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Solar dynasty

The Solar dynasty (IAST: Suryavaṃśa or Ravivaṃśa in Sanskrit) or

the Ikshvaku dynasty was founded by the legendary king Ikshvaku.[1]
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 (the Gayatri Mantra is a prayer
offered to the Sun God as the Sun is the main deity of the Solar
Dynasty), and along with Lunar dynasty comprises one of the main
lineages of the Kshatriya Varna.[2]

The first Tirthankara of Jainism, Rishabhdeva himself was King

Ikshvaku. Further, 21 Tirthankaras of Jainism were born in this
dynasty.[3][4]

According to Buddhist texts and tradition, Gautama Buddha descended

from this dynasty. Many later kings of the Indian subcontinent claimed
to be of Suryavamsha descent.
:
 House of Ikshvaku
Suryavamsha

Country Kingdom of Kosala, Kingdom of

Kashi, Nishadha Kingdom

Founder Ikshvaku

Final ruler Sumitra (historical claimant) [5]

Style(s) Chakravartin, Raja of Kosala

Deposition 362 BCE

Cadet branches Raghuvaṃśa

The important personalities belonging to this royal house are Mandhatri,

Muchukunda, Ambarisha, Bharata Chakravartin, Bahubali,
Harishchandra, Dilīpa, Sagara,[6] Raghu, 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 Virudhaka 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 Satyavrata, the saintly king of Dravida received

नाम spiritual knowledge at the end of the last millennium
राजिषर् द्रर्िवडेश्वर: । by the grace of the Supreme.
ज्ञानं
:
 योऽतीतकल्पान्ते He became known as Vaivasvata Manu, the son of
लेभे पुरुषसेवया ॥ Vivasvān.

स वै िववस्वत: पुत्रो In the next manvantara [period of Manu], I will have

मनुरासीिदित श्रुतम् received this knowledge from you.
।
त्वत्तस्तस्य I also understand that such kings as Ikṣvāku were
सुता:प्रोक्ता his sons, as you have already explained.
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

[11]
:
 In Buddhism

The Buddhist text, Buddhavamsa and Mahavamsa (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 (Lord Rishabhdeva) imparting
the skill of pottery to his people.

The Ikshvaku dynasty has a significant place in Jainism, as twenty-two

Tirthankaras were born in this dynasty.[16]

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,[17] because he taught people how to extract
ikshu-rasa (sugarcane-juice).[18]

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[19]

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[20]

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

See also

Hinduism

List of Ikshvaku dynasty kings in Hinduism

List of Hindu empires and dynasties

List of Jain empires and dynasties

References

Citations …
1. Geography of Rigvedic India, M.L. Bhargava, Lucknow 1964, pp. 15-18,
46-49, 92-98, 100-/1, 136

2. Zimmer 1952, p. 218

3. Jain, Champat Rai (1929). "Riṣabha Deva, the Founder of Jainism" (https:/
/books.google.com/books?id=OGsrAAAAIAAJ&q=Rishabhanatha+founder
+of+Jainism) .
:
 +of+Jainism) .

4. Zimmer 1952, p. 220

5. Debroy, Bibek (25 October 2017). The Valmiki Ramayana, Volume 3 (https
://books.google.com/books?id=oLU8DwAAQBAJ&q=king+sumitra+mahap
adma+nanda&pg=PT14) . ISBN 9789387326286.

6. Ikshaku tribe (http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03106.htm) 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

(https://books.google.com/books?id=up5O9zrSX80C&q=Okkaka&pg=PA
461) . 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 (https
://books.google.com/books?id=oLU8DwAAQBAJ&q=king+sumitra+mahap
adma+nanda&pg=PT14) . ISBN 9789387326286.

11. "ŚB 9.1.2-3" (https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/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" (http://lakdiva.org/m

ahavamsa/chap002.html) . Ceylon Government Information Dept.,
Colombo (in lakdvia.org website). Retrieved 26 October 2009.

15. "Okkāka"
(http://www.palikanon.com/english/pali_names/o/okkaaka.htm) .
Palikanon. Retrieved 13 August 2019.

16. Jain 1991, p. 2.

17. Jain 1991, p. 5.

18. Shah 2004, p. 15.

:
 19. Shah, Chandraprakash, Shri Shantinatha, 16th Tirthankara (http://www.jai
nsamaj.org/rpg_site/literature2.php?id=1403&cat=42)

20. Jain 1991, p. 161.

Sources …
Zimmer, Heinrich (1952), Joseph Campbell (ed.), Philosophies of
India (https://archive.org/details/Philosophy.of.India.by.Heinrich.Zimm
er) , London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd, ISBN 978-81-208-0739-6

Shah, Natubhai (2004), Jainism: The World of Conquerors (https://bo

oks.google.com/books?id=qLNQKGcDIhsC) , Motilal Banarsidass,
ISBN 978-81-208-1938-2

Jain, Kailash Chand (1991), Lord Mahavira and his times (https://book
s.google.com/books?id=8-TxcO9dfrcC) , 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 Ikshvaku Dynasty Succeeded by
Jainism)

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