Maharaja Ambarisha

Ambarisha is a king of the Solar dynasty and a royal sage. His name stands in the Angirasa pravara "Angirasa, Ambarisha, Yauvanashva", which the Harita and some related gotras use.

Why a king is named in a pravara. A pravara lists the sages whose line a family invokes. Ambarisha, Yuvanashva and Mandhatri were kings. The Vishnu Purana [IV.3] explains the link: Mandhatri's son Ambarisha had a son Yuvanashva, and Yuvanashva's son Harita was the source of the Angirasa Haritas. Wilson's notes call them Angirasa Brahmins of Kshatriya birth, and the Linga Purana calls them Brahmins with the qualities of Kshatriyas. The 1900 pravara manual Gotra Pravar Nibandh Kadambam says the same: the Haritas were Kshatriyas who became Brahmins and joined the family of Angiras. So the pravara names royal ancestors, with Angirasa first because the family belongs to Angiras's line. The same manual gives a second Harita pravara, "Mandhatra, Ambarisha, Yauvanashva".

Which Ambarisha. The texts know more than one king of the name, and the stories are often told as one.

• In the Vishnu Purana [IV.3] and the Bhagavata [9.7.1] he is a son of Mandhatri. The Bhagavata adds that his grandfather Yuvanashva accepted him as a son. This is the Ambarisha of the pravara.
• In the Bhagavata [9.4] and the Vishnu Purana [IV.4] he is a son of Nabhaga. The Bhagavata traces Nabhaga from Manu's son Nabhaga; the Vishnu Purana puts him in Ikshvaku's line, after Bhagiratha. This is the Ambarisha of the Durvasa story.
• In the Valmiki Ramayana [Bala Kanda 70] a third Ambarisha is the son of Prashushruka and the father of Nahusha.
• In the same Ramayana [Bala Kanda 61] Ambarisha of Ayodhya holds a sacrifice whose animal Indra steals.

The Rigveda [1.100.16-17] names an Ambarisha among the Varshagiras, with Rijrashva, Suradhas, Sahadeva and Bhayamana. The dictionaries that cite the verse do not say whether he is the Ikshvaku king.

1. Son of Mandhatri: he is one of Mandhatri's three sons with Purukutsa and Muchukunda. His line runs to Yuvanashva and Harita [Vishnu Purana IV.3; Bhagavata 9.7.1].
2. Source of the Angirasa Haritas: his grandson Harita begins the Haritas, who became Brahmins of the Angirasa family. This is why he is in the pravara.
3. The vow and Durvasa: the Bhagavata [9.4] describes a king who rules the whole earth, offers all his acts to Vishnu, and keeps the Ekadashi and Dvadashi fast for a year. At its close the sage Durvasa arrives, goes to bathe, and is late. With the hour of breaking the fast running out, Ambarisha takes a little water on the advice of the Brahmins. Durvasa sees this as an insult and creates a fire-like being against him. Vishnu's Sudarshana discus burns it and pursues Durvasa through the worlds. Brahma and Shiva cannot protect him, and Vishnu sends him back to Ambarisha, whose pardon ends the pursuit.
4. The sacrifice and Shunahshepa: in the Ramayana [Bala Kanda 61] Ambarisha of Ayodhya begins a sacrifice and Indra steals the animal. The priests say a man must stand in its place. He finds the sage Ruchika, who gives his middle son Shunahshepa for a hundred thousand cows and gold.

• Ayodhya: the seat of the Ikshvaku kings.
• The Yamuna at Madhuvana: where he keeps his fast in the Bhagavata.
• The Sarasvati region: where the Bhagavata says he performs the horse sacrifice.