Maharaja Divodasa

Divodasa is the name of at least three kings, and old texts and later writers do not always keep them apart. The first is a king of the Bharatas in the Rigveda. The second is a king of Kashi in the Puranas and the Mahabharata, and the teacher of Sushruta in the Sushruta Samhita. The third is a Panchala prince, the twin of Ahalya. The Dhanvantari gotra on this site names a Divodasa in its pravara, "Kashyapa, Dhanvantari, Divodasa". The Kashi king is the one meant there, though I did not find that pravara in the manuals I could read.

The Rigvedic king. Divodasa Atithigva is a king of the Bharatas, the son of Vadhryashva [Rigveda 6.61.5] and the father of the famous Sudas [7.18.25]. Indra is said to have broken the forts of the demon Shambara when he helped Divodasa. The count varies by hymn: ninety-nine forts in 4.26.3, ninety in 1.130.7. Hymn 4.26.3 gives him the name Atithigva, and 6.47.22 speaks of Shambara's wealth as the gift of Atithigva.

The Kashi king. The Vishnu Purana [IV.8] gives the line Kasha, Kashiraja, Dirghatamas, Dhanvantari, Ketumat, Bhimaratha, Divodasa, Pratardana. The Bhagavata [9.17.4-5] gives the same descent, with Dyuman, also called Pratardana, as his son. So in the Puranas Divodasa is a great-grandson of Dhanvantari. The Mahabharata calls him a king of Kashi, a son of Bhimasena or Sudeva, according to the index of the epic. It has him rebuild Varanasi at Indra's bidding and, after a thousand days of war with the Haihayas, hold a sacrifice for a son, Pratardana.

Some Puranic legends say that Shiva and Parvati had Divodasa removed from Varanasi, and the Vayu Purana says he then founded another city on the Gomati. The Harivamsha has him kill the rakshasa Kshemaka, turn back the invasion of Bhadrashrenya's family, and fall under the curse of the sage Kumbhaka, after which Kashi declines.

The teacher of Sushruta. The Sushruta Samhita [Sutrasthana 1] says Dhanvantari took birth as Divodasa, king of Kashi, and taught surgery to Sushruta and his companions. The Puranic lists make Dhanvantari an earlier king, so the two texts do not agree on whether the physician is Dhanvantari himself or his descendant. Some translators read "Dhanvantari" in this chapter as a title borne by Divodasa. The Sushruta Project reports that the oldest Nepalese manuscripts name Divodasa, and later versions name Dhanvantari. Modern scholars have not settled the question. The Divodasa of the Rigveda is generally taken to be another man.

The Panchala twin. In the Bhagavata [9.21.34] Mudgala has twins, Divodasa and Ahalya. The Vishnu Purana [IV.19] makes them the children of Bahvashva, Mudgala's son. Ahalya, with her husband Gautama, is the mother of Shatananda. Divodasa's line runs through Mitrayu, Chyavana, Sudasa and Saudasa to Somaka, whose youngest son Prishata is the father of Drupada.

1. The forts of Shambara: in the Rigveda, Indra breaks Shambara's forts for Divodasa Atithigva.
2. Father of Sudas: his son Sudas is the Bharata king of the Battle of the Ten Kings.
3. King of Kashi: in the Puranas he rules Kashi as the great-grandson of Dhanvantari and the father of Pratardana.
4. Varanasi lost and rebuilt: in the Puranic legends Shiva has him removed from the city; the Mahabharata has him rebuild it at Indra's bidding.
5. The teacher of surgery: in the Sushruta Samhita, Dhanvantari in the form of Divodasa teaches Sushruta, and surgery is the main subject he is asked for.
6. The Panchala twin: in the Bhagavata and Vishnu Purana, Mudgala's descendant Divodasa has a twin sister, Ahalya.

• Kashi (Varanasi): the seat of his kingdom.
• The Gomati: where the Vayu Purana says he founded another city.