Māndhātā

Māndhātā

Mṛgaśira has other meanings too: see all meanings of Mṛgaśira. Hārita has other meanings too: see all meanings of Hārita.

Māndhātā was a great cakravartī (universal emperor) of the Solar dynasty, the son of Yuvanāśva. He was born in an unusual way, from his father’s right side, after Yuvanāśva drank by mistake the consecrated water that the ṛshis had prepared for his wives. He ruled all the land between the place where the sun rises and the place where it sets. The Purāṇas and the Mahābhārata remember him as a ruler who joined tapas (austerity), yāga (fire ritual) and devotion to Śrī Hari. In the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Śrī Śuka Maharshi tells Parīkshit that he became mighty by the tejas of Śrī Hari, that though he knew the ātmā he worshipped Śrī Hari with yajñas of great dakshiṇā, and that, seeing the household splendour of his son-in-law Saubhari, he gave up his pride as sovereign of the earth. Brahmā names him among those who knew the māyā of Śrī Hari, and the Earth herself names him among the great kings who claimed her as theirs and passed away.

The Agni Purāṇa tells that Yuvanāśva had his son Māndhātā by keeping the Ananta vrata to Śrī Hari, and in the Sūrya vaṃśa that Agni Deva tells to Vasishṭha Maharshi it places Māndhātā in the line of Ikshvāku after Kuvalāśva Dhundhumāra, as the father of Purukutsa and Mucukunda.

Birth

Yuvanāśva came from the line of Ikshvāku, through Kakutstha. The Bhāgavata Purāṇa gives the line from Purañjaya, who was Kakutstha: Anenas, Pṛthu, Viśvarandhi, Candra, a first Yuvanāśva, Śābasta who built the city Śābastī, Bṛhadaśva, and Kuvalayāśvaka, who slew the rākshasa Dhundhu and was called Dhundhumāra; then, from his son Dṛḍhāśva, Haryaśva, Nikumbha, Barhaṇāśva, Kṛśāśva, Senajit, and Senajit’s son Yuvanāśva, the father of Māndhātā. He ruled with virtue but had no sons. In sorrow he went into the forest with his hundred wives. He entered vānaprastha, the life of tapas in the forest. There the kind maharshis performed a long Indradevatā yāga for him, to gain a son. A vessel of water, made sacred by the mantras of that rite, was left in the yajñaśālā (the hall of the ritual) overnight.

That night Yuvanāśva felt a great thirst. He went into the yajñaśālā, found the priests (ṛtvijas) asleep, and drank from the vessel without knowing its purpose. When the maharshis woke, they found the vessel empty. By their insight they understood that the king himself had drunk the consecrated water. They said in wonder, “Daiva-bala eva balam”, which means that the force of providence alone is true force. They accepted the will of Parameśvara. The king had drunk it, they learned, impelled by Īśvara, and they bowed to Īśvara.

In time Yuvanāśva’s right side split open, and a son came out. He was radiant, and he was meant to rule the whole earth. The newborn cried for milk. Indra Devarāja himself came forward, put his right forefinger into the infant’s mouth and said, “māṃ dhāsyati”, which means “He shall suckle me.” From these words the child received the name Māndhātā. The maharshis had asked, “This child cries for breast-milk; what shall he drink?”, and Indra said, “He shall drink me. Child, do not cry,” and put his index finger in the boy’s mouth. (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 9, Chapter 6)

Per Agni Purāṇa: born by the Ananta vrata

Agni Deva, telling the vratas kept on particular nakshatras, through which Śrī Mahāvishṇu fulfils every desire, gives the Ananta vrata, which grants every wish. In the month of Mārgaśīrsha, when the Mṛgaśiras nakshatra comes, one takes gomūtra (cow’s urine) and worships Śrī Hari. That Ananta gives all desires and endless (ananta) fruit, and to one who keeps this vrata he gives endless puṇya (merit) even in the coming birth. One worships the lotus feet and the other limbs of Ananta and at night eats food made without oil. The homa for Ananta is of ghee from Mārgaśīrsha to Phālguna, of rice from Caitra to Āshāḍha, and of milk from Śrāvaṇa to Kārttika. By keeping this very Ananta vrata, Agni Deva says, Yuvanāśva had a son named Māndhātā. (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 196)

The universal emperor

Yuvanāśva did not die from this birth. By the grace of the devas and maharshis he lived on, did tapas and reached moksha (liberation). Indra also gave the child the name Trasaddasyu. It means one who makes enemies and those who rob the people tremble, because under his rule Rāvaṇa and similar oppressors would shake with fear.

