Uttama, Father of Uttama Manu

The biography of Uttama, also known as Auttara, is a significant historical account found within the Markandeya Purana, specifically concerning the third Manvantara. Born to King Uttanapada and Queen Suruci, Uttama was a ruler of great prowess and righteousness who faced significant personal and spiritual challenges. His life story serves as a profound illustration of the intersection between royal duty, personal relationships, and the inevitable influence of past karma. The narrative details his intense devotion to his wife Bahuḷā, her mysterious coldness toward him, his subsequent decision to exile her, and his eventual journey toward reconciliation and understanding through the guidance of a wise Ṛṣi.

Lineage and Character

Uttama was the son of King Uttanapada and Queen Suruci. He was renowned for his immense strength and valor, possessing a radiance that surpassed all other beings, often compared to the brilliance of the sun. As a ruler, he was deeply committed to dharma and possessed a noble soul. He maintained a remarkable sense of equanimity, treating enemies, friends, strangers, and even his own sons with the same impartial vision. While he was as stern and formidable as Yama toward those who were wicked, he remained as gentle and soothing as Soma toward the virtuous.

Marriage to Bahula

Following the tradition of great rulers like Indra, who married Saci, Uttama married Bahuḷā, the daughter of Babhru. From the very beginning of their union, Uttama was profoundly devoted to her. His mind was constantly occupied with thoughts of Bahula, much like the moon is said to be perpetually attached to Rohini. This affection was so deep that he had no interest in any other woman; even in his dreams, only Bahula occupied his heart. He found complete immersion in her presence, and her touch brought him total joy.

Domestic Discord and Exile

Despite the King’s overwhelming love and respect, Bahuḷā did not reciprocate his feelings. She viewed his affectionate words and high honors as insults. She showed complete disregard for the flower garlands and beautiful ornaments he gifted her. When invited to sit upon an exalted seat or when the King sat near her, she would experience distress and leave his company. Even during meals, if the King held her hand and requested her to eat, she would partake of only a small amount with an unhappy heart.

This tension reached a breaking point during a social gathering where skilled musicians were performing. In a state of intoxication from wine and surrounded by other royals, Uttama affectionately offered a goblet of wine to Bahuḷā. She publicly rejected the goblet and turned her face away in disdain. Enraged by this public humiliation, Uttama compared his wife to a serpent and ordered his gatekeeper to take her to a desolate forest and abandon her immediately, without questioning his command.

Life in Separation

The gatekeeper obeyed the royal order and left Bahuḷā in the forest. Interestingly, Bahula did not feel punished; instead, she viewed her exile as a great favor from the King. Back in the kingdom, Uttama was consumed by grief. Despite his sorrow and the burning pain in his heart, he refused to marry another woman. He spent his days and nights remembering Bahula, yet he did not neglect his royal duties. He continued to govern his kingdom according to dharma, protecting his subjects as if they were his own biological children.

The Arrival of the Brahmana

During this period of separation, a Brahmana arrived at the royal court in great distress. He reported that while he was asleep at night, someone had abducted his wife from his home without even opening the doors. The Brahmana demanded that the King, as the protector of his subjects, recover his wife. When Uttama asked for details about the abductor, the Brahmana admitted he did not know who took her or where she was. He reminded the King that because subjects pay a sixth of their earnings as tax, the King is duty-bound to ensure they can sleep peacefully at night.

The Description of the Brahmana’s Wife

When Uttama asked for a description of the missing woman, the Brahmana provided a very honest and unflattering account. He described her as having harsh eyes, a very tall stature, short arms, a thin face, a large belly, and small breasts. He noted that she was quite unattractive and had a very harsh temperament and speech. Despite these flaws, the Brahmana insisted on her return. Uttama offered to provide the Brahmana with a new, beautiful, and virtuous wife, arguing that a wife like the one he lost only brings sorrow.

The Brahmana refused this offer, citing sacred texts that state a wife must be protected. He explained that a wife is the means through which a man’s own self is reborn as a son, and failing to protect her leads to the corruption of lineage, which causes ancestors to fall from Svarga. He argued that since he had married this woman in the presence of Agni with the permission of his elders, he could not simply replace her. He emphasized that without his wife, he could not perform his daily yajna and religious duties, leading to his spiritual downfall.

Seeking the Wise Ṛṣi

Moved by the Brahmana’s arguments and recognizing his own failure in protecting his own wife, Uttama set out in his chariot to find the missing woman. During his travels through a great forest, he discovered a tapovana where an effulgent Ṛṣi resided. Initially, the Rsi prepared to offer the King arghya as a mark of respect. However, a disciple of the Rsi, who possessed knowledge of the past, present, and future, advised the Rsi to reconsider. Upon realizing the King’s situation, the Rsi withheld the formal arghya and only offered conversation and a seat.

The Ṛṣi’s Rebuke

The Ṛṣi explained that although Uttama was born in the lineage of Svayambhuva Manu and was technically worthy of respect, his current state rendered him unworthy of arghya. He pointed out that by abandoning his wife in the forest, Uttama had abandoned his dharma. The Rsi stated that a man who fails to perform his daily duties for a fortnight becomes untouchable, and Uttama had neglected his for a year. He emphasized that just as a wife must follow her husband regardless of his character, a husband must support and protect his wife even if she has a bad temperament. The Rsi held up the example of the Brahmana, who was searching for his difficult wife just to fulfill his religious duties, and challenged the King to return to his own path of dharma.

