Rantideva

Rantideva (Sanskrit: रन्तिदेव, romanized: Rantideva) is a king of the Lunar dynasty in Hinduism.[1] Described to be benevolent, he is stated to have achieved moksha (liberation) from Vishnu when the Devas tested his faith.[2] Known as a descendant of Bharata, he is described as a generous king in Hindu literature.[3]

Rantideva
TextsMahabharata, Puranas
Personal information
Parents
  • Saṅkṛti (father)
SiblingsGuru
DynastyChandravamsha

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Origin of the river Charmanvati

As Rantideva was a faithful follower of Vishnu, the king gave away to the Brahmanas his wealth and thus acquired righteous means.[4] The king gave promises and engaged in performance of various sacrifices. Once, a mass of animals were in desire of attaining Svarga (heaven), and came by themselves to attain salvation in the Agnihotra sacrifice.[5][6] The blood that flowed from the slaughtered cattle formed a river, which came to be known as the Charmanvati (Believed in local tradition to be the Chambal river).[7] This is mentioned in the Drona Parva passage of the Hindu epic Mahabharata.[8][9]

Meeting the Devas

In the Bhagavata Purana, Rantideva is once described to have offered everything he possessed for the needs of others, such that his family became destitute. The king and his family were fasting for fourth-eight days without any supplements. The next morning, to break their fast, he obtained a ghee and milk based dish called samyava. When he was about to partake of the dish, a Brahmana guest arrived at his doorstep. Perceiving the scholar to be a parcel of Vishnu, he offered the man his share of the dish. When the meal was once again distributed among his family, a Shudra appeared, and the king offered him his share of the meal as well. Subsequently, a hunter with his hounds followed by a Chandala appeared at the when Rantideva was about to consume the dish. He then offered his remaining portion of the dish to the former, and all the water that remained to the latter, declaring that rather than wishing for samsara, he would opt to suffer for the sake of all living beings, so that they may be free of their miseries. Even as Rantideva was thristy, he declared that offering water to the Chandala would liberate his senses from pain. The devas then appeared before the king, and the latter learnt that they were in disguise as his guests to test his faith. He bowed before them, and attended completely to Vishnu. He did not seek any boon from them, as he sustained by the strength of his devotion to his Ishta-deva (Vishnu).[10][11]

Portrayal of Rantideva meditating, as he is viewed as a great yogi

References
  1. www.wisdomlib.org (2015-08-27). "Rantideva, Ranti-deva: 13 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  2. Kasturi, Geeta (2013-02-18). Srimad Bhagavatam. Lulu.com. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-291-22965-3.
  3. "CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE". vedabase.io. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  4. Fitzgerald, James L. (2020-07-10). The Mahabharata, Volume 7: Book 11: The Book of the Women Book 12: The Book of Peace, Part 1. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-25251-3.
  5. "Mahabharata English - DRONA PARVA - Chapter 65". World of Spirituality & Religion. 2011-02-14. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  6. Jain, Sharad K.; Agarwal, Pushpendra K.; Singh, Vijay P. (2007-05-16). Hydrology and Water Resources of India. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-1-4020-5180-7.
  7. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited (1950-01-01). Bhagavata Purana Motilal English Parts 1 - 5.
  8. HKM, Jagannatha Puri (2014-01-07). "MAGNANIMITY OF GREAT KING RANTIDEVA". Jagannath Puri Hare Krishna Movement. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  9. Mani, Vettam (1975). Puranic encyclopaedia : a comprehensive dictionary with special reference to the epic and Puranic literature. Robarts - University of Toronto. Delhi : Motilal Banarsidass.
  10. www.wisdomlib.org (2022-09-02). "The Race of Bharata—The History of Rantideva [Chapter 21]". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
  11. Vaswani, J. P. (2019-06-20). Stories with a difference from the Bhagavata Purana. Gita Publishing House. p. 136. ISBN 978-93-86004-23-9.
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