Essence Of Maha Bhagavatha Purana

Present Manu Vivasvanta and his progeny

As King Satyavrata became the Manu Viavasvata or Sraddhadeva, Maha Muni Suka gave an account of the progeny of Manu Vaivasvanta, son of Vivasvan and Samjna. The Manu and his wife Sraddha begot ten sons,viz. Ikshvaku, Narga, Saryati, Dishta, Dhrasta, Karusaka, Narisyanta, Prasadhra, Nabhaga and Kavi. Ikshvaku’s lineage was Vikukshi- Sasada- Puranjaya-Kakukstha- Pruthu-Visvagandhi-Chandra-Yuvanashra and Mandhata. From another son of Manu was Saryati whose daughter was Sukanya wedded to Chyavan Muni.

Mandhata’s prominent son was Ambarisha. Purukusta (another son of Mandhata) was married to  Narmada of the sub-terranian clan, and the lineage included Tribandhama and Satyavrata, known as Trisanku whose lineage was followed by Harischandra and Rohita and after seven generations was born Sagara and his 60,000 sons-Ansuman-Dilipa and Bhagiratha. A few happenings of Vaivasvata Manu’s progeny were interesting. Saryati, son of the Manu, who was a saintly person, who had a pretty daughter Sukanya. The latter went round a garden attached to the Hermitage of Sage Chyavana and by mistake pierced two shining earthworms with a thorn and as a result the entire group of soldiers’  urine and stools were obstructed.This frightened the father and daughter who approached the Sage and apologised  for the indiscretion and  in a softer mood Saryati offered the daughter to the Sage.  A few Aswini Kumars, who had the powers to convert old as youth, obliged the Sage with vigour and smartness . When Saryati visited the daughter, he admonished her to see her with a younger person. Sukanya clarified that the aged Sage was converted to a youth, thanks to the powers of Asvini Kumars! Nabhaga another son of Manu was also named Nabhaga and the junior Nabaga  was in the father’s footsteps. The father distributed his property to all the sons equally. The junior returned to his brothers for his share of the proprety and they cheated him to go back to their father.The father directed son Nabhaga to attend a great Sacrifice being held nearby and  advised him to recite Vedic Hymns so that  the planetary Demi-Gods would be pleased to give riches to him. The junior Nabhaga did exactly like what his father said and indeed the planetary heads were pleased to present substantial wealth. But a dark looking person objected to parting the wealth to the junior and asked the father Nabhaga to settle the issue. The father sided with the dark person and He was Lord Siva Himself who taught them the most  significant route of self-realisation rather than material wealth.

King Ambarisha was the son of Nabhaga and he was a highly exalted devotee of Lord Narayana. Once, he and his queen performed a rigorous year- long ‘Vrath’ of Ekadasi and Dvadasi and after successfully completing with charities and food-festivals on the final day were about to break their fast when Durvasa and a large retinue of his disciples appeared unannounced. The King requested the Sage and retinue for food and the Sage agreed; they departed to bathe in the River Yamuna and perform the daily worship. Meanwhile, the time for breaking the fast was hardly a muhurta away and hence with the permission of the Brahmanas had a symbolic sip of the holy teertha ( water). The Sage on return was in rage as he felt disrespected  and created a demon with a trident to punish the royal couple.Ambarisha kept his cool and hardly got perturbed. Lord Narayana sent His Disc-the Sudarsana Chakra- which not only destroyed the demon, but also followed Durvasa who had to run for life.The Sage approached Indra and Demi Gods who expressed their inability to control the Disc, and so did Lord Brahma and Lord Siva. Durvasa approached Vaikuntha and beseeched clemency but Lord Narayana said that He was in the control of His devotees and as such he would have to entreat King Ambarisha only for pardon. Finally, the  Sage Durvasa who cursed the devotee King Ambarisha had to seek forgiveness from Ambarisha himself!

Tracing the origin of Ikshvaku, the eldest son of Vaivasvata Manu, Suka Muni connected the lineage to King Puranjaya ( Kakustha) who fought a war between Demons and Demi-Gods on behalf of Indra on the condition that Indra would take the form of a bull. Puranjaya rode on the hump of the Great Bull and hence Puranjaya’s title was ‘Kakustha’( hump of the Bull) as also Indravahana or the vehicle of Indra.In the family lineage of Puranjaya was born King Yuvanashva, who performed Indra Yagna to beget a child. During the Sacrifice days one night the King felt thirsty and entered the Fire Spot area and drank the Sacred Water meant to bless his wife a child. As the Brahmanas found the water pot empty, they were aghast that the King drank the Water and eventually, he got a child from his abdomen. The boy cried for milk and that was not possible from the father; Indra put his index finger in the child’s mouth and thus saved him. The Boy was Mandhata, who became eventually an undisputed Emperor of  the World comprising seven islands-‘from where Sun rose to where it set’. He was a terror to Demon Ravana and other Rakshasas. [He was stated to have discovered Lake Manasarovar near Mount Kailash as he was reputed to have made penance at the banks of the Lake under the mountain range was named after him. It was believed that there was a Serpent Mansion where Mandhata prayed and from a tree dropped fruits making big noises like ‘Jam’ and the area was known as ‘Jambudweep’]. Mandhata’s wife Chatrarathi alias Bindumati was a  pious lady who begot two sons, Purukutsa and Muchikunda and fifty daughters. Sage Saubhari an old person who lived twelve years under water in penance was tempted to marry as he found fishes having sex and procreating children. He hesitantly asked Mandhata to let him marry any of his daughters. Mandhata was reluctant as Saubhari was diseased and old, but could not disagree as the Sage might get  furious; he told the Sage that his family custom was that all the daughters must marry the same person and that even one of them should not refuse the Sage.The Sage with his mystical powers transformed himself into a handsome youth and thus all the daughters agreed to marry him. The Sage made mansions for each of the girls. But, in course of time, Sage Saurabha realised that because of the fish in water, his entire Spiritual life was destroyed and although late in his life reverted back to a more introspective life eventually and intensified his devotion to Lord Vishnu.

While Ambarisha ( son of Mandhata), Haritha and Youvanasva were the most important persons of the Mandhata dynasity, Purukutsa  (another prominent son of Mandhata) married Narmada - sister of serpent brothers- and she took her husband to the Sub-Terrian Region, (Rasatala), as per the wish of King Vasuki and with the approval of Lord Vishnu to overcome erring Gandharvas. The lineage from Purukutsa was Trasaddasyu, Anaranya, Haryasva, Praruna, Tribandhana and Satyavrata or the wellknown Trisanku who kidnapped a Bahmana bride whose father cursed Trisanku to become a ‘Chandala’ or a very low class human being.Sage Visvamitra espoused the cause of Trisanku and sought to despatch him in his mortal body to Heaven, but when Demi-Gods kicked him down, Visvamitra created another Heaven ( Trisanku Swarga) on the outer- space by the mystic powers of the Sage; it is said that Trisanku is still hanging upside down from Heaven.