Other famed Kings of the Surya Vamsha

King Vidurath discovered a huge cavity of Earth in a forest in his Kingdom. A Muni in the forest informed that there was a demon of Patala called  Kujrumbha made several such cavities in the forest through which the demon entered and killed the passers by including animals. The Muni however cautioned the King that the demon had a potent weapon named Sunanda-a Mushala or a Mace which was originally built by Twashta Prajapati. He further told the King that the Mushala w On return to the Royal Court, the King consulted his Ministers and asked his sons to take large contingents of soldiers and kill thd demon after locating him. The demon destroyed the army and imprisoned the Princes. He also managed to abduct the Princess from the Fort and out of bravado stated that none could do any harm to him till he possessed Sunanda the Mace and thus forced her to marry him. But the Princess knew about the ineffectiveness of the Mace if touched by a woman. The King announced that whosoever could free the princess from the custody of the demon would be wedded to her. An intrepid youth named Vatsandra came forward and killed the demon, since the Mace was ineffective as it was already touched by the princess while being kidnapped. The princess and the youth got married happily.

King Vishal of Vidisha Kingdom was blessed with an extraordinarily pretty Princess named Vaishali. The King announced a ‘Swayamvara’ or bride’s choice for marriage and many eligible Princes attended the function.  One Prince named Aveekshith or the one who was not viewed by any malefic Graha / Planet in his birth chart tried to take away the Princess by force. But those other aspirants who attended the function over powered Aveekshith and imprisoned him. The King then proceeded with the Swayamvara but Vaishali insisted on selecting Aveekshi only. Meanwhile the King Kardama the father of the imprisoned youth attacked Vidisha and freed; the Prince felt  humiliated and decided not to wed Vaishali.  The disappointed Princess declared that she would wed the Prince or none else! She retired to a hermitage in a forest and performed Tapasya. Devas were happy with her devotion and blessed her with the boon of begetting a famous son who would rule the whole Sapta Dwipas soon. Vaishali wondered that after all she vowed of celibacy excepting Aveekshith. Even while she was thinking about her vow, a demon called Dhrutakesha tried to kidnap Vaishali and a passing Prince Aveekshith fought the demon and saved the Princess. On mutual consent, the married as per the Gadharva way and gave birth to a celebrated son called Marut who indeed became the Supreme Sovereign of the Sapta Dwipas.

Marut Chakravarti not only controlled Sapta Dwipas but also the Sky, Prithvi, Pataala Lokas and all the ‘Jalasthaanaas’ or wherever water existed. He performed thousands of Yagnas under the supervision of Samvarta Muni the son of Angirasa Maharshi and the brother of Brihaspati the Deva Guru. The Yagnas were lavish glittered with gold and jewellery. Brahmanas who were proverbially poor full of  family needs and unfulfilled desires were surfeit with Dhana-Dhanya-Vastu-Vahana-Kanakas or cash-foodgrains-material wealth-chariots, horses, elephants and other carriages. The Chakravarti’s sovereignty was at peak when Dharma or Virtue reigned, human desires were nil, Varnashrama Rules were predominant, sins were the lowest and Peace and Contentment were the watch-words. In this idyllic atmosphere however, the ‘Raja Mata’ (Royal Grandmother)  sent a precautionary note to Marut and his father Avikshith that there were some lapses in Security arrangements of the Empire as some stray cases of  poison deaths of Brahmana Vidyarthis or Students by Nagas from Naga Loka. This information infuriated the Chakravarti and made elaborate preparations to attack Naga loka and destroy it all together. The Naga Kings were worried and tightened the behaviour of the miscreant elements in Naga loka and apologised to the Chakravati who was however adamant. They also  approached Aveekshith for intervention and  protection. Marut emphasised ‘Raja Dharma’ to protect his Subjects and decided to go ahead with the attack of the Naga Loka while the father pleaded mercy to the ‘Sharanaarthis’ or those who erred but sought pardon which too was an ‘Ashrita Dharma’ of Kshatriyas. Both the son and father took uncompromising postures and the ‘Raja Mata’ intervened and prevented ego-clashes of the Son and Father. Meanwhile, those miscreant serpents were rattled that due to their mischief the entire Naga Race faced the huge problem of destruction and by utilising the Mantra Shakti of the Naga experts revived the lives of the dead Brahmana Vidyarthis thus putting a lid on the controversial storm.

Sri V.D.N.Rao and Shri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham

Kamakoti.org presents the Essence of Puranas in English, condensed by Sri. V.D.N.Rao, devotee of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam. Compiled, Composed and Interpreted by V.D.N.Rao, Former General Manager, India Trade Promotion Organisation, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi Ministry of Commerce, Govt. of India The author can be contacted at [email protected]