Māndhātā Janma

Māndhātā was one of the greatest kings of the Ikshvāku line. The Vana Parva of the Mahābhārata (Chapter 126) tells his birth, as Lomaśa tells it to Yudhishṭhira. His father, King Yuvānāśva, had no son. By mistake he drank water that the ṛshis had made holy for his wife, and because of its power he became with child. Māndhātā was born from his father’s left side. He grew into a king who conquered the whole earth and the realm of the devas.

Yuvānāśva wants a son

King Yuvānāśva of the solar dynasty was a strong and righteous king, but he had no son. His line faced the end for want of an heir. Grieving, he asked a group of ṛshis to perform a special rite, the puṃsavana, to bless his wife with a son. The ṛshis prepared a vessel of water made holy with certain mantras for this purpose. They left it in the ritual chamber overnight, to be given to the queen in the morning. (Vana Parva, Chapter 126)

In the night Yuvānāśva woke with a great thirst. In the dark, and without looking carefully, he went into the ritual chamber and drank from the first vessel he found. He had drunk the holy water meant for his wife.

The birth

The power of the holy water worked in Yuvānāśva himself, and he became with child. The ṛshis found out what had happened. They were not alarmed. They saw that the will of Parameśvara was at work. When the time came, a boy of great radiance and power was born from his father’s left side, which opened of its own accord. Yuvānāśva lived through this birth, which had never happened before. (Vana Parva, Chapter 126)

The newborn needed milk, and there was the question of who would feed him. Indra came himself, because this child was meant for greatness without measure. He put his own index finger in the child’s mouth. The child sucked on Indra’s finger and was fed with divine essence. Indra said that this child would be fed by him, and he gave him the name Māndhātā, which means “the one I shall feed” (mām dhātā). (Vana Parva, Chapter 126)

Māndhātā’s conquests

Māndhātā grew to be the greatest king of his age. His conquests were complete. He brought the whole earth under him, and all its kings accepted his rule. He went further and conquered the regions of the devas as well. He defeated the devas and set up his rule even in Indra’s realm. Indra himself had to admit that Māndhātā’s rule had no limit in the three worlds. When Indra was asked which region of the three worlds Māndhātā did not rule, he said that there was none. (Vana Parva, Chapter 126)

Māndhātā is counted among the greatest cakravartins (universal kings) of the Ikshvāku line.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 126