ORIGINS OF MOON DYNASTY-ILA THE PROGENITOR

 The traditional Indian history knows of many different streams of rulers, tribes and people but they are being placed  in two main and distinct groups - the two royal magnificent races, which at the dawn of history came to be called the Solar and the Lunar races or dynasties  -  supposed to have been originated from the two main heavenly bodies Sun and Moon as the ancients believed in the cosmic origin of their rulers.

The Lunar dynasties (Chander-vansh)  claim their descent from the divine Manu Vaivasvata through Ila, his daughter, as their progenitor. They established themselves in the Saraswati region around 3,500 BCE, at the beginning of the Early Bronze Age , called the Golden Age coeval with the Treta Yuga. Col. Tod  counts forty seven descents between the common ancestor Yayati and Yudhishtra, the last Kuru king at the end of the Mahabharata war in about 1500 BCE.
Many dynasties bifurcated from the prominent kings. The ancestors of  Panchalas and Kurus had come from across the river valleys of Sindhu and it is because of this reason that they were originally called Sindhus derived from the river Sindhu which later changed to Indu and Indu being a name for moon, they became known as Indu or Lunar people.  Some of the famous and illustrious kings of this line are Pururuvas, Nahusha,Yayati, Puru,Yadu, Bharata, Kuru, Shantanu, and Yudhishtra. Numerous also were the succeeding generations, and very abundant were the descendants and their ruling places

Territories of the Lunar Kings

The Lunar dynasty kings ruled from the Saraswati region. Their territories extended from  the river Saraswati to Ganga, a vast area indeed ( later expanded to river Gomati in the east and Ravi in the west)  This fact is  also corroborated by the accounts in the Mahabharata which places the lunar kings on the Saraswati. The well known British Indologist, H.H. Wilson, on the basis of his dedicated researches in the ancient Sanskrit texts, also came to the same conclusions. 

The Saraswati river is  repeatedly mentioned in the Rig-veda, which makes it clear that the region of the Saraswati was a prime area of the Vedic people situated probably between Sutlej  and Saraswati, stretching in an arc from Gujarat in the southwest to Bihar in the east..

 Ila the Progenitor

 The glamorous princess Ila is mentioned as the  progenitor of the line of kings of this dynasty . She was the loving daughter of the divine Manu, a terminology used in the epics to mention an untraceable unknown origin in the remote past   Tradition holds that Ila was the eldest among the children of Manu and she was appointed   sovereign of the seven Dwípas by her father..There are reasons to speculate that Ila was a tribe name, originally inhabiting the regions of a river Ila located somewhere in the upper Indus valley, in the north western region in the close proximity of the dominions of king Ikshvaku. She is said to be a sister of Ikshvaku, thus making her a contemporary of Sun dynasty founder. Later Ila established her main capital city on the left bank of the Sutlej at a place called Aila-dhana, now identified with the present day Ludhiana in the Punjab. This ancient place finds mention in the Ramayana as well ( Rm II / 71  ). It literally means the ‘seat of Aila or Ila’s son’ and indeed  the oldest extant site. The descendants of Ila were  called as Ailas but later her son Pururuvas, came to be  known as the founder of this dynasty. The Mahabharata (Sabha Parva, 14) mentions  about the Ailas.

 Myth of double personality

Princess Ila or Ella is an androgynous  in Aryan  literature  known for her double personality. As a man she was known as Sudyumna, and as a woman-Ilā, considered as the chief progenitor of the Moon or Lunar Dynasty of Indian kings. According to another account, found in the Vayu Purana, Ilā was born female and remained a female. The Matsya also states that no change of sex took place in the first instance. The sex change of Ila is one of the  fantastic  myths coined to explain an important event which the  later day authors and interpreters did not understand.  The  commentators  too could not grasp the real historic event. Ila the progenitor  of this line has been represented to have been miraculously changed into a man Sadyuman-  to explain the puzzle as to how her son Pururuvas could be both her son and the son of Budha  at the same time and in the process they got utterly confused. They mixed up the real  celebrities with the heavenly bodies and mythologised them, conveniently forgetting that they were vilifying their own ancestors.

Flirtation with Saka Prince

In the historical context, Ila, the gracious and  glamorous princess was very fond of hunting and outdoor picnics in the picturesque valleys of the Meru hills. Some of the Scythian tribes were also concentrated in the north western regions including Afghanistan at that remote period of time. Scythians are a branch of the Indo-European family and were very important people during those days.  One day, while having a stroll in the splendid gardens of her realms with her attendants, she reached the Sharavan forest at the foothills of the Meru mountain (north Kashmir) where she chanced to meet  an  handsome prince named  Bodin or Wodin, of  the Scythians probably bordering the Aryan territory. She fell in love with him and they agreed to  get married.  In those days of remote antiquity there was no taboo on sex and the Society was free. Flirtations and Intra racial affairs and freedom to chose one’s life partner were  common. From their wedlock a son named Pururuvas was born.

