In this chapter the descendants of King Mandhata are described, and in this connection the histories of Purukutsa and Hariscandra are also given.

The most prominent son of Mandhata was Ambarisha, his son was Yauvanasva, and Yauvanasva's son was Harita. These three personalities were the best in the dynasty of Mandhata. Purukutsa, another son of Mandhata, married the sister of the snakes (sarpa-gana) named Narmada. The son of Purukutsa was Trasaddasyu, whose son was Anaranya. Anaranya's son was Haryasva, Haryasva's son was Praruna, Praruna's son was Tribandhana, and Tribandhana's son was Satyavrata, also known as Trisanku. When Trisanku kidnapped the daughter of a brahmana, his father cursed him for this sinful act, and Trisanku became a candala, worse than a sudra. Later, by the influence of Visvamitra, he was brought to the heavenly planets, but by the influence of the demigods he fell back downward. He was stopped in his fall, however, by the influence of Visvamitra. The son of Trisanku was Hariscandra. Hariscandra once performed a Rajasuya-yajna, but Visvamitra cunningly took all of Hariscandra's possessions as a dakshina contribution and chastised Hariscandra in various ways. Because of this, a quarrel arose between Visvamitra and Vasishtha. Hariscandra had no sons, but on the advice of Narada he worshiped Varuna and in this way got a son named Rohita. Hariscandra promised that Rohita would be used to perform a Varuna-yajna. Varuna reminded Hariscandra repeatedly about this yajna, but the King, because of affection for his son, gave various arguments to avoid sacrificing him. Thus time passed, and gradually the son grew up. To safeguard his life, the boy then took bow and arrows in hand and went to the forest. Meanwhile, at home, Hariscandra suffered from dropsy because of an attack from Varuna. When Rohita received the news that his father was suffering, he wanted to return to the capital, but King Indra prevented him from doing so. Following the instructions of Indra, Rohita lived in the forest for six years and then returned home. Rohita purchased Sunahsepha, the second son of Ajigarta, and gave him to his father, Hariscandra, as the sacrificial animal. In this way, the sacrifice was performed, Varuna and the other demigods were pacified, and Hariscandra was freed from disease. In this sacrifice, Visvamitra was the hota priest, Jamadagni was the adhvaryu, Vasishtha was the brahma, and Ayasya was the udgata. King Indra, being very satisfied by the sacrifice, gave Hariscandra a golden chariot, and Visvamitra gave him transcendental knowledge. Thus Sukadeva Gosvami describes how Hariscandra achieved perfection.