Māndhātā grew up to rule the seven continents. A cakravartī, mighty by the tejas of Śrī Hari, he ruled as sole sovereign under one umbrella over the earth of seven khaṇḍas. The Bhāgavata says that all the land from the place of sunrise to the place of sunset was his empire, the whole habitable earth. He was himself an ātmajñānī (one who knows the ātmā), yet he worshipped Śrī Hari, the form of yajña, with great yāgas and many gifts (dakshiṇā) to the priests. He understood that every part of the sacrifice was the form (svarūpa) of Śrī Hari. This includes the puroḍāśa (the sacrificial cake), the mantra, the rule (vidhi), the yāga, the yajamāna (the one who performs the rite), the priests, the dharma, and the place and time. Śrī Hari shines by himself and is beyond the reach of the senses. He is the form of all the devatās and the ātmā of all. (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 9, Chapter 6)

Family

Māndhātā’s wife was Bindumatī, the daughter of Śaśabindu. She bore him three sons, Purukutsa, Ambarīsha and the yogī Mucukunda, and fifty daughters. All fifty daughters chose as their husband Saubhari, a teacher of the Ṛgveda. Saubhari Maharshi, doing tapas in the waters of the Yamunā, had come to Māndhātā and asked for one maiden in marriage. The king said: “O Maharshi, at a svayaṃvara take whichever maiden pleases you.” Saubhari thought the king answered so because he saw an old man, wrinkled and grey, whom young women would not like; so by the power of his tapas he changed his form, and when the door-keeper brought him into the princesses’ inner palace, all fifty chose him alone.

Even the emperor’s mind was shaken when he saw the great abundance of Saubhari’s household. It was supplied entirely by the power of tapas, and it was richer than the imperial splendour of a cakravartī. The sight ended his pride of power. He was astonished, and gave up his pride that he was the sovereign of the whole earth. (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 9, Chapter 6)

Śrī Śuka calls Ambarīsha the very best of Māndhātā’s sons. Yuvanāśva, Ambarīsha’s grandfather, adopted him as his own son. Ambarīsha’s son was Yauvanāśva, and Yauvanāśva’s son was Hārīta; these became the founders of gotras for the line of Māndhātā. Mucukunda, the third son, told Śrī Kṛshṇa in the cave where he slept: “I am a kshatriya of the Ikshvāku line, called Mucukunda, the son of Māndhātā, who was the son of Yuvanāśva.” (Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 9, Chapter 7; Skandha 10, Chapter 51)

Māndhātā in the Bhāgavata’s teachings

Brahmā, telling Nārada of the endless glory of Śrī Hari, names Māndhātā in his long list of those who have known the māyā of Śrī Hari, with Bali Cakravartī, Dilīpa, Saubhari, Uttaṅka, Śibi and many more (Skandha 2, Chapter 7). In the Pṛthivī-gīta, the song of the Earth that Śuka gives, Māndhātā is named among the great rulers, with Śantanu, Gaya, Bhagīratha, Kuvalayāśva, Kakutstha, Nala, Nṛga and others, who held “this earth is mine” and yet passed away, leaving only their accounts behind (Skandha 12, Chapter 3). Sūta‘s summary of the Bhāgavata says that the ninth skandha tells of Sukanyā, Śaryāti, Kakutstha, Khaṭvāṅga, Māndhātā, Saubhari and Sagara (Skandha 12, Chapter 12).

