Maharaja Bharmyashva

Bharmyashva is a king of the Lunar dynasty in the line of Puru, known as the father of the five Panchala princes, of whom Mudgala is the best known. His name stands in the Angirasa pravara "Angirasa, Bharmyashva, Mudgala" (Maudgalya), used by the Mudgala and Maudgalya gotras.

The Bhagavata Purana [9.21.30-33] traces him from Ajamidha's son Nila: Nila, Shanti, Sushanti, Puruja, Arka, Bharmyashva. He has five sons: Mudgala, Yavinara, Brihadvishva, Kampilla and Sanjaya. He asks them to take charge of his five states, and so the five are known as the Panchalas. The Vishnu Purana [IV.19] gives the line differently: Nila, Shanti, Shushanti, Purujanu, Chakshu, Haryashva. The father of the five is Haryashva, and the sons are Mudgala, Srinjaya, Brihadishu, Pravira and Kampilya. Wilson's note says Bharmyashva is the Bhagavata's reading of the same name. So the texts agree on the five sons and on Mudgala, but differ on the father's name and on three of the sons.

Why a king is named in a pravara. A pravara lists the sages whose line a family invokes. Bharmyashva was a king, but Mudgala's descendants became Brahmins. The Bhagavata says Mudgala's line became a dynasty of Brahmins known as Maudgalya. The Vishnu Purana [IV.19] says the Maudgalya Brahmins descend from Mudgala. The 1900 pravara manual Gotra Pravar Nibandh Kadambam lists Mudgala among the Kshatriyas who became Brahmins and joined the family of Angiras. It gives the Mudgala pravaras as Angirasa, Bharmyashva, Maudgalya and Tarkshya, Bharmyashva, Maudgalya. So Angirasa stands first because the family belongs to Angiras's line, and Bharmyashva is the royal ancestor.

1. Descent from Ajamidha: he comes of Ajamidha's son Nila, through Shanti, Sushanti, Puruja and Arka in the Bhagavata, and through Chakshu in the Vishnu Purana.
2. The five realms: he divides his territory among his five sons, who are called the Panchalas [Bhagavata 9.21.33].
3. Mudgala and the Maudgalya Brahmins: Mudgala's line becomes a dynasty of Brahmins [Bhagavata 9.21.33; Vishnu Purana IV.19].
4. The twins: in the Bhagavata, Mudgala has twins, Divodasa and Ahalya. The Vishnu Purana makes them the children of Mudgala's son Bahvashva. Ahalya, with her husband Gautama, is the mother of Shatananda.
5. The Panchala line: Divodasa's descendants run through Mitrayu, Chyavana, Sudasa and Somaka to Prishata, the father of Drupada [Vishnu Purana IV.19].

• The Panchala country: the five realms of his sons.