Brief
History of Maharaja Diraj Agrasenji
Maharaja Agrasen is known as icon of non-violence
, messenger of Peace, Maharaja Agrasen was an
embodiment of Sacrifice, Compassion, Non-Violence, Peace, Prosperity and a
True Socialist. Emperor Agrasen was born to King Ballabh of Pratapnagar.
He was the eldest son. According to the Mahalakshmi Vrath, the age then
was the last stages of Dvaapar Yug. According to current calendar the
birth of Maharaj Agrasen took place about 5185 years ago. King Ballabh was
a Suryavamshi ( lineage from the Sun). Even when he was very young, Prince
Agrasen was very well known for his compassion. He never discriminated
against anyone and the subjects were very pleased with the way he
conducted himself.
When Agrasen became a young man, he attended
the Swyamvara of the daughter of the King
Nagaraj, Princess Madhavi . Many kings from
around the world attended including Indra,
the King of the Devas. In the swayamvara, Princess
Madhavi selected Prince Agrasen, by putting the garland on him.
This marriage caused a coming together of two different family cultures,
Prince Agrasen was a Suryavanshi and Princess Madhavi was a Naagavanshi.
Indra, the King of the Devas had been smitten by the beauty of Princess
Madhavi and had planned to get married to her. However, now that he had
been unable to marry her, he became very jealous and angry with
Agrasen. To get revenge against Agrasen, Indra - as he was also the Lord
of Rain, made sure that Pratap Nagar did not receive any rainfall. As a
result, a frightening famine struck the Pratap Nagar kingdom. Emperor
Agrasen then waged war against Indra, and because he had dharma on his
side, his army vanquished Indra's forces and put them to flight. Faced
with this situation, Indra approached Narada ( the celestial sage) for
mediation between him and Emperor Agrasen. Narada, then mediated a peace
between them.
Agrasen started a severe penance to propitiate Lord
Shiva in the city of Kashi. Pleased with the penance of Agrasen,
Lord Shiva appeared and advised him to propitiate Goddess Mahalakshmi.
Maharaj Agrasen again started meditating on Goddess
Mahalakshmi, who appeared before him. Goddess Mahalakshmi then
blessed Agrasen and suggested that he take up the Vaishya tradition of
business for the sake of prosperity of his people. She then asked him to
found a new kingdom and promised that she would bless his descendants with
prosperity. So he gave up his Kshatriya tradition.
Birth Of Agroha city
With the blessings of Goddess Mahalakhmi King Agrasen started out
with the Queen to travel all over India and select a place for a new
kingdom. During his travels, at one place he found a few tiger cubs and
wolfs cubs playing together. To King Agrasen and Queen Madhavi, this was
an auspicious indication that the area was Veerabhoomi
(land of the brave) and they decided to found their new kingdom at
that location named Agroha. Agroha became prosperous as agriculture and
trade flourished.
Maharaj Agrasen, performed many Yagnas (sacrifice)
for the prosperity of his people. In those days, performing a yagna was a
symbol of prosperity. During one such yagna, Maharaj Agrasen noticed that
a horse that had been brought to be sacrificed was trying hard to get away
from the sacrificial altar. Seeing this Maharaj Agrasen was filled with
pity and then thought as to what prosperity can be achieved by sacrificing
mute animals. The idea of Ahimsa grabbed Maharaj Agrasen's mind. The King
then discussed it with his ministers. The ministers then said if Maharaj
Agrasen turned towards ahimsa, the neighbouring kingdoms might consider it
a sign of weakness and feel brave enough to attack Agroha. At this,
Maharaj Agrasen mentioned that putting an end to violence and injustice
does not mean weakness. He then proclaimed that there should be no
violence and killing of animals in his kingdom.
Maharaj Agrasen proceeded to conduct 18 Maha Yagnas.
He then divided his kingdom among his 18 children and established
the 18 gotras after the guru's of each of his children. These same 18
gotras today are like the eighteen chapters of the Bhagavadgita, even
though they are different from each other, they are still related to each
other to form the whole. Under this arrangement, Agroha prospered very
well and flourished. In the latter part of his life, Maharaj Agrasen
nominated his eldest son Vibhu to the throne and took up the Vanaprasth
Ashram.
The prosperity of Agroha, caused heartburn in
many of the neighbouring kings and they frequently attacked it. Because of
these aggressions, Agroha had to face numerous problems. In due course,
the strength of Agroha was sapped. A huge fire engulfed the city of Agroha.
Because of the fire, the citizens of the city fled and dispersed into
various areas of Bharat. Today, these same people are known as Aggarwals
and still have the same 18 gotras that was given to them from their gurus
and carry on the fame of Maharaj Agrasen. As per Maharaj Agrasen's
guidance the Aggarwals are in the forefront of social service. |
