Shloka 17
श्राद्ध-योग्य द्रव्य, निषेध, तथा गयाश्राद्ध-माहात्म्य (Śrāddha Materials, Prohibitions, and the Glory of Gayā)
श्रूयन्ते चापि पितृभिर् गीता गाथा महीपते इक्ष्वाकोर् मनुपुत्रस्य कलापोपवने पुरा
śrūyante cāpi pitṛbhir gītā gāthā mahīpate ikṣvākor manuputrasya kalāpopavane purā
O king, even among the Pitṛs there is heard an ancient gāthā, once sung long ago in the grove called Kalāpa, telling of Ikṣvāku, the son of Manu.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Ancestral tradition: a Pitṛ-heard gāthā about Ikṣvāku sung in the Kalāpa grove
Teaching: Historical
Quality: traditional and evocative
Vamsha: Surya
Key Kings: Ikṣvāku, Manu
FAQs
It frames royal genealogy as sacred, validated by ancestral custodians (Pitṛs), making lineage and kingship part of dharmic, remembered tradition rather than mere chronology.
He introduces genealogy through remembered ‘gāthās’ and ancient reports, signaling that the Purana transmits sanctioned tradition about Manu’s descendants such as Ikṣvāku.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purana’s royal lineages function within Vishnu’s cosmic order—kingship and succession are portrayed as operating under the supreme, sustaining sovereignty of Vishnu.