Kardama Prajāpati
Kardama, simply known as Kardama, Sanskrit: कर्दम, Telugu: కర్దముడు, Hindi: कर्दम.
Kardama Prajāpati is one of the ten great prajāpatis (progenitors) whom Brahmā created to carry forward the work of creation. He did ten thousand years of tapas (austerity) at Bindu-sara on the river Sarasvatī and saw Bhagavān Vishṇu. He then married Devahūti, the daughter of Svāyambhuva Manu.
Kardama and Devahūti had nine daughters, who became the wives of great ṛshis. Through Devahūti, Bhagavān Kapila, an avatāra (descent) of Bhagavān Vishṇu, was born as their son. After Kapila’s birth, Kardama took sannyāsa (renunciation) and became a jīvanmukta (one freed while living).
Origin
The Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa says Kardama was created from Brahmā’s shadow (chāyā). This was one of the several ways in which Brahmā brought forth the prajāpatis in the early creation. Kardama was one of ten principal prajāpatis who became the progenitors of the main races of creation. The summary of the Bhāgavata account also counts him among the ten mind-born sons (mānasa-putras) of Brahmā.
Tapas at Bindu-sara
Brahmā told Kardama to begin the work of procreation. Kardama then did ten thousand years of tapas at Bindu-sara, the sacred lake on the Sarasvatī, which the mahārshis honour. He worshipped Śrī Hari (Bhagavān Vishṇu) with ekāgra-citta (one-pointed attention), pūjā and deep contemplation.
He wanted a wife, and after that he wanted moksha (liberation). So he was a householder who planned his own renunciation from the very beginning.
Vision of Bhagavān Vishṇu
At the end of the ten thousand years, Śrī Hari appeared to Kardama, seated on Garuḍa. He had four arms, holding the śaṅkha (conch), cakra (discus), gadā (mace) and white lotus.
Kardama offered a stotra (hymn of praise) that the tradition calls the Kardama-stotra. It praises the form of Bhagavān Vishṇu and his role as kāla, the wheel of time. It praises his māyā-śakti, the power by which he creates as a spider makes its web. It also praises his grace toward those who come to him with bhakti (devotion).
Bhagavān Vishṇu then told Kardama his promise: Svāyambhuva Manu would arrive the day after tomorrow with his daughter Devahūti.
Marriage and household life
Svāyambhuva Manu arrived with Devahūti. Kardama welcomed them properly. He accepted the marriage after stating his terms: “I will keep gṛhastha-dharma (the duty of a householder) until children are born. After that I will take sannyāsa.” The marriage was performed in the Brāhma form.
For many years Devahūti served Kardama with great devotion. Moved by her service, Kardama made a divine vimāna (flying palace) by his yoga-śakti (yogic power). He travelled the cosmos with her in it for one hundred years.
Yoga-siddhi
Kardama had all eight yoga-siddhis (powers of yoga), such as aṇimā. He used them with purpose. He did not use them for his own enjoyment. He used them to fulfil his duty to Devahūti and, in the end, to prepare her for the teaching of liberation.
The vimāna, the divine bath in Bindu-sara that gave Devahūti back her youthful radiance, and his taking of nine forms at one time to father nine daughters were all expressions of the power he had gathered through long tapas.
His nine daughters
The nine daughters of Kardama and Devahūti were given in marriage, on Brahmā’s instruction, to the great ṛshis of the age. The Bhāgavata names these marriages:
- Gati to Pulaha
- Kriyā to Kratu
- Khyāti to Bhṛgu
- Arundhatī to Vasishṭha
- Śānti to Atharvaṇa Maharshi
The other daughters were also given to ṛshis. Arundhatī, the wife of Vasishṭha, became one of the most honoured names in the Vedic tradition. She is remembered in every marriage ceremony as the model of patnī-dharma (the duty of a wife).
Welcoming Kapila
When Bhagavān Kapila was born, Kardama knew his son to be an avatāra of Vishṇu and rejoiced with deep reverence. He did not speak to Kapila as a father speaks to a son. He spoke as a devotee speaks to his master. He said that Bhagavān Vishṇu had kept his promise and had taken birth in Kardama’s house to honour Kardama’s devotion and to free Devahūti. Kardama asked Bhagavān Kapila for his blessing to leave for sannyāsa.
Renunciation and liberation
With Kapila’s permission, Kardama entered the sannyāsa-āśrama. He left as a parivrājaka (wandering mendicant), with no fixed home. He kept mauna (silence about worldly matters) and saw the same Paramātmā (Supreme Self) in all beings.
The Bhāgavata describes his state. He had no ahaṃkāra (sense of “I”) and no mamakāra (sense of “mine”). He was the same in pleasure and pain. He saw Bhagavān Vishṇu present in everything, and his mind rested naturally in the ātmā (Self). He became a jīvanmukta and finally reached the pīṭha (seat) of Bhagavān Vishṇu, the supreme state.
Why Kardama matters
Kardama shows that the householder’s life, lived with full dharma and without ego, is itself a path to moksha and not a block to it. He did not leave household life because it had failed him. He left because he had completed it, as he had promised. His bond with Devahūti was tender and respectful, and in the end it became the bond of teacher and pupil. The highest gift of a great husband to his wife is the teaching of liberation.
Sources
- Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 3rd Skanda, Chapter 12 (origin of Kardama)
- Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 3rd Skanda, Chapter 21 (tapas at Bindu-sara and the vision of Bhagavān Vishṇu)
- Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 3rd Skanda, Chapters 22–23 (marriage, household life and yoga-siddhi)
- Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 3rd Skanda, Chapter 24 (daughters, birth of Kapila, renunciation)