Suvrata

Suvrata was a great devotee of Bhagavān Vishṇu. He was the son of Somaśarma and Sumanā, born at the Revā tīrtha (Amarakaṇṭaka) by the direct grace of Bhagavān Vishṇu, as the fruit of his parents’ tapas (austerity). From his infancy he cared only for dhyāna (meditation) on Vishṇu. As a young man he went to Vaidūrya Parvata, the Beryl Mountain, and did hard tapas. There Bhagavān Kṛshṇa appeared to him and told him of his past life. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa then took Suvrata and his parents in their bodies to Vishṇuloka. From there Suvrata was appointed as Vasudatta, the new Indra.

Birth and childhood

Signs from the sky marked Suvrata’s birth. Divine drums sounded, gandharvas (singers of the devas) sang, apsarasas (dancers of the devas) danced and flowers rained from the sky. At the moment he was born, the poverty that had weighed on his parents’ home lifted. Wealth, cattle and plenty came to the house (Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, Chapter 20).

As a child he did not play as other children do. His play was meditation on Bhagavān Vishṇu. He set out small images of Vishṇu and did mānasa pūjā (worship in the mind). He sang the names of Vishṇu and sat in quiet absorption. His parents saw that the child already had full bhakti (devotion). He was not learning it; he was remembering it (Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, Chapter 21).

Tapas at Vaidūrya Parvata

The force of his bhakti could no longer be held within the home, and Suvrata looked for a mountain retreat. He chose Vaidūrya Parvata, the Beryl Mountain. There the deva Siddheśvara presided over a powerful place of tapas. Suvrata fasted, kept silence and gave himself wholly to remembering Vishṇu (Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, Chapters 21–22).

Bhagavān Kṛshṇa appears and tells him of his past life

Bhagavān Kṛshṇa appeared before Suvrata at Vaidūrya Parvata. Suvrata, overcome with bhakti, fell flat on the ground and offered a stotra (hymn of praise) full of devotion. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa then spoke:

“In your last birth you were Dharmāṅgada, son of the great king Rukmāṅgada of Vidiśā. Your father began a great tapas for the highest aim, and to complete it he needed a supreme offering from you. You gave your own head willingly. You cut it off yourself, knowing what you did and without doubt, so that your father’s tapas could be fulfilled. This act of perfect love for your father earned you a direct ascent to Vishṇuloka, without the usual way of death and rebirth. Now you are born again as Suvrata, as the son of Somaśarma and Sumanā, whose tapas has earned this gift. You carry within you the bhakti of your last life and the puṇya (merit) of that supreme self-offering.” (Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, Chapter 22)

Dharmāṅgada’s act was pitṛ-bhakti, devotion to his father.

Ascent to Vishṇuloka and the office of Indra

After this, Bhagavān Kṛshṇa took Suvrata in his body to Vishṇuloka, and took his parents Somaśarma and Sumanā with him. The three went up together in their own bodies. A brāhmaṇa family that had lived in poverty and hardship at the Revā tīrtha was carried to the highest home of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa.

From Vishṇuloka, Suvrata was appointed as Vasudatta, the new Indra of the present cycle of svarga. Suvrata’s birth was the fruit of the tapas of both Sumanā and Somaśarma (Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, Chapter 22).

Sources

• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, Chapters 11–22 (birth and childhood in Chapters 20–21, Vaidūrya Parvata in Chapters 21–22, the revelation and ascent in Chapter 22)