Satyadatta of Kāñcīpura
Satyadatta · satya-datta, “given by truth”
Satyadatta was a king of Kāñcīpura who followed the path of the Veda and kept to truth. The Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa tells that, to keep his proclamation, he bought an iron image of Daridra (poverty), and when satkarma, dharma and Lakshmī began to leave his kingdom, his truthfulness brought Satya and Lakshmī back. Devaguru Bṛhaspati tells this to Devendra for the month of Mārgaśīrsha.
The market
A daivajña jyotishī of Kāñcīpura was purohita to King Satyadatta. At one time he said: “O king, this is the muhūrta called Abhijit, joined with Pushya nakshatra. Have a market held at this time; through buying and selling in it you will have great gain.”
The king had the drum beaten: “Whoever’s goods do not sell in the market, the king will buy them. This is our true proclamation.” Many goods came to the market, and other merchants bought all of them.
The Daridra-purusha
A blacksmith made a Daridra-purusha of iron, brought it to the market and asked a hundred rupees for it. No one bought it. The king, though he understood it to be an image of Daridra, bought it for a hundred rupees in keeping with his proclamation, brought it to the palace and had it placed in the treasury.
Satya and Lakshmī
By that image’s power, at night, as the king looked on, satkarma, dharma and Lakshmī began to leave the kingdom. Satya, in the form of a man, said to the king: “O king, where poverty dwells no one is devoted to karma; without karma, dharma cannot stay firm on earth; without dharma, Lakshmī has no beauty; and without Lakshmī I cannot remain.”
As Satya wished to go, the king held him and said with humble words: “Prabhu Satya, I have not abandoned you; I have kept to truth alone. So why do you leave my house?” Hearing this, Satya went back into the king’s house, and Lakshmī too began to come behind him.
The king said to Lakshmī: “Devī Lakshmī, you are fickle. If you can stay without moving, then come into my house.” Lakshmī gave the vara of being unmoving and she too entered the king’s house.
The gift to the purohita
King Satyadatta called his purohita again, gave him one lakh mudrās and told him all that had happened. The purohita received this wealth at the time of his son’s birth and spent it on the raising of the child, whom he named Pūshā.
Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 4, Chapter 8
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 4, Chapter 8