Vishnupurana 4.2.7
The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition 4.2.7
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4.2.7
The son of Kakutstha was Anenas, whose son was Prithu, whose son was Viswagaśwa, whose son was Árdra, whose son was Yuvanáśwa, whose son was Śravasta, by whom the city of Śrávastí was founded. The son of Śravasta was Vrihadaśwa, whose son was Kuvalayáśwa. This prince, inspired with the spirit of Vishńu, destroyed the Asura Dhundhu, who had harassed the pious sage Uttanka; and he was thence entitled Dhundhumára. In his conflict with the demon the king was attended by his sons, to the number of twenty-one thousand; and all these, with the exception of only three, perished in the engagement, consumed by the fiery breath of Dhundhu. The three who survived were Drídháśwa, Chandráśwa, and Kapiláśwa; and the son and successor of the elder of these was Haryyáśwa; his son was Nikumbha; his son was Sanhatáśwa; his son was Kriśáśwa; his son was Prasenajit; and his son was another Yuvanáśwa.
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Suyodhana: Matsya, Agni, Kúrma.
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Viśwaka: Linga. Viśwagandhi: Bhágav. Visht́aráśwa: Bráhma P. and Hari V.
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Ándhra: Váyu. Áyu: Agni. Chandra: Bhágavata.
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Śávasta and Śávasti: Bhágav. Śravastí: Matsya, Linga, and Kúrma, which also say that Śravastí was in the country of Gaura, which is eastern Bengal; but it is more usually placed in Kośala, by which a part of Oude is commonly understood. In my Dictionary I have inserted Śrávantí, upon the authority of the Trikáńd́a Śesha, but it is no doubt an error for Śrávasti; it is there also called Dharmapattana, being a city of some sanctity in the estimation of the Buddhists. It is termed by Fa-Hian, She-wei; by Hwan Tsang, She-lo-va-si-ti; and placed by both nearly in the site of Fyzabad in Oude. Account of the Foe-kue-ki.
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This legend is told in much more detail in the Váyu and Bráhma Puráńas. Dhundhu hid himself beneath a sea of sand, which Kuvalyáśwa and his sons dug up, undeterred by the flames which checked their progress, and finally destroyed most of them. The legend originates probably in the occurrence of some physical phenomenon, as an earthquake or volcano.
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The series of names agrees very well to Sanhatáśwa, called Varhańáśwa in the Bhágavata. We have there some variations, and some details not noticed in our text. The Váyu, Bráhma, Agni, Linga, Matsya, and Kúrma, ascribe two sons to Sanhatáśwa, whom the two first name Kriśáśwa and Akriśáśwa, and the rest Kriśáśwa and Rańáśwa. Senajit or Prasenajit is generally, though not always, termed the son of the younger brother; but the commentator on the Hari Vanśa calls him the son of Sanhatáśwa, whilst the Matsya, Agni, Linga, and Kúrma omit him, and make Mándhátri the son of Rańáśwa. The mother of Prasenajit and the wife of Akriśáśwa or Sanhatáśwa, according to the different interpretations, was the daughter of Himavat, known as Drishadvatí, the river so termed (p. 181, n..) The wife of Yuvanáśwa, according to the Váyu, or of Prasenajit, according to the Bráhma, was Gaurí, the daughter of Rantínara, who, incurring the imprecation of her husband, became the Báhudá river (p. 181. n.). The Bráhma and Hari Vanśa call Yuvanáśwa her son; but in another place the Hari Vanśa contradicts itself, calling Gaurí the daughter of Matímara, of the race of Puru, the mother of Mándhátri; here following apparently the Matsya, in which it is so stated. The Bráhma P. is not guilty of the inconsistency. The Váyu of course gives the title to Mándhátri, with the addition that he was called Gaurika, after his mother. Mándhátri's birth from Gaurí is the more remarkable, as it is incompatible with the usual legend given in our text and in the Bhágavata, which seems therefore to have been of subsequent origin, suggested by the etymology of the name. In the Bhágavata, Mándhátri is also named Trasadasyu, or the terrifier of thieves.
Linked texts (1)
- Viṣṇupurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit