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Para and Diviratha — Early Kings of the Anga Dynasty
Para · Khalapana · Dadhivahana · Diviratha · Divaratha
Para and Diviratha are the first two successors in the Anga royal line, standing as generational bridge figures between the dynasty's founder Anga — one of the six sons of King Bali born through the sage Dirghatama upon Bali's wife Sudeshna, who gave his name to the eastern kingdom of Anga — and the historically significant monarch Dharmaratha. Neither figure is credited with major narrative episodes in the primary sources; their principal function in the tradition is genealogical continuity. They appear in the Vishnu Purana, the Bhagavata Purana, and the Harivamsha Purana, though the texts differ on the name of the first successor.
✦ The Names
The name Para, used in the Vishnu Purana, carries the general Sanskrit sense of one who is beyond or supreme, a conventional royal epithet. The Bhagavata Purana uses the name Khalapana for this same figure, a name that does not carry a standard royal epithet meaning and may reflect a regional or variant textual tradition. The Harivamsha Purana uses a third name altogether, Dadhivahana, meaning one whose vehicle or support is curd or abundance — a name with royal and auspicious connotations. All three names refer to the same structural position in the lineage: the direct son and successor of King Anga.
The second king's name, Diviratha, appears consistently across all three texts, though the Vishnu Purana records the slight spelling variant Divaratha. The name combines divi (in heaven, celestial) with ratha (chariot), yielding the sense of one whose chariot moves in the heavenly realm — a conventional heroic epithet for Kshatriya kings in Puranic literature.
✦ Lineage
- Para's father: King Anga, the eponymous founder of the Anga dynasty, one of the six kshetraja sons of King Bali of the Lunar line, born through the sage Dirghatama
- Para's son: Diviratha, his successor on the throne of Anga
- Diviratha's father: Para (Vishnu Purana) / Khalapana (Bhagavata Purana) / Dadhivahana (Harivamsha)
- Diviratha's son: Dharmaratha, who became a celebrated monarch known for great Vedic sacrifices
✦ Textual Variants and Inconsistencies
The primary discrepancy across the three sources concerns the name of Anga's direct son. The Vishnu Purana (4.18) gives this king's name as Para. The Bhagavata Purana (9.23.6) gives the name as Khalapana. The Harivamsha Purana (Adi Parva, Chapter 31, verse 43) gives the name as Dadhivahana. No source offers reconciliation between these three names, and none of the three provides narrative material that might help identify them as the same figure through shared episodes. They must be treated as variant names for the same genealogical position in the absence of further evidence.
There is a further structural variant in the Harivamsha: that text places an additional generation between Anga and Diviratha, making Dadhivahana the son of Anga and Diviratha the son of Dadhivahana, which aligns with the other two texts in outcome but adds one named layer. The Vishnu Purana and Bhagavata Purana both move directly from Para/Khalapana to Diviratha without an intervening figure.
✦ Connection to the Wider Genealogy
Para and Diviratha occupy the second and third positions in the Anga royal succession. Their dynasty traces upward through King Anga to Bali, to Sutapa, to Homa, to Rushadratha, to Titikshu — connecting the Anga line to the broader Lunar Dynasty through the Anu branch of the five sons of Yayati. Downward, the line runs from Diviratha to Dharmaratha, then to Chitraratha-Romapada, and through subsequent generations ultimately to Adhiratha and Karna.
✦ References
- Vishnu Purana, Book 4, Chapter 18: Names Anga's son as Para and gives the sequence Para → Divaratha → Dharmaratha; the primary source for the name Para
- Bhagavata Purana, Canto 9, Chapter 23, verses 6–7: Names Anga's son as Khalapana and his son as Diviratha; the primary source for the name Khalapana
- Harivamsha Purana, Adi Parva, Chapter 31, verses 43–44: Names Anga's son as Dadhivahana and his son as Diviratha; the primary source for the name Dadhivahana and for the slightly expanded generational structure
- Wisdomlib — Harivamsha Purana (Dutt translation): Secondary source providing accessible English translation of Chapter 31, confirming verse-level details
- Ancientvoice (Vishnu Purana section): Secondary source confirming the Vishnu Purana 4.18 sequence for the Anga kings