Atithi son of Kuśa

Atithi was the eldest son of Kuśa, the elder son of Bhagavān Rāma, and of Kumudrā, a nāgakanyā (a nāga princess). Kumudrā became Kuśa’s second wife after Bhagavān Rāma’s mahāprasthāna (final departure) to Vaikuṇṭha. Atithi succeeded Kuśa as king, and the Sūryavaṃśa (the solar dynasty) went on through him into the generations after Rāma-rājya (the rule of Bhagavān Rāma). The Vivāha Khaṇḍa of the Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa keeps Vasishṭha’s foretelling of Atithi’s birth and royal future.

Vasishṭha’s foretelling

After the weddings of Kuśa and Lava at Vaṭapura, Vasishṭha Maharshi told Rāma what lay ahead for Kuśa’s line. He said that Kuśa’s wife Campikā would bear nine daughters and no sons.

To carry the Sūryavaṃśa on through Kuśa, a second marriage would be needed. After Rāma’s mahāprasthāna to Vaikuṇṭha, Kuśa would marry the nāgakanyā Kumudrā, the sister of the nāga king Kumuda. By Kumudrā, Kuśa would have eight sons and one daughter, named Campakamālinī. The eldest of the eight sons, Atithi, would succeed Kuśa as king and carry the Sūryavaṃśa forward.

The successor of Kuśa

Atithi is the link between the generation of Rāma’s sons and the long continuation of the solar dynasty. The word atithi means a guest, one who arrives without notice. Because Atithi follows Kuśa as king, the Sūryavaṃśa goes on unbroken into the ages after Rāma-rājya.

Sources

• Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Vivāha Khaṇḍa, Chapter 4 (Vasishṭha’s foretelling)
• Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa, Vivāha Khaṇḍa, Chapter 9 (Atithi as successor)