Maharaja Ajamidha

Ajamidha (also written Ajamilha or Ajamida) is a king of the Lunar dynasty in the line of Puru, a son of Hastin, who founded Hastinapur. His name stands in the Angirasa pravara "Angirasa, Ajamidha, Kanva", used by the Kanva and Kanvayana gotras.

Why a king is named in a pravara. A pravara lists the sages whose line a family invokes. Ajamidha was a king, but some of his descendants became Brahmins. The Bhagavata Purana [9.21.21] says that Ajamidha's sons, headed by Priyamedha, all achieved the position of Brahmins. The Vishnu Purana [IV.19] lists Kanva and his son Medhatithi in Ajamidha's line and says that the Kanvayana Brahmins descend from Medhatithi. It also says that other Kshatriyas of the Puru line, among them Mudgala, Kapi, Garga and Sini, became Brahmins. The 1900 pravara manual Gotra Pravar Nibandh Kadambam says Kapi, Kanva, Mudgala, Samkriti and Garga were Kshatriyas who became Brahmins and joined the family of Angiras. It gives the Kanva pravaras as Angirasa, Ajamidha, Kanva and Angirasa, Ghaura, Kanva. So Angirasa stands first because the family belongs to the line of Angiras, and Ajamidha is the royal ancestor.

The sources differ on who he is. The Vishnu Purana and the Bhagavata make him a son of Hastin and brother of Dvimidha and Purumidha. The Mahabharata index, as given in the Sanskrit dictionaries, calls him a son of Suhotra, and also names a second Ajamidha, a son of Vikunthana and Sudeva, who had 2400 children by four wives [Adi Parva 94-95]. The Bhagavata [9.21.30] names his wife as Nalini, the mother of Nila. The Puranic Encyclopedia gives his queens as Dhumini, Nili and Keshini.

In the Rigveda, Monier-Williams calls Ajamidha a son of Suhotra and the author of some hymns [4.43 and 4.44]. The Vedic Index notes that the "Ajamidhas", his descendants, are mentioned in hymn 4.44.6, and that Ludwig and Oldenberg infer from the name that Ajamidha was the seer of the hymn.

1. Son of Hastin: Hastin, who founded Hastinapur, had three sons, Ajamidha, Dvimidha and Purumidha [Vishnu Purana IV.19; Bhagavata 9.21.21].
2. The Brihadishu line: his son Brihadishu begins a line of kings that runs through Jayadratha and Senajit to Nipa, who had a hundred sons, and to Brahmadatta.
3. Nila and the Panchalas: his son Nila begins the line that leads to Bharmyashva, whose five sons are the Panchalas. In the Vishnu Purana the father of the five is Haryashva.
4. Riksha and the Kurus: in the Vishnu Purana, Riksha's line runs through Samvarana to Kuru, who gives his name to Kurukshetra.
5. Kanva and the Brahmin lines: the Vishnu Purana places Kanva and Medhatithi in his line and says the Kanvayana Brahmins descend from them. In the Bhagavata, the sons headed by Priyamedha become Brahmins.

• Hastinapur: the city founded by his father Hastin.
• The Panchala country: the land of the lines that spring from his son Nila.