Uśīnara
Uśīnara
Bali has other meanings too: see all meanings of Bali. Śibi has other meanings too: see all meanings of Śibi. Suyajña has other meanings too: see all meanings of Suyajña.
Uśīnara was a king known for his firm duty of śaraṇāgata-rakshaṇa, which means protecting those who come to one for shelter. The Mahābhārata tells his account in the Vana Parva, Chapters 130 and 131. Lomaśa tells it to Yudhishṭhira as the highest example of a king’s dharma, kept even at the greatest cost.
The Agni Purāṇa gives his place among the royal lines. Uśīnara was the son of Mahāmanas, in the line of Sabhānara, and from him came Titikshu and, in time, the mahāyogī Bali, whose sons Aṅga, Vaṅga, Suhma, Puṇḍra and Kaliṅga are called the Bāleyas. The Bhāgavata Purāṇa names him the son of Mahāmanas in the line of Anu, son of Yayāti, and the father of Śibi, Vana, Śami and Daksha, and it speaks of the Uśīnara country, whose lord was Śibi.
The Brahma Purāṇa calls him a knower of dharma, the son of Mahāmanas and the brother of Titikshu. He had five wives, all from families of rājarshis, and in his old age, by the power of his tapas (austerity), he had a son by each of them: Nṛga, Kṛmi, Nava, Suvrata and Śibi.
The test
In the Śyena-Kapotīya account, Agni took the form of a hawk and Dharma took the form of a pigeon. They acted out a scene to find out whether Uśīnara would break his word of protection when under great pressure.
The pigeon flew into Uśīnara’s lap, shaking with fear. He promised it protection at once, with no hesitation. This is śaraṇāgati, the act of taking refuge with someone.
The hawk then argued that to deny him his food was also against dharma. Uśīnara was caught between two duties. He did not pick one over the other. He offered himself. He cut flesh from his own body as food for the hawk, equal in weight to the pigeon. The pigeon still weighed more on the scale. He cut more and more, and at last he stepped onto the scale himself.
The result
His readiness to give his whole body passed the test fully. It showed that his duty to protect those in his care had no condition. It reached even to giving up his life.
The devas showered flowers. His body was made whole again at once. He rose to the highest world in a divine vimāna (a flying chariot). The hawk and the pigeon showed their true forms as Agni and Dharma. His act was the full expression of kshatriya dharma, the duty of a warrior-king.
His line, per Agni Purāṇa
Agni Deva tells the royal lines to Vasishṭha Maharshi. From Druhyu the line ran, each the son of the one before: Babhrusetu, Purovasu, Gāndhāra, Dharma, Mṛta, Vidusha and Pracetas. Of Pracetas’s hundred sons the chief were Anadra, Sabhānara, Cākshusha, Para and Meśu. From Sabhānara came, each the son of the one before: Kālanala, Sṛñjaya, Purañjaya, Janamejaya, Mahāśāla, Mahāmanas and Uśīnara.
Mahāmanas’s wife Nṛgā bore a son, Nṛga. By four wives Nṛga had four sons: Nara by Narā, Kṛmi by Kṛmī, Suvrata by Daśā, and Śibi by Dṛshadvatī. Śibi had four sons, Pṛthudarbha, Vīraka, Kaikeya and Bhadraka, and four countries became famous by their names.
From Uśīnara the line ran, each the son of the one before: Titikshu, Rushadratha, Paila, Sutapa, and Bali, a mahāyogī of great strength. Bali’s sons were Aṅga, Vaṅga, Suhma, Puṇḍra and Kaliṅga, and all of them are called the Bāleyas. From Aṅga came the kings of Aṅga, each the son of the one before: Dadhivāhana, Diviratha, Dharmaratha, Citraratha, Satyaratha, Lomapāda, Caturaṅga, Pṛthulāksha, Campa, Haryaṅga, Bhadraratha, Bṛhatkarmā, Bṛhadbhānu, Jayadratha, Bṛhadratha, Viśvajit, Karṇa and Vṛshasena. “I have told of the kings born in the Aṅga vaṃśa,” Agni Deva says, and turns to the Pūru vaṃśa.
Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 277
Per Bhāgavata Purāṇa
His line. Śuka tells Parīkshit the line of Anu, son of Yayāti. Anu had three sons: Sabhānara, Cakshu and Paroksha. From Sabhānara the line ran, each the son of the one before: Kālanara, Sṛñjaya, Janamejaya, Mahāśīla and Mahāmanas. Mahāmanas had two sons, Uśīnara and Titikshu.
Uśīnara had four sons: Śibi, Vana, Śami and Daksha. Śibi too had four sons: Vṛshādarbha, Suvīra, Madra and Kaikeya.
Titikshu’s son was Ruśadratha, Ruśadratha’s son Hema, Hema’s son Sutapas, and Sutapas’s son Bali. In the wife of Bali Mahārāja, from the maharshi Dīrghatamas, son of Utathya, were born Aṅga, Vaṅga, Kaliṅga, Suhma, Puṇḍra and Andhra, and they established six kingdoms in the east, each by his own name.
Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 9, Chapter 23
The Uśīnara country. When Parīkshit was born, the brāhmaṇas foretold to Yudhishṭhira that he would be a giver like Emperor Śibi, lord of the Uśīnara country, and would protect those who take refuge with him (Skandha 1, Chapter 12). Hiraṇyakaśipu, consoling his mother Diti, tells the ancient account of Suyajña, a famed king of the Uśīnara country who was killed by his enemies in battle, and of Yama‘s words to his grieving wives and kinsmen (Skandha 7, Chapter 2). And when the Yādavas came to Samantapañcaka at the time of a total solar eclipse, they saw there the kings of Matsya, Uśīnara, Kausalya, Vidarbha, Kuru, Sṛñjaya, Kāmboja, Kekaya, Madra, Kunti, Ānarta and Kerala (Skandha 10, Chapter 82).
Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 1, Chapter 12; Skandha 7, Chapter 2; Skandha 10, Chapter 82
Per Brahma Purāṇa
His line. The Sūta tells the munis the line of Pūru. Raudrāśva, of Pūru’s line, had ten sons, and the third was Kaksheyu. Kaksheyu had three sons, mahārathas (great chariot-warriors): Sabhānara, Cākshusha and Paramanyu. From Sabhānara the line ran, each the son of the one before: the learned Kālānala; Sṛñjaya, knower of dharma; the hero and great king Purañjaya; Janamejaya; Mahāśāla, famous among the devas and of firm standing; and Mahāmanas, honoured by the devas, of very great mind. Mahāmanas had two sons: Uśīnara, knower of dharma, and Titikshu, of great strength.
His five wives and five sons. Uśīnara had five wives, all of rājarshi families: Nṛgā, Kṛmī, Navā, Darvā and Dṛshadvatī. In his old age, by the power of tapas, he had by them five sons, upholders of the line: by Nṛgā, Nṛga; by Kṛmī, Kṛmi; by Navā, Nava; by Darvā, Suvrata; and by Dṛshadvatī, Śibi, the lord of the Auśīnaras.
From Nṛga came the Yaudheyas. Nava’s was the kingdom called Navā. Kṛmi’s was the city Kṛmilāpurī. From Suvrata came the Ambashṭhas. Śibi had four sons, the Śibis: Vṛshadarbha, Suvīra, Kekaya and Madraka. Their lands, rich in every season, became famous as the Kekayas, the Madrakas, the Vṛshadarbhas and the Suvīras.
Titikshu’s line. Uśīnara’s brother Titikshu became king of the eastern direction. Titikshu’s son was Ushadratha, his son Phena, his son Sutapas, and his son Bali. That Bali took a human birth, had a golden quiver and, being a great yogī, ruled the kingdom; his five sons, Aṅga, Vaṅga, Suhma, Puṇḍra and Kaliṅga, became famous as the kshatriya line of the Bāleyas.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 13
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 130–131 (Śyena-Kapotīya account, told by Lomaśa to Yudhishṭhira)
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 277
- Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 1, Chapter 12; Skandha 7, Chapter 2; Skandha 9, Chapter 23; Skandha 10, Chapter 82
- Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 13