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| House of Ikshvaku Suryavansha | |
|---|---|
| Country | Kingdom of Kosala,Kingdom of Videha,Shakya Kingdom |
| Founder | Ikshvaku |
| Final ruler | Sumitra (historical claimant)[1] |
| Style(s) | Raja of Kosala |
| Deposition | 362 BCE |
TheSolar dynasty orSūryavanśha (lit. 'Descendants of the Sun';Sanskrit:सूर्यवंश), also called theIkshvaku dynasty, is a lineage or dynasty said to have been founded byIkshvaku. InHindu literature, it ruled theKosala Kingdom, with its capital atAyodhya, and later atShravasti. They worshipped theirclan deity,Surya (a Hindusolar deity), after whom the dynasty is named. Along with theLunar dynasty, the Solar dynasty comprises one of the main lineages inHinduism.[2]
According toJain literature, the firstTirthankara of Jainism,Rishabhanatha himself, was King Ikshvaku. Twenty-one furtherTirthankaras were born in this dynasty.[3][4]
According to Buddhist literature,Gautama Buddha descended from this dynasty.
The important personalities belonging to this royal house areMandhatri,Muchukunda,Ambarisha,Bharata,Bahubali,Harishchandra,Dilīpa,Sagara,[5]Raghu,Dasharatha,Rama, andPasenadi. Both the HinduPuranas and theBuddhist texts includeShuddodhana, Gautama Buddha, andRahula 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.[6]
Suryavansha, or the Solar Dynasty, is one of the two major legendaryKshatriya dynasties found in Hindu Puranic and epic literature, the other being Chandravamsha or theLunar dynasty. According toHarivamsa,Ikshvaku is considered the primogenitor of the dynasty of, and was granted the kingdom of Aryavarta by his fatherVaivasvata Manu. Manu settled down in theAryavarta region after he survived the great flood.A. K. Mozumdar states that Manu is the one who built a city on theSarayu (being the river that his mother Sanjana was the goddess of) and called itAyodhya 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 ofRama.[7]
Some Hindu texts suggest RishiMarichi, one of the seven sages and first human creations ofBrahma as the progenitor of the dynasty. Marichi's eldest sonKashyapa 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 godSurya marriedSaranyu who was the daughter ofVishvakarman, 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 'Suryavansha' or the solar dynasty. Manu is also the progenitor of the Lunar Dynasty because he married his daughterIla toBudha, the son ofChandra or the moon god and the couple gave birth to the magnanimous KingPururavas who became the first king of the Chandravamsha, or the Lunar dynasty.[8]
After the death of the powerful kingPrasenjit and disappearance of his successorViḍūḍabha after defeating theShakyas, the kingdom ofKosala declined. King Sumitra, who regarded himself to be the last Suryavansha ruler, was defeated by the powerful emperorMahapadma Nanda ofMagadha in 362 BCE. However, he wasn't killed, and fled toRohtas, located in present-dayBihar.[9]
Ikshvaku and his ancestor Manu are also mentioned in theBhagavata 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 ofDravida 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.
The Buddhist text,Buddhavaṃsa andMahāvaṃsa (II, 1–24) traces the origin of theShakyas 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.[11] The genealogy according to the Mahavamsa is as follows:[12][13]
Rishabhanatha, the firstTirthankara, is identified with King Ikshvaku and the founder of the Ikshvaku dynasty. The earliest recorded reference to the Ikshvaku dynasty can be found in theSwayambhustotra, a Sanskrit epic poem composed by AcharyaSamantabhadra, a Jain poet originally fromTamil Nadu. The Swayambhustotra praises the 24 Tirthankaras, 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.[15] TheIkshvaku dynasty has a significant place inJainism, as twenty-two Tirthankaras were born in this dynasty.[16]
{{citation}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)| Preceded by Kulakara (in Jainism) | Ikshvaku Dynasty | Succeeded by |
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