Shloka 2.110.27
लोकसमुत्पत्ति-वर्णनम् तथा इक्ष्वाकुवंश-प्रशंसा (Cosmogony and Ikshvaku Genealogy as Counsel to Rama)
भगीरथात्ककुत्स्थस्तु काकुत्स्था येन विश्रुताः।ककुत्स्थस्य च पुत्रोऽभूद्रघुर्येन च राघवाः।।।।
bhagīrathāt kakutsthas tu kākutsthā yena viśrutāḥ |
kakutsthasya ca putro ’bhūd raghur yena ca rāghavāḥ ||
From Bhagīratha was born Kakutstha, through whom your line became famed as the Kākuṭsthas. And to Kakutstha was born Raghu, through whom you are known as the Rāghavas.
To Bhagiratha was born Kakutstha, by whom your race is well-known. A son Raghu was born to Kakutstha and hence all of you are known as Raghavas.
Identity is tied to ancestral exemplars: dynastic names function as moral memory, reminding descendants that fame should rest on righteous conduct (dharma) upheld across generations.
The narration connects Bhagīratha to Kakutstha and then to Raghu, explaining how the royal line gains its celebrated epithets.
The virtue implied is kula-dharma—upholding the standards that made the lineage ‘viśruta’ (renowned), culminating in the Rāghava identity associated with righteous rule.