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History of Kanauj to the Moslem Conquest c8.s5: Legendary rulers of Kanauj

History of Kanauj to the Moslem Conquest c8.s5

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Legendary rulers of Kanauj

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One of the weakest spots in Sanskrit literature is the almost entire absence of any history. Thoroughly permeated with the idea of the unreality of material things, the ancient Brahmans have seldom cared to mark the footprints which kings and dynasties leave upon the sands of time. Their earliest attempts—the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata, and the Purāṇas—are veritable mines of information for the then religious and social life, but as chronicles of political events they seem lamentably full of tale-telling and chronological absurdities. It is my object in the following pages to glean the kernel of historical fact from these authorities by winnowing as far as possible the outer husks of legends.

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According to all forms of tradition the progenitor of the ancient royal lineages was the mythical Manu Vaivasvata. He had a daughter named Ilā, who consorted with Budha and bore a son, Purūravas, also known as Aila.³ Purūravas is represented as a powerful ruler, holding sway over distant regions. He begat by the celestial damsel Urvaśī six sons named Ayu, Dhimān, Amāvasu, Dṛḍhāyu, Vanāyu and Satāyu.¹ Of these sons, as asserted by Pargiter, Āyu succeeded Purūravas at Pratiṣṭhāna, identified with the modern Jhusi on the confluence of the Ganges and the Jumna in Allahabad; and Amāvasu² founded “another kingdom, the capital of which was then or afterwards Kānyakubja (Kanauj)”.³ Amāvasu’s descendants continued to rule over this kingdom, and the Purāṇas⁴ give their names in the following order: (a) Bhīma, (b) Kāñcanaprabha,⁵ (c) Suhotra,⁶ (d) Jahnu, (e) Sumanta,⁷ (f) Ajaka,⁸ (g) Balākāśva, (h) Kuśa. Before we proceed further with the genealogy, let us pause to consider another account, which traces the origin of the dynasty to Ajamiḍha. It is given in the Mahābhārata⁹ and the Agni Purāṇa,¹⁰ and is further corroborated by the *Brahma*¹ and *Hari-vamśa Purāṇas*,² which, unmindful of any inconsistency, give the first version as well.³ According to this tradition, the divergent part of the genealogy would stand thus:

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³ Harivaṃśa, ch. 10, verses 7f.; Śiva Purāṇa, VII (Dharma Saṃhitā), ch. 60, verses 2-19. See Mbh. (P. C. Roy’s edition), I (Ādiparva) section 75, verses 12-20; Sec. 95, verse 7, (P. C. Roy’s English Translation, I, Sec. 75, p. 229; Sec. 95, p. 282) for another fantastic version giving the birth of Purūravas from the hermaphrodite Ilā.

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¹ Ibid., I, Sec. 75, verse 24 (Eng. Trans., p. 230). The names slightly vary in certain Purāṇas (Cf. e.g., Vāyu P., ch. 91, verse 51, Apte’s edition, 1905).

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² Called Vijaya in Bhāgavata P., IX, ch. 15, verse 3.

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³ Pargiter, Ancient Indian Historical Tradition, p. 258, to which I owe some valuable suggestions and references utilised here.

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⁴ Viṣṇu P., IV, ch. 7, verses 2-17; Brahmāṇḍa P., III, ch. 66, verses 22 f.; Vāyu P., ch. 91, verses 91 f.; see also Mbh., I, Sec. 75.

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⁵ Called merely Kāñcana in Viṣ. and Bhāg. P.

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⁶ Called Hoṭraka in Bhāg.

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⁷ Called Puru in Bhāg. and Sunaha in Bmd.

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⁸ The Bhāg. P. inverts the order of Ajaka and Balākāśva, whom it calls simply Balāka.

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⁹ Mbh., XIII (Anuśāsanaparva), Sec. 4, verses 2-7, (Eng. Trans. Ibid., pp. 15-16). In the Śāntiparva (cf. Mbh., XII, Sec. 49, verses 3-7) Sindhudvīpa is called Rajas, and the name of Vallabha is omitted.

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¹⁰ Cf. “Ajamiḍhasya Keśinyāṃ jajñe Jahnuḥ pratāpavān, Jahnor abhūd Ajakāśvo Balākāśvas tadātmajaḥ, Balākāśvasya Kuśikaḥ Kuśikād Gādhirindrakaḥ, Gādheḥ Satyavatī kanyā Viśvāmitraḥ sutottamaḥ” (Agni P., ch. 277, verses 16-17; Calcutta, 1882). It should be noticed here that Ajakāśva is substituted for Sindhudvīpa, and Vallabha is again omitted.

