Ṛtambhara and Satyavān

During Rāma’s Aśvamedha, the sacrificial horse came to Tejahpura, a city on the bank of the Gaṅgā. Its king was Satyavān, a devotee of Rāma. Satyavān had been born to a king who had no children, Ṛtambhara, through the grace of a cow that the king had worshipped. When Śatrughna asked about the king’s family, his minister Sumati told this account. It is part of the Pātāla Khaṇḍa of the Padma Mahā Purāṇa, within the teaching of the ṛshi Jābāli.

The city of Tejahpura

The Aśvamedha horse had passed through many battles and journeys. It came to Tejahpura, a city of great holy beauty. Its monasteries were full of ascetics. The Gaṅgā flowed past it, carrying swans and ducks. In every brāhmaṇa house the smoke of the holy fire made the air pure.

Śatrughna saw how righteous the city was. He asked Sumati: “Whose city is this, which gives joy to my mind as it is righteously protected?” (Chapter 30)

Satyavān, free while living

Sumati answered: “The king of this city is Satyavān. He is a jīvanmukta (one freed while living), a bee that rests on the lotus of Rāma’s excellent feet. He knows the yajñas and their parts, performs them, and is a great protector. His father Ṛtambhara, famous in the world and very religious, got this son after pleasing a cow through many vows. The cow was pleased with him and gave him a son with many virtues and great charm.” (Chapter 30)

Ṛtambhara has no child

In the past there was a king named Ṛtambhara who had no child. He had many wives, but not one child from any of them. Wishing his own good, he went to the ṛshi Jābāli, who by good luck had come to his kingdom. He asked him how to get a son. (Chapter 30)

Jābāli’s teaching on worshipping a cow

Jābāli said: “O king, there are three means for him who longs for a child: Vishṇu’s grace, the grace of a cow, or the grace of Śiva. Therefore, worship a cow having a divine body, in whose tail, mouth, horn, and back, the devas live. When she is pleased, she will give what is longed for, together with righteousness.”

The ṛshi then taught the dharma of cow-worship:

  • All the wishes of a person who gives a cow her proper measure of food every day are truly fulfilled.
  • The ancestors of a person who worships a cow every day with grass are always pleased.
  • A person who keeps gadflies away from a cow makes his ancestors dance for joy.
  • A thirsty cow tied at home, an unmarried daughter who has come of age, and a deity with faded flowers destroy the puṇya (merit) already earned.
  • A person who stops a cow from eating her grass brings his ancestors to the edge of falling into naraka (hell).
  • A person who beats a cow with a stick goes to Yama’s city without his hands.

Within this teaching Jābāli told the old account of Janaka freeing those in naraka. It shows how stored puṇya can free even those who suffer in naraka. (Chapters 30 to 31)

The grace of the cow

Ṛtambhara followed Jābāli’s advice. He worshipped a cow with great devotion, with many vows and gifts. The cow was pleased with his sincere worship and gave him the vara (a boon) of a son. In time the son Satyavān was born. He had every virtue, great charm and deep devotion to Rāma. He grew up to be the just king of Tejahpura. (Chapter 31)

Satyavān’s kingdom

Satyavān ruled Tejahpura with full righteousness. His whole kingdom was devoted to Rāma. The king himself was called “a bee resorting to the lotus of Rāma’s feet” and was free while living. When the Aśvamedha horse came, Satyavān received Śatrughna with great honour. (Chapter 32)

Sources

  • Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Pātāla Khaṇḍa, Chapters 30 to 32