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 janamejaya uvAcha - janamejaya said:

sagarasya AtmajA vIrAH kathaM jAtA mahAtmanaH |
vikrAntAH ShaShTi-sAhasrA vidhinA kena vA dvija  || 1-15-1

How emperor sagara begot sixty-thousand valiant and all-conquering sons, or in which way...

vaishampAyana uvAcha - vaishampAyana replied:

dve bhArye sagarasya AstAM tapasA dagdha-kilbiShe |
jyeShThA vidarbha-duhitA keshinI nAma vishrutA || 1-15-2
kanIyasI tu yA tasya patnI parama-dharmiNI |
ariShTanemi-duhitA rUpeNa apratimA bhuvi || 1-15-3

sagara had two wives who by their devoutness have become impeccable ladies... elder one is lady keshini, the daughter of vidarbha king, and the younger one is the daughter of ariShTanemi who is highly virtuous and has no coequal on earth in her beauty.

Second wife's name is said to be iilini - kaniiyasii patnii iilinii sa~njaa - nk. This name has close resemblance with iilini or Illinois Indians of America, and there are numerous web pages referring this name Ilini. ili, or ilI in Sanskrit is a cudgel, a short sword; and iilini is one who has a cudgel ready at hand.

aurvaH tAbhyAM varaM prAdAt taM nibodha janAdhipa |
ShaShThiM putra sahasrANi gR^ihNAtu ekA tapasvinI || 1-15-4
ekaM vaMshadharaM tu ekA yatheShTaM varayatu iti |
tatra ekA jagR^ihe putrAn lubdhA shUrAn bahUn tathA || 1-15-5
ekaM vaMshadharaM tu ekA tathA iti Aha cha tAM muniH |

Sage aurva, who nurtured sagara, has accorded a boon to those two ladies putting this condition, "one lady may have sixty-thousand sons with great might... and the other may have one son who rules over entire earth... choice is yours..." 

keshinya sUta sagarAt asama~njasam Atmajam || 1-15-6
rAjA pa~nchajano nAma babhUva sumahAbalaH |

Elder wife keshini jhas chosen one son, and delivered the first son of sagara named pa~nchajana who is a great mighty prince who became the successive king after sagara.

itarA suShuve tumbIM bIja-pUrNAm iti shrutiH || 1-15-7
tatra ShaShThi-sahasrANi garbhAH te tila sammitAH |

The other wife chose to deliver sixty-thousand sons, but she delivered a gourd-like thing in which there are sixty-thousand foetuses, each of the size of a sesame seed.

sambabhUvuH yathA kAlaM vavR^idhuH cha yathA kramam || 1-15-8
ghR^ita pUrNeShu kumbheShu tAn garbhAn nidadhe pitA |
 dhAtrIH cha eka ekashaH prAdAt tAvatIreva poShaNe || 1-15-9

Their father sagara placed each sesamoid foetus in each jar filled with ghee, the clarified butter, and arranged a governess to each to look after them, and those seeds started to grow up according to time and course of growing.

This situation is the precursor of the birth of suyodhana et al in mbh.

tataH dashasu mAseShu samuttasthur yathA sukham |
kumArAH te yathA kAlaM sagara-prIti-vardhanAH || 1-15-10
ShaShTiH putra sahasrANi tasya evam abhavat nR^ipa |
garbhAt alAbu madhyAt vai jAtAni pR^ithivIpate || 1-15-11
teShAM nArAyaNaM tejaH praviShTAnAM mahAtmanAm |

After a ten month durance in ghee-jars, all of the princes have come forth comfortably... thus, emperor sagara begot sixty thousand sons... all at a time from the entrails of a gourd-like thing... later, of course, they had to merge into the resplendence of nArAyaNa, when nArAyaNa donning the form of sage kapila incinerated their bodies with his fiery glance, when they dug the earth to locate ritual horse...