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¹ *Brahma P.*, ch. 13, verses 82-92 (Apte's edition, 1895).

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² *Harivamśa*, ch. 32, verses 43-53.

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³ *Br.*, ch. 10, verses 13-60; *Hv.*, ch. 27, verses 1f.

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(a) Ajamīḍha.

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(b) Jahnu (son of no. *a* by Keśinī).

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(c) Sindhudvīpa (son of *b*).

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(d) Balākāśva (son of *c*).

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(e) Vallabha (son of *d*).

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(f) Kuśika (son of *e*).

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(g) Gādhi (son of *f*).

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Satyavatī (daughter) ... Viśvāmitra.⁴

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⁴ In the second version also the names as given in the *Mahābhārata* and the *Purāṇas* slightly vary, but from Gādhi onwards all the lists agree.

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This derivation, however, does not seem to be correct. First, it goes against most of the *Purāṇas*, and those that give it do not in any way merit superior credence. The *Agni* is a late production, and the other two mar their value by their inconsistent accounts. Secondly, on this point the *Mahābhārata* also appears to make confusion worse confounded. At one place it refers to Ajamīḍha as belonging to the race of Bharata,⁵ and thus makes Viśvāmitra—if the above genealogy be correct—a remote descendant of Bharata. Elsewhere again it represents Bharata as the grandson of Viśvāmitra begotten on his forsaken daughter, Śakuntalā, by Duṣmanta or Duṣyanta.¹ These conflicting statements would lead us to believe that Viśvāmitra was both an ancestor and a descendant of Bharata—a supposition which is impossible in the natural course of things. One of them must, therefore, be untrue, and as the story of Duṣyanta is “one of the best alleged tales in ancient tradition”² it follows that Viśvāmitra was anterior to Bharata and consequently to Ajamiḍha, a descendant of Bharata.

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⁵ Cf. “Bharatasyānvaye caivājamīḍho nāma pārthivaḥ,

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¹ Cf. “Duṣyantaḥ khalu Viśvāmitra-duhitaram Śakuntalām nāmopayeme tasyāmasya jajñe Bharataḥ”—Ibid., I (Ādiparva), Sec. 95, verse 28, (Eng. Trans. Ibid., p. 284).

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² Pargiter, Anc. Ind. Hist. Trad., p. 100. For further discussion see the same.

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To turn to the accounts of these kings, we have unfortunately very little information of value. One of them, Suhotra, is described as having “performed many Rājasūya and Aśvamedha (horse) sacrifices. He brought under his sway the whole earth surrounded by her belt of seas, and full of elephants, kine and horses, and all her wealth in gems and gold.”³ He freed the earth from Mlecchas and forest thieves (vasumatīm mlecchāṭavika varjitām), which expression perhaps signifies that he succeeded in clearing out the aboriginal inhabitants from his kingdom. Another, Jahnu, who was probably two generations below Yauvanāśva Māndhātṛi, being married to his grand-daughter Kāverī,⁴ must have also

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³ Mbh., I (Ādiparva), Sec. 94, verses 26-29, (Eng. Trans. Ibid., p. 279).

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⁴ “Upaninyur mahābhāgā duhitritvena Jāhnavīm, Yauvanāśvasya pautrīm tu Kāverīm Jahnurāvahat”

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Babhūva Bharataśreṣṭha yajvā Dharma-bhṛitāmvaraḥ” Mbh., XIII (Anuśāsanaparva), Sec. 4, verse 2, (Eng. Trans. Ibid., p. 15).

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been a king of great renown, since the river Ganges is said to have been named after him as Jāhnavī.¹ These kings must have ruled over the surrounding regions from some capital situated on the very site of, or near Kanauj, since according to the Rāmāyaṇic legend, given above, the city was founded by Kuśanābha, son of Kuśa. It is noteworthy that even in the *Mahābhārata* the first definite mention of Kānyakubja as the capital is made during the time of Gādhi.²

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¹ A fable, however, is told to explain this name. Jahnu is represented as having drunk the waters of the river Ganges, and released them after the intercession of sages and celestials, whence the river came to be known as Jāhnavī, i.e., issuing from Jahnu (*Viṣ.*, IV, ch. 7, verses 2-3; *Vāyu*, ch. 91, verses 54-58; see also *Mbh.*, XIII, Sec. 4, verse 202; *Vālmiki Rāmāyaṇa*, Bālakāṇḍa, canto 43, verses 35-38).

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² See e.g., *Mbh.*, V (Uddyogaparva), Sec. 118, verse 4, (Eng. Trans., *Ibid.*, p. 345).

