Rantideva is an ancient king who has attained salvation due to the grace of Lord Vishnu, he was the ruler of the Bharata Dynasty and he was very generous and a kind hearted king, who believes that god dwells even in a small dust particle, like the great Prahalada, and he has proved it also in front of the Divine Devas. He was mentioned in the Mahabharata, as a great warrior and he showed great interest in performing Yajnas (fire rituals) on the banks of the holy Rivers like the Ganges, Yamuna and Narmada.
Ranti Deva looks similar to the beautiful Kama Deva, the god of love, and he was an able ruler. He kept great faith on god, and when he was tested by Lord Indra and other Devas with regard to his bhakti, he showed his selfless bhakti before them, and decided to self-immolate himself in the fire by chanting the names of Lord Vishnu.
And to the surprise of everyone, Lord Agni Deva didn’t burn him into ashes, but appreciated his staunch faith on Lord Vishnu, and blessed him to become more powerful and beautiful. Rantideva showed his great bhakti on Lord Vishnu to the entire world, similar to the Bhagavathas like Dhruva and Prahalada.
TEACHINGS OF KING RANTIDEVA
1. A king must behave like a powerful man in front of his assistants, but he must not torture or harass them, but at the same time, he must contain good commanding powers, or otherwise, even his servants would not give proper respect to him.
2. A true king must realise that only Lord Vishnu acts as an immortal king and god, since all the mortal kings would die on one or other day.
3. A king must not involve himself in enjoying too much of physical pleasures, and he must get satisfied his physical pleasures with his wives alone, and he should consider all other women as his mothers, sisters and as daughters.
4. A good king should consider the people in his kingdom as his own relatives, and he must see to that, whether everyone is free from hunger, thirst and from diseases.
5. A king must contain a team of wise and experienced ministers, and also appoint a proper head for the team of soldiers, in order to administer his kingdom in a proper manner.
6. A king after attaining old age must wilfully handover the responsibilities to his son, and he must leave from his kingdom, for performing penance in the forest.
7. A king must contain bravery enough to fight even with a powerful demon. No people would give respect, if a king doesn’t show his bravery in front of his enemies.
8. A king must give proper judgement like Lord Yama Dharma. If he fails in giving correct judgement, then even the god would not forgive him for his mistake.
9. People would lead a disciplined life, only, if their king leads a proper life.
10. A king must be good enough to punish even his own relatives, if he finds fault with them.
11. Without any valid reason, a king should never wage war with his neighbour kings.
12. A king must give sufficient encouragement for arts, and he must suitably reward the learned poets and musicians, by considering them as the sons of Ma Saraswathi, the goddess of artsand knowledge.
“OM”
WRITTEN BY
R.HARISHANKAR