 |
| Lord RAM |
 |
| Dwapara Yuga - Mahabharat war |
Scientific Dating of Ramayana
According
to the Scientific Dating of Ramayana, Lord Rama was born on 10th January 5114 BCE. This was
more than 7000 years ago!
Rama belonged to the Solar Dynasty
(Suryva Vamsha) and was the 68th ruler in this dynasty. 32 generations
before Rama, Raja Satya Harishchandra was the ruler of the Solar Clan. The
complete list of the kings who ruled over the Solar Dynasty from Raja Satya
Harishchandra to Rama is given at the end of this article.
Now, even if one considers an average of
40 years of rule per generation, we can safely date the time period
of Raja Satya Harishchandra to around 1280 years before Rama. Which means
Satya Harishchandra should have lived around 6300 BCE. This was more than 8000
years ago!
Surya Vamsha (Solar Dynasty) Lineage
from Raja Harishchandra to Lord Rama
- Harishchandra
- Rohitashva – Son of Harishchandra
- Harit
- Chanchu
- Vijay
- Ruruk
- Vrika
- Bahu or Asit
- Sagara
- Asmanja
- Anshuman
- Dileepa I
- Bhagiratha – Sagara’s great-grandson. It was during his time that Ganges is
said to have started flowing on Earth. So both Raja Harishchandra and
Varnasi predate river Ganga
- Shrut
- Nabhag
- Ambarish
- Sindhu Dweep
- Pratayu
- Shrutuparna
- Sarvakama
- Sudaas
- Saudas or Mitrasah
- Sarvakama II
- Ananaranya III
- Nighna
- Raghu I
- Duliduh
- Khatwang Dileepa
- Raghu II or Dirghabahu
- Aja
- Dasharatha
- Rama
Appendix: Linage of Lord Rama till
Brihadbala
Below is the lineage of Lord Rama
till Brihadbala. To see a lineage of Lord Rama’s ancestors in the Ikshvaku
lineage, read about Varanasi, the oldest continuously inhabited
city on Earth.
- Lord Rama
- Kusha
- Atithi
- Nishadha
- Nala
- Nabhas
- Pundarika
- Kshemadhanvan
- Devanika
- Ahinagu
- Paripatra
- Dala
- Uktha
- Vajranabha
- Shankhana
- Vyushitashva
- Vishvasaha
- Hiranyanabha
- Pushya
- Dhruvasandhi
- Agnivarna
- Shighra
- Maru
- Prasushruta
- Susandhi
- Amarsha
- Vishrutavanta
- Brihadbala
- Brihatkshaya
- Urukshaya
- Vatsavyuha
- Prativyoma
- Divakara
- Sahadeva
- Brihadashva
- Bhanuratha
- Pratitashva
- Supratika
- Marudeva
- Sunakshatra
- Kinnara
- Antariksha
- Suvarna
- Sumitra Amitrajit
- Dharmin
- Kritanjaya
- Sanjaya Mahakosala
- Prasenajit
- Kshudraka
- Kulaka
- Suratha
- Sumitra
Descendants of Lord Rama in the War of Mahabharata
The astronomical dating of the events
in the two great historical texts of the ancient world, Ramayana and
Mahabharata indicate that Ramayana took place at around 5000 BCE, while Mahabharata took place around
3000 BCE. So, it is but natural to ask, is there any mention about the descendants
of Lord Rama in Mahabharata? Who were the descendants of Rama in the era
of Mahabharata, and what was their role in the great war at Kurukshetra? Did
they side with the Pandavas, or with the Kauravas or did they remain neutral?
Brothers of Rama
Lord Rama had three brothers.
Lakshmana, Shatrughna and Bharata. Bharata founded the city of
Takshashila, Taxila in modern Pakistan which later became the center of higher
education in the ancient world with its majestic Takshashila University, one of
the many great universities
of ancient India. Lakshmana founded the city of Lakshmana Puri, modern day
Lucknow. Shatrughna cleared a forest called Madhuvana and founded the
modern city of Mathura, the city in which Krishna was born during the times of
Mahabharata.
Children of Rama
Lord Rama had two sons Lava and Kusha. They were born at a place called
Ramtirth or Rama Theertha, which is a famous pilgrimage in modern day Amritsar,
11 km from the city of Amritsar, in the state of Punjab. There is also a hut
near the Ram Tirth temple here, where Maharshi Valmiki is said to have lived
during the era of Ramayana.
Luv (Lava) – Son of Rama
Lava is said to be the founder of the
modern city of Lahore in Pakistan, originally called Lavapuri. Modern day Laos
was originally named after Lava. Ramayana is very popular in Laos even today,
and has its own local version of Ramayana calledPhra Lak Phra Ram.