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Continuing the genealogy further, we are told that Kuśa was succeeded by his son Kuśanābha or Kuśāmba. He practised severe austerities in order to have a son equal to Indra, who, beholding the intensity of his devotions, took birth as his son³ and was known to the

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³ Cf. “Kuśastambas tapaste putrārthi rājasattamaḥ,

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(*Bmd.*, III, ch. 66, verse 28; *Vāyu*, ch. 91, verse 58; *Br.*, ch. 13, verses 86-87, etc.).

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Pūrṇe varṣa sahasre vai śatakratuṃ apasyata,
Sudurgaṃ tāpasaṃ dṛṣṭvā sahasrākṣaḥ purandaraḥ,
Samarthaḥ putrajanane svayaṃ evāsya śāśvataḥ,
Putratvaṃ kalpayāmās svayaṃ eva purandaraḥ,
Gādhir nāmābhavat putraḥ Kauśikaḥ pākaśāsanaḥ”

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(*Vāyu P.*, ch. 91, verses 63-65; *Bmd.*, III, ch. 66, verses 33-35; see also *Viṣ.*, IV, Sec. 7, verse 4; *Mbh.*, XII, Sec. 49, verses 4-6). According to another account of the *Mahābhārata* (I, Sec. 177, verse 3) Gādhi was the son of Kuśika: Cf.

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“Kānyakubje mahān āsīt pārthivo Bharatarṣabha,
Gādhīti viśruto loke Kuśikayātmasambhavaḥ.”

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The *Brahma P.* (ch. 13, verses 90-91) and the *Harivaṃśa* (ch. 32, verses 51-52) also make Gādhi the son of Kuśika, whereas world as Gādhi or Gāthi.¹ The legend of the god of thunder incarnating himself as Gādhi perhaps suggests that the latter had Indra, or one of its numerous synonyms, as his name. Or, it may be that he started some special form of Indra-worship, and thus became popularly associated with that god. He appears to have been a powerful prince and a contemporary of Arjuna, the Haihaya ruler, since we are told in the *Mahābhārata* that "at the time when Arjuna the king of the Haihayas was harassing the world, there lived on the earth a mighty monarch in the land of Kānyakubja, a sovereign whose military force was exceedingly great. And his name of Gādhi was famous in the world."² Being childless and desirous of a son, Gādhi repaired to the forest, where he was blessed with a daughter named Satyavatī. Ricīka, the son cf Bhrigu Aurva, asked for her hand, but the king did not like to bestow his daughter on the Ṛiṣi with matted locks, and at the same time he hesitated to provoke his wrath by direct refusal. The king, therefore, made an impossible demand of a thousand fleet horses, each horse to be brown in colour, and each to have a sable ear. Ricīka Aurva, however, with the help of the god Varuṇa complied with the king's request,³ and thereupon in the very city of Kānyakubja Satyavatī was married to the Ṛiṣi. Ricīka then consecrated two special mixtures (*caru*), one for

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¹ The *Purāṇas* and the *Epics* call him Gādhi, whereas in the *Aitareya Brāhmaṇa* (VII, 18) and the *Sarvānukramaṇī* (see *Vedic Index of Names and Subjects*, Vol. I, p. 225) he is known as Gāthi.

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² *Mbh.*, III (Vanaparva), Sec. 115, verses 20-21, (Eng. Trans., Ibid., p. 356).

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³ The steeds are said to have issued from "Aśvatīrtha" (*Viṣ.* P., IV, ch. 7, verse 7), which, according to Wilson, is in the district of Kanauj at the confluence of the Kālinadī and the Ganges (Wilson's Trans., *Viṣ.* P., p. 399, note 2).

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according to the *Rāmāyaṇa* (Bālakāṇḍa, canto 51, verse 19) he was the son of Kuśanābha.

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his wife and the other for her mother, infusing in them qualities suited to a Brahman and a Kṣatriya respectively.¹ These preparations, however, were interchanged with the result that Satyavatī’s mother, i.e., the wife of Gādhi, gave birth to Viśvāmitra or Viśvaratha² naturally inclined towards peace and piety; while Satyavatī herself was blessed with Jamadagni, whose son was the fiery Paraśurāma, who had a warrior’s propensities. This fable, otherwise historically worthless, is important for two reasons. It helps us to determine the historical position of Viśvāmitra, who is one of the most intriguing riddles in ancient Brahmanic tradition. He seems to figure at all times in defiance of chronology from the Ṛgveda down to the Epic period.³ But here we learn definitely that Viśvāmitra of Kānyakubja was contemporary with the Bhārgava Jamadagni, who was afterwards killed by Arjuna Kārtavīrya of the Haihaya clan.⁴ Secondly, the story records the simple fact of king Viśvāmitra’s translation from the Kṣatriya class to Brahmanhood. This change of class was quite natural in early Brahmanic history, but the narrators of the Epics and the Purāṇas were obliged to invent this monstrous fiction of the interchange of caru to explain it during a priest-ridden age, when such a “promotion” could hardly happen. But how this was actually brought about is again the subject of a fanciful legend.¹ Having ascended the throne of Kānyakubja, king Viśvāmitra is said to have gone out ahunting one day in the vicinity of the hermitage of Vasiṣṭha. There he seized the Cow of Plenty named Nandini,² but the sage having created an army of uncivilised tribes, such as Pahlavas, Draviḍas, Savaras, Kirātas, etc., routed the forces of Viśvāmitra and got back the cow. Mortified at this defeat by “Brahman prowess” (brahma teja), Viśvāmitra abandoned his kingship,³ and after practising severe penances successively earned the titles of Rājarṣi, Maharṣi and Brahmarṣi.⁴

