Solar dynasty

In Indian mythology, the Solar dynasty or the Ikshvaku dynasty was founded by the legendary king Ikshvaku.[2] The dynasty is also known as Sūryavaṁśa ("Solar dynasty" or "Descendants of the Sun") and along with Lunar dynasty comprises one of the main lineages of the Kshatriya Varna. Rama belonged to the Ikshavaku dynasty.[5] According to the Jain texts, first Tirthankar Rishabhdeva himself was King Ikshvaku and the establisher of the Ikshvaku dynasty. Twenty one other tirthankars were born in this dynasty.[6][4] According to Buddhist texts and tradition, Gautama Buddha descended from this dynasty. Many later kings of the Indian subcontinent claimed to be of Suryavanshi background.

Suryavansh Dynasty

Kingdom of Kosala
CapitalVinita (now Ayodhya)[1]
Common languagesSanskrit
Religion
Hinduism[2][3] and Jainism[4][5]
GovernmentMonarchy
Monarch 
Today part ofIndia

The important personalities belonging to this royal house are Mandhatri , Muchukunda , Ambarisha , Bharata Chakravartin, Bahubali, Harishchandra, Dilīpa, Sagara,[3] Raghu, Rama and Pasenadi. Although, 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 was the founder of this dynasty,[7] who was elected by the people as the first king of the present era.

Origins
Medieval era art from Jain temple depicting King Ikshvaku (Rishabhdeva) imparting the skill pottery to the people during the end of Kalpavriksh era.

Suryavansha or Solar Dynasty is the one of the two major legendary Kshatriya dynasties found in Hindu Puranic and epic literature, the other being Chandravansha or the Lunar Dynasty. According to Harivamsa, Ikshvaku is considered the primogenitor of the dynasty of Surya 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 and called it Ayodhya meaning the 'invincible city'. This city served as the capital of many kings from the solar dynasty and is also the birthplace of Rama an avatar of Vishnu.[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 Vishwakarma, 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 'Suryavansh' 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 Chandravansh or the Lunar dynasty.[9]

In Bhagavata Purana

Ikshvaku and his ancestor Manu are also mentioned in the Bhagavata 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 of Draviḍadeśa 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.

[10]

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.[11] The genealogy according to the Mahavamsa is as follows:[12][13]

  1. Okkāka[14]
  2. Okkāmukha
  3. Sivisamjaya
  4. Sihassara
  5. Jayasena
  6. Sihahanu
  7. Suddhodana
  8. Gautama Buddha
  9. Rāhula

In Jainism

The Ikshvaku dynasty has a significant place in Jainism, as twenty-two Tirthankaras were born in this dynasty.[15]

See also

References

Citations
  1. https://books.google.co.in/books?id=vp_XAAAAMAAJ&q=vinita+now+Ayodhya&dq=vinita+now+Ayodhya&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwirnYKPg9zuAhVW7HMBHaIbBIkQ6AEwAHoECAAQAg
  2. Geography of Rigvedic India, M.L. Bhargava, Lucknow 1964, pp. 15-18, 46-49, 92-98, 100-/1, 136
  3. Ikshaku tribe 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...".
  4. Zimmer 1952, p. 220
  5. Zimmer 1952, p. 218
  6. https://books.google.co.in/books?id=OGsrAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Rishabhanatha+founder+of+Jainism&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi4uq3ei9vuAhXf6XMBHWXKDnMQ6AEwAHoECAIQAg#v=onepage&q&f=false
  7. Malalasekera, G. P. (2007) [1937]. Dictionary of Pāli Proper Names: A-Dh. 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. "ŚB 9.1.2-3". vedabase.io. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  11. Law, B.C. (1973). Tribes in Ancient India, Bhandarkar Oriental Series No.4, Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, p.246
  12. Misra, V.S. (2007). Ancient Indian Dynasties, Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, ISBN 81-7276-413-8, p.286
  13. Geiger, Wilhelm (tr.) (1912). "Mahavamsa, Chapter II". Ceylon Government Information Dept., Colombo (in lakdvia.org website). Retrieved 26 October 2009.
  14. "Okkāka". Palikanon. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  15. Jain 1991, p. 2.
  16. Jain 1991, p. 5.
  17. Shah 2004, p. 15.
  18. Shah, Chandraprakash, Shri Shantinatha, 16th Tirthankara
  19. Jain 1991, p. 161.

Sources
Preceded by
Kulakara (in Jainism)		 Ikshvaku Dynasty Succeeded by
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