Dilīpa, also known as Khaṭvāṅga, is a legendary king of the Ikshvaku dynasty featured in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

. Dilipa is the son of Mulaka and Ilibila, the husband of Sudakshina, and the father of

Raghu Raghu () is a ruler of the Suryavamsha dynasty in Hinduism. According to the '' Raghuvamsha'', he is the son of King Dilīpa and Queen Sudakshina. His successors styled themselves as belonging to the eponymous Raghuvamsha dynasty, or the ' ...

. Dilipa is also the name of a serpent born into the Kashyapa family.

Legend

Meeting with Vasishtha

One day, Dilipa met the sage

Vasishtha Vasishtha ( sa, वसिष्ठ, IAST: ') is one of the oldest and most revered Vedic rishis or sages, and one of the Saptarishis (seven great Rishis). Vashistha is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of the ''Rigveda''. Vashishtha a ...

on the banks of the Ganga river (Ganges). Vasishtha taught Dilipa about all the

sacred waters Sacred waters are sacred natural sites characterized by tangible topographical land formations such as rivers, lakes, springs, reservoirs, and oceans, as opposed to holy water which is water elevated with the sacramental blessing of a cleric ...

and explained to him how each were great. This legend is found in the ''Padma Purāṇa''.

Killing of Virasena

The ''Yuddha Kandam'' of the ''

Ramavataram ''Ramavataram'', popularly referred to as ''Kamba Ramayanam'', is a Tamil epic that was written by the Tamil poet Kambar during the 12th century. Based on Valmiki's ''Ramayana'' (which is in Sanskrit), the story describes the life of Ki ...

'' mentions the myth of the killing of Virasena, in which Dilipa is involved. Once an

asura Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the word is sometimes translated ...

named Virasena attacked Kubera; however, the gods

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

and

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

were unable to defeat him. Vishnu told Kubera to seek the help of the king Dilipa, who came to Kubera's mythical city of

Alaka In Hinduism, Alaka (Sanskrit: अलक), which is also called ''Alakapuri or Alkavati'', is a mythical city. It is the home of Kubera, the king of the Yakshas and the lord of wealth. The Mahabharata mentions this city as the capital of the Yaksha ...

. Dilipa fired arrow after arrow at Virasena, but every drop of blood spilled caused the formation of a new Virasena. To finish the unending battle, Dilipa prayed to the goddess Rakteshwari, who came and drank all the blood of Virasena, allowing for his death.

Birth of Raghu

The '' Padma Purāṇa'' and ''Uttarā Kāṇḍa'' of the ''Rāmāyaṇa'' mention the myth of the birth of

. Dilipa was a noble, popular ruler who was married to Sudakshina, the princess of

Magadha Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was ruled ...

; however, he had no progeny. He and Sudakshina decided to go to the sage

Vasishta Vasishtha ( sa, वसिष्ठ, IAST: ') is one of the oldest and most revered Vedic rishis or sages, and one of the Saptarishis (seven great Rishis). Vashistha is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of the ''Rigveda''. Vashishtha an ...

in order to receive advice on how to obtain a child. At Vasishta's '' ashrama'', he told the couple that the reason they had no children was because they had slighted the divine cow

Kamadhenu Kamadhenu ( sa, कामधेनु, , ), also known as Surabhi (, or , ), is a divine bovine-goddess described in Hinduism as the mother of all cows. She is a miraculous cow of plenty who provides her owner whatever he desires and is often ...

. He stated that once when Dilipa was visiting the god Indra, he had passed Kamadhenu but paid no attention to her. Kamadhenu took this as a personal insult, and cursed Dilipa so that he would not have any children until he served and propiated Kamadhenu's daughter, Nandini. Vasishta told Dilipa and Sudakshina that Nandani had gone to ''

Patala In Indian religions, Patala (Sanskrit: पाताल, IAST: pātāla, lit. ''that which is below the feet''), denotes the subterranean realms of the universe – which are located under the earthly dimension. Patala is often translated as un ...

'' to attend a sacrifice of the god

Varuna Varuna (; sa, वरुण, , Malay: ''Baruna'') is a Vedic deity associated initially with the sky, later also with the seas as well as Ṛta (justice) and Satya (truth). He is found in the oldest layer of Vedic literature of Hinduism, such ...

. For the next twenty-one days, Dilipa and Sudakshina followed and attended on Nandini as she traversed ''Patala''. One morning Nandini went to graze in a forest, and as usual Dilipa followed her. However, when Dilipa was focused on the beautiful wooden scenery, a lion jumped out and attacked Nandini. Dilipa aimed his bow and arrow at the lion to fire, but he was paralysed. The lion told Dilipa that he was a servant of the god

, and that he had been ordained to protect a divine

deodar cedar ''Cedrus deodara'', the deodar cedar, Himalayan cedar, or deodar, is a species of cedar native to the Himalayas. Description It is a large evergreen coniferous tree reaching tall, exceptionally with a trunk up to in diameter. It has a conic c ...

tree that had been planted by Shiva's wife,

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...

. The lion stated that he was allowed to eat any animals that came near the deodar cedar tree, and so was justified in eating Nandini. Dilipa fell to his knees and bowed to the lion, and begged the lion to eat him rather than Nandini. Suddenly, the lion disappeared and Nandini revealed that she had done this to test Dilipa. After successfully propiating Nandini, Dilipa and Sudakshina returned to the earthly realm and had a son named

Life as a Royal Hermit

One day, Dilipa pleased God so much that he realized how long he had to live. He then left his royal duties to his ministers and spend the rest of his life in devotion and meditation. He performed 100 sacrifices, in which he made golden roads and was even visited by the god Indra. This myth is found in the ''Bhāgavata Purāṇa'' and the ''Droṇa Parva'' of the ''Mahābhārata'' , where he is referred to as Khaṭvāṅga.

References

External links

The story of Dilipa Maharaja