Alakā, also called Alaka or Alakāpurī, is the city of Kubera (Vaiśravaṇa), the deva of wealth and the king of the yakshas. It lies in the northern Himālaya, beyond the peak of Gandhamādana and near Mount Kailāsa, the home of Bhagavān Śiva.

Kubera is one of the eight guardians of the directions, the Ashṭadikpālas, and he guards the north. The city was built by Viśvakarman, the divine craftsman of the devas. The Mahābhārata and the Purāṇas describe it as a city of great beauty and wealth, full of every kind of riches, with yakshas and kinnaras (divine musicians) living in it.

How Kubera came to Alakā

The Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa (Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 14) tells how Kubera came to live here. Rāvaṇa, Kubera’s half-brother, finished his tapas (austerity) and received a vara (a boon) from Brahmā that made him invincible. He then took Laṅkā from Kubera. Kubera did not fight. He withdrew and made a new capital in the Himālaya, near Kailāsa, the abode of Bhagavān Śiva. There he would live near Bhagavān Śiva and under his protection.

The new city was Alakāpurī, a city of unsurpassed wealth, as fits the king of all the treasures of the world. Kubera’s yaksha attendants, the Nava-Nidhi (nine divine treasures), his armies and his officers all moved there.

What the city is like

The texts describe Alakāpurī like this:

It lies in the northern Himālaya, near Kailāsa.
It is a city of gold and gems, as splendid as Laṅkā.
Yakshas, kinnaras (semi-divine musicians), gandharvas and other divine beings live in it under Kubera’s rule.
It is surrounded by divine gardens, among them the Caitraratha forest, where the apsarās (celestial dancers) dance.
The divine river Mandākinī, the Gaṅgā of the north, flows nearby.

The city stands among mountains of gold, with gardens of divine plants around it.

Alakā in the Mahābhārata

In the Vana Parva (Chapters 158–162), the Pāṇḍavas meet Kubera’s people on Gandhamādana. Bhīma kills the yaksha Maṇimanta. Then Kubera arrives on Gandhamādana in his Pushpaka vimāna to meet the Pāṇḍavas (Chapter 160).

This Pushpaka vimāna was later taken by Rāvaṇa. It was given back to Kubera after the war at Laṅkā.

Kubera as guardian of the north

From Alakāpurī, Kubera guards the northern direction. His rule from Alakāpurī covers the whole northern quarter of the world. His nearness to Kailāsa, the abode of Bhagavān Śiva, shows the close bond between the king of wealth and the master of tapas.

After the war at Laṅkā

After Bhagavān Rāma killed Rāvaṇa, the Pushpaka vimāna was returned to Kubera, and Kubera stayed in Alakāpurī. Vibhīshaṇa became the righteous new king of Laṅkā.

Alakā in poetry

Kālidāsa’s Meghadūta (the Cloud-Messenger) is one of the greatest poems in Sanskrit. It is addressed to a yaksha who has been sent away from Alakā and longs for his beloved wife in that northern city. The poem describes Alakā in loving detail and gives the fullest picture of the city in literature.

Sources

Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 158–162 (Chapter 160 for Kubera’s arrival in the Pushpaka vimāna)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 14
Kālidāsa, Meghadūta