Chapter 15: The Glories of the Descendants of King Priyavrata

(1) S'rî S'uka said: 'The son of Bharata named Sumati who followed the path of Rishabha, will in this age of Kali, by some heretics lacking in civilization be considered a godhead according to a self-made, unsubstantial idea not found in the Vedas [see also 5.6: 9].  (2) From the womb of Sumati's wife Vriddhasenâ a son was born named Devatâjit. (3) Thereafter from Âsurî a son of Devatâjit was born who was called Devadyumna. From the womb of Devadyumna's wife Dhenumatî the son Parameshthhî appeared from whose wife Suvarcalâ the son Pratîha appeared. (4) He who personally propounded the science of self-realization, was a purified soul of perfect understanding who always remembered the Original Personality. (5) From Pratîha's wife Suvarcalâ three sons were born named Pratihartâ, Prastotâ and Udgâtâ who were all experts in the Vedic rituals. Pratihartâ's wife  Stutî gave birth to the two sons Aja and Bhûmâ. (6) From Bhûmâ's wife Rishikulyâ Udgîtha was born, from him Prastâva was born from the womb of Devakulyâ, and Prastâva begot in his wife Niyutsâ the son Vibhu. From Vibhu's wife Ratî, further Prithushena was born who in Âkûti begot a son called Nakta. From Nakta there was a son born from the womb of Druti: Gaya. He, being a most exalted wise king famous for his piety, was by his qualities recognized as a direct expansion of the Supreme  Soul, Lord Vishnu who took his birth for the purpose of protecting the entire world. He, moved by pure goodness, became the leading personality [the mahâpurusha] in society. (7) In the performance of his duties he protected his subjects by maintaining them [poshana], he made them happy in all respects [prînana], treated them as his children [upalâlana] and sometimes chastised them as a king [anus'âsana]. He in every respect performed all the prescribed religious ceremonies for the Supreme Lord, the great Personality and source of all living beings who is the Supreme Brahman [in person]. By his surrender, the many of his spiritual qualities and by his service of the lotus feet of the self-realized ones, he managed to be of devotional service unto the Supreme Lord, for he, who in the purest consciousness continuously was absorbed in the soul, had personally realized the cessation of all identification with his material self. Despite of his awareness of his exalted spiritual position he, remaining without any false pride [demonstrations of power], ruled the entire world strictly according to the Vedic principles.

(8) Oh son of Pându, for the eulogy of Gaya the ones versed in the truth of the Purâna sing the following poetic verses: (9) 'Who else would be capable of doing what King Gaya did, the offerer who well-respected all around for his Vedic knowledge performed so many sacrifices, the defender of righteousness with every kind of opulence, the dean of the assembly of the truthful ones, he who is an integral part of the Lord and the servant of the devotees? (10) All chaste and devoted women with great satisfaction sprinkled him with sanctified water [at his coronation] for being the true one deserving the blessings of the daughters of Daksha, and with mother earth like a cow spontaneously dripping milk, he selflessly fulfilled all desires of the people on this planet. (11) [With all the rites] being of respect for every part of the Vedas yielded him all that one could wish for, even though he was free from desires, and all the kings satisfied about the opposition he offered on the battlefield paid tribute to him, just as did the brahmins with one sixth of the benedictions of the deceased. (12) King Indra got greatly intoxicated drinking all the soma of [Gaya] his sacrifices in favor of the Supreme Lord, the soul of all sacrifices, the result of which He [Vishnu] personally accepted because of  the purity of his devotion and steadiness in devotional service. (13) When one satisfies the Lord in the sacrificial arena one directly propitiates all the gods beginning with Lord Brahmâ including the complete of human society, the lower creatures and the plants and grasses. Despite of being the satisfaction of nature in person, the Lord [thus] derived great satisfaction from Gaya!'

(14-15) From his wife Gayantî three sons Citraratha, Sugati and Avarodhana were born. From Citraratha's wife Ûrnâ Samrâth was born and from him Marîci was born from Utkalâ. Marîci's wife Bindumatî gave birth to a child named Bindu [or Bindumân] and from Bindu's wife Saraghâ there was a child carrying the name Madhu. Thereafter a son came called Vîravrata who took birth from Madhu's wife Sumanâ. From Vîravrata's wife Bhojâ two sons were born named Manthu and Pramanthu and from Manthu's wife Satyâ, Bhauvana was born. From his wife Dûshanâ a son was born named Tvashthâ and from Tvashthâ's wife Virocanâ there was a son named Viraja. From Viraja's wife Vishûcî a hundred sons and one daughter were born with S'atajit as the first one.

(16) About Viraja there is the following verse: 'King Viraja, who fathered a hundred sons, is by his reputation as great a jewel in this dynasty stemming from Priyavrata [see 5.1] as Lord Vishnu is among the demigods.'