About
Mahamani — Son of Janamejaya, Anu Lineage
Mahamani · Mahasala · Mahashala · Mahashila
Mahamani is a king of the Anu lineage within the Chandravamsha, the Lunar dynasty, and the son of Janamejaya. He is the father of Mahamana (Mahamanas), who in turn is the father of Ushinara and Titikshu — the two sons from whose branches the dynasties of Shibi-Kekaya and the eastern Anga-Vanga lines respectively descend. Mahamani thus occupies the penultimate generational position before the lineage divides. His name varies significantly across the primary sources: the Vishnu Purana (IV.18) and the tradition it follows call him Mahamani; the Bhagavata Purana (9.23.2), Brahma Purana (Chapter 11), and Harivamsa use Mahasala or the variant Mahashala; and one Bhagavata manuscript tradition renders the name as Mahashila. The Brahma Purana briefly praises Mahasala as a pious king whose fame was recognised by the gods and spread across the entire earth — the only individual characterisation of this figure in any primary source.
✦ The Names
The name Mahamani is a compound of maha (great) and mani (jewel, gem), yielding the meaning of a great jewel — a conventional honorific of regal excellence. The name Mahasala is a compound of maha (great) and sala (a large hall or assembly room), meaning one who possesses a great assembly hall — connoting a king of prestige whose court was grand. The variant Mahashila substitutes shila (stone, or conduct and character) for sala. These three names are etymologically distinct and their application to the same genealogical figure across different sources represents a genuine divergence in the Puranic manuscript tradition, not merely scribal variation.
✦ Lineage
- Dynasty: Chandravamsha (Lunar dynasty), Anu lineage
- Father: Janamejaya — son of Puranjaya (or of Srnjaya in the Bhagavata's compressed account)
- Son: Mahamana (Mahamanas) — pious and heroic king honoured by the gods; father of Ushinara and Titikshu, the two sons from whom the Anu line's major branches descend
✦ Textual Record and Variants
The Brahma Purana (11.17–18) is the sole primary source to attribute a personal quality to this figure, describing Mahasala as a pious king (dharmatma) recognised by the gods whose fame spread over the entire earth. All other sources — Bhagavata Purana, Vishnu Purana — record him only in the king-list sequence. Wilson's footnote to the Vishnu Purana (note 4 to Chapter XVIII) explicitly records the name variants: Mahasala in the Agni Purana, Mahashila in the Bhagavata, and Mahamani in the Vishnu Purana itself. These are noted as distinct Puranic readings of the same genealogical position.
✦ References
- Primary Sources:
- Bhagavata Purana, Skandha 9, Adhyaya 23, verse 2: Uses the name Mahasala (or Mahashila in some manuscript traditions) for this figure; gives his son as Mahamana
- Vishnu Purana, Book IV, Chapter 18 (H.H. Wilson translation, note 4): Uses Mahamani in the main text; Wilson's note records Mahasala (Agni Purana) and Mahashila (Bhagavata) as variant names for this position
- Brahma Purana, Chapter 11, verses 17–18 (Wisdomlib translation): Uses Mahasala; describes him as a pious king recognised by the gods whose fame spread across the earth; gives his son as Mahamana
- Secondary Sources:
- Wisdomlib, concept entry for Mahamana: Notes that Mahamanas is the son of Mahamani (Vishnu Purana tradition) or Mahashala (Bhagavata tradition); confirms his two sons as Ushinara and Titikshu