The Raghuvanshi was an Indian dynasty

Dynasty

A dynasty is a sequence of rulers considered members of the same family. Historians traditionally consider many sovereign states' history within a framework of successive dynasties, e.g., China, Ancient Egypt and the Persian Empire...

. Raghuvanshi is believed to be a lineage of kings tracing its ancestry to Surya

Surya

Surya Suraya or Phra Athit is the chief solar deity in Hinduism, one of the Adityas, son of Kasyapa and one of his wives, Aditi; of Indra; or of Dyaus Pitar . The term Surya also refers to the Sun, in general. Surya has hair and arms of gold...

. Raghuvanshi kings like Mandhata, Harishchandra, Sagar, Bhagirath, Dilipa, Raghu, Aja, Dasaratha and Rama.

The clan founder was Vivasvan or Vaivaswat Manu who was also known as Arka-tanaya or son of Arka (Surya), is supposed to have lived coeval with the origin of the world. The name Vivaswan literally means "master of the rays"; the sun, or sun-god. The first historically significant king of this dynasty was Vivaswan's grandson Ikshvaku

Ikshvaku

Ikshvaku pāli: Okkāka) was the first king of the Ikshvaku dynasty and founder of the Solar Dynasty of Kshatriyas in Vedic civilization in ancient India.-In Hinduism:He is remembered in Hindu scriptures as a righteous and glorious king...

, so the dynasty is also known as the Ikshvaku dynasty

Ikshvaku dynasty

The Ikshvaku dynasty, in Puranic literature, was a mythical dynasty founded by Ikshvaku, grandson of Vivasvan or Surya and son of Vaivasvata Manu. This dynasty is also known as . The important personalities belonging to this royal house are Harishchandra, Dilīpa, Sagara, Raghu, Rama and Prasenajit...

. Raja Prithu was son of Ikshvaku. Because of the greatness of Raja Prithu, whole world was known as Prithvi

Prithvi

Prithvi is the sanskrit name for earth and its essence Prithivi Tattwa, in the form of a mother goddess or godmother. Prithvi is also called Dhra, Dharti, Dhrithri, meaning that which holds everything. As Prithvi Devi, she is one of two wives of Lord Vishnu. His other wife is Lakshmi. Prithvi is...

("Earth").

Kalidasa

Kalidasa

Kālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...

's famous work, Raghuvansh (Sanskrit: रघुवंश, Raghuvaṃśa) narrates the epic of the Raghuvanshi in 19 sargas (canto

Canto

The canto is a principal form of division in a long poem, especially the epic. The word comes from Italian, meaning "song" or singing. Famous examples of epic poetry which employ the canto division are Lord Byron's Don Juan, Valmiki's Ramayana , Dante's The Divine Comedy , and Ezra Pound's The...

s).

Notables

Several legendary kings came from the Raghuvansh line:

• Mandhata, who is said to have ruled the entire earth during the Vedic era, and defeated the Indra-head of Devtas.
• Harishchandra
  Harishchandra
  Harishchandra, in Hindu religious texts is the 36th king of the Solar Dynasty, Surya Maharishi Gothram . His legend is very popular and often told as a benchmark for an ideal life. He was renowned for his piety and justice. His name is Sanskrit for "having golden splendour".Harishchandra had two...
  
  , the king of Ayodhya, believed to be an exemplar of honesty
• Sagara, a king who was tricked by Indra into a conflict with the sage Kapila, leading to the death of his 60,000 sons, the descent of the Ganges to earth, and his sons' revival
• Dilīpa
  Dilipa
  Dilipa is a genus of butterflies in the family Nymphalidae.-External links:* at funit.fi...
  
  , said to be the most righteous and chivalrous emperors of the Ikshvaku dynasty
  Ikshvaku dynasty
  The Ikshvaku dynasty, in Puranic literature, was a mythical dynasty founded by Ikshvaku, grandson of Vivasvan or Surya and son of Vaivasvata Manu. This dynasty is also known as . The important personalities belonging to this royal house are Harishchandra, Dilīpa, Sagara, Raghu, Rama and Prasenajit...