Raghu
Encyclopedia
The Great Emperor Raghu was a valorous king of the Ikshvaku dynasty
Ikshvaku dynasty
The Ikshvaku dynasty, in Puranic literature, was a mythical dynasty founded by Ikshvaku, grandson of Vivasvan or Surya and son of Vaivasvata Manu. This dynasty is also known as . The important personalities belonging to this royal house are Harishchandra, Dilīpa, Sagara, Raghu, Rama and Prasenajit...

. According to the Raghuvamsha, he was born to king Dilipa
Dilipa
Dilipa is a genus of butterflies in the family Nymphalidae.-External links:* at funit.fi...

 and his queen Sudakshina. His name in Sanskrit means the fast one, deriving from Raghu's chariot driving abilities. So celebrated were the exploits of Raghu, that his dynasty itself came to be known as the Raghuvamsha or the Raghukula after him. The history of his dynasty is elaborated upon by Kalidasa
Kalidasa
Kālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...

 in his Raghuvamsha.

Lineage

A number of Puranas, which include the Vishnu Purana
Vishnu Purana
The Vishnu Purana is a religious Hindu text and one of the eighteen Mahapuranas. It is considered one of the most important Puranas and has been given the name Puranaratna...

, the Vayu Purana
Vayu Purana
The Vayu Purana is a Shaiva Purana, a Hindu religious text, dedicated to the god Vayu , containing about 24,000 shlokas.-Date:Banabhatta refers to this work in his Kadambari and Harshacharita...

, the Linga Purana
Linga Purana
The Linga Purana is one of the major eighteen Puranas, a Hindu religious text. The extant text is divided into two parts, comprising 108 and 55 chapters respectively. These parts contain the description regarding the origin of universe, origin of the linga, and emergence of Brahma and Vishnu, and...

, mention Dirghabahu as the son of Dilipa and Raghu as the son of Dirghabahu. But the Harivamsha, the Brahma Purana
Brahma Purana
The Brahma Purana is one of the major eighteen Mahapuranas, a genre of Hindu religious texts. The extant text comprises 246 chapters. It is divided into two parts, namely the Purvabhaga and the Uttarabhaga . The first part narrates the story behind the creation of the cosmos, details the life and...

 and the Shiva Purana
Shiva Purana
The Shiva Purana is one of the s, a genre of Hindu religious texts dedicated to Shiva. According to a tradition which is stated in the of this text, the original text was known as the ....

 mention Raghu as son of Dilipa and Dirghavahu as his epithet. The lineage described in the Raghuvamsha mention Dilipa as the father of Raghu. According to most of the Puaranas, as well as Kalidasa, Raghu was succeeded by his son Aja
Aja (Hindu mythology)
In Hindu mythology, Aja is the son of king Raghu, and thus a scion of the Ikshvaku dynasty, who claimed descent from the sun-God Surya. His paternal grandfather was the pious king Dileepa...

, who was the father of Dasharatha, the father of Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...

, Lakshmana
Lakshmana
Lakshmana was the brother and close companion of Rama, and himself a hero in the famous epic Ramayana...

, Bharata
Bharata (Ramayana)
In the Hindu epic Ramayana, Bharata was the second brother of the main protagonist Rama, and the son of Dasaratha and Kaikeyi. Dasaratha was the Emperor of Ayodhya and belonged to the Suryavansha or Solar Dynasty...

 and Shatrughna
Shatrughna
Shatrughna was the youngest brother of Lord Rama in the Hindu epic Ramayana . He is the twin brother of Lakshmana.-Birth and family:...

.

Life

The warrior Raghu Gopal leads a military expedition to Transoxiana. He defeats and subjugates local peoples along the way (presumably on his march through Central Asia) until he reaches the Vankshu or Caksu, the Vedic/Puranic names of the Oxus River. There, Raghu's army battles the Hepthalites, or White Huns, whom the Indians called Hunas and Mlecchas (barbarians). The Hepthalites are defeated, and the Raghuvamsha boasts of "The exploits of Raghu, whose valor expressed itself amongst the husbands of the Huna women, became manifest in the scarlet color of their cheeks."

Raghu was a great donor. It is said that no one returns from his palace empty-handed.

After crossing the Oxus, Raghu and his army encountered the Kambojas, an ancient Iranian people often mentioned in Indian texts. The Kambojas submitted to Raghu and offered him gifts and treasures. Evidently, the Kambojas dwelt in the vicinity of the Pamirs. Kalidasa describes the preponderance of walnut trees in the Oxus country and indeed, this particular region is still known for the cultivation of walnuts.

Raghu's father Dilipa
Dilipa
Dilipa is a genus of butterflies in the family Nymphalidae.-External links:* at funit.fi...

 was a very pious king, and performed as many as 100 yajnas or sacrificial rituals. Until he did so, only Indra
Indra
' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...

, king of the Gods, had earned that distinction. In a bid to prevent Dilipa from equaling his record, Indra
Indra
' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...

 placed many hurdles in the path of the successful completion of the 100th sacrifice, but Raghu was able to prevail over the forces of Indra
Indra
' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...

 himself, and the sacrifice was completed successfully.

Legacy

Raghu is best known today as the great-grandfather of Rama. There are indications that in the classical period, Raghu was a heroic personality of far greater importance than what one would imagine today. The mahakavya (epic) composed by the classical poet Kalidasa
Kalidasa
Kālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...

 on the lives of the ancestors of Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...

 is entitled Raghuvamsha or the "Dynasty of Raghu". Indeed, Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...

 himself is known by many appellations (such as Raghava, Raghunandan and Raghukula Nayaka), indicative of his belonging to the family of Raghu, which again serves to underscore the great prestige enjoyed by Raghu in the puranic era.

During the early medieval period, Rajasekhara
Rajasekhara
Rajashekhara was an eminent Sanskrit poet, dramatist and critic. He was court poet of the Gurjara Pratiharas.He wrote Kavyamimamsa between 880 and 920 CE. The work is essentially a practical guide for poets that explains the elements and composition of a good poem. The fame of Rajashekhara...

, a Sanskrit poet, in his plays, described his patrons, Gurjar rulers as Raghu-kula-tilaka (Ornament of the race of Raghu), Raghu-gramani (the leader of the Raghu family) and so forth.
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