who tells
him about the Sriperumpudur Mahatyam
and narrates how the Bhootha Ganas
(those who serve Lord Shiva in Shiv Lok)
got rid of their Saapam (curse) there,and
also the route to that place. King Haritha
then makes alternative arrangement to run
the kingdom and proceeds to
Sriperumpudur (near Chennai, Tamil Nadu).
He takes bath in Ananthah Sarasu and
prays to Lord Adhi Kesava; after a while
the merciful lord appears before Haritha
Maharaja and instructs him on all the
Mantras which would help in getting rid of
the Dosham. He also says that though all
these years he was a Kshtriya, due to his
blessings he has now become a Brahmin,
and henceforth his descendants will also
be Brahmins (even today his descendants
are known as Brahmins of Haritha Gothra).
The Lord also gives Upadesham of all
Mantras to him. Haritha Maharaja rebuilds
the Adhi Kesava temple, and performs
consecration of the temple on an
auspicious day.[3]

Notes
1. "The Vishnu Purana: Book IV: Chapter
III" . www.sacred-texts.com.
2. Classical Dictionary of Hindu
Mythology and Religion, Geography,
History, and Literature by John
Dowson
3. "spuranam" .
www.sriperumpudur.ramanujartemple
 s.net.

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