Picture: Dhananjayan with folded hands on left & Pandya king on the right.From Dr Ambai Manivannan's book
I was fascinated by the name DHANANJAYAN when I found it in Mahabharata, Alupa coins, Cambodian folk tales, Vishnu Sahasranama, Nagas and history of Madurai Meenakshi temple. I also knew that Dhanajayans are famous names in Bharatanatyam. But I was provoked to do some research in to it when I read Dhanajayan under baby names it is the name of Murugan (Lord Skanda). I think it is wrong because I found no proof for that claim.
The most famous Dhanajayan was Arjuna. One of his ten names was Dhanajayan. If the roar of thunder is heard, Hindus used to recite the ten names of Arjuna to avoid thunder striking them. Arjuna got this name when he won the wealth (Dhanam= wealth, Jayan= victor) of Uttarakuru country in the north.
Bhagavad Gita Dhanajayan
The name Dhananjayan comes in Vishnu Sahasranama (couplet 70) as one of the names of Lord Vishnu. The meaning according to Sahasranama bhasyam is:
“Arjuna is called so because by his conquest of the kingdoms in the four quarters, he acquired great wealth (Dhanam). Arjuna is a Vibhuti, a glorious manifestation of the Lord, according to the statement of the Gita (10:57): Panadavanam dhananjaya:--among the Pandavas, I am Dhananjaya, says Krishna.”
Pandya Dhanajaya on Coins:
The Alupas, one of the very ancient dynasties of Karnataka, ruled for over a thousand years in the coastal tract of Karnataka. Even Ptolemy (79 to 168 AD) refers to the Alupas. They are referred to in the famous Halmidi (500 AD) inscription. The Alupas belonged to the lunar race and had fish as their royal emblem, exactly like the Pandyas of Madurai. Among the most important titles of the Alupas, were Pandita Pandya and Pandya Dhananjaya. This has been found on coins and inscriptions in Kannada. This shows Pandyas were very familiar with the name Dhanajaya. This takes us to the history of Madurai Meenakshi Temple.
Dhanajaya statue in Madurai
The story of the world famous Madurai Meenakshi Temple begins with a merchant called Dhananjaya. (Please read my article THE WONDER THAT IS MADURAI MEENAKSHI TEMPLE in this blog). A merchant by this name travelled to a neighbouring town and returned to his home town Manavur through the thick forest of Kadamaba trees. Since the sun was already set he took rest under a tree. Suddenly he saw bright lights. He hid himself and watched Indra and other angels from the heaven came down to earth doing Puja to a Linga (formless Shiva). He was so excited and reported it to the Pandya king Kulasekara the very next morning. The king visited the place with all his retinue immediately and built a temple over the Shiva Lingam and a city slowly came up around this temple. Anyone can see Madurai as a well planned city in the shape of squares within squares round the temple. It is called lotus city.
The statue of Dhanjaya is in the Golden Lotus Tank pillar inside Maduari temple. This story is narrated in Thiru Vilayadal Puranam in Tamil.
Picture of Halmidi Kannada inscription
Surprise from Cambodia
Mahabharata’s character Arjuna had good connection with the south of India by marrying Chitrangada. They had a son by name Babruvahana/bull vehicle which also links to Shiva whose vehicle is a bull. When we read that Dhananjaya Pandya in Karnataka and Dhannjaya’s early connection with Manalur, the previous capital of Pandya, we see a link between Arjuna-Pandya-Dhananjaya-fish symbol- Bull Vahana/vehicle etc. This calls for deeper research in to this area.
The next surprise comes from Cambodia. If someone sees names like Rama, Krishna, Buddha in Cambodia one won’t be surprised because we have a history of Hindu rule in South East Asia for 1300 years. (Please read my article THE PANDYA KING WHO RULED VIETNAM). This Dhananjayan is neither a king nor a historical figure. But he was a jester in a folk tale. The famous stories of Tenali Rama are duplicated in Cambodia by replacing Tenali Rama’s name with Dhananjaya. How did his name travel that far from India and how did he become a jester or clown is a mystery. This calls for more research.
Judith Jacob in her book ‘Cambodian linguistics, literature and history’ says:
“Thmenh Chey (Dhmen Jay or Dhananjay) is a story known also in Burma and Thailand. Thmenh Jay is a poor boy who rise, first to be the servant of a rich man, then to upon to attend the king and finally to be the most eminent man in the land. All this he does by his wits and in particular by outwitting his current master in verbal adroitness”.
I have read some of the stories and they are very similar to stories of Tenali Rama.
Asvagosha’s Dhanajaya
Asvagosha was one of the great writers of ancient India. He lived in the period of Kushan emperor in first century AD. Unlike other Buddhist writers he wrote in Sanskrit. Many Kavyas and dramas are attributed to him. One of the characters in Asvagosha’s drama was Dhananjaya! Probably Cambodian’s followed this fictional character to create their jester.
More Dhananjayans
Dhananjayan is a famous name in Bharatnatyam in Chennai. The couple started their own school in their names. The ancient Djhanajayas include the son of Naga woman Kadru, a Jain author who wrote ‘Dhananjayam’ and a commander in Lord Muruga’s army. This is the only link with Muruga/Skanda. Dhanajayan is one of the names of Agni/fire. Since Vedas connect Agni to Lord Skanda/Murugan we may see some distant link to Murugan
