Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c9.s7.436

c9.s7.436

In the *Vāyu Purāṇa*⁶ Aśmaka and Mūlaka appear as scions of the Ikshvāku family, and the *Mahābhārata* speaks of the royal sage Aśmaka (*Aśmako nama rājarshi*) as having founded the city of Podana. This probably indicates that the Aśmaka and Mūlaka kingdoms were believed to have been founded by Ikshvāku chiefs, just as Vidarbha and Daṇḍaka were founded by princes of the Yadu (Bhoja) family. The *Mahāgovinda Suttanta* mentions Brahmadatta, king of the Assakas, as a contemporary of Sattabhu, king of Kaliṅga, Vessabhu, king of Avanti, Bharata, king of Sovīra, Reṇu, king of Videha, Dhataraṭṭha, king of Aṅga and Dhataraṭṭha, king of Kāsi.¹