Raghu () is a ruler of the Suryavansha dynasty in Hinduism. According to the '' Raghuvamsha'', he is the son of King

Dilīpa Dilīpa, also known as Khaṭvāṅga or Khash , was a king of the Ikshvaku dynasty featured in Ramayana and Hinduism. Dilipa is the son of krishakarma , the husband of Sudakshina, and the father of Raghu. Dilipa is also the name of a serpent ...

and Queen Sudakshina. The history of his dynasty is elaborated upon by the poet

Kalidasa Kālidāsa (, "Servant of Kali"; 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on Hindu Puranas and philosophy. His surviv ...

in his ''Raghuvamsha''. He is the great-grandfather 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' ...

, an avatar of

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 ( ...

Legend

Raghuvamsha

The life and glories of Raghu are described in the poem Raghuvamsha, written by Kalidasa. In the third canto, his birth, education, and marriage are described. He participates in the hundredth ashvamedha sacrifice of his father, fighting Indra, who steals the sacrificial horse. His victory against the deity is followed by his ascension to the throne, after Dilipa retires to the forest. In the fourth canto, Raghu expands his domains, subjugating the kings of

Vanga The family Vangidae (from ''vanga'', Malagasy for the hook-billed vanga, ''Vanga curvirostris'') comprises a group of often shrike-like medium-sized birds distributed from Asia to Africa, including the vangas of Madagascar to which the family o ...

, Utkala, Kalinga, the

Pandya The Pandya dynasty (), also referred to as the Pandyas of Madurai, was an ancient Tamil dynasty of South India, and among the four great kingdoms of Tamilakam, the other three being the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Cheras. Existing sinc ...

king, Huns, Persians, and Pragjyotisha. On the instruction of his guru,

Vashistha Vasishtha (, ) is one of the oldest and revered Vedic rishis or sages, and one of the Saptarishis (seven great Rishis). Vasishtha is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of the ''Rigveda''. Vasishtha and his family are mentioned in Rigv ...

, he performs the Viśvajit

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 ...

, giving away all his wealth as

dāna (Devanagari: , IAST: ) is a Sanskrit and Pali word that connotes the virtue of generosity, charity or giving of alms, in Indian religions and philosophies. In Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, is the practice of cultivating generosi ...

. After being impoverished, Sage Kautsa, a disciple of Vartantu, comes to Raghu, seeking 14 koti (million) gold coins as a gurudakshina. Expressing his inability to offer the sum, Raghu plans to plunder Kubera's treasury for wealth. When the deity catches wind of this, he willingly fills the king's coffers with a rain of gold coins, which Raghu promptly offers to Kautsa. Pleased, the sage blesses Raghu to bear a son, and soon, Aja is born. After he comes of age, Raghu sends his son to attend the

svayamvara ''Svayaṃvara'' ( ) is a matrimonial tradition in ancient Indian society where a bride, usually from '' Kṣatriya'' (warrior) caste, selects her husband from a group of assembled suitors either by her own choice or a public contest between her ...

of Princess Indumati of Vidharba, whom he successfully weds. The story of Raghu ends in the eighth canto, where he retires to the forest after nominating Aja as the king.

Lineage

A number of Puranas, which include 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 ...

, the

Vayu Purana The ''Vayu Purana'' (, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism. ''Vayu Purana'' is mentioned in the manuscripts of the Mahabharata and other Hindu texts, which has led scholars to propose that the text is among the ...

, the

Linga Purana The ''Linga Purana'' (लिङ्गपुराण, IAST: ) is one of the eighteen '' Mahapuranas'', and a ''Shaivism'' text of Hinduism. The text's title '' Linga'' refers to the iconographical symbol for Shiva. The author(s) and date of the ...

, mention Dirghabahu as the son of Dilīpa and Raghu as the son of Dirghabahu. But the Harivamsha, the

Brahma Purana The ''Brahma Purana'' ( or ; ) is one of the eighteen major Puranas collections of Hindu texts in Sanskrit. It is listed as the first Mahapurana in all anthologies, and is therefore also called ''Adi Purana''. Another title for this text is ''Sa ...

and the

Shiva Purana The ''Shiva Purana'' (original Sanskrit title: Śivapurāṇa (शिवपुराण) and Śivamahāpurāṇa (शिवमहापुराण) is one of eighteen major texts of the '' Purana'' genre of Sanskrit texts in Hinduism, and part o ...

mention Raghu as son of Dilīpa and Dirghavahu as his epithet.''Sanskrit Documents'', Raghuvamsha text, Sarga ( Chapter ) 05 https://sanskritdocuments.org/sites/giirvaani/giirvaani/rv/sargas/05_rv.htm

References

{{Authority control Solar dynasty Mythological kings of Kosala