Ākāśarāja

Ākāśarāja was a righteous king of Nārāyaṇapura in the Tuṇḍīra-maṇḍala (the Tuṇḍīra region). He belonged to the Candra-vaṃśa (the Moon dynasty). He was born to King Mitravarmā and his Pāṇḍya queen Manoramā. He married Dharaṇī of the Śaka vaṃśa.

In the Veṅkaṭācala Māhātmya he is the earthly father of Padmāvatī and the father-in-law of Bhagavān Śrīnivāsa. He and Dharaṇī found Padmāvatī, a child not born from a womb (ayonijā), in the earth while ploughing holy ground for a yajña (fire ritual). At the divine wedding of Śrīnivāsa and Padmāvatī, Ākāśarāja performed the kanyādāna (the giving away of the bride) and made rich gifts to the newly married pair and to the devas who had come. When Bhagavān Śrīnivāsa offered him a vara (a boon), he asked for nothing but steady, unshakable bhakti (devotion) at the lotus feet of Bhagavān Śrīnivāsa. The vara was granted at once.

Lineage and coming to power

The Veṅkaṭācala Māhātmya first names Ākāśarāja in a foretelling. Bhagavān Varāha speaks to Bhūdevī and says that after the twenty-eighth Dvāpara-yuga a king named Mitravarmā will rule at Nārāyaṇapura in the Tuṇḍīra-maṇḍala. Mitravarmā’s wife will be Manoramā, a Pāṇḍya princess. Their son will be Ākāśarāja, called a kula-dīpaka (one who lights up the family). Ākāśarāja will marry a woman named Dharaṇī from the Śaka vaṃśa. Mitravarmā will hand his kingdom to his son and retire to a tapovana (forest of austerity) near Veṅkaṭādri.

Ākāśarāja became a great ruler, a sārvabhauma (king over the whole land). He was always faithful to his one wife Dharaṇī, and he ruled by dharma. The land had no famine, all crops grew well, and the people lived free of trouble and with right conduct.

The finding of Padmāvatī

Ākāśarāja wished to perform a yajña. He began to plough the consecrated earth on the bank of the Araṇī river with a golden plough, sowing seeds for the yajña ground. As the seeds were sown, he saw a girl-child lying on a bed of lotus petals. She shone like molten gold and had all the auspicious marks. Ākāśarāja lifted her up. His eyes were wide with wonder and joy, and he said to his ministers again and again, “She is my daughter!” An unseen divine voice answered, “She is indeed your daughter.”

The king brought the child happily to the city. He called his wife Dharaṇī and showed her this divine gift from the earth. He put the child in her hands and said, “To us who had no children, this one is surely our daughter.” He named the girl Padminī, and she became known as Padmāvatī. From the day Padmāvatī came into the house, Dharaṇī was with child. In time a son was born, and he was named Vasudāsa. This is told in Chapter 3.

Nārada’s visit and the astrologer’s words

When Padmāvatī had grown into a young woman, the ṛshi Nārada came to the garden where she was playing with her friends. He wondered at her rare beauty. He read her lakshaṇas (bodily marks) in great detail, declared that she was fit for Vishṇu alone, and vanished. Soon after, Śrīnivāsa met Padmāvatī while hunting in the royal garden. After this meeting she fell into viraha (the pain of separation). She would not eat and could not be comforted.

Ākāśarāja saw the state of his daughter and called the royal astrologer (daivajña). The astrologer studied the positions of the planets. He looked at the lagna (rising sign), at Candra the lord of the lagna, and at Bṛhaspati in the kendra (an angle of the chart). He told the king, “A fine man came to see your daughter, and she fell in love with him. A woman sent by him will come here. Do as she says, and your daughter will recover.” He also advised a Mahābhisheka (great ritual bath) for the Agastya-liṅga. Ākāśarāja sent brāhmaṇas to perform this Mahābhisheka with all the needed saṃbhāras (materials). This is told in Chapter 6.

Acceptance of the marriage proposal

Vakulamālikā came as the messenger of Śrīnivāsa. She met Ākāśarāja’s queen Dharaṇī and gave her the proposal. Dharaṇī took the news to Ākāśarāja, who called his ministers and purohitas (family priests). In the assembly Ākāśarāja said, “This girl is ayonijā. She was born from the earth. She is divine and auspicious, and she is the dwelling-place of Lakshmī. The master of all the devas, who lives on Veṅkaṭādri, has asked for her. My wish is now fulfilled. What is your counsel?”

The ministers were full of joy and answered without any doubt, “Your dynasty will rise above all dynasties. This divine girl, equal to Lakshmī, should be given in marriage to the master of all masters on Veṅkaṭādri.” This is told in Chapter 7.

Ākāśarāja then called Bṛhaspati from Devaloka to fix the muhūrta (the auspicious time). Bṛhaspati learned that the bride’s birth nakshatra (lunar star) was Mṛgaśīrsha and the bridegroom’s was Śravaṇa. He declared Uttarā Phālguṇī in the month of Vaiśākha to be the most auspicious nakshatra for their union. Ākāśarāja honoured Bṛhaspati and began the preparations.

The divine wedding

Ākāśarāja got the whole city ready for the wedding. He asked Viśvakarmā to decorate it, and Viśvakarmā finished the work in moments. Ākāśarāja arranged the great feast and the celebrations. He received the bridegroom Śrīnivāsa and all the devas who came with his wedding procession.

At the city gate Padmāvatī arrived on Airāvata and walked around the bridegroom in pradakshiṇa (a clockwise round). Śrīnivāsa and Padmāvatī exchanged garlands three times. Brahmā performed the Maṅgalasūtra-bandhana (the tying of the wedding thread), the Aṅkurārpaṇa (the sowing of sprouts) and the Lājāhoma (the fire offering of parched grain).

After four days of celebration, Ākāśarāja gave rich gifts to the newly married pair.

• Golden vessels filled with dhānya (grain)
• Hundreds of pots of ghī (clarified butter)
• Thousands of pots of milk and curd
• Divine fruits
• Gold, gems and pearls
• Silks
• Crores of female attendants
• Ten thousand white horses
• More than a hundred elephants in rut
• Four thousand skilled performers of the inner chambers

This is told in Chapter 8.

The vara of steady bhakti

Śrīnivāsa was pleased with all the gifts. He asked Ākāśarāja to ask for any vara he wished. The king bowed and said, “O Bhagavān Śrīnivāsa, may my mind always rest at your lotus feet, steady and unshaken, with a bhakti that is never fickle.” Śrīnivāsa granted it at once: “All that you have asked shall be yours.” This is told in Chapter 8.

Sources

• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Veṅkaṭācala Māhātmya, Chapters 3–8 (Chapter 3 for his lineage and the finding of Padmāvatī, Chapter 6 for Nārada’s visit and the astrologer, Chapter 7 for the marriage proposal, Chapter 8 for the wedding and the vara)