Prācīnabarhiṣ

Prācīnabarhiṣ, also called Barhiṣat, was a great king of the line of the Svāyambhuva Manvantara. He was the son of Havirdhāna and a great-great-grandson of Dhruva. His yajñas (fire rituals) were so many that sacred darbha grass, laid pointing east, covered the whole earth. He married Śatadruti, the daughter of the ocean, and they had ten sons, the Pracetasas. Nārada taught him the Purañjana allegory. It woke him from worldly ties. He told his sons to carry on the work of creation, and he went to Kapilāśrama to gain mokṣa (liberation).

Lineage

Prācīnabarhiṣ belongs to the line of Dhruva:

Dhruva, then Utkala (and others), then several generations, then Havirdhāna, then Prācīnabarhiṣ.

Havirdhāna was the son of Antarddhāna. Prācīnabarhiṣ was one of the six sons of Havirdhāna by Havirbhū. The Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa gives this in the 4th Skandha, Chapter 24.

What he achieved

Prācīnabarhiṣ was skilled in the Vedic karma (ritual action) and in the eight limbs of yoga. His yajñas were so many that the darbha grass of the rites, pointing east, came to cover the whole face of the earth. This devotion to yajña shaped his outer life. It also became the point of Nārada’s gentle correction. Nārada showed that this very devotion to yajña was not enough for the true purpose of life. (4th Skandha, Chapter 24)

Marriage to Śatadruti

On the advice of Brahmā, Prācīnabarhiṣ married Śatadruti, the daughter of the ocean, a woman of great beauty. At the wedding she walked in procession, and the sound of her anklets echoed in every direction. Her beauty held the devas, gandharvas, ṛṣis, siddhas, nāgas and men who had gathered. Even Agni was moved with desire.

They had ten sons. All were called Pracetasas, and they were alike in name, nature and dharma. (4th Skandha, Chapter 24)

The Purañjana allegory

Prācīnabarhiṣ told his sons to do tapas (austerity) and to bring forth children. After that, Nārada met him. Nārada told him the allegory of King Purañjana. It speaks of the jīva (the living being) caught in the city of the body, which has nine gates. It tells of the jīva’s love of worldly pleasure, the coming of old age and death, and the path to liberation. Through this allegory Nārada made Prācīnabarhiṣ see that his own life of yajñas and household duties was the very state the allegory described.

Prācīnabarhiṣ was deeply moved. He told Nārada that his teachers had taught him only the rules of karma and had not shown him the ātma-tattva (truth of the self). He asked how a man living in a house with a wife and children can know the spiritual path. Nārada answered with detailed teaching on the cycle of saṃsāra (birth and rebirth), on how the jīva is reborn, and on bhakti-yoga (the path of loving devotion) as the chief means to liberation. (4th Skandha, Chapters 25–29)

Liberation at Kapilāśrama

After he received Nārada’s teaching, Prācīnabarhiṣ told his ten sons to care for the world. He left for Kapilāśrama, the āśrama (hermitage) of Bhagavān Kapila. There he worshipped Govinda with constant bhakti (devotion). At every moment he meditated on the lotus feet (pāda-padma) of Bhagavān Govinda. In the end he reached aikya (union) with Bhagavān Govinda. (4th Skandha, Chapter 29)

Sources

• Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 4th Skandha, Chapter 24 (lineage, achievements, marriage)
• Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 4th Skandha, Chapters 25–29 (the Purañjana allegory and Nārada’s teaching)
• Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 4th Skandha, Chapter 29 (liberation at Kapilāśrama)