Thread by @Bharathgyan

THE #FamilyTree OF #RAMA

Lineage of Rama has been extensively documented, not only in the Ramayana but also in Mahabaratha & Bhagavatha Purana etc. The Bhagavatha Purana is one of the 18 Purana, which among other things also speaks about the genealogy of various dynasties.

The extensive family tree chart that follows, gives us the list of kings in the Surya Vamsa, Solar dynasty, lineage to which #Rama belongs.

This lineage starts from Kashyapa and his wife Aditi. Kashyapa is regarded as the father figure of those times, after whom comes the famous king Ikshwaku. From, Ikshvaku, dynasty from which #Rama hailed.

Harishchandra, the king known for his honesty, whose story moved and moulded the views of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, also belonged to this solar dynasty.

Nala, the king who was a great cook and also an expert horse rider, along with his wife Damayanti, is a household name. He came from this dynasty.

Raghu was another illustrious king of this very dynasty. #Rama and successors of Rama are referred to as belonging to Raghu kula or dynasty of Raghu.

The question that may arise is – “Is it not possible to create such a family tree for even a fictional person?”
While it is definitely possible to create a fictional family tree for a fictional person, it will not corroborate with the other texts, as they are only fictional.

In the case of Ramayana, the sequence, events and deeds of the various kings in the lineage, corroborate well with the other texts of the land and more importantly also with the sequence of their occurrence.

This consistency across texts, across events, across times, across geography gives credibility, that, it is indeed a family tree of a lineage that is historical.

We can see that this family tree does not stop with Rama, but goes on to 30 generations and more after Rama. Infact, well down in this lineage from Rama, one of the kings, Brihadbala takes part in the
Kurukshetra War of the Mahabharatha period (around 3100 BCE).

Brihadbala fights on the side of Duryodhana the Kaurava prince, the antagonist, against the Pandava brothers, the protagonists, and is killed by Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna the Pandava and the nephew of Krishna, in the infamous battle of the
Chakravyuha.

Many other texts also refer to the lineage of Rama. The extensive corroborative nature between and within these texts, clearly vindicates the historical nature of this family tree.

Apart from references in the various Purana, there is specific reference to the personages of the lineage and their kingdoms, in the Veda too.

• Ikshvaku – the head of the lineage is mentioned in the Rig Veda verse 10.60.4.4.

• The Town plan of Ayodhya with 9 Gates is mentioned in Atharva Veda, verse 18.3.16.

• The Rishi, sages, Vishwamitra, Vasishta and Bharadwaja, who figure in the events of the Ramayana period and life of Rama, also find mention in the Rig Veda.