About
Sarvakama — King of Ayodhya, Father of Sudasa, Solar Dynasty Monarch
Sarvakama · Sudasa-pita · Ikshvaku-vamshaja
Sarvakama is a king of the Ikshvaku Solar dynasty of Ayodhya, named in the Vishnu Purana and related Puranic genealogical lists as the father of Sudasa and the preceding king in that portion of the Solar succession. His presence in the primary sources is confined entirely to the genealogical register — he is named as a link in the dynastic chain but receives no narrative episode, no individual characterisation, no description of his reign, and no associated story in any primary text consulted. A profile is included here solely on the basis of his attested position in the Puranic Solar succession, in the interest of genealogical completeness, with the honest acknowledgement that the textual base for this figure is minimal.
✦ The Name
The name Sarvakama is a Sanskrit compound of sarva, meaning all or entire, and kama, meaning desire, wish, or love. The compound carries the sense of one whose every desire is fulfilled, one who possesses all that is wished for, or one who is the fulfilment of all desires — a name with strongly auspicious and royal connotations in the Sanskrit naming tradition, suggesting a king of complete prosperity and satisfaction.
✦ Lineage
- Dynasty: Ikshvaku, the Solar dynasty of Ayodhya descended from the sun-god Surya through Vaivasvata Manu and Ikshvaku.
- Son: Sudasa, the Solar dynasty king from whose name the patronymic Soudasa — borne by his son Kalmashapada throughout the Mahabharata and Puranic tradition — is derived; possibly to be identified with the celebrated Rigvedic king Sudas, victor of the Battle of the Ten Kings, though this identification is not settled in the sources.
- Grandson: Kalmashapada, also known as Mitrasaha and Soudasa, the dramatically narrated cursed king of Ayodhya whose story of possession, cannibalism, and eventual restoration is among the most extensively told royal narratives in the Solar dynasty tradition outside the Rama story proper.
✦ References
Primary Sources
- Vishnu Purana, Book 4, Solar Dynasty genealogy: The principal source naming Sarvakama as the father of Sudasa in the Ikshvaku succession; no narrative detail is provided beyond the genealogical placement.
- Bhagavata Purana, Skandha 9, Solar Dynasty section: Includes Sarvakama in the genealogical register of the Solar line in the same position as the Vishnu Purana.
- Vayu Purana, Solar Dynasty genealogical list: An independent Puranic register that places Sarvakama in the Solar succession preceding Sudasa.
Modern Reference Works
- Vettam Mani, Puranic Encyclopaedia (Motilal Banarsidass, 1975), entry on Sarvakama: Notes the figure's position in the Solar dynasty as the father of Sudasa; no narrative information is available beyond this.
- F. E. Pargiter, Ancient Indian Historical Tradition (Oxford University Press, 1922): Includes Sarvakama in the comparative Puranic Solar dynasty lists analysed in that work; the listing confirms his position but adds no biographical detail.