Trilokasundarī
Trilokasundarī · tri-loka-sundarī, “the beauty of the three worlds”
Trilokasundarī is the daughter of Campakeśa, a strong archer king of Campāpurī, and his queen Sulocanā. In the Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa the Vaitāla tells King Vikramāditya her account, on marriage within the same varṇa.
Her svayaṃvara
Her face was like the moon, her brows like a bowstring, her eyes like a deer’s and her voice like a kokila’s. Even devatās wished to marry her, let alone men. To her svayaṃvara came all the world-famed kings and, taking human bodies, the devatās: Devarāja Indra, Varuṇa, Kubera, Dharmarāja and Rāma and others.
Four suitors spoke to her father:
- Indradatta: “King, I am skilled in all śāstras, handsome and pleasing. Give me your daughter.”
- Dharmadatta: “King, I am skilled in the science of archery and pleasing. Give me your daughter.”
- Dhanapāla: “I know the language of all creatures. I am virtuous and handsome. Give me your daughter and be happy.”
- The fourth, expert in all arts: “Every day by my own labour I obtain five ratnas. The first I spend for puṇya, the second for homa, the third for myself, the fourth for my wife, and the last for food. Give your daughter to me.”
The king was amazed and could not decide. He asked his daughter which groom she desired, but Trilokasundarī, from modesty, gave no answer.
Vikramāditya’s answer
The Vaitāla asked who was the fitting groom. Vikramāditya answered that Trilokasundarī was fit for Dharmadatta. Indradatta, who knows the Vedas and śāstras, would by varṇa be called a dvija; Dhanapāla, who knows languages and spreads wealth and grain, a vaṇik; and the one who trades in ratnas, a śūdra. Dharmadatta, skilled in Dhanurveda, would be called a kshatriya. “A girl is fit only for one of the same varṇa,” so that kshatriya girl should be married to Dharmadatta alone.
Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 2, Chapters 1–23
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 2, Chapters 1–23