Ardra

THE LIVING ARCHIVE

About Ardra

The Ikshvaku succession follows a royal house associated with Surya through Vaivasvata Manu. The passage arranges fathers and sons across many generations; its successive names do not indicate that all these kings lived together.

AT A GLANCE

Identity & Context

Identity: King
Form: Ikshvaku Dynasty
Tradition: Puranic Solar Genealogy

Family & Relationships

ParentVishvagashva
Vishvagashva is named as the parent of Ardra in this succession.
ChildYuvanashva
Ardra is named as the parent of Yuvanashva in this succession.

IN THE TRADITION

Recorded Context

His Place in the Royal Family

Ardra follows Vishvagashva as his son in the succession. Prithu is the preceding grandfather’s generation. The line then passes to Yuvanashva and, in the following generation, to Shravasta. These generations belong to the same royal succession. They connect an earlier household to the later members of its family, even where the account passes over a reign without recounting a separate adventure.

The Surrounding Royal Story

The surrounding narrative includes Kakutstha’s alliance with Indra, Kuvalayashva’s defeat of Dhundhu and the later Yuvanashva’s extraordinary parenthood of Mandhata. Each episode belongs to its named king. The intervening genealogy explains how the family moves from one event to the next without assigning those deeds to every ancestor.

ROLE & ESSENCE

Attributes & Significance

The family chain carries the Ikshvaku line from the generation after Kakutstha toward the house of Mandhata. Preserving each intervening father and son makes the difference between ancestry and immediate parenthood clear.

Role

Ardra is a king of the solar dynasty of Ikshvaku, named in the Vishnu Purana as the son of Vishvagashva and the father of Yuvanashva.

TRADITION & MEANING

Traditions & Interpretations

Ardra is remembered chiefly through this royal genealogy. The surviving notice identifies his family position, but gives no separate account of his wars, marriages or personal weapons. His place in the dynasty is clearer than the details of his individual reign.