History of Kanauj to the Moslem Conquest c8.s5.2

c8.s5.2

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: