Revati Devi – Two versions

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In those days it was socially acceptable and almost customary for people to marry more than one wife. Sri Krishna was married more than twice. But his brother, Balarama, married only once. He married a most beautiful girl named Revati.

1)

There was a king named Kakudmi. His only daughter, who was named Revati, was so skilled and his own kingdom so vast and prosperous that no prince seemed to match her. Moreover, she wanted to marry the mightiest man on earth. Every other day, the king used to meet a prince, but in vain. The beauty of the princess and the huge kingdom found no match.

Kakudmi Pleased Lord Brahma Finally, when he could not a find a man for her, he decided to approach Lord Brahma. He performed yagnas to please Lord Brahma. Lord Brahma was soon pleased and appeared before the Kakudmi and asked him what his desire was.
The king, not wanting to discuss the matter before the priests, asked Brahma that he be permitted to visit him in his abode. He explained that he wanted to have a private meeting.

The King Met Lord Brahma Lord Brahma gave him a boon that he could visit him in the Devaloka once and gave him the powers to visit him. The king, after a few days, went to Brahma’s abode along with his daughter. When they reached, he found that a court proceeding was going on. Not wanting to disturb the meeting, he decided to wait for some time and proceeded further when the court proceedings were over. When he met Lord Brahma, he explained the whole matter to him. Hearing this, Lord Brahma got worried. The reason for his worries being that a moment in his abode was equal to one yuga( yuga refers to the ages of mankind; Satyuga, Dwaparyuga, Tretayuga, Kalyuga) on earth. This meant that the girl had become as old as a yuga, and the whole empire of the king too had vanished.

This worsened the matter even more for Kakudmi and his daughter. By this time Satyuga had passed and Dwapar Yuga had started on the earth. This brought tears to the eyes of the king as well as his daughter.

Brahma Advised Them To Meet Krishna The king asked Lord Brahma to find a solution to the problem. Since Satyga had passed, and all the kings and their kingdoms along with the princes of her age had died, Lord Brahma told them that the yuga of Krishna had started. In this yuga, Lord Vishnu had taken birth as Krishna, the son of Vasudev and Devaki.

He advised them to visit Krishna there. The king, with his daughter, was sent to earth by Lord Brahma. As told by Brahma, they met Lord Krishna and presented the matter before him. With tears in his eyes, Lord Krishna smiled at the king, assured him that he need not worry, and told them to meet him the next day again. Thus, the king and the princess left for the day and came back again the next day.

Krishna Met Balarama: In the meantime, Krishna had discussed the matter with Balarama, his elder brother. He told the king that a man so suitable for the girl was there, unlike anyone he would have found in the Satyuga. Krishna had asked Balarama to marry the beautiful girl of the king Kakudmi. The king was delighted to hear that it was Balarama who would marry her. 

 

 

 

2)


Revati (रेवती) was daughter of King Kakudmi and consort of Balarama, the elder brother of Krishna. Her account is given within a number of Puranic texts such as Mahabharata and Bhagavata Purana. Vishnu Purana narrates the tale of Revati.

Revati was the only daughter of Kakudmi. Feeling that no human could prove to be good enough to marry his lovely and talented daughter, Kakudmi took Revati with him to Brahmaloka—abode of Brahma.
When they arrived, Brahma was listening to a musical performance by the Gandharvas, so they waited patiently until the performance was finished. Then, Kakudmi bowed humbly, made his request and presented his shortlist of candidates. Brahma laughed loudly and explained that time runs differently on different planes of existence and that during the short time they had waited in Brahmaloka to see him, 27 chatur-yugas had passed on Earth and all the candidates had died long ago. Brahma added that Kakudmi was now alone as his friends, ministers, servants, wives, kinsmen, armies and treasures had now vanished from Earth and he should soon bestow his daughter to a husband as Kali Yuga was near.
Kakudmi was overcome with astonishment and alarm at this news. However, Brahma comforted him and added that Vishnu the Preserver was currently on Earth in the forms of Krishna and Balarama and he recommended Balarama as a worthy husband for Revati.
Kakudmi and Revati then returned to earth, which they regarded as having left only just a short while ago. They were shocked by the changes that had taken place. Not only had the landscape and environment changed, but over the intervening 27 chatur-yugas, in the cycles of human spiritual and cultural evolution, mankind was at a lower level of development than in their own time. The Bhagavata Purana describes that they found the race of men had become “dwindled in stature, reduced in vigour, and enfeebled in intellect.”
Kakudmi and Revati found Balarama and proposed the marriage. Because she was from an earlier yuga, Revati was far taller and larger than her husband-to-be, but Balarama, tapped his plough (his characteristic weapon) on her head or shoulder and she shrunk to the normal height of people in Balarama’s age. The marriage was then celebrated.

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