Ruci (Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa)

Ruci, “the radiant one”

Ruci is a Prajāpati and a great tapasvin (one who practises tapas, austerity). The Pitṛ-gaṇas, the groups of his ancestors, showed him his pitṛ-ṛṇa (debt to the ancestors). He then offered the famous Pitṛ Stotra, which names thirty-one Pitṛ-gaṇas. He married Mālinī, the daughter of the apsarā Pramlocā, and became the father of Raucya Manu, the thirteenth Manu. The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, Chapters 92–95, tells his account.

Tapas and the meeting with the Pitṛ-gaṇas

Ruci did hard tapas in a holy forest. He had gathered great power through austerity, but he had no child. The Pitṛ-gaṇas of his line appeared before him in their subtle forms and spoke to him with sorrow. They put to him a basic question. Is gṛhastha-dharma, the way of the householder with children to perform śrāddha, better than saṃnyāsa, the way of renunciation without children?

The Pitṛs spoke from their own plight. “We live in an in-between state, waiting for piṇḍa and tarpaṇa from our descendants. Without a son, no one will perform our śrāddha. Your tapas, however great, cannot free us.”

They told him of the three debts with which every man is born:

• deva-ṛṇa, the debt to the devas, paid by yajña
• ṛshi-ṛṇa, the debt to the ṛshis, paid by study of the Vedas
• pitṛ-ṛṇa, the debt to the ancestors, paid only by having a son who performs śrāddha

Until the pitṛ-ṛṇa is paid, tapas alone cannot give full moksha (liberation). So for a man who carries the pitṛ-ṛṇa, gṛhastha-dharma with a son is the better path. The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, Chapters 92–93, tells this.

Ruci’s Pitṛ Stotra

The Pitṛs’ teaching moved Ruci deeply. He offered a great stotra (hymn of praise) naming thirty-one Pitṛ-gaṇas. They include the yogī-pitṛs, the deva-pitṛs, the agnishvātta pitṛs, the barhishad pitṛs and others. It praises the high place of each group and the part they play in keeping the cycle of life going through śrāddha. This stotra became the main text for pitṛ-pūjā (worship of the ancestors). The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, Chapter 94, tells this.

Marriage to Mālinī

The Pitṛ-gaṇas then sent Ruci to Mālinī, a young woman of rare beauty who had come into being in a wonderful way. The apsarā Pramlocā had earlier lived with a ṛshi. When she left his āśrama, she breathed out, and Mālinī was born from her breath among the trees of the forest. Guided by the Pitṛs, Ruci took Mālinī as his wife. The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, Chapter 95, tells this.

Father of Raucya Manu

From the union of Ruci and Mālinī came the ātmā (soul) who was to become Raucya Manu. He is the thirteenth Manu, the lord of the thirteenth Manvantara. Ruci paid his pitṛ-ṛṇa, gave his ancestors the way to release through his son’s śrāddha, and became the father of a whole Manvantara. The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, Chapter 95, tells this.

Sources

• Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, Chapters 92–95 (Chapters 92–93 for the meeting with the Pitṛs, Chapter 94 for the Pitṛ Stotra, Chapter 95 for the marriage and the birth of Raucya Manu)