ekaH pa~nchajano nAma putro rAjA babhUva ha || 1-15-12
sutaH pa~nchajanasya AsIt aMshumAn nAma vIryavAn |
dilIpaH tanayaH tasya khaTvA~Nga iti vishrutaH || 1-15-13
yena svarga adihAgatya muhUrtaM prApya jIivitam |
trayaH anusandhitA lokA buddhyA satyena cha anagha || 1-15-14

However, the single son begotten by sagara's elder wife lady keshini is there whose name is pa~nchajana, alias asama~njasa. He had a valiant son named aMshumAn, and dilIpa, alias khaTvA~Nga is the son of that aMshumAn. This dilIpa went to heaven after his mortal period on earth, but he again obtained mortal life for two hours. Within those two hours he acquired sagacity about the nature of three worlds and about the nature of brahman, thus dilIpa became legendary. 

Though there are four more sons remaining to sagara, out of the lot of sixty-thousand burnt by nArAyaNa, this pa~nchajana, alias asama~njasa becomes the legatee to throne as an eldest son and as the son of elder wife. This is the problem in rAmAyaNa when kaikeyi asked to enthrone bharata.

dilIpasya tu dAyAdo mahArAjo bhagIrathaH |
 yaH sa ga~NgAM sarit shreShThAm avAtArayata prabhuH || 1-15-15
kIrtimAnsa mahAbhAgaH shakra-tulya-parAkramaH |
samudramAnayat cha enAM duhitR^itvena kalpayat |
tasmAt bhAgIrathI ga~NgA kathyate vaMsha-chintakaiH || 1-15-16

dilIpa's son is the great king bhagIratha who effectuated the descent of the best river ganga to earth from heaven, amalgamating her with the ocean. He gave daughterhood to river ganga, hence the chronologists of dynasties call river ganga with a patrilineal name bhAgIrathi.

bhagIratha suto rAjA shruta iti abhivishrutaH |
nAbhAgaH tu shrutasya AsIt putraH paramadhArmikaH || 1-15-17
ambarIShaH tu nAbhAgiH sindhu-dvIpa pitA abhavat |
ayutAjit tu dAyAdaH sindhu-dvIpasya vIryavAn || 1-15-18
ayutAjit sutaH tu AsIt R^itaparNo mahAyashAH |
divya-akSha-hR^idayaj~no vai rAjA nala sakho balI || 1-15-19

From bhagIratha the successive lineage of princes is; bhagIratha → shruta → nAbhAga → ambarISha → sindhu-dvIpa → ayutAjit → R^itaparNa, an expert in dice game and a friend of emperor nala...

Here he is to be known as R^ita-parNa, but not as R^itu-parNa - nk.

R^itaparNa sutaH tu AsIt ArtaparNiH mahIpatiH |
sudAsaH tasya tanayo rAjA tu indra-sakho.abhavat || 1-15-20
sudAsasya sutaH tu AsIt saudAso nAma pArthivaH |
khyAtaH kalmAShapAdo vai nAmnA mitrasahaH tathA || 1-15-21
kalmAShapAdasya sutaH sarvakarma iti vishrutaH |
anaraNyaH tu putro.abhUt vishrutaH sarvakarmaNaH || 1-15-22

From R^itaparNa the successive princes are: R^itaparNa →  ArtaparNi → sudAsa → saudAsa, alias kalmAShapAda, alias mitrasaha → sarva-karma → anaraNya...

anaraNya suto nighno nighna putrau babhUvatuH |
animitro raghuH chaiva pArthivarShabha sattamau || 1-15-23

anaraNya's son is nighna, and nighna got two sons, namely animitra and raghu...

anamitrasya dharmAtmA vidvAn duliduho abhavat |
dilIpaH tanayaH stasya rAma pra-prapitA-mahaH || 1-15-24

anamitra's son is scholarly duliduha; and king dilIpa, the great-grandfather of rAma, is the son of this duliduha...

