| Type: | Hindu |
| Children: | • 100 sons (including: Vikukshi and Nimi) according to Hinduism• 100 sons (including: Bahubali, Bharata, and Nami) according to Jainism• 2 daughters: Brahmi and Sundari (Hinduism and Jainism) |
| Dynasty: | Suryavaṃśa (Ikshvaku dynasty) |
| Parents: | Vaivasvata Manu (father)Shraddha (mother) |
| Affiliation: | Ancestor of Rama |
| Successor: | Prince Vikukshi |
| Texts: | Ramayana, Versions of Ramayana (including Ramcharitmanas), Puranas |
| Venerated In: | Hinduism |
| Gender: | Male |
Ikshvaku (Sanskrit ; Pāli:) is a legendary king in Indian religions, particularly Hindu and Jain mythologies. In Hinduism, he is described to be the first king of the Kosala Kingdom, and was one of the ten sons of Shraddhadeva Manu, the first man on the earth. He was the founder and first king of the Ikshvaku dynasty, also known as the Suryavamsha, in the kingdom of Kosala, which also historically existed in ancient India. He had a hundred sons,[1] among whom the eldest was Vikukshi. Another son of Ikshvaku's, named Nimi, founded the Kingdom of the Videhas.[2] Rama, Mahavira, and the Buddha are also stated to have belonged to the Suryavamsha or Ikshvaku dynasty.[3]
From Kashyapa, through Aditi, Vivasvan was generated, and from him came Shraddhadeva Manu, who was born from the womb of Sanjna. Shraddhadeva's wife, Shraddha, gave birth to ten sons, including Ikshvaku and Nriga.
The Atharvaveda and Brahmanas associate the Ikshvakus with non-Aryan people, distinct from the Aryans who composed the hymns of the four Vedas.[4] F. E. Pargiter has equated the Ikshvakus with the Dravidians. According to Franciscus Kuiper, Manfred Mayrhofer and Levman, the Iskvaku is derived from a Munda name:However, there are those who contend with Pargiter. Ghurye holds that the Ikshvakus were Aryan horsemen and must have arrived in the subcontinent before the Aryans who composed the Rigveda. The Brahmana texts do also state that the Ikshvakus were a line of princes descended from the Purus. The Rigveda mentions that the Purus are one of the Aryan tribes. Mandhatri, an Ikshvaku ruler, is described in the Rigveda to have annihilated the Dasyus, and seeks the help of the Ashvin twins, the divine physicians of the Vedic religion.
In Rig Veda the name Ikshvaku is mentioned only once as follows:
Agastya explains the origin of Ikshvaku to Rama in the Ramayana: The Vishnu Purana states that Ikshvaku emerged from the nostril of Manu when he happened to sneeze. He had a hundred sons, of whom the three most distinguished were Vikukshi, Nimi, and Danda. Fifty of his sons were the kings of the northern nations, while forty-eight of them were princes of the south. During an occasion known as Ashtaka, Ikshvaku wished to perform an ancestral rite, and ordered Vikukshi to bring him flesh suitable for the offering. The prince shot many deer in the forest, and other game, for the rite. Growing exhausted, he ate a hare among his catch and carried the other beasts to his father. Vashistha, the family priest of the dynasty of Ikshvaku, was requested to consecrate the offering. He declared that it was impure, since Vikukshi had eaten a hare among it, making his meal a residue. Vikukshi was abandoned by his father, offended by this act. But after the demise of Ikshvaku, the rule of Bhuloka passed on to Vikukshi, who was succeeded by his son, Puranjaya.
In Jain texts, it is mentioned that Rishabhanatha is the same as king Ikshvaku.
Except for Munisuvrata and Neminatha, the remaining Tirthankaras are believed to have been royals of the Ikshvaku lineage.