Aja of Kosala
In Hinduism, Aja was the 38th king in the Solar Dynasty, descent from the sun god Surya. He was the son of king Raghu , one of the most famous kings of the Ikshvaku dynasty. His paternal grandfather was the pious king Dileepa. He ruled the kingdom of Kosala on the southern banks of the river Sarayu, with Ayodhya as his capital. His wife Indumati, was the princess of Vidarbha (King Bhoja's younger sister) and his son was Dasharatha, father of Rama, an avatar of Vishnu.
| Aja | |
|---|---|
| Maharaja of Kosala | |
| Maharaja of Kosala | |
| Predecessor | Raghu |
| Successor | Dashratha |
| Born | Ayodhya, Kingdom of Kosala (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) |
| Died | Ayodhya, Kingdom of Kosala (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) |
| Consort(s) | Indumati |
| Issue | Dashratha |
| Dynasty | Raghuvanshi-Ikshvaku-Suryavanshi |
| Father | Raghu |
| Religion | Hinduism |
Indumati used to be an apsara, a celestial damsel named Harini in her previous birth. Once Lord Indra growing apprehensive of the rigorous penance practiced by Sage Trinabindu sent her against him for disrupting his penance. She by exhibiting in front of him her attractive flirtation succeeded in interrupting his penance as a result of which the enraged sage cursed her to be born as a mortal woman on the earth and remain there till she beholds celestial flower on the earth. In due course, she was born as a princess of Vidarbha & chose king Aja as her husband in her Sawamvayara. Soon Dasharatha was born to them, however, her time on earth comes near to end. Once, while sage Narada was traversing the sky, garland from his Veena fell on Indumati, redeeming her from the curse. Regaining the form of apsara, she vanished from the earth leaving Aja. King Dasharatha was only eight months old when Aja died.[1]
Aja was so grief-stricken when his wife died, he ran into the palace and committed suicide. Some other instances tell that he couldn't bear the thought of Indumati leaving him and died heartbroken that instant.