Mandhatri

Mandhatri (Sanskrit: मान्धातृ, Māndhātṛ), in Hindu mythology, was an Ikshvaku dynasty king and son of Yuvanashva. ^[1] The hymn 134 of the tenth mandala of the Rigveda is attributed to him.^[2] He married Bindumati Chaitrarathi, daughter of Yadava king Shashabindu and granddaughter of Chitraratha.^[3] According to the Puranas, he had three sons, Purukutsa, Ambarisha and Muchukunda.^[4]

The Harivamsa and some of the Puranas make Mandhatri to have been born in a natural way from his mother Gauri, but the Vishnu and Bhagavata Puranas tell an extraordinary story about his birth, which is probably based on a forced derivation of his name. Yuvanashva had no son, which grieved him much. Some holy sages near whom he lived instituted a religious rite to procure progeny for him. One night, they placed a consecrated vessel of water upon an altar as part of their ceremony, and the water became endowed with prolific energy. Yuvanashva woke up in the night thirsty, and finding the water, drank it. He conceived, and in due time, a child came forth from his right side. The sages then asked who would suckle the child, whereupon Indra appeared, gave his finger for the child to suck, and said, "He shall suck me' (mama yam dhasyati). These words were contracted, and the boy was named Mandhatri.^[1]

When he grew up, he had three sons and fifty daughters. An old sage named Saubhari came to Mandhatri and asked that one might be given him to wife. Unwilling to give one to so old and emaciated a man, but yet afraid to refuse, the king temporised, but at length yielded to the sage's request that the matter might be left to the choice of the girls. Saubhari then assumed a handsome form, and there was such a contention for him that he had the whole fifty, and he provided for them a row of crystal palaces in a most beautiful garden.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} John Dowson (1870). A classical dictionary of Hindu mythology and religion, geography, history, and literature. Trübner & Co.. pp. 197–8. http://books.google.com/books?id=PwsYAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA197. Retrieved 1 June 2011. 
2. ^ Pargiter, F.E. (1972) [1922]. Ancient Indian Historical Tradition, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, pp.102-4.
3. ^ Pargiter, F.E. (1972) [1922]. Ancient Indian Historical Tradition, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, p.150.
4. ^ Pargiter, F.E. (1972) [1922]. Ancient Indian Historical Tradition, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, p.93.