Amsha 4 - Royal DynastiesAdhyaya 221 Verses

Adhyaya 22

Ikṣvāku Dynasty Terminus at Sumitra and the Kali-yuga Horizon

Parāśara continues instructing Maitreya by marking the end of the Ikṣvāku royal line. He declares that this vaṁśa reaches its terminus in King Sumitra, and with him the dynastic stream ceases in the Kali-yuga. Through the guru–śiṣya dialogue, genealogy becomes a teaching on historical finitude: even the famed Solar lineage is subject to kāla. The point is not despair but discernment—continuity is conditional, while the Supreme Lord Śrī Viṣṇu remains the yuga-regulator and inner cause of the world (Jagat-kāraṇa), ever beyond the changes of history.

Shlokas

Verse 3

इक्ष्वाकूणाम् अयं वंशः सुमित्रान्तो भविष्यति यतस् तं प्राप्य राजानं स संस्थां प्राप्स्यते कलौ

This royal lineage of the Ikṣvākus will come to its terminus in Sumitra; for when that king is reached, the dynasty will meet its cessation in the age of Kali.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Adhyaya 22 say about the Ikṣvāku dynasty?

Parāśara says the Ikṣvāku lineage ends in Sumitra; upon reaching that king, the dynasty comes to cessation in Kali-yuga.

Why is the Kali-yuga mention important in this dynastic note?

It signals that dynastic continuity is governed by yuga-dharma and kāla; the Purāṇic lesson is to see history as regulated under the Supreme Lord’s ordinance rather than as autonomous political fate.