Kushadhvaja Explained

Religion:Hinduism
Kushadhvaja
Texts:Ramayana
Spouse:Chandrabhaga
Issue:Mandavi
Shrutakirti
House:Videha
Siblings:Janaka
Birth Place:Mithila
Succession:Maharaja of Samkasya
Predecessor:Sudhanvan

Kushadhvaja (Sanskrit: कुशध्वजा IAST: Kuśadhvaja) is the King of Samkasya and the younger brother of Janaka, the King of Mithila, in the Hindu epic Ramayana. He was married to Chandrabhaga and is the father of Mandavi and Shrutakirti.[1]

Legend

Birth

Kushadhvaja was born to King Hrasvaroman of Mithila and his wife Keikasi.[2] He is the younger brother of Janaka. The Videha kingdom was historically located between east of Gandaki River, west of Mahananda River, north of the Ganga river and south of the Himalayas.[3]

Marriage and children

Kushadhvaja was married to queen consort Chandrabhaga (Sanskrit: चंद्रभागा). Chandrabhaga first gave birth to Mandavi and later gave birth to his second daughter Shrutakirti.[4] Both his daughters were brought up in Mithila, along with Sita and Urmila.[5] Mandavi was married to Bharata while Shrutakirti was married to Shatrughna, both the younger brothers of Rama.[6] [7]

King of Samkasya

He initially ruled the area around RajbirajHis brother Janaka was the King of Mithila. During his rein the King of Samkasya, called Sudhanvan, attacked Mithila. Janaka killed Sudhanvan in the war, and crowned his brother Kushadhvaja as the King of Samkasya.[8]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Tales from Kalidasa . Ediciones Gamma S.A. . H. L. Luthra . 1988 . 15 . 9788120902282.
  2. Book: The Ramayana . Orient Longman . Lakshmi Lal . 1988 . 20 . 9780861318056.
  3. Book: Jha, M. . 1997 . Hindu Kingdoms at contextual level . Anthropology of Ancient Hindu Kingdoms: A Study in Civilizational Perspective . https://books.google.com/books?id=A0i94Z5C8HMC&pg=PA27 . 27–42 . M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd . New Delhi. 9788175330344 .
  4. Book: Praśānta Guptā. Vālmīkī Rāmāyaṇa. Dreamland Publications. 1998. 9788173012549. 32.
  5. Web site: Ramayana Summary, Characters, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. en. 2020-02-18. 12 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200412065621/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ramayana-Indian-epic. live.
  6. Book: Valmiki . The Ramayana . 126–145.
  7. Book: Mishra, V. . 1979 . Mithila Prakasana . Allahabad . Cultural Heritage of Mithila . 28 December 2016 . 13.
  8. Web site: www.wisdomlib.org . 2019-01-28 . Story of Janaka . 2022-09-11 . www.wisdomlib.org . en.