Satyaprakāśa’s Prayer to the Ocean

Samudra Prārthanā

Satyaprakāśa‘s prayer to the ocean is the prayer that Satyaprakāśa, minister of King Dharmavallabha, offered to Samudra, asking for a worthy bride for his king. In the Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa, Sūta tells how the Vaitāla told this account to King Vikramāditya.

The setting

In the city of Puṇyapura ruled King Dharmavallabha, and his minister was Satyaprakāśa, whose wife was Lakshmī. Asked by the king how many kinds of ānanda there are, the minister named four: the Brahmānanda of the brahmacārī, the Vishayānanda of the gṛhastha, the Dharmānanda of the vānaprastha, and the Śivānanda of sannyāsa; and he said there is no happiness in the gṛhastha āśrama without a wife. The king searched other lands for a dharmic wife and found none, and sent the minister to look. Satyaprakāśa went through many lands without success, and came at last to the Sindhu country and the ocean. Seeing the Sindhu, best of tīrthas, he rejoiced, and prayed.

The prayer

“Abode of all ratnas, master of the Sindhu country, namaskāra to you. Śaraṇāgatavatsala, loving to those who take refuge, I have come to your refuge. Master of Gaṅgā and the other rivers, Jalādhīśa, master of the waters, namaskāra to you. Grant my king an excellent jewel of a woman. If you do not, I shall give up my life here.”

The names, in order:

  1. Abode of all ratnas.
  2. Master of the Sindhu country.
  3. Śaraṇāgatavatsala, loving to those who take refuge.
  4. Master of Gaṅgā and the other rivers.
  5. Jalādhīśa, master of the waters.

What followed

Pleased by this stuti, Samudra, the master of rivers, showed him in the water a tree with leaves of coral and fruits of pearl, on which sat a lovely, delicate girl; in moments the girl and the tree sank into the water again. Satyaprakāśa told the king, who came and saw her too, followed her into the ocean to Pātāla, and in time married her, the vidyādhara maiden Madavatī.

Source: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 2, Chapters 1–23

Sources

  • Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 2, Chapters 1–23