Suśānta of Bhallāṭanagara
Suśānta was the queen of Bhallāṭanagara and the wife of Śaśidhvaja. She was a Vishṇu-bhakta (devotee of Vishṇu) of the highest kind, called vishuvratapārāyaṇā, “one wholly given to the Vishṇu-vrata”. When Śaśidhvaja said he would fight Bhagavān Kalki, she asked him how he could fight Bhagavān Kalki himself. His answer, which set out the kshatriya‘s devotion, satisfied her. During the battle she stayed in the Hari-gṛha (the household shrine of Vishṇu) and sang the qualities of Hari. When Śaśidhvaja came home carrying the unconscious Bhagavān Kalki, she sang the great Suśānta Stotra to him. The hymn was so beautiful and deep that it moved Bhagavān Kalki to wake.
Who she was
Suśānta was the queen of Bhallāṭanagara and the wife of Śaśidhvaja. The Kalki Purāṇa describes her as a beautiful woman with deep devotion to Vishṇu. Her whole day was arranged around service of Vishṇu. When Bhagavān Kalki came to Bhallāṭa, she was in the Hari-gṛha with other women devotees, singing the qualities of Hari.
She and Śaśidhvaja shared more than marriage. They had the same spiritual path. In a past life they were the same vultures. Both died on the Śālagrāma stone at the Gaṇḍakī river. Both rose through the same series of lokas, and both were born again as human beings with the same base of bhakti. Their devotion came from one and the same event (Kalki Purāṇa, Tṛtīyāṃśa, Chapter 8).
Her question to Śaśidhvaja
Śaśidhvaja armed himself to meet Bhagavān Kalki in battle. Suśānta came before him and questioned his choice. She said: “O nātha (master)! Vishṇu himself, the master of the universe who fills all things, has come down as Bhagavān Kalki. How can you fight him?”
Her reason came from the teaching of bhakti. For one who has known the divine nature of Bhagavān Kalki, fighting him has no meaning, either to win or to protect one’s life. Between Bhagavān Kalki and his devotee, the devotee’s only aim is sevā (service), not rivalry or conquest.
Śaśidhvaja replied that it is the kshatriya‘s Vedic duty to fight the yajña of war. His answer satisfied her. She accepted it and said: “O svāmi (master)! You have served Vishṇu through battle and so you have reached union with Vishṇu. Because of this I count myself kṛtārthā (one whose aim is fulfilled).” She did not simply give in. She understood that devotees serve Bhagavān Vishṇu by many paths, and that her husband’s way was true (Kalki Purāṇa, Tṛtīyāṃśa, Chapter 8).
In the Hari-gṛha
While the battle went on outside Bhallāṭanagara, Suśānta stayed in the Hari-gṛha with other devotees, singing the qualities of Bhagavān Vishṇu. Śaśidhvaja came back with the unconscious Bhagavān Kalki under his arm, and with Dharma and Kṛtayuga at his sides. He found her still in this unbroken praise.
He told her what had happened. Bhagavān Kalki had come “in the guise of unconsciousness” as his māyā, so that he could see her bhakti for himself. Śaśidhvaja asked her to honour all three.
Suśānta answered at once and without holding back. She bowed in full reverence to Bhagavān Kalki, to Dharma and to Kṛtayuga. Filled with joy, she danced before Hari without any thought of herself. She put away all lajjā (the modesty that can sometimes hold back devotion), together with the women devotees who were with her (Kalki Purāṇa, Tṛtīyāṃśa, Chapter 9).
The Suśānta Stotra
Suśānta’s main gift to the Kalki Purāṇa is her great stotra (hymn of praise). She sang it to Bhagavān Kalki as he lay in her home in apparent unconsciousness. The hymn was strong enough to wake him.
The themes of the stotra include:
- Bhagavān Kalki’s form is made of all that is beautiful in the universe.
- His smile is a moon of amṛta (nectar).
- His glance destroys the darkness in the hearts of the sādhus (holy people).
- His riding in the chariot destroys the fear and pain of saṃsāra (the cycle of birth and death).
- His arrows are the means of defeating adharma.
- His avatāra raises up the sādhus, destroys the line of Kali, restores the devas through yajña, and sets up the Kṛtayuga.
- A direct cry from the heart: “Without the pūjā of your lotus feet, what is a palace full of elephants, horses, chariots and jewels to me? If your moon-like face does not bless me with grace, then death itself is my only refuge.”
- A verse on creation: “Mahattattva, ahaṃkāra, the five tanmātras and Prakṛti as your consort: from these the body arises. By your playful glance, creation, keeping and dissolution happen.”
- The five bhūtas (elements) and the three guṇas are shown as expressions of the māyā of Bhagavān Kalki himself.
- The close: “O Deva! You who ride a horse, destroying fear and guarding the world, your arrows scatter the enemies. May your face, bright as a hundred moons, bring good fortune to us.”
(Kalki Purāṇa, Tṛtīyāṃśa, Chapter 10)
After Bhagavān Kalki wakes
Bhagavān Kalki woke like a warrior rising from a battlefield and bowed his head a little. He asked, as if he knew nothing: “Who are you? Why have you gathered to serve me? Who brought me here? Why did the noble Śaśidhvaja not kill me when I was unconscious?”
Suśānta answered with clear understanding: “In the three worlds, in pātāla, svarga or on earth, among humans, nāgas or devas, who does not serve Nārāyaṇa? All the worlds are his servants and friends. One whose very sight ends enmity has no enemy. My husband is your dāsa (servant). I am your dāsī (servant). You did not come here as a captive. You came to give your grace.”
She added, gently teasing: “If you truly have compassion for us, how could my husband, who is your servant, have brought you here as anything but his master coming to receive pūjā?”
(Kalki Purāṇa, Tṛtīyāṃśa, Chapter 10)
Her past life
Suśānta’s bhakti began in the same event as that of Śaśidhvaja. Both were vultures who died on the Śālagrāma stone on the bank of the Gaṇḍakī. They rose through Vaikuṇṭha for 100 yugas, Brahmaloka for 500 yugas and svarga for 400 yugas. They were then born as human beings, and the mark of that holy touch shaped their ātmā (soul) for ever (Kalki Purāṇa, Tṛtīyāṃśa, Chapter 11).
Leaving for the forest
Śaśidhvaja gave Ramā in marriage to Bhagavān Kalki. Ramā was their daughter. He finished the teaching of the assembly and told of the link with Satrājit. Then he asked Bhagavān Kalki’s leave to retire to the forest. Suśānta went with him to Haridvāra to do tapas. At the Kōkāmukha tīrtha, Śaśidhvaja recited the Māyāstava and reached moksha (liberation) (Kalki Purāṇa, Tṛtīyāṃśa, Chapters 13–15).
Sources
- Kalki Purāṇa, Tṛtīyāṃśa, Chapters 8–11
- Kalki Purāṇa, Tṛtīyāṃśa, Chapters 13–15