Pratardana () is a

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

of the

Chandravamsha The Lunar dynasty (IAST: Candravaṃśa) is a legendary principal house of the Kshatriyas varna, or warrior–ruling varna (Social Class) mentioned in the ancient Indian texts. This legendary dynasty was said to be descended from moon-related ...

(Lunar dynasty) featured in

Hindu literature Hindu texts or Hindu scriptures are manuscripts and voluminous historical literature which are related to any of the diverse traditions within Hinduism. Some of the major Hindu texts include the Vedas, the Upanishads, and the Itihasa. Scholars ...

. He is also called Dyuman, Shatrujit, Vatsa, Rithadhvaja, and Kuvalayashva. He is the son of King

Divodasa Divodāsa Vādhryāśva, was an Indo-Aryan, king of the Bharatas during the main or middle Rigvedic period (celebrated for his liberality and protected by Indra and the Ashvins in the Rigveda, RV 1.112.14; 1.116.18), the son of Vadhryaśva R ...

of Kashi and Madhavi, the daughter of King

Yayati Yayati () is an emperor in Hindu tradition. He is described to be a Chandravamsha king. He is regarded to be the progenitor of the races of the Yadavas and the Pandavas. According to the Harivamsa, Yayati is the son of King Nahusha, and ...

. He is the father of Ashtaka.

Legend

Ramayana

Pratardana is depicted as an ally of

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

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 ...

, and is described to have been praised by the

avatara Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

for assisting Bharata in the arrangements of his coronation ceremony. A tale based in the narrative of the Ramayana states that once, Pratardana made preparations to travel to

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 ...

to pay his respects to King

. He encountered Sage

Narada Narada (, ), or Narada Muni, is a sage-divinity, famous in Hinduism, Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of the Manasputra, mind-created children of Brahma, the creator ...

during this journey. Narada made the king promise that he would not offer obeisance to Sage

Vishvamitra Vishvamitra (, ) is one of the most venerated rishis or sages of ancient India. Vishvamitra is one of the seven Brahmarshi. According to Hindu tradition, he is stated to have written most of the Mandala 3 of the Rigveda, including the Gay ...

at Rama's court. Pratardana acted accordingly when he arrived at the court. Vishvamitra grew furious at the lack of respect shown to him, and complained to Rama. Angered, Rama removed three arrows from his quiver and vowed to take the life of the king of Kashi before sunset. Terrified of the consequences, Pratardana sought the protection of Narada, who directed him to Anjana, the mother of

Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...

. Anjana requested her son to help the king. Hanuman flew Pratardana to the banks of the river

Sarayu The Sarju ( Kumaoni: सरज्यू, Hindi: सरयू), also known as Saryu, is a major river draining Central Kumaon region in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Originating from Sarmul, Sarju flows through the cities of Kapkot, Bageshw ...

, and told him to wade waist-deep into the water and remain there, repeating Rama's name. Afterwards, he flew to Rama, and made a supplication: Any person who chanted the name of Rama would be protected by him, and no power in the universe, even

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

himself, would be able to harm such a person. Rama readily granted this. Thus, even as Rama fired his three arrows at Pratardana from his palace, he was saved by Hanuman due to the fact that he chanted Rama's name. When the king continued to chant the name of Rama in the presence of Vishvamitra, the sage was impressed by his piety and relieved Rama of his vow.

Mahabharata

At 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 ...

(horse-sacrifice consecration) ceremony of Ashtaka, Pratardana, along with his fellow kings Vasumanas and Sivi, asked the divine sage

which of them would have to depart from their reward of stay at

Svarga Svarga (, ), also known as Swarga, Indraloka and Svargaloka, is the celestial abode of the devas in Hinduism. Svarga is one of the seven higher lokas ( esoteric planes) in Hindu cosmology. Svarga is often translated as heaven, though it is reg ...

(heaven of the devas) first after their demise. Narada told them that Ashtaka would have to depart first due to his pride, and when enquired once more, stated that Pratardana would be the second. When enquired, the sage stated that he had once lived at the abode of Pratardana for a time, and regaled an incident in which a

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

sought a horse from the king while the two were riding upon a chariot. The king wished to give the man a horse after he had returned from his journey, but the latter insisted that he offered him one right then and there. Pratardana granted the Brahmin the horse that had been yoked on the right-hand wheel of his vehicle. Soon, a few more Brahmins appeared to seek the rest of the king's horses. While the king granted the men his horses and began to pull the chariot forward manually, he made a disparaging comment against them after they had left. Narada stated that this was the reason why he would leave Svarga second.

References

External links

* The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose'', Bharata Press, Calcutta (1883–1896)''
The Dynasties of The sons of King Pururava
{{Authority control Characters in the Ramayana Lunar dynasty Characters in the Mahabharata