https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Aja_of_KosalaAja of Kosala - Revision history2026-07-31T09:54:27ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Aja_of_Kosala&diff=181017&oldid=prev2405:201:6:10EC:421:47A2:9348:C810 at 20:25, 4 October 20212021-10-04T20:25:02Z<p></p>
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{{Infobox royalty<br />
| name = Aja<br />
| title = [[Maharaja]] of [[Kosala]]<br />
| image = <br />
| caption = <br />
| reign = <br />
| coronation = <br />
| investiture =<br />
| full name = <br />
| birth_name =<br />
| native_lang1 = <br />
| native_lang1_name1 = <br />
| native_lang2 = <br />
| native_lang2_name1 = <br />
| othertitles = <br />
| birth_date = <br />
| birth_place = [[Ayodhya]], [[Kosala|Kingdom of Kosala]] (present-day [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[India]])<br />
| death_place = Ayodhya, Kingdom of Kosala (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India)<br />
|succession= [[Maharaja]] of [[Kosala]]<br />
| predecessor = [[Raghu]]<br />
| heir = <br />
| successor =[[Dashratha]]<br />
| queen = <br />
|spouse-type=Consort(s)<br />
| spouse = Indumati <br />
| issue = [[Dashratha]]<br />
| dynasty = [[Raghuvanshi]]-[[Ikshvaku dynasty|Ikshvaku]]-[[Suryavansha|Suryavanshi]]<br />
| father = [[Raghu]]<br />
| mother = <br />
| religion =[[Hinduism]]<br />
}}<br />
In Hindu mythology, '''Aja''' was the 60th king in the [[Solar Dynasty]], descent from the sun god [[Surya]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Thapar|first=Romila|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aei9AAAAQBAJ|title=The Past Before Us|date=2013-10-14|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-72651-2|pages=[https://books.google.co.in/books?id=aei9AAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=King+Aja+of+Ikshvaku+dynasty&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjypaj8xJjvAhUUOSsKHSPHCAAQ6AEwAXoECAAQAg 6]|language=en|author-link=Romila Thapar}}</ref> He was the son of king [[Raghu]] , one of the most famous kings of the Ikshvaku dynasty. His paternal grandfather was the pious king [[Dileepa]]. He ruled the kingdom of Kosala on the southern banks of the river [[Sarayu]], with [[Ayodhya]] as his capital.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kalidasa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gbr7nQEACAAJ&newbks=0&hl=en|title=The Dynasty of Raghu|date=2012-04-10|publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform|isbn=978-1-4751-7250-8|language=en|author-link=Kalidasa}}</ref> His wife Indumati, was the princess of Vidarbha (King Bhoja's younger sister) and his son was [[Dasharatha]], father of [[Rama]], an avatar of Vishnu.{{Sfn|Shah|2004|pp=31-32}} <br />
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Indumati used to be an apsara, a celestial damsel named Harini in her previous birth. Once Lord Indra growing apprehensive of the rigorous penance practiced by Sage [[Trinabindu]] sent her against him for disrupting his penance. She by exhibiting in front of him her attractive flirtation succeeded in interrupting his penance as a result of which the enraged sage cursed her to be born as a mortal woman on the earth and remain there till she beholds celestial flower on the earth. In due course, she was born as a princess of [[Vidarbha]] and chose king Aja as her husband in her Sawamvayara.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sastri|first=B. L. Satyanarayana|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c9hlAAAAMAAJ&newbks=0|title=Coronation of the Sandals|date=1990|publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan|pages=[https://books.google.co.in/books?id=c9hlAAAAMAAJ&q=King+Aja+of+Ikshvaku+dynasty&dq=King+Aja+of+Ikshvaku+dynasty&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1&printsec=frontcover&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjypaj8xJjvAhUUOSsKHSPHCAAQ6AEwB3oECAkQAg 1]|language=en}}</ref> Soon Dasharatha was born to them, however, her time on earth comes near to end. Once, while sage [[Narada]] was traversing the sky, garland from his Veena fell on Indumati, redeeming her from the curse. Regaining the form of [[apsara]], she vanished from the earth leaving Aja. King [[Dasharatha]] was only eight months old when Aja died.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tripathy|first=Amish|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SbLrjgEACAAJ&newbks=0&hl=en|title=Scion of Ikshvaku|date=2015|publisher=Westland Limited|isbn=978-93-85152-14-6|pages=chapter: vi|language=en|author-link=Amish Tripathi}}</ref><br />
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Aja was so grief-stricken when his wife died, he ran into the palace and committed suicide. Some other instances tell that he couldn't bear the thought of Indumati leaving him and died heartbroken that instant. However, Raghuvamsham text by Kalidasa quotes that His Guru Vashishtha sent his student to console him; he however could not come out of the pain and after having ruled for a few more years, he died. {{Sfn|Shah|2004|p=35}}<br />
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==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
== Further readings ==<br />
* {{Cite book|last=Shah|first=Natubhai|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qLNQKGcDIhsC&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&dq=King+Aja+of+Ikshvaku+dynasty&hl=en|title=Jainism: The World of Conquerors|date=2004|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishe|isbn=978-81-208-1938-2|language=en}}<br />
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[[Category:Characters in the Ramayana]]<br />
[[Category:Ikshvaku dynasty]]<br />
[[Category:Descendants of Ikshvaku]]</div>2405:201:6:10EC:421:47A2:9348:C810