Also the city of Lobpuri in Thailand, which is about 150 km from
Bangkok, is named after Lava. Kalavarnadish, the king of Takshasila in 7th
century founded this city in Thailand and named it after Lavpuri (Lahore) which
later became Lobpuri.
Kosala Kingdom
Ayodhya was the capital of the Kosala Kingdom during the times of Rama.
After Rama, his sons Lava and Kusha inherited the kingdom which was divided
into North Kosala, to the north of Ayodhya and East Kosala, to the east of
Ayodhya.
Shravasti was the capital of North Kosala. During the times of Gautama
Buddha, Sravasti was one of the six largest cities in India. Buddhaghosa, a 5th
century Buddhist scholar says that the city had a population of 180
million during the times of Buddha.
Kushavati, modern day Kushinagar, a town near Gorakhpur in the state of
Uttar Pradesh was the capital of Kusha’s kingdom.
Kosala Kingdom in Mahabharata
During the times of Mahabharata, Kosala Kingdom was split into five.
The five Kosala kingdoms mentioned in Mahabharata are
- North Kosala
- South Kosala
- East Kosala
- Central Kosala
- Kosala Kingdom between Central Kosala and
South Kosala
Eastern Kosala was captured by the Magadha king Jarasandha, who was
later killed by Bhima in the Kurukshetra war of Mahabharata.
Central Kosala, the original Kosala ruled by Rama, still had Ayodhya as
its capital during the times of Mahabharata and was ruled by Dheerghayaghnya.
Central Kosala and North Kosala were conquered by the Pandava brother Bhima in
his military expedition.
Southern Kosala, the native kingdom of Rama’s mother Kausalaya, in
modern day Madhya Pradesh, was conquered by the Pandava Brother Sahadeva in his
military expedition.
Brihadbala – Descendant of Rama via
Kusha in the Mahabharata War
The fifth Kosala Kingdom between
Central Kosala and South Kosala was ruled by Brihadbala, a descendant of Kusha. The kingdom of Kashi was probably a part of this Kosala
kingdom during the times of Mahabharata. The paternal grandmothers of Pandavas,
Ambika and Ambalika, who were the daughters of the King of Kashi, are referred
in Mahabharata sometimes as the princesses of Kashi, and sometimes as the
princesses of Kosala.
Brihadbala was the 28th descendant of Rama’s Son Kusha. And he
fought on the side of the Kauravas in the Mahabharata war at Kurukshetra!
Mahabharata, while describing the ratings Bhishma gave to each major
warrior on their side before the war, says that the warrior skills of
Brihadbala were rated to be one Ratha. The different ratings were Ratha,
Athiratha, Maharatha, etc.
On the thirteenth day of the Mahabharata war, Drona forms the
Chakrya Vyuha formation, a seven-tier defensive spiral formation intended
to capture Yudhishtira, the eldest of the Pandava brothers. A game plan had
been already set to lure Arjuna away from the main battle field, as Arjuna was
aware of the techniques of breaking this formation successfully. The Kaurava
side hopes to capture Yudhishtira hoping that he would try to break this
formation and would be captured as he lacks the knowledge required to break it.
However, Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna who has partial knowledge of breaking the
Chakryavyuha formation, where in he knows how to enter it but not how to exit,
takes up the challenge and enter the Chakrya Vyuha.
Unarmed
Abhimanyu fighting in the Mahabharata war
It is in this battle that Brihadbala, along with Ashvaththaama,
Karna, Kritavarma, Krupacharya, Drona pounce upon Abhimanyu at the same
time violating the rules of the war, in an effort to kill the heroic son of
Arjuna. Abhimanyu after killing the warriors on Brihadbala’s side, kills his
charioteer, breaks his bow, cuts his flag and finally beheads Brihadbala.
The descendant of Lord Rama not only ends up on the wrong side in
Mahabharatha, he also ends up being a part of the battle which violated the
very code of conduct of a warrior. The battle against Abhimanyu is recorded as
the most shameless violation of the ethics of war in which a defenseless
warrior was attacked and killed by multiple big warriors through illicit means.
The other such incident in the war being the killing of an unarmed Karna by
Arjuna.
Genealogy of Lord Rama after the
Mahabharata War
The Genealogy of Lord Rama after the Mahabharata war is recorded as
follows in the Puranas. The last in the list below, Sumitra was defeated
by MahaPadma Nanda, the founder of the famous Nanda dynasty with Magadha
as its capital. The descendants of MahaPadma Nanda were later over thrown
by Chandragupta Maurya who went on to form one of the greatest empires in
history, the Mauryan Empire.