Kakudmi
Kakudmi (sometimes also called Kakudmin, or Raivata,
son of Revata) was the King of Kusasthali. He was the father of Revati who
married Balarama.
Within Hinduism,
his account is given within a number of existing texts such as the Mahābhārata,
the Devi Bhagavatam and the Bhagavata
Purana.
Lineage
Kakudmi was a descendant of the Sun Dynasty (
Suryavansha),
a dynasty originating from
Surya, the Hindu deity of the Sun. Surya's son was the
deity Vaivasvata Manu.
Vaivasvata Manu had one powerful son named Ikshvaku.
Ikshvaku founded and spread the Sun (or Solar) dynasty. He was celebrated for
his accomplishments in battle and his competence and benevolence.
Ikshvaku had one hundred sons of whom Vikuksi was the
eldest. Vikuksi had many sons of whom S'aryâti was one. King S'aryâti had three
sons, namely Uttânabarhi, Ânarta and Bhûrishena. Ânarta's eldest son was
Revata.
King Revata constructed the city of
Kusasthali and ruled from
there. Kusasthali grew to became a prosperous and advanced kingdom. From
Kusasthali, he also ruled over large tracts of land, including
Anarta kingdom
which was named after his father.
Revata had one hundred sons of whom Kakudmi (also called Raivata,
son of Revata) was the eldest.
Character of Kakudmi
Kakudmi was of pure character, and a benevolent ruler. He
had one very beautiful daughter named
Revati, endowed
with all auspicious qualities. Although considered human, Kakudmi seemed to
have been endowed with mystic powers, not found in ordinary humans today.
Kakudmi was able to take his daughter
Revati with
him and travel to Brahma-loka(the plane of existence where Brahma, the
Creator, resides) and to speak with Brahma at will.
Credit: es.mashpedia.com
Meeting with Brahma
Kakudmi's daughter Revati was so
beautiful and so accomplished that when she reached a marriageable age,
Kakudmi, thinking no one upon earth was worthy of her, went to the Creator
himself, Lord
Brahma,
to seek his advice about a suitable husband for his daughter.
When they arrived, Brahma was listening to a musical
performance by the
Gandharvas, so they waited patiently until the performance
was finished. Then, Kakudmi bowed humbly, made his request and presented his
shortlist of candidates. Brahma laughed loudly, and explained that time runs
differently on different planes of existence, and that during the short time
they had waited in Brahma-loka to see him, 27 catur-
yugas (a cycle
of four yugas, totalling 108 yugas, or
Ages of Man)
had passed on earth.
Brahma said to Kakudmi, "O King, all those whom you
may have decided within the core of your heart to accept as your son-in-law
have died in the course of time. Twenty-seven catur-yugas have already passed.
Those upon whom you may have already decided are now gone, and so are their
sons, grandsons and other descendants. You cannot even hear about their names. You must therefore bestow this virgin gem
(i.e. Revati) upon some other husband, for you are now alone, and your friends,
your ministers, servants, wives, kinsmen, armies, and treasures, have long
since been swept away by the hand of time."
King Kakudmi was overcome with astonishment and alarm at
hearing this news. However, Brahma comforted him, and added that Vishnu, the
preserver, was currently incarnate on earth in the forms of
Krishna and Balarama, and
he recommended Balarama as a worthy husband for Revati.
Kakudmi and Revati then
returned to earth which they regarded as having left only just a short while
ago. They were shocked by the changes that had taken place. Not only had the
landscape and environment changed, but over the intervening 27 catur-yugas,
in the cycles of human spiritual and cultural evolution, mankind was at a lower
level of development than in their own time (see
Ages of Man).
The Bhagavata Purana describes that they found the race of men had become
"dwindled in stature, reduced in vigour, and enfeebled in intellect."
Daughter and father found Balarama and proposed the marriage
which was accepted. The marriage was then duly celebrated.
After the marriage
After the marriage had been celebrated, Kakudmi considered
his fatherly duties to have been completed. Following the advice Brahma gave
him during their meeting, he went north to the Himalayas, to Badrinath (the
place where Nara-Narayana is still worshipped today) to engage
in meditation and ascetic practices.
The Devi Bhagavatam describes that "according to
Brahmâ's injunction, he became engaged in severe austerities in Badrinath and,
when the time of death arrived, left off his mortal coil on the banks of the
river and went to the world of
Gods.
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