About Suryavanshis in India Suryavanshi Arekatika The Sun Dynasty or Solar Dynasty or Suryavansha is one of the most prominent dynasties in the history of Hinduism, along with the Chandravansha or Lunar Dynasty. Suryavanshi means a person belonging to this dynasty. This clan was the eldest and the most prosperous in ancient India till the rise of Magadh in the 6th century BC. Ayodhya, the city founded by Vaivasvata Manu son of Vivasvan or Vaivasvata, was their capital. The clan founder, Vivasvan or Vivaswat, is supposed to have lived coeval with the origin of the world. The name Vivaswan literally means master of the rays. That is, The Sun or Sun God. The first historically important king of this dynasty was Vivaswans grandson Ikshvaku, so the dynasty is also known as the Ikshvaku dynasty. The solar clan is especially associated with Rama, the King of Ayodhya whose story is told in the Ramayana. Rama was the rightful heir according to the rule of primogeniture, but because his father had made a promise to his second queen, Kaikeyi, who asked for Rama to be exiled to the forest for 14 years and her own son crowned in Ramas place, Rama was disqualified from ruling, however, Kaikeyis son Bharata never accepted the throne but ruled as regent till Rama came back from exile. The last important king of Ayodhya was Brihdbal, who was killed by Abhimanyu in the Kurukshetra war. The last ruling king of the dynasty at Ayodhya was Sumitra in the 4th century BC, who, after being forced out of Ayodhya by emperor Mahapadma Nanda of Magadhas Nanda Dynasty, continued the royal line at Rohtas. As laid down by Manu, the kings of the solar dynasty followed the rule of primogeniture. Only the eldest male offspring of the king could succeed to the throne, unless disqualified by the priests for being physically disabled of some other reason. The younger sons also produced many prominent historical Kshatriyas and Vaishyas, but these are not included in the following list of monarchs. The list, however, does include some rightful heirs who were disqualified by the priests.
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 09:18:43 +0000
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