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¹ Viṣ., IV, ch. 7, verses 8-16; Mbh., XII (Śāntiparva), Section 50, verses 8f; XIII (Anuśāsanaparva), Sec. 4, verses 1f. (Eng. Trans., Śāntiparva, XII, Sec. 50, pp. 148-150; XIII, Sec. 4, pp. 17-18, etc.).

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² Viśvaratha seems to have been the Kṣatriya name. Cf. “Viśvāmitrastu dharmātmā nāmnā Viśvarathaḥ smṛtaḥ, Jajñe Bhṛguprasādena Kauśikād vaṃśavardhanaḥ” (Vāyu P., ch. 91, verse 93; Bmd. P., III, ch. 66, verse 65, etc.).

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³ Probably there were more than one Viśvāmitras bearing the name as a patronymic or a personal designation, and in course of time owing to a lack of historical sense the Brahmans confused them all.

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⁴ Another synchronism may be established from the fact that after becoming a Brahman Viśvāmitra meddled in the affairs of the Ayodhyā kingdom, and successfully espoused the cause of Satyavrata Triśaṅku in opposition to Vasiṣṭha (see J. R. A. S., 1913, pp. 885-904; Ibid., 1917, p. 37f.).

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¹ Mbb., I (Ādiparva), Sec. 177, verses 1f. (Eng. Trans., Ibid., pp. 501-04); Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bālakāṇḍa, cantos 51-56.

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² The cow is called Kāmadhenu or Śabalā in the Rāmāyaṇa (Ibid., ch. 53, verse 1, etc.). There are references in later works and inscriptions also to Viśvāmitra’s carrying away the prized cow (see e.g., Padmagupta’s Nava-sāhasāṅkacarita, XI, verses 64f. pp. 182-84; Nagpur stone inscription, Ep. Ind., II, p. 180; Arthuna inscription of Cāmuṇḍarāja, Ibid., XIV, p. 295).

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³ Macdonell and Keith, however, are doubtful about Viśvāmitra’s kingship. They say, “it may probably be dismissed as a mere legend with no more foundation at most than that Viśvāmitra was of a family which once had been royal. But even this is doubtful” (Vedic Index of Names and Subjects, Vol. II, p. 312). Against this we may also add the testimony of the Pañcaviṃśa Brāhmana (XXI, 12, 2), which calls Viśvāmitra king.

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⁴ Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bālakāṇḍa, ch. 56f.

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After Viśvāmitra’s relinquishment of the rulership of Kānyakubja in favour of a life spiritual, the lordship of the Gāthins passed over to Aṣṭaka born of Mādhavi.⁵

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⁵ Mbb., V (Uddyogaparva), Sec. 118, verse 18, (Eng. Trans., Ibid., p. 347); see also Matsya P., ch. 37, verse 6; Brahma P., ch. 13, verse 91.

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He seems to have been a virtuous ruler as among others Bhīṣma recommends his name to be recited both at sunset and sunrise.¹ We further learn from the Mahābhārata that he performed the horse-sacrifice.² Aṣṭaka was succeeded by the shadowy Lauhi,³ with whom the ruling dynasty of Kānyakubja abruptly comes to an end.⁴

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¹ Mbh., XIII (Anuśāsana parva), Sec. 165, verses 55, 59, (Eng. Trans., Ibid., p. 772).

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² Ibid., III (Vanaparva), Sec. 197, verse 1, (Eng. Trans., Ibid., p. 599).

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³ Vāyu P., ch. 91, verse 103; Bmd., III, ch. 66, verse 75, Brahma P., ch. 13, verse 92.

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⁴ Pargiter conjectures that the sudden disappearance of this family was due to the northward depredations of the Haihayas that began about this time (see Anc. Ind. Hist. Trad., pp. 267-70).

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