Suyajña
Suyajña is the name of a king in the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa. He was also called Utkala. He came from the line of Dhruva, who was the son of Uttānapāda, the son of Svāyaṃbhuva Manu. He held a thousand Rājasūya yajñas (royal fire rituals) at Puṣkara and fed countless brāhmaṇas. A curse of leprosy fell on him when he did not receive a brāhmaṇa guest with proper respect. He later received the Rādhā mantra, worshipped Devī Rādhā for a hundred divine years, and was taken to Goloka. The Purāṇa calls him the first human king on earth to perform Rādhā pūjā (worship).
A Suyajña is also named in the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa among the purohitas (royal priests) at the court of Daśaratha, king of Ayodhyā.
Suyajña in the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa
Lineage
Suyajña was born in the line of Dhruva. Dhruva was the great devotee-son of Uttānapāda, and Uttānapāda was a son of Svāyaṃbhuva Manu. The Purāṇa places Suyajña as Dhruva’s great-great-grandson, in a distinguished Vaiṣṇava royal family. His first name was Utkala.
The thousand Rājasūya yajñas
Suyajña performed a thousand Rājasūya yajñas at the tīrtha (sacred place) of Puṣkara. This was an act of tapas (austerity) and dāna (giving) so large that ṛṣis came from all the worlds. Those present included Pulaha, Pulastya, Pracetas, Bhṛgu, Aṅgiras, Marīci, Kaśyapa, Vasiṣṭha, Kratu, Śukra, Bṛhaspati, Durvāsa, Lomaśa, Gautama, Kaṇāda, Kaṇva, Kātyāyana, Kaṭha, Pāṇini, Ṛṣyaśṛṅga, Vibhāṇḍaka, Taittiri, Mārkaṇḍeya, Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanātana, Sanatkumāra, Paila, Nara-Nārāyaṇa, Parāśara, Jaratkāru, Saṃvarta, Bharadvāja, Vālmīki, Aurva, Cyavana, Agastya, Atri, Utathya, Āstīka, Āsuri, Śilāli, Garga, Jaimini, Pañcaśikha, Jamadagni, Devala, Viśvāmitra, Ṛcīka, Kapila and many more.
He fed crores of brāhmaṇas. He gave crores of cows with gold-tipped horns as dāna. For this great generosity Brahmā himself came down and gave him the name Suyajña, which means “he of excellent yajña“.
The curse
Among the ṛṣis was a brāhmaṇa named Sutapa. When Sutapa came as a guest, Suyajña did not rise from his throne to receive him with respect. This was a failure in ātithya-dharma, the duty of welcoming a guest.
Sutapa cursed Suyajña. He would lose his kingdom and be afflicted with leprosy (kuṣṭha-roga).
Teaching on guests and karma
The ṛṣis present, among them Sanatkumāra, Bhṛgu, Pulastya and Pulaha, taught the brāhmaṇas the right way to receive guests. They also taught about karma-phala, the fruits of action. The curse, they explained, was the result of adharma (breaking dharma), even in a king who was great and generous.
The Rādhā mantra and the method of pūjā
The same Sutapa who had cursed Suyajña came back in another form. Suyajña now knew him as a divine visitor. He told the king how to be freed. Suyajña was to serve brāhmaṇas for one year with full devotion. When he did this, his leprosy was cured. Sutapa then appeared again and gave him these four things:
- The six-syllable Rādhā mūla (root) mantra, Oṃ Rādhikāyai svāhā
- The full vidhi (method) of Rādhā pūjā
- The Rādhā stotra (hymn of praise)
- The Rādhā kavaca (a prayer that guards like armour)
With these, Suyajña went to Puṣkara. He performed tapas for a hundred divine years and held to the Rādhā mantra and pūjā with a single mind.
Rādhā appears and Suyajña goes to Goloka
When his tapas ended, Devī Rādhā appeared before Suyajña in a shining divine chariot. She gave him her darśana (sight of her) and took him straight to Goloka, the highest abode of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā. The Purāṇa records that Suyajña was the first human king on earth to perform Rādhā pūjā in the way she herself set out. His going to Goloka is the sign of her grace on that pūjā.
What his account shows
This account gives the beginning of Rādhā pūjā on earth. A king who had held a thousand Rājasūyas still suffered for one lapse in dharma. The same king, through true service and devotion to Rādhā, reached the highest abode in one life.
Suyajña in the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa
The seventh chapter of the Bāla Kāṇḍa lists the chief ministers and purohitas of Daśaratha’s court. It names Suyajña among the brāhmaṇa advisers in the king’s service. The purohitas named with him are Vasiṣṭha, Vāmadeva and Jābāli. These purohitas guided the Solar dynasty in the yajñas and royal ceremonies. They also took part in the saṃskāras (rites of passage) of the princes and advised the king on dharma. The Bāla Kāṇḍa does not say more about Suyajña than this listing.
Sources
- Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Prakṛti Khaṇḍa, Chapters 49–53
- Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Bāla Kāṇḍa, Chapter 7