OHM: Canto 9:Chapter 7:The Descendants of King Mândhâtâ and the Harischandra Charitha:

King Māndhātā has 3 sons- Purukutsa, Ambareesha

̣ and Muchukunda. They have 50

sisters. Who married them?. Mahayogi Soubhari, who lost his mind’s equilibrium by seeing the

‘jalacreedha’of some fish under water, where he was doing very severe tapass.

Purukutsa married Namada,the sister of the snakes (sarpa-gan ̣a) . The son of Purukutsa

was Trasaddasyu, whose son was Anaran ̣ya. Anaran ̣ya's son was Haryaśva, Haryaśva's son was

Arun ̣, Arun ̣'s son was Tribandhana, and Tribandhana's son was Satyavrata, also known as

Triśańku. Triśańku became a chan ̣d ̣āla, by the Sapa of his Guru Vasishta Muni. He approached

Viswamitra Maharshi and redeemed the curse and also additionally got a free visa to go to

Swarga, with his physical body. But the devas in Swarga, as if an unprecedented and awkward

case, pushed down Trisunku, with his head downwards. But he was stopped from his fall,

however, by the influence of Viśvāmitra Mahrshi and out of anger he started to launch an

artificial satellite, ‘trisanku swarga’, for him. Seeing this, the demigods gave Trisanku a

permanent place among the stars. He is twinkling still there and is very happy even now.

The son of Triśańku was Hariśchandra. Hariścandra once performed a Maha Rājaooya-

yajña, but Viśvāmitra Maharshi, cunningly took all of Hariścandra's possessions as dakshin
̣ ̣a,

contribution and chastised Hariścandra in various ways. Harischandra became a bankrupt.

̣ ha
Hearing this, Vasisht ̣ Muni, Harischandra’s Kula Guru, cursed Viswamitra Maharshi to
become a duck (vathu/tharavu) and in return, the latter cursed Vasishta Muni to become a crane

(kotti/ kokku/Bakam). These birds fought each other for many years.

Hariśchandra had no sons, but on the advice of Nārada Rishi, he worshiped Varun ̣a

Bhagvan and got a son named Rohita. Hariścandra promised to Varuna Bhagavan that Rohita

would be used as Yajna-Pashu, to perform a Varun ̣a-yajña. Varun ̣a reminded Hariśchandra

repeatedly about this Yajña, but the King, because of his deep affection for his son, gave various

excuses to avoid sacrificing him. Gradually the son grew up. When he came to know the Yajna

story, he took his bow and arrows and he went to the forest. Meanwhile, at home, King

Hariśchandra, got Mahodara disease by the wrath of Varun ̣a Bhagavan. When Rohita knew this,

he wanted to return to the capital and see his father, but King Indra prevented him from doing

so. Following the instructions of Indra, Rohita lived in the forest for six years, visiting some

sacred places, and then returned home. On the way, Rohita purchased Śhuna:śhephan, the second

son of Ajīgarta, to use as sacrificial animal in his place and gave him to his father, Hariśchandra.

Varun ̣a Bhagavan and the other demigods were pacified, and Hariśchandra was freed from

disease. In this sacrifice, Viśvāmitra Maharshi, Jamadagni Maharshi, Vasis ̣tha

̣ Muni, and Rishi

Ayaāsya were Rithwicks. King Indra, being very much satisfied by the sacrifice, gave

Hariśchandra a golden chariot, and Viśvāmitra gave him transcendental knowledge

(jnanopadesha) through a unique way. Hariśchandra achieved perfection and became famous as

a very truthful Hari Bhaktha. Seeing the long face of Maharaj Pareekshit, Suka Brahmam told

the King that Shuna:shephan was not killed at the Homa, by the mercy of the extremely learned

and scholarly Maharshees, who found out an exception for the rule.
 OHM: Chapter 8: The Sons of Sagara Meet Lord Kapiladeva:

The Eighth Chapter describes the descendants of Rohita, son of Harischandra. The shining

hero in Rohita dynasty is King S’agara, whose story is described in relation to Kapiladeva and

the destruction of the 60 thousand sons of King Sagara. The son of Rohita was known as Harita,

and the son of Harita was Champa, who constructed a township known as Champāpurī. The son

of Champa was Sudeva, the son of Sudeva was Vijaya, the son of Vijaya was Bharuka, and the

son of Bharuka was Vr ̣uka. Bāahuka, the son of Vr ̣uka, was greatly disturbed by his enemies,

and therefore he left home with his wife and went to the forest. When he died in his old age, his

wife wanted to observe Satī- dying along with her husband, in the same funeral fire. But when

she was about to die, sage A’urva found that she was pregnant and forbade her to do so. The co-

wives of Bāhuka gave her poisoned food, but still her son was born with the poison. The son was

therefore named S’agara (Garena saha jathaha= S’agara) Following the instructions of the great

sage A’urva, King Sagara reformed many clans, including the Talajamkhas, Yavanas, Śhakas,

Hehayaas and B’arbaras. The king did not kill them, disfigured them. Then, again following the

instructions of Sage Aurva, King Sagara performed aśvamedha sacrifices, but the horse needed

for such a sacrifice was stolen by King Indra. Sagara became Samrat, Chakravarhty, Emperor of

the whole lands. He had two wives, Sumathi and Keśhinī. While searching for the horse, the sons

of Sumathi extensively dug up the earth and in this way all these trenches together later became

a Sāgara or Ocean.(Indian MooLa). On the North-East they finally found their horse and a Sage

sitting nearby in Dhyana. Already deprived of intelligence by King Indra, they concluded that it

was he who robbed the horse now and sitting there in the disguise of a Sannyasi. They planned
to kill the robber, but hearing the sound of 60, 000 people approaching him, the Sage mildly

opened his eyes. Within no time, all of them were burnt to ashes. It was Kapila Vasudeva

Bhagvan and He continued his meditation, quite unperturbed.

