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Vitihotra — Son of Priyavrata and Barhishmati, King of Pushkaradvipa
Vitihotra · Vitihotra Priyavrateya
Vitihotra is the ninth of the ten sons of Priyavrata and Barhishmati, named in the Bhagavata Purana, Canto 5. He was appointed by his father as the ruler of Pushkaradvipa — the seventh and outermost of the seven great island-continents of the Puranic earth, named for the pushkara or lotus flower associated with it, and surrounded by a sea of sweet water in the Puranic cosmographical system. His name is a compound of viti, related to the concept of spreading or pervading, and hotra, meaning the sacrificial priest or the fire oblation, yielding the meaning of the pervader of the sacrifice or the wide-ranging sacrificer — maintaining the sacrificial register characteristic of his brothers' names. Beyond his appointment as king of Pushkaradvipa, no independent narrative episode is attributed to Vitihotra in the primary sources consulted.
✦ Lineage
- Father: Priyavrata — eldest son of Svayambhuva Manu.
- Mother: Barhishmati — daughter of Vishvakarma Prajapati.
✦ References
- Bhagavata Purana, Canto 5, Chapter 1: Names Vitihotra as ninth son of Priyavrata and Barhishmati and records his appointment as king of Pushkaradvipa.
- Vishnu Purana, Book II, Chapter 1: Parallel genealogical listing.