Other Descendants

Chapter 7, 8, 9

Sukadeva Goswami listed more descendants of King Mandhata, again pausing to elaborate on certain personalities.

Trisanku: Several generations after Mandhata came Trisanku, who kidnapped a lady who was soon to be married. For this act, his father angrily cursed him to become a dog-eater (candala). With Visvamitra’s help, however, Trisanku received elevation to the heavenly planets. Later, the demigods forced him to fall, and he thus began his descent, though Visvamitra’s powerful intervention meant he didn’t drop all the way down.

Hariscandra: After successfully worshipping Varuna to get a son, Hariscandra, Trisanku’s son, repeatedly avoided his promise to offer the son as a sacrifice in return. Hariscandra was then attacked by disease, though his son, Rohita, resolved the whole situation by purchasing another boy and offering him for the Varuna-yajna. Hariscandra was freed from his disease and ultimately freed from the entanglement of material life.

Bahuka: In the lineage of Rohita was Bahuka, who had adopted residence in the forest and eventually died there. Though his wife wanted to enter the funeral pyre with him, the sage Aurva forbade her since she was pregnant. The co-wives of Bahuka tried to poison her, but she nevertheless had a son named Sagara (“one born with poison”).

Sagara: Under his rulership many uncivilised clans were reformed. When he attempted to perform a horse sacrifice (asvamedha yajna), Indra stole the horse, and Sagara’s sons went looking for it. They dug up the earth and formed a trench which became known as the Sagara ocean. When they falsely accused Kapiladeva of stealing the horse, their offensive allegations caused them to be burned to ashes.

Amsuman: This grandson of Sagara was instructed in spiritual knowledge by Lord Kapiladeva and later retrieved the horse. Sagara then performed the sacrifices with that horse. Both Amsuman and Dilipa, his son, were unsuccessful in bringing the Ganges to the Earth.

Bhagiratha: Dilipa’s son underwent severe austerities to invite Ganga to the earth. When Gangadevi appeared, he humbly submitted his request. She agreed, but had some reservations. Bhagiratha mitigated them by convincing Siva to bear the force of her descent, and by arranging that pure devotees who enter the Ganga would remove all the stored sins of materialistic bathers. Later, the sons of Sagara, whose bodies had been burnt up, were elevated by being sprinkled with Ganges water.

Saudasa: In Bhagiratha’s line was Saudasa, who once killed a man-eater. Seeking revenge, the man-eater’s brother became the cook at Saudasa’s palace and served meat to Vasistha, the spiritual master of the King. Vasistha thus cursed Saudasa to become a man-eater, and in that life he indeed killed a brahmana who was about to impregnate his wife. Saudasa was thus cursed to die if he ever engaged in the sexual act. After being released from the Raksasa curse, he still couldn’t impregnate his wife, Madayanti, and thus allowed Vasistha Muni to give her a child.

Khatvanga: Further in the lineage came the great King Khatvanga. When he pleased the demigods by assisting them to defeat the demons, they offered him a benediction. He wisely enquired how long he would live for, and when he discovered he was on the brink of death, he fixed his mind on the Lord and attained perfection.