This dilIpa is different from dilIpa, the son of kaTvAnga.

dIrghabAhuH dilIpasya raghuH nAmnA abhavat sutaH |
ayodhyAyAM mahArAjo raghuH cha AsIt mahAbalaH || 1-15-25
ajastu raghuto jaj~ne ajAt dasharatho.abhavat |
rAmo dasharat Ajjaj~ne dharmAtmA sumahAyashAH || 1-15-26

This dilIpa's son is dIrghabAhu who is also called as raghu, and this mighty one became an important king of ayodhya... aja is the son of this raghu, and dasharatha is the son of aja... and the righteous and highly renowned rAma is the son of dasharatha...

 rAmasya tanayo jaj~ne kusha iti abhivishrutaH |
atithiH tu kushAt jaj~ne niShadhaH tasya cha AtmajaH || 1-15-27
niShadhasya nalaH putro nabhaH putro nalasya tu |
nabhasya puNDarIkaH tu kShema-dhanvA tataH smR^itaH || 1-15-28

The sucession from rAma is: rAma → kusha →  atithi → niShadha → nala → nabha, or nagha → puNDarIka → kShema-dhanvA...

kShemadhanva sutaH tu AsIt devAnIkaH pratApavAn |
AsIt ahInaguH nAma devAnIka sutaH prabhuH || 1-15-29
ahInagoH tu dAyAdaH sudhanvA nAma pArthivaH |
sudhanvanaH sutaH chaiva tato jaj~ne.analo nR^ipaH || 1-15-30
uktho nAma sa dharmAtmA anala putro babhUva ha |
vajranAbhaH sutaH tasya ukthasya cha mahAtmanaH || 1-15-31
sha~NkhaH tasya suto vidvAn vyuShitAshva iti shrutaH |
puShpaH tasya suto vidvAn artha-siddhiH tu tat sutaH || 1-15-32
sudarshanaH sutaH tasya agnivarNaH sudarshanAt |
agnivarNasya shIghraH tu shIghrasya tu maruH sutaH || 1-15-33

kShemadhanva → devAnIka →   ahInagu → sudhanvA → anala → uktha → vajranAbha →   sha~Nkha, or called as vyuShitAshva → puShpa → artha-siddhiH → sudarshana → agni-varNa →   shIghra → maru...

maruH tu yogam AsthAya kalApa-dvIpam-AsthitaH |
tasya AsIt vishrutavataH putro rAja bR^ihadbalaH || 1-15-34

This king maru by the dint of his yogic powers used to reside in the island called kalApa... and maru's son is bR^ihadbala....

nalau dvAu eva vikhyAtau purANe bharatarShabha |
vIrasena AtmajaH chaiva yat cha ikShvAku kula udvahaH || 1-15-35

Two persons with the name of nala occur in mythologies, one is the son of vIrasena, and the other is this one born in ikshvAku dynasty...

ikShvAku vaMsha prabhavAH prAdhANyena iha kIrtitAH |
ete vivasvato vaMshe rAjAno bhUri tejasaH || 1-15-36
paThan samyag imAM sR^iShTim Adityasya vivasvataH |
shrAddha-devasya devasya prajAnAM puShTidasya cha || 1-15-37
prajAvAn iti saAyujyam Adityasya vivasvataH |
vipApmA virajAH chaiva AyuShmAn cha bhavati uta || 1-15-38

I have recounted the legends of some important personalities of ikshvAku dynasty, who are all highly resplendent kings, alike sungod, occurring in the dynasty of very same sungod, Aditya... those who carefully read the emergence of these descendants of Aditya, which god governs the obsequial rituals, will thrive successfully... he becomes one with Aditya after his mortal life, which he lives with many offspring, longevity, sinless, and finally goes into the returnelss abode of Aditya...

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iti shrImahAbhArate khileShu harivaMshaparvaNi Adityasya vaMshAnukIrtanam nAma pa~nchadasho.adhyAyaH

Thus, this is the fifteenth chapter of first canto called harivamsha-parva, in harivamsha-purANa, the sequel of mahAbhArata, narrating the legend of kings of solar dynasty, namely ikshvAku-s.