This name Bodin was sanskritised as ‘Budha’, but mistaken by ignorant interpreters to mean the planet Mercury, son of Soma, the Moon.These  obviously are interpolated names which have entirely distorted a real event. They are clearly the personal names and should not be confused with the planetary names. She stayed there for a number of years and gave birth to a son later to be called Pururuvas (one who roars majestically). Later, Ikshvaku, her brother, made peace with the Scythians and allowed her husband Bodin to have his residence in his own Aryan dominion. He was helped to establish a kingdom of his own with the capital at a place called Pratisthana  which is not yet clearly identified, but  which in all probability could be located near or close to the dominions of Ikshvaku. Pratisthana literally means ‘ a new capital ’ . Like Aila-dhana,it has to be  in the Sutlej- Saraswati Doab and the scholars have identified it with a present day town of Patran, situated on the right bank of Ghaggar-Saraswati, a few kilometres from Patiala on the road to Hissar. A mound locally called Chichadwala Theh is imposing enough to agree with the antiquity attached to it. An ancient mound about forty feet high and extensive in area with a lake around reminds us of the antiquity of this site.( Punjab History Coference-18^th session) . His territory seems to have extended to the main Saraswati region as a place known as Ilaspada or Ilayaspada, situated on the confluence of Saraswati and Drishadvati rivers, is said to have been named after Ila and it may have been the seat of power of Ailas in the earliest days.

The Scythian Connection

It will be relevant to quote here Col. Tod who has thoroughly researched the subject:

“Interestingly, the Scythians claim their origin from a virgin born of the earth  (Ella ) of  the shape of a woman from the waist upwards and below a serpent,a symbol of Budha or Mercury and that Jupiter had a son by her,named Scythes whose name the nation adopted. Scythes had two sons, Palas and Napas (the Nagas- lit.: the snake race). They led their forces as far as the Nile in Egypt and subdued many nations. Budha, the son of Indu the moon, became the patriarchal and spiritual leader of the tribes migrating to Europe ”.

 PASSING AWAY OF LORD KRISHNA -End of an Era

 Lord Krishna belonged to the royal family of the Yadus of Mathura, and was the eighth son ,born  to the princess Devaki and her husband Vasudeva, while they were in captivity in a prison cell in the custody of Kamsa. Mathura was the capital of the Yadavas, to which Krishna's parents Vasudeva and Devaki belonged. He lived on this Earth planet for 125 years from 1600 to 1475 BCE

Krishna tells Arjuna that as a warrior, it's his dharma to fight. He should not worry about death, which is only one small step in the great and endless cycle of life. One neither kills, nor is killed. The soul merely casts off old bodies and enters new ones, just as a person changes garments. Death is mere illusion (maya). This message has never lost its relevance, it is embodied in His philosophy of karma yoga, the principle of action. This is his transcendent legacy, - the Bhagavad-Gita, the greatest poem ever written. Its central message imparted to Arjuna at the climactic moment before the battle is well known and still worth  emulating. He was the savior of Draupadi when she was in distress. He was the greatest diplomat and strategist of his times. The Pandavas could not have won the war without his active support and tacity.

The end of Sri Krishna was somewhat unexpected. There was a calamitous internecine war in which almost the whole Vrishni clan had perished. Krishna had survived the holocaust and decided to spend the rest of his life in prayer and contemplation in the forest. While asleep in the forest (as is generally believed), a hunter by name ‘Jara’ accidentally shot him with an arrow, mistaking him for a deer. He realized his terrible mistake and begged Krishna’s forgiveness. Krishna, fatally wounded, forgave his assailant and gave up his life. 

This is only allegorical.  Interestingly, ‘jara’, in Sanskrit, signifies 'infirmity’, 'old age’, 'decay’  etc.; thus Krishna left for his heavenly abode as ordained by cosmic order and no one could dare shoot an arrow on him,  an ‘Incarnation of the Divine’

That was the end of the grandest figure perhaps in all of history, He is God incarnate to many, but for everyone the following words of Bhisma give a true measure of the man and his life:

Krishna is the greatest warrior and the greatest scholar. In the entire world it is not possible to find another man endowed with such an abundance of virtues. And yet he is modest, compassionate and generous… Where there is Krishna, there is victory. Victory is second nature with Krishna. It follows him like a shadow.

Krishna is worshipped as a god in India and there are thousands of temples dedicated to him all around  the country and  even abroad.

In the words of Sanjay, the loyal and noble minister in the Mahabharata:“Wherever there is Krishna, there is justice;  where there is justice there is victory” (Sanjay telling his monarch Dhritrashtra, -  Gita,18 ,78).