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 2, Chapter 7; Skandha 12, Chapters 3, 12

Per Agni Purāṇa, Māndhātā stands in the Sūrya vaṃśa in this line, each the son of the one before: Ikshvāku, son of Manu; Vikukshi; Kakutstha; Suyodhana; Pṛthu; Viśvagaśva; Vāyu; Yuvanāśva; Śrāvanta; Bṛhadaśva; Kuvalāśva, who killed the rākshasa Dhundhu and was named Dhundhumāra; Dṛḍhāśva; Haryaśva; Nikumbha; Saṃhatāśva; Raṇāśva; a second Yuvanāśva; and Māndhātā. Māndhātā had two sons, Purukutsa and Mucukunda. To Purukutsa, in Narmadā, was born a son Trasaddasyu, who had the other name Sambhūta, and from him the line ran down through Hariścandra and Rohitāśva to Sagara, and on to Bhagīratha, Raghu, Daśaratha and Śrī Rāma. (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 273)

In the mantras of a king’s abhisheka (royal anointing), which Pushkara teaches to Paraśurāma, Māndhātā is named with Pṛthu, Dilīpa, Bharata, Dushyanta, Śatrujit, Manu, Kakutstha, Anenā, Yuvanāśva, Jayadratha, Mucukunda and Purūravas among the kings who are asked to protect the king. (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 219)

The account in the Vishṇu Purāṇa

The Vishṇu Purāṇa, in the Caturdhāṃśa, Chapter 2, also tells of Māndhātā’s birth from Yuvanāśva. In this account Yuvanāśva does tapas for a son, and the maharshis perform the yajña for him. Yuvanāśva drinks the consecrated water in the yajñaśālā by mistake. In time the child comes out of his right side (dakshiṇa-pārśva). The Vishṇu Purāṇa records this together with Indra‘s words “māṃ dhāsyati” and the feeding of the infant with Indra’s right finger.

The Vishṇu Purāṇa then tells the Saubhari account at length as taking place during Māndhātā’s reign. It tells of his fifty daughters, of Saubhari’s change, of the great household Saubhari builds, and at last of his renunciation and moksha (liberation). (Vishṇu Purāṇa, Caturdhāṃśa, Chapter 2)

The Padmā Ekādaśī and the drought

The Padma Purāṇa tells a separate account of Māndhātā, connected with the Padmā Ekādaśī. His kingdom had been as rich as the kāmadhenu (the cow that gives every wish). It had no famine and no disease, and all the varṇas did their duties. Then, because the result of earlier karma had ripened, a drought of three years suddenly struck. The devas received no svāhā offerings, and the ancestors received no svadhā offerings. The people asked Māndhātā to find a remedy.

Māndhātā went into the forest to look for a ṛshi. He found Aṅgiras, a direct son of Brahmā, who blazed with the glow of his tapas. Aṅgiras named the cause. A śūdra was doing tapas in the kingdom, and this broke the order of dharma of the Kṛta age. Aṅgiras advised the king to kill him.

Māndhātā refused to kill an innocent being who was doing tapas. He asked for a righteous way instead. Aṅgiras then taught him the Padmā Ekādaśī of the bright fortnight of Bhādrapada. Māndhātā went back and kept the vow together with all his people and the four varṇas. Clouds gathered, rain fell in plenty, and the kingdom recovered. (Padma Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 57)

The account in the Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa

The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa gives another origin for Māndhātā’s greatness. A śūdra once swept and cleaned the temple of Varāha (Bhagavān Vishṇu in the Boar avatāra) on the banks of the Sindhu. The puṇya (merit) of that one act of devoted service passed through many rebirths and led to the birth of Māndhātā. The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa says that his great rule over the three worlds came from the Vaishṇava Tejas, the shining power of Bhagavān Vishṇu, that lived in him.

The Bhāgavata names Bindumatī, the daughter of Śaśabindu, as Māndhātā’s wife. The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa names Prabhāvatī, a princess of Kāśī, as his wife.

The Bhāgavata and other Purāṇas record that Māndhātā fell at the hands of Lavaṇāsura. The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa says that Lavaṇāsura had the divine śūla (spear) of Bhagavān Śiva. When Māndhātā fought him, the Vaishṇava Tejas left Māndhātā at the decisive moment. He was then open to attack and was killed by the śūla. The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa presents this withdrawal of the Vaishṇava Tejas as a sign that Māndhātā’s life-mission was complete.

