This article is about the King Ikshvaku. For other uses, see Ikshvaku.

Ikshvaku (Sanskrit: इक्ष्वाकु,ikṣvāku (from the word Sanskrit: इक्षु,ikṣu which means ‘sugar cane’^[1]) pāli: Okkāka) was the first king of the Ikshvaku dynasty and founder of the Solar Dynasty of Kshatriyas in Vedic civilization in ancient India.

In Hinduism[link]

Lineage details below as per the Valmiki Ramayana 1) Lord Brahma 2) Marichi (son of Brahma) 3) Sage Kashyapa (son of Marichi) 4) Vivaswan (Surya) (son of Sage Kashyapa) 5) Manu (Vaivasvatha) (Father of humanity) 6) Ikshvaku (Manu's son) 7) Gushi (son of Ikshvaku) 8) ViGushi (son of Gushi) 9) Baana (son of ViGushi) 10) Anaranya (son of Baanan) 11) Brithu (son of Anaranyan) 12) Trisanku (son of Brithu) - he got his own heaven with the help of sage vishwamithra 13) Thundhumaaran 14) Yuvanaswa 15) Maandhatha 16) Susanthi 17) Dhuruvasanthi and Prasanejith 18) Bharatha (son of Dhuruvasanthi) 19) Asitha 20) Sagara 21) Asamanja 22) Amsumaa 23) Dileepa 24) Bagiratha (He brought Ganges to Earth from Devaloka and so Ganga another name Bagirathi) 25) Kaguthstha 26) Raghu 27) Pravritha a k a Kalmasha-paatha 28) Sangana 29) Sudharshana 30) Agnivarna 31) Seekraga 32) Maru 33) Prachuchrugana 34) Ambarisa 35) Nahusha 36) Yayati 37) Naabaaga 38) Ajan 39) Dasaratha (King of Ayodhya) 40) Rama

He is remembered in Hindu scriptures as a righteous and glorious king. In some versions, he is the son of Vaivasvata Manu (formerly the Emperor Satyavrata of Dravida), one of the two central characters along with the Lord Matsya incarnation of Lord Vishnu in the Matsya Purana. He is born to Manu after the deluge which sends the King's ship to the top of the Malaya Mountains in the Dravida country. ^[2][3]

In Vedic History[link]

Ikshvaku was one of the earliest monarchs of India, and played a pivotal role in the transformation of the ancient Vedic religion into modern Hinduism and its propagation throughout India.

In Jainism History[link]

The Ikshvaku clan said to began from the first Tirthankara, Rishabha, who is regarded as the first King on the earth of this Avsarpini cycle ^[4]. According to Jainism, Rishabha was born to Nabhi Raja and Marudevi at Ayodhya. Rushabdev had 101 sons of whom the eldest was Bharata and second son was Bahubali. Rishabha, after completing his tenure as a King, gave up all his possessions to his 101 sons and became a Sadhu.

Jain history provides two explanations how the word "Ikshvaku" came about. According to one version, after Rushabdev fasted for one year, he took his first aahar (food), which was IkshRas(Sugarcane Juice). This Sugarcane Juice was given to Rushabdev by King Shreyansha. Thus from this event, Rushabdev was given the name of Ikshvaku and his lineage was called as Ikshvaku Vansh (Family of Ikshvaku). According to another version, the first thing that Rushabdev taught men was the use of Ikshurasa (cane-juice), which earned for him the title of 'Ikshvaku' ^[5]. Thus according to Jainism, Ikshvaku was another name for Rushabdev.

In Buddhism[link]

In Buddhism Ikshvaku is an epithet of Śakya Simha Buddha.

House of Ikshvaku[link]

Across the length and breadth of Greater India, numerous royal families have claimed to have belonged to the House of Ikshvaku, which was synonymous with the Solar Dynasty. Great kings like Bhagiratha and Dasaratha were among the kings in the line before Lord Rama.

See also[link]

• History of Hinduism, Vedic civilization
• Kshatriya
• Sun Dynasty

References[link]

External links[link]

• Vishnu Purana Book 4 ch. 1 and 2, P-348 to 377
• THE VALMIKI RAMAYANA - IIT Madras

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