srimadbhagavatham-skandha9 sooryavamsa continued

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Chapter 6-Story of Soubhari

 

In 15th generation of Ikshvaku was YuvanaSva whose son

was Mandhatha. He had 50 daughters. One of his three sons was Purukuthsa who

was the forefather of raghuvamsa. Soubhari

who was doing thapas under water saw the love-play of fish and was tempted to

enter a married life. He approached Mandhatha and asked him to give one of his daughters

in marriage. Mandhatha told him to take his bride in svayamvara. Soubhari

thought that the king , seeing him old and emaciated through thapas, told him so to

evade the issue , being sure that none of his daughters would choose him. Hence

he assumed a youthful and handsome form through his power of thapas and

appeared at the svayamvara and all 50 princesses chose him as their husband.He

took fifty bodies and enjoyed life with them all and finally he was awakened about

his swerving from penance and lived a detached life as a householder till the

time he renounced the world and went to the forest to do penance and merged

with the Absolute.

 

Chapter 7and 8- Ikshvaku clan from Purukuthsa to Sagara

 

Thrisanku was the descendent of the clan of Purukuthsa. He was the

one who was sent to heaven in his physical body by Visvamithra and was pushed down

by Indra and Visvamithra created a separate heaven for him who was falling head

down. His story is narrated in Valmiki Ramayana.His son was Harischandra who

was wellknown for speaking only the truth and his son was Rohitha who was the grandfather

of Sagara, whose great grandson was Bhagiratha who brought Ganges

to earth.

 

Harischandra prayed to Varuna for a son according to the advice of

Narada and agreed that he would surrender his son to Varuna in Varunayaga when he

was fully grown. Rohitha, when came to know this did not want to die and went

to forest and did penance and purchased the middle son of Rcheeka named Sunaschepa to take hs

place in the varuna yaga.SunaSchepa was saved by Visvamithra who taught him a manthra

through which he was protected by Indra.

 

Chapters 9 to 12 – From Bhagiratha to Rama

 

Bhagiratha's

son was Srutha, who was the forefather of Rthuparna, who taught Nala the science

of dice and learnt the science of horses from him. Nala was the king of

Nishadha and he was ousted from his kingdom by a game of dice. He also acquired

a chandala form due to the period of Saturn and left his wife Damayanthi in the

forest so that she could go to her father. Nala who was well versed in cooking

also, besides the art of handling horses, entered the srvice of Rthuparna. Damayanthi's

father, the king of Vidharbha, announced her svayamvara expecting Nala to turn

up and he came as the charioteer of Rthuparna and was found out by his wife and

the saturn period being finished then, he rejoined his wife and also got back

his kingdom through the game of dice itself , having learnt it from Rthuparna. This

story is narrated in Mahabhartha.

 

The grandson of Rthuparna was Soudhasa, who

killed a rakshasa while hunting and his brother wishing to take revenge entered

the kitchen of Soudhasa and cooked human flesh which was offered to Vasishta by

Soudhasa without knowing it and the sage cursed him to become a rakshasa for 12

years. While being a rakshasa he killed a brahmin and his wife cursed Soudhasa

that his head would break if he tried union with his wife. When he was freed from

curse after 12 years, he wanted to have a son but his wife reminded him of the curse. Then Vasishta blessed her with a

son who was Asmaka. He got that name because his mother hit her womb with a stone(aSma)

when he was not born for seven years.

 

His

son was Moolaka, who was also known as Naareekavacha, because he was sheltered

by his women from the anger of Parasurama who killed all kshathriyas. He was

called Moolaka because he was the root of kshathriya kula after the kshathriyas

were wiped out from the earth by Parasurama. His son was Khadvanaga,who helped

the devas in their fight against asuras,and knowing from Indra that his life

was for two more muhurthas, returned to his capital and spent the time

meditating on the Lord and merged with Him.

 

His

son was Dhileepa, the father of Raghu from whom the clan of Rama got the name

raghuvamsa and Aja was the son of Raghu and father of Dasaratha.Then Suka

narrated the Ramayana in brief to Parikshit. Then the Bhagavatha purana narrates

the chandravamsa of Sri Krishna.