Suvrata

Suvrata was a great devotee of Bhagavān Viṣṇu. He was the son of Somaśarma and Sumanā, born at the Revā tīrtha (Amarakaṇṭaka) by the direct grace of Bhagavān Viṣṇu, as the fruit of his parents’ tapas (austerity). From his infancy he cared only for dhyāna (meditation) on Viṣṇu. As a young man he went to Vaidūrya Parvata, the Beryl Mountain, and did hard tapas. There Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa appeared to him and told him of his past life. Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa then took Suvrata and his parents in their bodies to Viṣṇuloka. From there Suvrata was appointed as Vasudatta, the new Indra.

Birth and childhood

Signs from the sky marked Suvrata’s birth. Divine drums sounded, gandharvas (singers of the devas) sang, apsarasas (dancers of the devas) danced and flowers rained from the sky. At the moment he was born, the poverty that had weighed on his parents’ home lifted. Wealth, cattle and plenty came to the house (Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, Chapter 20).

As a child he did not play as other children do. His play was meditation on Bhagavān Viṣṇu. He set out small images of Viṣṇu and did mānasa pūjā (worship in the mind). He sang the names of Viṣṇu and sat in quiet absorption. His parents saw that the child already had full bhakti (devotion). He was not learning it; he was remembering it (Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, Chapter 21).

Tapas at Vaidūrya Parvata

The force of his bhakti could no longer be held within the home, and Suvrata looked for a mountain retreat. He chose Vaidūrya Parvata, the Beryl Mountain. There the deva Siddheśvara presided over a powerful place of tapas. Suvrata fasted, kept silence and gave himself wholly to remembering Viṣṇu (Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, Chapters 21–22).

Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa appears and tells him of his past life

Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa appeared before Suvrata at Vaidūrya Parvata. Suvrata, overcome with bhakti, fell flat on the ground and offered a stotra (hymn of praise) full of devotion. Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa then spoke:

“In your last birth you were Dharmāṅgada, son of the great king Rukmāṅgada of Vidiśā. Your father began a great tapas for the highest aim, and to complete it he needed a supreme offering from you. You gave your own head willingly. You cut it off yourself, knowing what you did and without doubt, so that your father’s tapas could be fulfilled. This act of perfect love for your father earned you a direct ascent to Viṣṇuloka, without the usual way of death and rebirth. Now you are born again as Suvrata, as the son of Somaśarma and Sumanā, whose tapas has earned this gift. You carry within you the bhakti of your last life and the puṇya (merit) of that supreme self-offering.” (Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, Chapter 22)

Dharmāṅgada’s act was pitṛ-bhakti, devotion to his father.

Ascent to Viṣṇuloka and the office of Indra

After this, Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa took Suvrata in his body to Viṣṇuloka, and took his parents Somaśarma and Sumanā with him. The three went up together in their own bodies. A brāhmaṇa family that had lived in poverty and hardship at the Revā tīrtha was carried to the highest home of Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa.

From Viṣṇuloka, Suvrata was appointed as Vasudatta, the new Indra of the present cycle of svarga. Suvrata’s birth was the fruit of the tapas of both Sumanā and Somaśarma (Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, Chapter 22).

Sources

• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Bhūmi Khaṇḍa, Chapters 11–22 (birth and childhood in Chapters 20–21, Vaidūrya Parvata in Chapters 21–22, the revelation and ascent in Chapter 22)