Suryavansha

The Suryavansha (Solar dynasty) descends from Surya, the Sun, through Vaivasvata Manu and his son Ikshvaku, who founded the kingdom of Ayodhya. It is the line of Harishchandra, Sagara, Bhagiratha, Raghu, Dasharatha and Rama. It is also called the Ikshvaku dynasty, and the Raghuvansha after Raghu. In the Vishnu Purana [III.2] Manu is a son of the Sun by Sanjna. Vasishtha's recital in the Ramayana [Bala Kanda 70] runs from Brahma through Marichi, Kashyapa, the Sun and Manu to Ikshvaku and then to Dasharatha and his sons.

The main branches, as the Puranas name them:

• The Ayodhya line. From Ikshvaku through Vikukshi, Kakutstha, Mandhatri, Trishanku, Harishchandra, Sagara, Bhagiratha, Raghu, Aja and Dasharatha to Rama [Vishnu Purana IV.2-4]. Rama's sons Kusha and Lava carry it on; Kusha's line runs down to Brihadbala, who is killed by Abhimanyu in the Mahabharata war. The Vishnu Purana [IV.22] lists the future kings down to Sumitra and says the line ends with him in the Kali age. The Ramayana and the Vishnu Purana give different kings between Sagara and Dasharatha. For example, the Ramayana puts Raghu before Kalmashapada, and the Vishnu Purana puts him after Dirghabahu.
• Videha. Ikshvaku's son Nimi founds Videha. The sages produce the first Janaka from his body, and the Janakas of Mithila follow, down to Siradhvaja, the father of Sita, and Kriti, the last of them [Vishnu Purana IV.5].
• Vishala. The Ramayana [Bala Kanda 47] names Vishala as a son of Ikshvaku, from whom Vishala (Vaishali) takes its name.
• Anarta. Sharyati, another son of Manu, has a line that rules Anarta from Kushasthali, later Dwaraka. Its best-known king is Raivata Kakudmi [Vishnu Purana IV.1].
• The Shakyas. Pali texts trace the Shakya clan, and the Buddha, to Okkaka, the Pali form of Ikshvaku. The Vishnu Purana lists Shakya, Shuddhodana and Ratula among the later Ikshvaku kings. Jain tradition counts most of the Tirthankaras in the line.

Mandhatri's descendants are the source of the royal sages in some Brahmin pravaras. Mandhatri's son Ambarisha has a son Yuvanashva, whose son Harita is the source of the Angirasa Haritas, Brahmins of Kshatriya birth who joined the Angirasa family [Vishnu Purana IV.3 and Wilson's notes]. This is why Ambarisha, Yuvanashva and Mandhatri appear in some pravaras beside Angirasa.

Many Rajput clans place themselves in this line. The Kachwahas trace themselves to Kusha, son of Rama. The Guhila (Gohil) clan, with its Sisodia branch of Mewar, the Rathores, the Bargujars and others also claim Solar descent; the Bais, Gaur, Jamwal, Minhas and Pundir clans are listed under the Solar line in Wikipedia's summary of the scheme. Families who give Suryadhwaja as their gotra do the same. These are claims of the clans. Historians such as Dirk Kolff and Cynthia Talbot read the Rajput genealogies as built by rulers and their bards to support power and Kshatriya standing, many of them in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Kachwahas themselves say their ancestors left Kosala and founded a line at Gwalior before reaching Rajasthan, and some historians link the Amber founder Dulha Rai to the earlier Kachchhapaghata dynasty of Gwalior.

1. Manu, son of the Sun: Vaivasvata Manu, son of Surya, survives the great flood and becomes the first king of this age.
2. Ikshvaku founds Ayodhya: Manu's son Ikshvaku rules from Ayodhya and gives the dynasty its other name, the Ikshvakus.
3. The branches: Ikshvaku's sons found Videha, Vishala and other lines, and Manu's son Sharyati founds the line of Anarta.
4. Mandhatri: a king of the Ayodhya line whose sons Purukutsa, Ambarisha and Muchukunda start several branches, one of them the Angirasa Haritas.
5. Bhagiratha brings down the Ganga: to free the souls of his ancestors, the sons of Sagara, Bhagiratha's penance brings the Ganga to earth.
6. Raghu: his rule is so renowned that the line is also called Raghuvansha, as in Kalidasa's poem.
7. Rama: the seventh avatar of Vishnu, born to Dasharatha, the line's most celebrated king.
8. Kusha, Lava and the later kings: Rama's sons carry the line on, and the Puranas list its kings down to Sumitra.

• Ayodhya on the Sarayu river: the capital of Kosala.
• Mithila: the capital of the Videha branch.
• Kushasthali (Dwaraka): the capital of the Anarta branch.
• The Sun rising over a royal city