The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa (Chapter 173) also links Māndhātā’s line to the Ananta Vrata. Kṛtavīrya‘s wife Śīladharā kept the Ananta Vrata, and from this vow their son Kārtavīrya was born. He is the famous thousand-armed king Kārtavīryārjuna. (Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapters 170, 172–173)

Māndhātā and Lavaṇāsura in the Anuśāsana Parva

In Upamanyu‘s account to Kṛshṇa about the triśūla (trident) of Bhagavān Śiva, the Mahābhārata says that Māndhātā destroyed Lavaṇāsura and his army in connection with the triśūla of Bhagavān Śiva. Here Māndhātā is the cakravartī, son of Yuvanāśva, who won the three worlds. (Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 14)

The Rāmāyaṇa tells that Śatrughna slays Lavaṇāsura.

Māndhātā in the Śānti Parva

The Śānti Parva names Māndhātā in two places where teachings are given.

The Utathya Gītā (Chapters 90–91). The brahmarshi Utathya, of the Āṅgirasa gotra, gave his basic teaching on rājadharma (the duty of a king) directly to Māndhātā. The great cakravartī wished to understand the root of kingship. Utathya said, “The king exists for dharma, not to do as he pleases. He is the world’s guardian (loka-rakshaka).” Utathya taught a chain of dependence: all beings depend on dharma, and dharma depends on the king. He also gave the meanings of the words rājan (one who upholds dharma) and vṛshala (one who destroys dharma). He warned Māndhātā against envy (asūyā) toward brāhmaṇas. As his example he gave Bali, whose envy made Lakshmī leave him and go to Indra.

The Daṇḍotpatti Kathā (Chapter 122). Māndhātā tells the account of how daṇḍa (the rod of punishment) came into being. He tells it to Vasuhoma, the king of Aṅga. He explains how Kshupa, who was born from Brahmā‘s sneeze, became the first holder of daṇḍa. He tells how disorder spread through the world when daṇḍa disappeared, and how Mahādeva made daṇḍa again and Sarasvatī made daṇḍanīti (the science of government). The line through which daṇḍa was handed on runs from the Lokapālas through Kshupa to Manu Vaivasvata and then to the human kings. (Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Rājadharmānuśāsana Parva, Chapters 90–91, 122)

Māndhātā among those who gave up meat

In the Anuśāsana Parva‘s teaching on ahiṃsā (non-harm) and meat-eating, Bhīshma names Māndhātā among the great rājarshis (royal seers) who gave up māṃsa (meat). Through this they reached svarga (heaven) and Brahmaloka. (Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapter 115)

Purukutsa in the Āśramavāsika Parva

In the Āśramavāsika Parva, Nārada speaks to Śatayūpa at the forest āśrama of Dhṛtarāshṭra near Kurukshetra. He says that Māndhātā’s son Purukutsa gained great siddhi (perfection) through tapas in that same forest. He says that the Narmadā, the most famous of rivers, became his wife. He says that Purukutsa reached svarga through the tapas he did there. (Mahābhārata, Āśramavāsika Parva, Chapter 20)

Per Bhavishya Purāṇa

The Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa gives Māndhātā in the line of the Ikshvāku kings as the son of Ravaṇāśva. He ruled 29,700 years, a hundred years less than his father, and his son was Purukutsa (Khaṇḍa 1, Chapter 1).

In the Uttara Parva, King Yuvanāśva kept the Dharaṇī Vrata, gained his excellent son Māndhātā and in the end reached the eternal brahmapada (Chapter 83). Prasasti, the pratihāra of Rāvaṇa, named Māndhātā among the kings who had come to serve Rāvaṇa (Chapter 71). Māndhātā, with Manu and Nahusha, honoured the Āgneyī Śiva Caturdaśī on earth (Chapter 93).

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 1, Chapter 1; Uttara Parva, Chapters 71, 83, 93

Sources

• Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 2, Chapter 7; Skandha 9, Chapters 6–7; Skandha 10, Chapter 51; Skandha 12, Chapters 3, 12
• Padma Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 57
• Vishṇu Purāṇa, Caturdhāṃśa, Chapter 2
• Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapters 170, 172–173
• Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 196, 219, 273
• Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 126
• Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Rājadharmānuśāsana Parva, Chapters 90–91, 122
• Mahābhārata, Anuśāsana Parva, Chapters 14, 115
• Mahābhārata, Āśramavāsika Parva, Chapter 20
• Rāmāyaṇa (Śatrughna and Lavaṇāsura; no chapter given)
• Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 1, Chapter 1; Uttara Parva, Chapters 71, 83, 93