Rājī
Rājī was a cakravartī, a universal king. He was known for his dharmic conduct, his courage and his devotion. He belonged to the lunar line, in which the Purāṇas give his descent as Āyus, then Nahuṣa, then Rājī. When the daityas attacked and Indra and the devas could not drive them back, Rājī stood forward as the champion of Indra.
Rājī the cakravartī
The Bhaviṣya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, describes Rājī as the greatest protector of dharma among the kings of his time. When the daityas launched an attack that Indra and the devagaṇas (hosts of devas) could not turn back, Rājī stepped forward. He fought the daitya armies for Indra and put his own kingdom and life at the service of dharma.
The Purāṇa presents his courage and his righteousness as the qualities that won him high honour, even among the devas.
Pulastya’s account of his past lives
In the Uttara Parva, Pulastya Maharṣi tells the story of Rājī’s earlier births. Pulastya is one of the ṛṣis born from Brahmā, and he has a remarkable memory of the past. He speaks of Rājī in the course of a teaching on the Bhuvana-pratiṣṭhā dāna, and on the way earlier merit leads to power in the present.
Pulastya says that Rājī had gathered great dharma over his earlier births. This made him fit to be the instrument of divine will in the struggle between the devas and the daityas. The Purāṇa uses the story of Rājī to show that a cakravartī, a king of universal rule, does not arise by chance. Such a king comes from puṇya (merit), yajña (fire ritual) and rule in accord with dharma, gathered over many births.
The Bhuvana-pratiṣṭhā dāna
The story of Rājī is set inside the teaching of the Bhuvana-pratiṣṭhā dāna. This is the gift of a painting of the fourteen worlds on a pure white cloth seven cubits long. It is one of the greatest mahādānas (great gifts) of the Uttara Parva.
The painting shows Jambudvīpa with Meru at its centre, the seven dvīpas, the seven oceans, the seven pātālas below and the seven higher worlds above. Brahmā is shown with all the devas, gandharvas, asuras, nāgas, kinnaras, yakṣas, rākṣasas, piśācas, bhūtas and all other beings of the cosmos.
A person who makes this gift at an auspicious time gains the puṇya of having given the whole cosmos. These times are Kārtika Pūrṇimā, Ayana-saṅkrānti, Viṣuva yoga, and the lunar and solar eclipses. His ancestors reach sadgati (a good state after death). He gains fame, children and prosperity that does not run out, and his family line is lifted up for generations.
The Viṣṇu Purāṇa account
The Viṣṇu Mahā Purāṇa, Caturthāṃśa, Chapters 8–9, gives the story of Rājī in the genealogy of the lunar dynasty. His line is Āyus, then Nahuṣa, then Rājī.
The Viṣṇu Purāṇa tells how Rājī fought the daityas on behalf of the devas, and how he received the position of Indra as his reward. After his death his five hundred sons took the position by force. Bṛhaspati’s māyā (power of illusion) then deluded them, and they were destroyed. Indra was restored to his throne.
The Vāyu Purāṇa account
The Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa, Uttarārdha, Chapter 4, places Rājī in the line of Āyu. Āyu had a son Nahuṣa, and Nahuṣa had five sons, among them Rājī. The Vāyu Purāṇa says that Rājī had five hundred sons. After their father’s death they took the rule back from Indra.
The Vāyu account tells how Bṛhaspati used graha-śānti (rites to calm the planets) and other ritual procedures to lead Rājī’s sons into adharma, and so restored Indra to his throne.
Sources
- Bhaviṣya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapters 191–193
- Vāyu Mahā Purāṇa, Uttarārdha, Chapter 4
- Viṣṇu Mahā Purāṇa, Caturthāṃśa, Chapters 8–9