Keśhinī, the second wife of Samrat S’agara, had a son, Asamañjasa’. He acted little

eccentric, following his past Janma of a weired personality. But, he was Jnani and eventually

went to forest and became one with the Paramatma. His son Aḿśhumān, later searched for the

horse and found it at the same place, where Sumathi’s sons saw it. Amshuman also saw Kapila

Deva there. Upon approaching Kapila deva, Aḿśumān saw a pile of ashes near by the great Sage.

Aḿśumān offered prayers to Kapiladeva, who was very pleased by his prayers and returned to

him the horse. However, Aḿśhumān still stood before Kapiladeva, and Kapiladeva understood

that Aḿśhumān was praying for the deliverance of his forefathers. Thus Kapiladeva offered the

instruction that they could be delivered by water from the Ganges. Aḿśhumān then offered

respectful obeisances to Kapiladeva, circumambulated Him, and left that place with the horse

for sacrifice. When King Sagara finished his Yajña, he handed over the kingdom to Aḿśumān

and, following the advice of SageA’urva, attained salvation.

OHM:Canto 9:Chapter 10: The Pastimes of the Supreme Lord, Rāmacandra:

This Tenth Chapter describes how Lord Rāmacandra appeared in the dynasty of Mahārāja

Khatvāńga.
̣ It also describes the Lord's activities, telling how He killed Rāvan ̣a and returned to

Ayodhyā, the capital of His kingdom.

The son of Mahārāja Khatvāńga

̣ was Dīrghabāhu, and his son was Raghu. The son of Raghu was

Aja, the son of Aja was Daśaratha, and the son of Daśaratha was Lord Rāmacandra, the Supreme

Personality of Godhead. When the Lord descended into this world in His full quadruple

expansion — as Lord Rāmacandra, Laksman

̣ ̣a, Bharata and Śatrughna — great sages like

Vālmīki who were actually in knowledge of the Absolute Truth described His transcendental

pastimes. Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes these pastimes in brief.

Lord Rāmacandra went with Viśvāmitra and killed Rāks ̣asas like Mārīca. After breaking the

stout and strong bow known as Haradhanu, the Lord married mother Sītā and cut down the

prestige of Paraśurāma. To obey the order of His father, He entered the forest, accompanied by

Laks ̣man ̣a and Sītā. There He cut off the nose of Śūrpan ̣akhā and killed the associates of Rāvan ̣a,

headed by Khara and Dūs ̣an ̣a. Rāvan ̣a's kidnapping of Sītādevī was the beginning of this demon's

misfortune. When Mārīca assumed the form of a golden deer, Lord Rāmacandra went to bring

the deer to please Sītādevī, but in the meantime Rāvan ̣a took advantage of the Lord's absence to

kidnap her. When Sītādevī was kidnapped, Lord Rāmacandra, accompanied by Laks ̣man ̣a,

searched for her throughout the forest. In the course of this search, They met Jatāyu.
̣ Then the
Lord killed the demon Kabandha and the commander Vāli and established a friendly relationship

with Sugrīva. After organizing the military strength of the monkeys and going with them to the

shore of the sea, the Lord awaited the arrival of Samudra, the ocean personified, but when

Samudra did not come, the Lord, the master of Samudra, became angry. Then Samudra came to

the Lord with great haste and surrendered to Him, wanting to help Him in every way. The Lord

then attempted to bridge the ocean, and, with the help of advice from Vibhīs ̣an ̣a, He attacked

Rāvan ̣a's capital, Lańkā. Previously, Hanumān, the eternal servant of the Lord, had set fire to

Lańkā, and now, with the help of Laks ̣man ̣a, the forces of Lord Rāmacandra killed all the

Rāks ̣asa soldiers. Then Lord Rāmacandra personally killed Rāvan ̣a. Mandodarī and other wives

lamented for Rāvan ̣a, and in accordance with Lord Rāmacandra's order, Vibhīs ̣an ̣a performed

the funeral ceremonies for all the dead in the family. Lord Rāmacandra then gave Vibhīs ̣an ̣a the

right to rule Lańkā and also granted him a long duration of life. The Lord delivered Sītādevī from

the Aśoka forest and carried her in a flower airplane to His capital Ayodhyā, where He was

received by His brother Bharata. When Lord Rāmacandra entered Ayodhyā, Bharata brought His

wooden shoes, Vibhīs ̣an ̣a and Sugrīva held a whisk and fan, Hanumān carried an umbrella,

Śatrughna carried the Lord's bow and two quivers, and Sītādevī carried a waterpot containing

water from holy places. Ańgada carried a sword, and Jāmbavān (Ṛksarāja)
̣ carried a shield. After

Lord Rāmacandra, accompanied by Lord Laks ̣man ̣a and mother Sītādevī, met all His relatives,

the great sage Vasisṭ ha

̣ enthroned Him as King. The chapter ends with a short description of

Lord Rāmacandra's rule in Ayodhyā.