Hello readers, welcome to the first article of Gaurav Sangrah. There are many Ancient Indian Kings in Indian History, today in this article we are going to discuss about Chakravarty King Vikramaditya:
- whom Lord Indradev himself called him in heaven to give justice,
- who have given justice to Apsaras(Nymph) like Rambha and Urvashi,
- whose throne was adorned with talking statues.
- who had ghost as a friend.
So let us know more about King Vikramaditya.
King Vikramaditya
Who was King Vikramaditya ?
King Vikramaditya was born in ancient Ujjain, India. Vikramaditya was a king who was considered to be a justice loving, valiant, adventurous and wise king. His court was adorned with Nine Gems.
Their names were
- Dhanwantari
- Kshapanak
- Amarsingh
- Vetal Bhatt
- Ghatkharpar
- Varruchi
- Shakun
- Varahamihir
- Kalidas
Why does King Vikramaditya go in the city hiding his identity?
King Vikramaditya was a people loving king. He always wanted his people to be happy and cheerful. His townspeople should not be sad, there should not be theft in the town. If someone in the town is unhappy, there may be incidents of theft, robbery etc. in the state, so King Vikram used to wear simple clothes and move around the town without being known by the people and keep an eye on the people's movements.
Why was King Vikramaditya called to heaven ?
The discussion of Vikramaditya's justice reached till Indradev in heaven. So Indradev thought of testing King Vikram. Thus, King Vikram was called to heaven and asked who is the best dancer in heaven among both Rambha and Urvashi Apsara. This is how, King Vikram proved his intelligence.
King Vikram made a plan, he took two garlands of flowers and put one scorpion in each garland of flowers, the garland of flowers was worn on the heads of both the nymphs and asked them to dance. Rambha starts dancing wearing a flower garland, while dancing a scorpion comes out of the flower garland and lands on Rambha's hand so Rambha gets scared and stops dancing.
Then Urvashi begins to dance Urvashi dances calmly and artistically as the flower-garlanded scorpion enjoys the dance without even flinching and Urvashi completes her dance. Looking at this King Vikram declared that Urvashi is the best dancer of all.
What gift did Indradev give to King Vikram for his justice?
King Vikram made a correct justice between Rambha and Urvashi Apsara, so Indradev was pleased and gifted 32 talking idols to King Vikram. The idols gifted to King Vikram were beautiful and can speak, but the idols were cursed.
Indradev gifted the idols to King Vikram to free them from the curse. King Vikrama had the ability to free the idols from the curse, because the king who was a Chakravarti king and loves to serve justice could only free the idols from the curse.
Names of idols gifted to King Vikram:
- Ratan Manjari
- Chitralekha
- Chandrakala
- Kaam Kandyala
- Lilavati
- Ravibhama
- Kaumudi
- Pushpavati
- Madhumalati
- Prabhavati
- Trilochana
- Padmavati
- Kirti Mati
- Sunayana
- Sunda Keravati
- Satyavati
- Vidyavati
- Taravati
- Ruparekha
- Gyanavati
- Chandra Jyoti
- Anurodhavati
- Dharmvati
- Karunavati
- Trinetri
- Mriganayani
- Malayvati
- Vaidehi
- Manavati
- Jai Lakshmi
- Kaushalya
- Rani Rupvati
How does Govaliyo (cowsman) gives correct justice?
There was a govaliyo in the town of Raja Bhoj who very easily administered righteous justice. Gowalio, a boy from a poor family, didn't even know academics but judged people easily. All the people of the town went to the govaliyo instead of seeking justice from the Raja Bhoj. Raja Bhoj learns that instead of coming to him, people are going to the govaliyo to seek justice and he is also giving justice very easily.
Singhasan Battisi
So when Raja Bhoj asks the govaliyo that he is a small boy and do not study, then how does he easily judge people ? The govaliyo then replies that if he sit on this hill and judge, he gets a different feeling and he gets the power to judge. Raja Bhoj got surprised by the story of the govaliyo, he started digging the hill and suddenly he found a beautiful throne from the hill.
How does Raja Bhoj succeed in ascending the Batisi throne?
The throne which was known as Singhasan Battisi, that emerges from the excavation is cleaned by the Raja Bhoj was beautifully decorated with idols and jewels. As Raja Bhoj goes to sit on the beautiful throne, the idols carved into the throne suddenly begin to speak. King suddenly got surprised to see talking idols.
Idol then tells Raja Bhoja that this throne belongs to King Vikram Aditya and cannot sit on it easily. Idols tells Raja Bhoj about the stories of King Vikram and at the end of all the stories, the Idols ask Raja Bhoj some questions. Raja Bhoja was also a king who loved justice so he answered the question easily. In the end Raja Bhoja succeeds to ascend the throne.
What remedy does Sadhu show Vikram to catch Betal ?
A monk asks King Vikram to catch the Betal (who was a man and after his death he became a ghost) and bring him. The monk tells the king that you should not speak a single word to the betal, if you speak to the Betal, the Betal will break away from you. While King Vikram is coming without speaking to the Betal, the Betal tells the story to King Vikram on the way and asks a question at the end.
In between Betal tells to the king that if he answers the question wrongly, he will leave the king. As King Vikram don't speak lie, so he gives the correct answer to the Betal's question and due to this, the Betal goes back to the crematorium. Because of this reason, the monk asked King Vikram not to speak a single word to the Betal. This story is also famous as Vikram Aur Betal in India.
How did King Vikram started Savant?
Vikram Raja had a brother named Bhartrihari who left Rajpat and became an ascetic. At that time, a caste named Saakas had entered their state and ruled their state. When King Vikram took over the throne and expelled Shakas from his territory, from that day onwards they started Savant in their state.
How did King Vikramaditya died ?
Vikram Raja had 32 idols out of which the last idol called Rani Rupavati describes that King Vikram ruled the throne for 100 years. The king died of old age. During his death, the people wept profusely.
Conclusion
I would like to conclude my article about King Vikramaditya till here. If I have forgotten something or you want add something about King Vikramaditya, you can mention it in comment section, we would be grateful to read it.
Thank you very much for reading my article till the end.
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Take care and keep reading Gaurav Sangrah until we meet again very soon with more Ancient Indian Kings and explore more on Indian History in a new article.