Shloka 5
Chapter 2: Sudarśana Upākhyāna — Atithi-Dharma and the Conquest of Mṛtyu
Gṛhastha-Vrata
मनो: प्रजापते राजन्निक्ष्वाकुरभवत् सुतः । तस्य पुत्रशतं जज्ञे नपते: सूर्यवर्चस:,नरेश्वर! प्रजापति मनुके एक पुत्र हुआ, जिसका नाम था इक्ष्वाकु। राजा इक्ष्वाकु सूर्यके समान तेजस्वी थे। उन्होंने सौ पुत्रोंकी जन्म दिया
manoḥ prajāpate rājann ikṣvākur abhavat sutaḥ | tasya putraśataṁ jajñe nṛpate sūryavarcasaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “O king, from Manu, the Prajāpati, there was born a son named Ikṣvāku. And to that Ikṣvāku—O lord of men, radiant like the sun—were born a hundred sons.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames righteous kingship as rooted in sacred ancestry: a king’s legitimacy and duty (dharma) are strengthened by continuity from a progenitor (Manu/Prajāpati) and by the flourishing of progeny, implying responsibility toward lineage, subjects, and moral order.
Bhīṣma recounts a genealogical origin: Manu (called Prajāpati) has a son Ikṣvāku, and Ikṣvāku—described as sun-radiant—fathers a hundred sons, establishing the expansion of a royal line.