Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Thereafter, when his son Sudyumna had thus gone to the forest to accept the order of vānaprastha, Vaivasvata Manu [Śrāddhadeva], being desirous of getting more sons, performed severe austerities on the bank of the Yamunā for one hundred years.
Then, because of this desire for sons, the Manu known as Śrāddhadeva worshiped the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, the Lord of the demigods. Thus he got ten sons exactly like himself. Among them all, Ikshvāku was the eldest.
Among these sons, Prishadhra, following the order of his spiritual master, was engaged as a protector of cows. He would stand all night with a sword to give the cows protection.
One who becomes vīrāsana takes the vow to stand all night with a sword to give protection to the cows. Because Prishadhra was engaged in this way, it is to be understood that he had no dynasty. We can further understand from this vow accepted by Prishadhra how essential it is to protect the cows. Some son of a kshatriya would take this vow to protect the cows from ferocious animals, even at night. What then is to be said of sending cows to slaughterhouses? This is the most sinful activity in human society.
Once at night, while it was raining, a tiger entered the land of the cowshed. Upon seeing the tiger, all the cows, who were lying down, got up in fear and scattered here and there on the land.
When the very strong tiger seized the cow, the cow screamed in distress and fear, and Prishadhra, hearing the screaming, immediately followed the sound. He took up his sword, but because the stars were covered by clouds, he mistook the cow for the tiger and mistakenly cut off the cows’ head with great force.
Because the tiger’s ear had been cut by the edge of the sword, the tiger was very afraid, and it fled from that place, while bleeding on the street.
In the morning, when Prishadhra, who was quite able to subdue his enemy, saw that he had killed the cow although at night he thought he had killed the tiger, he was very unhappy.
Although Prishadhra had committed the sin unknowingly, his family priest, Vasishtha, cursed him, saying, “In your next life you shall not be able to become a kshatriya. Instead, you shall take birth as a śūdra because of killing the cow.”
It appears that Vasishtha was not free from tamo-guna, the mode of ignorance. As the family priest or spiritual master of Prishadhra, Vasishtha should have taken Prishadhra’s offense very lightly, but instead Vasishtha cursed him to become a śūdra. It is the duty of a family priest not to curse a disciple but to give him relief through the performance of some sort of atonement. Vasishtha, however, did just the opposite. Therefore Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Thākura says that he was durmati; in other words, his intelligence was not very good.
When the hero Prishadhra was thus cursed by his spiritual master, he accepted the curse with folded hands. Then, having controlled his senses, he took the vow of brahmacarya, which is approved by all great sages.
Thereafter, Prishadhra gained relief from all responsibilities, became peaceful in mind, and established control over all his senses. Being unaffected by material conditions, being pleased with whatever was available by the grace of the Lord to maintain body and soul together, and being equal toward everyone, he gave full attention to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, who is the transcendental Supersoul, free from material contamination. Thus Prishadhra, fully satisfied in pure knowledge, always keeping his mind on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, achieved pure devotional service to the Lord and began traveling all over the world, without affection for material activities, as if he were deaf, dumb and blind.
With this attitude, Prishadhra became a great saint, and when he entered the forest and saw a blazing forest fire, he took this opportunity to burn his body in the fire. Thus he achieved the transcendental, spiritual world.
The Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (4.9):
“One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.” Prishadhra, because of his karma, was cursed to take his next birth as a śūdra, but because he took to saintly life, specifically concentrating his mind always upon the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he became a pure devotee. Immediately after giving up his body in the fire, he reached the spiritual world, as mentioned in Bhagavad-gītā (mām eti), as a result of his devotional situation. Devotional service performed by thinking of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is so powerful that although Prishadhra was cursed he avoided the terrible consequence of becoming a śūdra and instead returned home, back to Godhead. As stated in Brahma-samhitā (5.54):
Those who engage in devotional service are unaffected by the results of their material activities. Otherwise, everyone, from the smallest microbe up to the King of heaven, Indra, is subject to the laws of karma. A pure devotee, being always engaged in the service of the Lord, is exempt from these laws.
Being reluctant to accept material enjoyment, Manu’s youngest son, whose name was Kavi, gave up the kingdom before attaining full youth. Accompanied by his friends, he went to the forest, always thinking of the self-effulgent Supreme Personality of Godhead within the core of his heart. Thus he attained perfection.
From Karūsha, another son of Manu, came the Kārūsha dynasty, a family of kshatriyas. The Kārūsha kshatriyas were the kings of the northern direction. They were celebrated protectors of brahminical culture and were all firmly religious.
From the son of Manu named Dhrishta came a kshatriya caste called Dhārshta, whose members achieved the position of brāhmanas in this world. Then, from the son of Manu named Nriga came Sumati. From Sumati came Bhūtajyoti, and from Bhūtajyoti came Vasu.
Here it is said, kshatram brahma-bhūyam gatam kshitau: although the Dhārshtas belonged to the kshatriya caste, they were able to convert themselves into brāhmanas. This gives clear evidence supporting the following statement by Nārada (Bhāg. 7.11.35):
If the qualities of one group are found in the men of another, those men should be recognized by their qualities, by their symptoms, not by the caste of the family in which they were born. Birth is not at all important; it is one’s qualities that are stressed in all Vedic literature.
The son of Vasu was Pratīka, whose son was Oghavān. Oghavān’s son was also known as Oghavān, and his daughter was Oghavatī. Sudarśana married that daughter.
From Narishyanta came a son named Citrasena and from him a son named Riksha. From Riksha came Mīdhvān, from Mīdhvān came Pūrna, and from Pūrna came Indrasena.
From Indrasena came Vītihotra, from Vītihotra came Satyaśravā, from Satyaśravā came the son named Uruśravā, and from Uruśravā came Devadatta.
From Devadatta came a son known as Agniveśya, who was the fire-god Agni himself. This son, who was a celebrated saint, was well known as Kānīna and Jātūkarnya.
Agniveśya was also known as Kānīna and Jātūkarnya.
O King, from Agniveśya came a brahminical dynasty known as Āgniveśyāyana. Now that I have described the descendants of Narishyanta, let me describe the descendants of Dishta. Please hear from me.
Dishta had a son by the name Nābhāga. This Nābhāga, who was different from the Nābhāga described later, became a vaiśya by occupational duty. The son of Nābhāga was known as Bhalandana, the son of Bhalandana was Vatsaprīti, and his son was Prāmśu. Prāmśu’s son was Pramati, Pramati’s son was Khanitra, Khanitra’s son was Cākshusha, and his son was Vivimśati.
From Manu, one son became a kshatriya, another a brāhmana, and another a vaiśya. This confirms the statement by Nārada Muni, yasya yal lakshanam proktam pumso varnābhivyañjakam (Bhāg. 7.11.35). One should always remember that brāhmanas, kshatriyas and vaiśyas should never be regarded as members of a caste by birth. A brāhmana may be changed into a kshatriya, and a kshatriya into a brāhmana. Similarly, a brāhmana or kshatriya may be changed into a vaiśya, and a vaiśya into a brāhmana or kshatriya. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (cātur-varnyam mayā srishtam guna-karma-vibhāgaśah). So one is a brāhmana, kshatriya or vaiśya never by birth, but by quality. There is a great need of brāhmanas. Therefore, in the Krishna consciousness movement, we are trying to train some brāhmanas to guide human society. Because at present there is a scarcity of brāhmanas, the brain of human society is lost. Because practically everyone is a śūdra, no one at the present moment can guide the members of society to the proper path by which to achieve perfection in life.
The son of Vivimśati was Rambha, whose son was the great and religious King Khanīnetra. O King, the son of Khanīnetra was King Karandhama.
From Karandhama came a son named Avīkshit, and from Avīkshit a son named Marutta, who was the emperor. The great mystic Samvarta, the son of Angirā, engaged Marutta in performing a sacrifice [yajña].
The sacrificial paraphernalia of King Marutta was extremely beautiful, for everything was made of gold. Indeed, no other sacrifice could compare to his.
In that sacrifice, King Indra became intoxicated by drinking a large quantity of soma-rasa. The brāhmanas received ample contributions, and therefore they were satisfied. For that sacrifice, the various demigods who control the winds offered foodstuffs, and the Viśvedevas were members of the assembly.
Because of the yajña performed by Marutta, everyone was pleased, especially the brāhmanas and kshatriyas. Brāhmanas are interested in receiving contributions as priests, and kshatriyas are interested in drinking. All of them, therefore, were satisfied with their different engagements.
Marutta’s son was Dama, Dama’s son was Rājyavardhana, Rājyavardhana’s son was Sudhriti, and his son was Nara.
The son of Nara was Kevala, and his son was Dhundhumān, whose son was Vegavān. Vegavān’s son was Budha, and Budha’s son was Trinabindu, who became the king of this earth.
The best of the Apsarās, the highly qualified girl named Alambushā, accepted the similarly qualified Trinabindu as her husband. She gave birth to a few sons and a daughter known as Ilavilā.
After the great saint Viśravā, the master of mystic yoga, received absolute knowledge from his father, he begot in the womb of Ilavilā the greatly celebrated son known as Kuvera, the giver of money.
Trinabindu had three sons, named Viśāla, Śūnyabandhu and Dhūmraketu. Among these three, Viśāla created a dynasty and constructed a palace called Vaiśālī.
The son of Viśāla was known as Hemacandra, his son was Dhūmrāksha, and his son was Samyama, whose sons were Devaja and Kriśāśva.
The son of Kriśāśva was Somadatta, who performed aśvamedha sacrifices and thus satisfied the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vishnu. By worshiping the Supreme Lord, he achieved the most exalted post, a residence on the planet to which great mystic yogīs are elevated. The son of Somadatta was Sumati, whose son was Janamejaya. All these kings appearing in the dynasty of Viśāla properly maintained the celebrated position of King Trinabindu.