Bhauvana (son of Pramati)
Bhauvana · bhauvana, “of the world”
Bhauvana has other meanings too: see all meanings of Bhauvana.
Bhauvana, son of Pramati, was a strong-armed king who ruled the whole world (sārvabhauma). Brahmā tells Nārada of him in Chapter 13 of the Gautamī Māhātmya of the Brahma Purāṇa. The glorious Viśvarūpa, of great strength, was the son of Viśvakarman; Pramati was Viśvarūpa’s son, and the lordly Bhauvana was Pramati’s son. His chief priest (purohita) was Kaśyapa, expert in every branch of learning. Bhauvana wished to perform ten aśvamedhas at once; when they failed, he went to Saṃvarta and then to Brahmā, and by Brahmā’s counsel performed a single aśvamedha on the bank of the Gautamī that gave him the fruit of ten. There he wished to give away the whole Earth, but a voice from the sky and Bhūmi herself turned him to the gift of food, and the place became the Daśāśvamedha tīrtha.
The ten aśvamedhas fail
Bhauvana said to Kaśyapa: “O ṛshi, I wish to perform an aśvamedha with ten horses at once. Where shall I perform the yajña?” Kaśyapa answered that there are Devayajanas, sacred grounds for yajña, in many places, where excellent brāhmaṇas have performed great yajñas. The priest began ten yajñas at once, with many ṛshis as ṛtvijas. But he had passed over the Devayajana and begun them in another place, so faults and obstacles overwhelmed him and the yajñas could not be completed.
Seeing the yajña incomplete, the king was greatly worried, and asked his guru: “Is it a fault of place, a fault of time, my fault or your fault that the ten aśvamedhas have not been completed?”
Saṃvarta and Brahmā
Grieving, the king went with Kaśyapa to Saṃvarta, the elder brother of Bṛhaspati. They said: “O holy ṛshi, ten aśvamedhas have to be performed at once. Tell us the place and the guru for them, so that all ten will be completed.” Saṃvarta meditated for a while and said to Bhauvana: “Go to Brahmā. He will tell you of the guru and the place of the yajña.”
Bhauvana and Kaśyapa came to Brahmā and asked him about the guru and the place. Brahmā said: “O leading king, go to the Gautamī. That place is most meritorious for yajñas. This Kaśyapa alone is your excellent guru; he is a master of the Vedas. By the grace of this guru and of the Gautamī, with a single aśvamedha and the holy bath there, you will gain the fruit of ten aśvamedhas.”
The aśvamedha at the Gautamī
Bhauvana went to the bank of the Gautamī with Kaśyapa and took dīkshā (consecration) for the aśvamedha. When the yajña was completed, he honoured the brāhmaṇas, the ṛtvijas and the sadaspatis, and prepared to give away the whole Earth as dakshiṇā. Then a voice from the sky spoke to him: “O king, everything has been given by you, who wish to give the whole Earth with its mountains, forests and parks to Kaśyapa, your priest. Give up your wish to give the Earth. Give food, which yields great results. There is nothing as meritorious as anna-dāna (the gift of food) in all three worlds, especially on the bank of the Gaṅgā, if it is given with great śraddhā. This aśvamedha with many gifts has been performed by you. You are fulfilled; welfare to you.”
Still Bhauvana wished to give the Earth away. Then Bhūmi spoke to him again and again: “O son of Viśvakarman, do not give me away. If a person goes to the bank of the Gautamī and gives a morsel of food, it is as good as if I had been given wholly. Why then do you give me, O Bhauvana? I shall sink into the water.”
Bhauvana became afraid and asked: “What then should be given?” Bhūmi answered him, as he stood among the brāhmaṇas: “Sesame, cows, money, grain: whatever is given on the bank of the Gautamī is everlasting in its fruit. If a person goes to the bank of the Gaṅgā and gives a morsel of food, it is as good as if I had been given wholly.”
Hearing the words of Bhūmi, Bhauvana, ruler of the whole world, agreed, and gave food to the brāhmaṇas on a great scale. Ever since, that place has been known as the Daśāśvamedha tīrtha.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 13
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 13