      BATTLE OF TEN KINGS AND ITS TIMEFRAME

It  is  famously  called  the ‘Battle of Ten Kings’ and is found mentioned in the seventh mandala of  the Rig-veda, throwing due light on the then prevailing political scenario. The alliance of ten kings, supported by numerous individual champions and smaller forces, invaded Bharatas and Sudas,and sought to displace and destroy king Sudas of the Bharata tribe.  This alliance was in fact a confederation of the Vedic and non-Vedic peoples. Many of them had been allies of Sudas and traded with the Bharatas and were friendly with them but goaded by lust of power, they turned against Sudas.  Being a righteous king, with the support of his people who loved him and respected his leadership, kindness and generosity, he chose to fight. He was also supported by the spiritual mentorship of his guru, the legendary sage Vasishta. And so, upon a stormy day by the banks of the river Ravi, the battle was fought.

In this Battle of  Ten Kings all the people of the Rigvedic India were involved. There were five tribes to the west of the Indus, the Alinas  of modern Kafiristan, the Pakthas, (Pashtu) the Bhalnases, (Bolan/Baluch) , Par´su (Persian), Pr.thu (Parthian),the Sivas and the Vraisnins and a number of them who are unmistakably Iranian: There were non-Aryan people also, viz. the Ajas, Sigrus and Yaksus who joined this coalition. Rishi Vishwamitra was the  prime priest of this coalition, against Sudas. Vasishta was the guiding  priest of the group of which Sudas was the leader.Vishwamitra had an old history of enmity with Sudas’ own adviser, Vasishta, and had an axe to grind by instigating this attack on Sudas and the Bharatas.

In this battle that was fought on the banks of the river Parushni (identified with the present-day river Ravi)  the Bharatas emerged victorious, utterly routing the confederacy. Thus the Bharatas were able to become supreme of all the Rigvedic tribes  then ruling. Vitahavya, the great grandson of the Haihaya king Sahasrabahu, was also an ally of Sudas. The Dasharajnya War, or “The Battle  of Ten Kings”, was a turning point in the history of India because it firmly re-established the dominance of the Puru-Bharata dynasty over smaller royal dynasties and tribal chieftans in the Sapta-Sindhu region going west towards the present-day Afghanistan/Persia and east towards the present day Uttar Pradesh beyond Yamuna.  This Puru-Bharata dynasty provided the continuity of leadership which is documented in the ancient scriptures,  particularly  the Rigveda.  After the Battle of Ten Kings, many inhabitants of India got scared and out of fear migrated westwards into Iran and beyond.( RV- VII:18,19,33,83)

The War Towards West and East

The war comprised at least two notable battles:

1.The Parushni River Battle on the western border of the Bharata  kingdom-  the  first main  battle;

2. The Yamuna River Battle on the eastern border of  the Bharata  kingdom.

Sudas’ defences were attacked on the east by King Bheda (and his  allies Ajas, Sigrus and Yaksus),  while Sudas  himself was occupied on the Parushni.  Sudas  came out victorious. An estimated 6660 warriors were killed.This group of ten may have been led by king Chayamana (of Abhivarta - present Iran ?).  Sudas took over the main area on the Saraswati and north, east and west of it.

Sudas’s capital city was on the Saraswati river and his dominions extended from the Yamuna in the east to the Ravi in the west. After the war he penetrated further west and established his colonies in the areas now forming part of Afghanistan. This explains the Vedic names of the rivers in that territory.   This event helps us to develop a clearer understanding of India’s history, of the struggles for power and the amazing twists and turns of events that all tie together to create a civilization that would continue many millennia after that epic war. aa to mean an invasion of nomadic people called Aryans rather than simply a war in which the superior Aryan kings re-established the spiritual values and the Vedic Aryan way of life.

Dating the War

It was in the vicinity of ancient Harappa town that the historic Battle of Ten Kings was fought between the Indian Aryan king  Sudas and a confederation of Ten Kings, representing the  various Indian, Persian, and Central Asian tribes, as attested by the Rig-veda. The  tribes inhabiting the Bolan pass were known as Bhalanas who were a part of the confederation of Ten Kings that attacked king Sudas.

This war itself presupposes a lineage of kings before Sudas going back approximately one thousand years to Manu Vaivasvata. Thus it seems to have taken place sometimes between 2000-1900 BCE- nearly 400 years preceding the Mahabharata war, as per Puranic chronology  which coincides with the decline of the Harappans.

 ( Since Sudas was three generations later to king Divodasa who was a contemporary of king Dasaratha, it is clear ,therefore, that Sudas was ruling in the post Rama period. Further Vasishta who was the chief advisor to Sudas, had been the prime councillor of Dasaratha three generations earlier  thus corroborating our view )