Encounter with the Rākṣasa

Ashamed by the Ṛṣi‘s words, Uttama asked for the location of the Brahmana’s wife. The Rsi revealed that a Rākṣasa named Balaka had abducted her and held her in the Utpalavata forest. Uttama travelled there and found the woman eating fruits. Nearby, he encountered the Rākṣasa Balaka, who, surprisingly, showed great respect to the King. Balaka explained that he was not a man-eating Rākṣasa but one who consumed the merits and dispositions of people. He claimed that he ate the patience and good qualities of people, causing them to become angry, or ate their bad qualities, making them virtuous.

Balaka explained that he had abducted the Brahmana’s wife because the Brahmana, as a skilled priest, frequently used raksoghna mantras during yajna to drive him away, leaving him hungry. By removing the wife, the Rākṣasa made the Brahmana ineligible to perform yajna, thus stopping the mantras. Hearing this, Uttama realized that even a Rākṣasa was pointing out the necessity of a wife for religious life. He commanded Balaka to eat the bad temperament of the Brahmana’s wife to purify her and then return her to her husband’s home. Balaka complied, and the woman, now purified and realizing her past karma had caused her separation, was returned home.

Reconciliation and Astral Causes

Uttama returned to the Ṛṣi, still troubled by his own situation. He confessed that while he loved his wife more than his own life, she had always been hostile toward him. The Rsi explained that the discord was due to the planetary positions at the time of their marriage. At the moment of their union, Surya, Mangala, and Saniscara were casting their gaze, and Sukra and Brhaspati were also observing. Specifically, the Candra of the wife and the Budha of the King were in total opposition to each other.

The Ṛṣi further revealed that Bahuḷā had not been harmed by wild animals but was currently living in Rasatala. She had been found by a Naga King named Kapotaka, who was attracted to her and took her to his realm. However, Kapotaka’s daughter, Nanda, suspecting her father intended to make Bahula his wife and thus her stepmother, hid Bahula in the inner apartments. When Nanda refused to reveal Bahula’s location to her father, Kapotaka cursed his daughter to become mute. Uttama, now armed with the truth and the Rsi’s blessing, prepared to reclaim his wife and restore his dharma.

Journey to Rasātala

Following the guidance of the wise Ṛṣi, Uttama prepared himself to descend into the subterranean realm of Rasātala. His heart was filled with a mix of determination to restore his dharma and a deep longing to see his beloved Bahuḷā once more. The path to the Naga kingdom was fraught with mystery, as he traveled far from the familiar lands of his own kingdom to the hidden depths where the serpent lords resided. Guided by the spiritual insights granted by the ṛṣi, Uttama reached the gates of the underworld, seeking the palace of the Naga King Kapotaka.

Meeting with the Naga King

Upon entering the magnificent realm of the Nagas, Uttama made his presence known to Kapotaka. The King of the serpents received the human monarch with the respect due to a descendant of the line of Svāyambhuva Manu. Uttama requested the return of his wife, explaining the circumstances of her exile and his subsequent realization of his error. Kapotaka, however, was in a state of frustration. He admitted to the King that while he had indeed brought the beautiful Bahuḷā to Rasātala with the intent of making her his own, his daughter Nandā had hidden her away and refused to disclose her location. The Naga King confessed that in his anger at this defiance, he had cursed his own daughter to be mute.

The Restoration of Nandā

Uttama sought out the princess Nandā, who remained silent under the weight of her father’s curse. Recognizing that Nandā had acted out of a desire to protect the honor of her family and the virtue of Bahuḷā, Uttama felt a deep sense of gratitude toward the Naga maiden. Drawing upon the merits of his own righteous rule and the blessings of the ṛṣi, Uttama invoked a prayer for the restoration of her speech. As the curse was lifted, Nandā regained her voice and, seeing the King’s genuine devotion and the transformation in his spirit, agreed to lead him to the secret chambers where Bahulā was being kept in safety.

Reconciliation with Bahulā

When Uttama finally stood before Bahuḷā, the atmosphere of hostility that had once defined their relationship had vanished. Bahulā, who had lived in the quiet protection of the Nagas, looked upon her husband with new eyes. The celestial misalignment that had previously caused her to view his affection as an insult had been mitigated by the passage of time and the King’s own spiritual trials. Uttama spoke to her with humility, acknowledging the karmic debt they both shared and his failure to protect her as a husband should. Bahulā, moved by his journey to the depths of the earth to find her, accepted his hand, and the two were finally united in true mutual affection and understanding.

Return to the Kingdom

With the blessing of King Kapotaka and the gratitude of Princess Nandā, Uttama and Bahuḷā ascended from Rasātala and returned to their capital city. The King’s return with his Queen was celebrated throughout the land as a restoration of order and dharma. No longer a man burdened by the sin of abandoning his wife, Uttama resumed his duties with a complete heart. Side by side, the royal couple performed the necessary yajña and rituals that required the presence of both husband and wife, ensuring the spiritual prosperity of their people and the satisfaction of their ancestors.

The Birth of the Third Manu

In the fullness of time, from the union of Uttama and the virtuous Bahuḷā, a son was born. This child was endowed with all the noble qualities of his father and the refined nature of his mother. This son would eventually rise to become the presiding authority of the third Manvantara. As the third Manu, he would be known by his father’s name, Uttama, or as Auttama (Son of Uttama) Manu, ruling over a vast era of peace and righteousness, thus fulfilling the divine lineage that began with the very first of men.