Srimad Bhagavatam — Navama Skandha, Shloka 5
Ikṣvāku Dynasty: Vikukṣi’s Offense, Purañjaya’s Victory, Māndhātā’s Birth, and Saubhari’s Fall and Renunciation
तेषां पुरस्तादभवन्नार्यावर्ते नृपा नृप । पञ्चविंशति: पश्चाच्च त्रयो मध्येऽपरेऽन्यत: ॥ ५ ॥
teṣāṁ purastād abhavann āryāvarte nṛpā nṛpa pañca-viṁśatiḥ paścāc ca trayo madhye ’pare ’nyataḥ
Of the one hundred sons, twenty-five became kings in the western side of Āryāvarta, a place between the Himālaya and Vindhya mountains. Another twenty-five sons became kings in the east of Āryāvarta, and the three principal sons became kings in the middle. The other sons became kings in various other places.
FAQs
This verse notes that many kings arose in Āryāvarta from the described lineage—counting specific numbers in earlier and later branches—indicating an extensive dynastic spread in the Vedic heartland.
Śukadeva is summarizing genealogical branches to map the flow of dynasties efficiently, showing how royal lines expanded across Āryāvarta without narrating every ruler in full detail.
It encourages seeing history through dharma—valuing lineage not merely as bloodline, but as responsibility to preserve culture, truthfulness, and principled leadership in one’s own sphere.