Śailālaya

Śailālaya was the tāta, the father’s father, of Bhagadatta, king of Prāgjyotiṣa. Nārada tells of him in the Āśramavāsika Parva of the Mahābhārata. By the power of his own tapas (austerity), Śailālaya merged into the abode of Mahendra. In other words, he reached svarga (heaven) by the strength of tapas alone.

Grandfather of Bhagadatta

Nārada was speaking to Śatayūpa and the ṛṣis gathered with him. He named the ancient kings who had reached svarga through tapas performed in this same forest āśrama near Kurukṣetra. This is the place where Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Śatayūpa later lived.

Among them Nārada named Śailālaya as the tāta of Bhagadatta. Bhagadatta was the great king of Prāgjyotiṣa, known for his war with elephants, and Arjuna later killed him at Kurukṣetra. Nārada said that Śailālaya, by the power (bala) of his own tapas alone, merged (arigenu) into the abode of Mahendra.

Some traditions give Narakāsura as the father of Bhagadatta. Śailālaya, as the grandfather, belongs to an earlier generation of the same line.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Āśramavāsika Parva, Chapter 20