Kaṭha, Disciple of Bharadvāja
Kaṭha
Kuśa has other meanings too: see all meanings of Kuśa. Revatī has other meanings too: see all meanings of Revatī. Vidarbha has other meanings too: see all meanings of Vidarbha.
Kaṭha is a young ṛshi whom the Brahma Purāṇa tells of in the Gautamī Māhātmya. A calm youth of sixteen, splendid of body, a mine of good qualities, with his senses subdued, he came to Bharadvāja on the southern bank of the Gaṅgā (the Gautamī) to learn, and received all knowledge from him. As his guru-dakshiṇā (the gift owed to the teacher) he took as his wife Bharadvāja’s sister Revatī, who was unlovely in form, and by worshipping Bhagavān Śiva for her sake he made her beautiful beyond compare. From the water of her abhisheka came the rivers Revatī and Vidarbhā, whose confluences with the Gautamī are tīrthas.
The disciple of Bharadvāja
Brahmā tells Nārada of the Vidarbhā-saṅgama and the Revatī-saṅgama. The ṛshi Bharadvāja, who surpassed others in tapas, had his āśrama on the southern bank of the Gaṅgā. His sister Revatī was misshapen and harsh of voice, and Bharadvāja sat there in deep worry, wondering to whom he could give her in marriage.
Even as he was thinking so, Kaṭha came to see him and bowed to him. Bharadvāja honoured him and asked why he had come. Kaṭha said: “I have come to you as a student seeking learning, and wishing to see you. Do what is proper.” Bharadvāja offered to teach him whatever he wished, the Purāṇas, the Smṛtis, the Vedas and the many dharma-śāstras, for he knew them all, and said that only through puṇya does one find a disciple of good family who is devoted to dharma and to serving his gurus and who grasps what he hears. Kaṭha answered: “O brāhmaṇa, teach me, your disciple. I am free of pāpa, eager to serve you, your bhakta, of good family and a speaker of truth.” Saying “So be it”, Bharadvāja imparted all knowledge to him.
The guru-dakshiṇā
Having gained knowledge, Kaṭha was full of joy and asked his guru to name his dakshiṇā, however rare it might be. Those who gain learning and out of delusion do not give the guru a fitting fee, he said, fall into naraka and stay there as long as the moon and the stars shine.
Bharadvāja said: “Duly accept this girl. Make my sister your wife and treat her with love. This I ask as my fee.” Kaṭha objected: “A disciple should always be like a younger brother or a son to his guru, and a guru like a father. How then can there be a marriage here?” Bharadvāja said: “Make my word true. What I command you must offer as dakshiṇā. Remembering everything, Kaṭha, support and care for Revatī with your mind set on her.” Saying “So be it”, Kaṭha took Revatī’s hand at his guru’s bidding, after she had been duly given in marriage.
Revatī made beautiful
Seeing her, Kaṭha worshipped Śaṅkara, Deveśa (ruler of the devas), right there, for the sake of Revatī’s beauty and for Bhagavān Śiva‘s grace. By that grace Revatī became beautiful, all her limbs lovely, beyond compare. The water of the abhisheka performed for her flowed down and joined the Gaṅgā, and it became the river named after her, the Revatī, which gives saubhāgya (happiness in married life). Again, with many kinds of darbha grass, Kaṭha sprinkled water over her so that she might gain a holy form, and that water became the river Vidarbhā.
The Revatī-saṅgama and the Vidarbhā-saṅgama, where these rivers meet the Gautamī, are the tīrthas of this account.
Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 51
Sources
- Brahma Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 51