Dilīpa, also known as Khaṭvāṅga or Khash , was a king of the

Ikshvaku dynasty 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 ...

featured in Ramayana and

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

. Dilipa is the son of krishakarma , the husband of Sudakshina, and the father of Raghu. Dilipa is also the name of a serpent born into the Kashyapa family. he succeeded his father mulaka.

Legend

Meeting with Vasishtha

One day, Dilipa met the sage

Vasishtha 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 Rigve ...

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, spring (hydrosphere), springs, Water reservoir, reservoirs, and oceans, as opposed to holy water which is water elevated with th ...

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 The ''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 legen ...

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

asura Asuras () are a class of beings in Indian religions, and later Persian and Turkic mythology. They are described as power-seeking beings related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the wor ...

named Virasena attacked

Kubera Kubera (, ) also known as Kuvera, Kuber and Kuberan, is the god of wealth, and the god-king of the semi-divine yakshas in Hinduism. He is regarded as Guardians of the directions, the regent of the north (''Dikpala''), and a protector of the ...

; however, the gods

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

and

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 ( ...

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

Magadha Magadha was a region and kingdom in ancient India, based in the eastern Ganges Plain. It was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas during the Second Urbanization period. The region was ruled by several dynasties, which overshadowed, conquered, and ...

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

Vasishta 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 ...

in order to receive advice on how to obtain a child. At Vasishta's ''

ashram An ashram (, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions, not including Buddhism. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< Kamadhenu. He stated that once when Dilipa was visiting the god

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 ...

, 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 propitiated 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 u ...

'' to attend a sacrifice of the god

Varuna Varuna (; , ) is a Hindu god. He is one of the earliest deities in pantheon, whose role underwent a significant transformation from the Vedic to the Puranic periods. In the early Vedic era, Varuna is seen as the god-sovereign, ruling the sky ...

. 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 Cedrus, 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 ...

tree that had been planted by Shiva's wife,

Parvati Parvati (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, pɑɾʋət̪iː/), also known as Uma (, , IPA: Sanskrit phonology, /ʊmɑː/) and Gauri (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, gə͡ʊɾiː/), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the Devi, ...

. 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 propitiating Nandini, Dilipa and Sudakshina returned to the earthly realm and had a son named Raghu.

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 105 sacrifices, in which he made golden roads and was even visited by the god

. This description 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