Sumati Mahārāja
Sumati Mahārāja was a cakravartī (emperor) of the Soma-vaṃśa (Lunar dynasty) in Kṛta-yuga. He is remembered as an ideal devotee-king of Bhagavān Viṣṇu. He ruled all seven dvīpas (continents) with dharma. He did Hari-pūjā every day. On every dvādaśī (the twelfth day of the lunar fortnight) he raised a flag at the Viṣṇu temple, an act called dhvajāropaṇa.
His queen Satyamatī was just as admirable. She spent her time in devotional dance at the temple. Both remembered their former lives, as the śūdra Mālinī and the niṣāda woman Kokila. In those lives they had served Bhagavān Hari without meaning to, in a forest temple. This earned them liberation and then a royal birth.
Character and conduct
Sumati had all the auspicious marks and all the qualities of a king. He was truthful and of pure lineage. He loved guests (atithi-priyatā). He was free of pride (ahaṃkāra), saw all beings equally, and was always grateful.
He was always busy with Hari-kathā (talk about Bhagavān Hari), Hari-pūjā and service to the devotees of Hari (Hari-bhakta-sevā). He and Satyamatī gave water and food (jala-anna-dāna) every day. They also built tanks, groves and other works of charity. Sumati put up a flag at the Viṣṇu temple himself on every dvādaśī tithi (lunar day).
His fame was so great that even the devas praised him, and great ṛṣis came to see him. The ṛṣi Vibhāṇḍaka once visited with his disciples. He asked Sumati why he chose dhvajāropaṇa above all other kinds of pūjā. Sumati’s answer told the whole story of his past life.
The past life
In his earlier life, Sumati was a śūdra named Mālinī, and his conduct was thoroughly bad. He stole the property of a temple. He killed brāhmaṇas and cows. He was addicted to vice, and in the end he was driven out of society.
He lived as a hunter in a ruined Viṣṇu temple in the forest. He repaired its walls and cleaned its floor, but only for his own comfort. His companion was Kokila, a niṣāda woman of similar background. Kokila was later reborn as Satyamatī.
One night, both were drunk, and they danced before the image of Bhagavān Viṣṇu in the temple. When they died, the Yamadūtas (the messengers of Yama) came for them. But the Viṣṇu-dūtas (the messengers of Bhagavān Viṣṇu) overruled them. The Viṣṇu-dūtas said that cleaning, repairing and dancing in the temple of Hari were enough for full liberation.
Both were taken to Viṣṇu-pada, the realm of Bhagavān Viṣṇu. They enjoyed divine pleasures there for crores of kalpa-years. Then they were born again as Sumati and Satyamatī.
Sources
- Nārada Mahā Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha, Chapter 80