Mandhatri


Mandhatṛi or Mandhata was a legendary prehistoric king of the Suryavamsha or Solar dynasty of India. He was said to have conquered the entire world and composed Hymn 134 of Mandala 10 in the Rig Veda. The Mahabharata calls him the son of Yuvanashva. He marries Bindumati, the daughter of King Shashabindu of the Yadu dynasty. According to the Puranas, he had three sons: Purukutsa, Ambarisha, and Muchukunda. He is remembered for his greatness, benevolence, and generosity.

Birth

Mandhatṛ's legend is cited in the Vana Parva, Drona Parva, and the Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata.
King Yuvanashva of Ayodhya once went on a hunting expedition, and in the afternoon, he became wracked with thirst. He came across the site of a yajna, and drank the sacred sacrificial butter that he observed, upon which he conceived. The Ashvin twins extracted the child from the king's womb. Even as the deities wondered how they would sustain the child, Indra produced some nectar from his fingers, which the child consumed. Drawing his strength from the hand of Indra, Mandhatṛ grew immensely powerful.

Conquests

By mere willpower, he conquered the entire earth in one day. He proceeded to vanquish the kings Marutta of Ushiraviga, Asita, the Druhyu king Angara, Nriga, Brihadratha of Anga, Suna, Jaya, Janamejaya, Sudhanvan, Gaya of Kanyakubja, Angara's son Gandhara, and several others in battle. Mandhatṛ conquered Patala, Bhuloka, and half of Svarga, and became the ruler of the three worlds.
The Mahabharata states that Mandhatṛ, the King of Ayodhya, gave away colossal statues of Rohita fish, entirely made up of pure gold and spanning several kilometres to the Brahmanas as a charity. He also gave away 10,000 padmas of cows of the best breed to the Brahmanas during his sacrifices. Mandhatṛ performed a hundred ashvamedha yajnas and a hundred rajasuya yajnas.
Mandhatṛ was also known as Yauvanashvin and Trassadasyu. He once fought Ravana, the King of Lanka in a duel, but it ended in a stalemate.
Mandhatṛ married the Chandravamsha princess, Bindumati, daughter of Shashabindu, King of the Yadavas. The couple had three sons and fifty daughters. His sons Purukutsa, Ambarisha, and Muchukunda were equally illustrious. Mandhatṛ's daughters fell in love with the handsome ascetic Saubhari and married him from this Saubhari Brahmnins originated. Mandhatṛ's eldest son, Susandhi, succeeded him.

Death

As Mandhatṛ grew old, his hubris grew, and he desired to entirely conquer Svarga, the heavenly regions ruled by Indra. Indra was perturbed by this and told Mandhatṛ that he had not completely conquered the earth. Indra told Mandhatṛ that the asura Lavana, the son of Madhu and Kumbhinesi, the sister of Ravana, the king of Lanka were not a subject to his rule. Mandhatṛ invaded Madhupuri, the city of Lavanasura. Lavana possessed a divine trident given to his father King Madhu by Shiva. As long as he had the trident, nobody could vanquish Lavana in battle. Lavana wielded the trident and burnt Mandhatṛ and his forces, reducing them to ashes in an instant. Lavana was later slain by Shatrughna, a descendant of Mandhatṛ.

Buddhism

King Mandhatṛ is known as Mandhāta Mandhātu in Buddhist lore. His story is recounted in Mandhātu-jātaka. King Mandhātu was a Bodhisatta who reigned as a chakravartin emperor over the whole world. However, he became bored with earthly dominions and sought to rule all the cosmos, including the celestial realms. Thus, Mandhata was given half of the heavenly kingdom by Lord Indra. However, the emperor became more greedy and desired to kill Indra and take the entire heaven for himself. But, Mandhata immediately fell from heaven onto earth and died after imparting a final moral lesson to the people.

Legacy

Mandhatṛ is the supposed namesake of Gurla Mandhata, one of the major Himalayan peaks. He supposedly visited the area on his way to the sacred lake Manasarovar beside the axis mundi Mount Kailash.