THE GREAT CLAN OF IKSHVAKU

THE GREAT CLAN OF IKSHVAKU

It is astounding to trace the history of the Ikshvaku clan whose great kings were exceptional warriors!! A few of them were sought after by Indra, king of Swarga, to fight the ever tormenting asuras! One such king was Puranjana by name. The Lord of Heaven Indra once approached him for help in fighting the demons. Puranjana accepted the request on condition that Indra should become his mount--vahana! It was embarrassing for Indra to stoop down for a mortal and become his Vahana. But on the advice of Lord Vishnu he relented and took the form of a Bullock! Riding on this divine Bullock, Puranjana fought the asuras and drove them away restoring the lost kingdom to Indra! From that day onwards he was renowned as ‘Indra vahana’- the one who had Indra as his mount! Later he called himself ‘Kakutsa’ and that started the lineage of the  famous kings of that dynasty!

The story of Yavanaswa, another king of the clan is more interesting and incredible! Disgusted with life since he had no children, he retired to the forest where the sages performed a yagna to   bestow him with a son. They kept a pot with sanctified water intended for the wife of the king. At midnight, Yavanaswa got thirsty and finding the pot with water, drank the contents unwittingly! The sages were shocked in the next morning to see the pot empty and wondered at the turn of the tide! After a few months, Yavavaswa’s right side swelled and he became pregnant!! Surgery followed and a baby boy was taken out! It was an extraordinary child and he cried with insatiable hunger even as he was born! Since it was Indra who was invoked to provide a child for the king, he came to satisfy the boy. He placed the right index finger into the mouth of the baby boy. The blessed boy drank the ‘amrita’- nectar that oozed from the finger and stopped crying!! Yavanaswa lived long and the boy was called Mandhata! He became one of the greatest emperors of the time and was called as the ‘ jewel of Kruta Yuga’!

Much more interesting and unbelievable is the story of Trisanku the son of Satyavrata who wanted to reach Heaven with his mortal body!  Surprised at this strange desire of his disciple, sage Vasishta refused and cursed him to become a chandala! Trisanku went to the great sage Viswamitra who accepted his request and performed a yagna! When Trisanku rose towards Heaven through the power of the yagna, the Devas stopped him at the gates and pushed him down! Sage Viswamitra prevented him from falling down and with the power of his penance created a separate Heaven for Trisanku to live in! He even created stars and was about to create an Indra when he was stopped by the Devas!  Trisanku remained in mid Heaven upsidedown and this state came to be known as “Trisanku Swarga”!

Khatwanga is another great king of the Ikshvaku clan noted for his valour and good righteous rule. It was usual for Devas to approach great monarchs on earth for help in fighting the asuras who used to attack them frequently! Indra again needed the king’s help and requested him to vanquish the asuras. Accordingly king Khatwanga drove out the asuras and pleased Indra. When Indra desired to grant a boon to the king, he wanted to know, strangely, how long he would live on earth! As a special favor Indra told king Khatwanga that he would live for one muhurta which is equal to just twenty minutes!! The king immediately gave up his princely life, family and all belongings! He went to the forest and performed tapas! He wanted to release himself from the cycle of birth and death and come out of the web of Maya or illusion!  Finally he surrendered himself to the Lord and merged into Him!

There were many more kings of this Ikshvaku clan who were brave, righteous and respected. They were noted for their good rule and frequently sought after by the Gods themselves! To us in this Kali Yuga, their lives and incidents may appear incredible and improbable! But they lived thousands and thousands of years ago in different societies noted for the practice of Santana Dharma and righteousness!!