Asamanjasa (), also rendered Asamanja, is the eldest son of King Sagara and one of his two queens, Keshini, in Hindu literature.

Legend

Ramayana

The birth of Asamanjasa is described in the

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

. King Sagara of the

Suryavamsha The Solar dynasty or (; ), also called the Ikshvaku dynasty, is a legendary Indian dynasty said to have been founded by Ikshvaku. In Hindu literature, it ruled the Kosala Kingdom, with its capital at Ayodhya, and later at Shravasti. They w ...

dynasty married Keshini and Sumati, but still lacked heirs for several years. Thus, accompanied by his two queens, he set forth towards the mountain Bhṛguprasravaṇa in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

, and performed a long

tapas Tapas () are appetisers or snacks in Spanish cuisine. They can be combined to make a full meal and are served cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or hot (such as , which are battered, fried baby squid; or , spicy potatoes). In some bars ...

. Pleased, the sage Bhrigu offered the king a boon: One of his queens would give birth to one son, but one who would further the dynasty's line, and his other queen would produce 60,000 sons. After a few years, Keshini gave birth to Asamanjasa, and Sumati gave birth to the 60,000 sons. According the text, the prince was a wild and wicked young man. He used to throw young boys playing in Sarayu river into great depths, and see them drown. Thus, his father Sagara exiled him. But his son

Amshuman Amshuman () is a king of the Suryavamsha dynasty in Hinduism. The son of Asamanjasa, Amshuman becomes the king of Ayodhya after the death of his grandfather, King Sagara. Amshuman's grandson, Bhagiratha, brings the flow of the Ganges down fr ...

, from his wife Ambujakshi, was a favourite of the people, and succeeded Sagara as the next king of

Ayodhya Ayodhya () is a city situated on the banks of the Sarayu river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ayodhya district as well as the Ayodhya division of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ayodhya became th ...

Vishnu Purana

According to the

Vishnu Purana The Vishnu Purana () is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of ancient and medieval texts of Hinduism. It is an important Pancharatra text in the Vaishnavism literature corpus. The manuscripts of ''Vishnu Purana'' have survived into ...

, King Sagara performed the

ashvamedha The Ashvamedha () was a horse sacrifice ritual followed by the Śrauta tradition of Vedic religion. It was used by ancient Indian kings to prove their imperial sovereignty: a horse accompanied by the king's warriors would be released to wander ...

yajna In Hinduism, ''Yajna'' or ''Yagna'' (, Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐd͡ʒɲə ) also known as Hawan, is a ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras. Yajna has been a Vedas, Vedic tradition, described in a layer of Vedic literature ...

to establish his suzerainty of the earth.

Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes Indra is the m ...

, the king of the devas, grew fearful over the results of the yajna, and so he decided to steal the sacrificial horse near a mountain. He left the horse at

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 u ...

near the sage Kapila, who was engaged in a deep meditation. King Sagara's 60,000 sons, and his son Asamanjasa, collectively known as the ''Sagarputras'' (Sons of Sagara) were commanded to find the horse. When the 60,000 sons circled the Ashtadiggajas and found the horse grazing near the sage, they made a great hubbub. When the furious sage opened his eyes to glare at them, they were immediately burned to ashes. Sagara would be succeeded by Asamanjasa's son, Amshuman.

Harivamsa

According to the Harivamsa, he was afterwards famous for his valour, under the name of Panchajana.

References

* {{HinduMythology Characters in the Ramayana Solar dynasty