Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c9.s3.15

c9.s3.15

Referring to king Parikshit, Macdonell and Keith observe³ : "The epic makes him grandfather of Pratiśravas and great-grandfather of Pratīpa." Now, the epic and the *Purāṇas* have really two Parikshits. Regarding the parentage of one there is no unanimity. He is variously represented as the son of Avīkshit, Anaśvā, or Kuru, and is further mentioned as an ancestor of Pratiśravas and Pratīpa. The other Parikshit was a descendant of Pratīpa and, according to a unanimous tradition, a son of Abhimanyu.¹ We shall call the former Parikshit I, and the latter Parikshit II. Was Parikshit I of the Epic and the *Purāṇas* identical with the Vedic Parikshit as suggested by the authors of the *Vedic Index*? In support of this view it may be urged that Indrota Daivāpa Śaunaka, priest of Janamejaya, son of the Vedic Parikshit, according to the *Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa*,² is represented in several *Purāṇas*³ as chaplain of the son of Parikshit I who came before the Bhārata heroes: Indrota's son Dṛiti was a contemporary of Abhipratārin Kākshaseni,⁴ "son of Kakshasena," and the name of Kakshasena actually appears among the sons of Parikshit I in a genealogical list of the *Mahābhārata*.⁵ Further, like the Vedic Parikshit, Parikshit I had according to a Purāṇic passage, four sons, viz., Janamejaya, Śrutasena, Ugrasena, and Bhīmasena,⁶ and the eldest son had a quarrel with the Brāhmaṇas.