Ikshvaku

From Kashyapa, through Aditi, Vivasvan was generated, and from him came Shraddhadeva Manu, who was born from the womb of Sanjna. Shraddhadeva's wife, Shraddha, gave birth to ten sons, including Ikshvaku and Nriga. There has been debate on Ikshvaku's ethnolinguistic origin. Ikshvaku is first recorded in the Rigveda (10.60.4) in a position of high honour and being associated with the Pancha-jana or "Five Tribes". These Vedic tribes included the Anu, Druhyu, Puru, Turvaśa, and Yadu who were prominent in the Early Vedic Era and associated with the Lunar Dynasty, signifying an Aryan origin. According to E. J. Rapson in The Cambridge History of India, Ikshvaku, his lineage, and the Kingdom of Kosala were certainly Aryan. P. L. Bhargava agrees with the Aryan origin of the lineage presented by Rapson, however argues that Ikshvaku originated near the Saptasindhu in the Early Vedic Period, with the lineage later settling into the Indo-Gangetic Plain and ultimately Kosala following the conquests of the king Bhagiratha. The Sanskrit etymology of Ikshvaku derives from kshava or "sneeze", which relates to his mythological origin in Puranic literature of being born from Manu sneezing. However other scholars have proposed alternative hypotheses of non-Aryan origin when interpreting the Atharvaveda. This may be a reference to a non-Aryan tribe, residing in the region prior to Manu settling. F. E. Pargiter has equated the Ikshvakus with the Dravidians. According to Franciscus Kuiper, Manfred Mayrhofer and Levman, the Iskvaku is derived from a Munda name: G. S. Ghurye holds that the Ikshvakus were Aryan horsemen and must have arrived in the subcontinent before the Aryans who composed the Rigveda. The Brahmana texts do also state that the Ikshvakus were a line of princes descended from the Purus. The Rigveda mentions that the Purus are one of the Aryan tribes. Mandhatri, an Ikshvaku ruler, is described in the Rigveda to have annihilated the Dasyus, and seeks the help of the Ashvin twins, the divine physicians of the Vedic religion. == Literature ==

Vedic In Rig Veda the name Ikshvaku is mentioned only once as follows: Epic Agastya explains the origin of Ikshvaku to Rama in the Ramayana: The Vishnu Purana states that Ikshvaku emerged from the nostril of Manu when he happened to sneeze. He had a hundred sons, of whom the three most distinguished were Vikukshi, Nimi, and Danda. Fifty of his sons were the kings of the northern nations, while forty-eight of them were princes of the south. During an occasion known as Ashtaka, Ikshvaku wished to perform an ancestral rite, and ordered Vikukshi to bring him flesh suitable for the offering. The prince shot many deer in the forest, and other game, for the rite. Growing exhausted, he ate a hare among his catch and carried the other beasts to his father. Vashistha, the family priest of the dynasty of Ikshvaku, was requested to consecrate the offering. He declared that it was impure, since Vikukshi had eaten a hare among it, making his meal a residue. Vikukshi was abandoned by his father, offended by this act. But after the demise of Ikshvaku, the rule of Bhuloka passed on to Vikukshi, who was succeeded by his son, Puranjaya. == Jainism ==

In Jain texts, it is mentioned that Tirthankara Rishabhanatha is the same as king Ikshvaku. Except for 20th Tīrthaṅkara Munisuvrata and 22nd Tīrthaṅkara Neminatha, remaining Tīrthaṅkaras are believed to have been royals of the Ikshvaku (either the main or a branched) lineage. ==See also==