Srimad Bhagavatam : Chapter 4 : (4.1 to 4.1.8)
maitrEya explained the following to vidura.
svāyambhuva manu had three daughters through s’atarUpa (one of a hundred forms).
They were ākūti, devahūti and prasūti.
(dEvahUti married kardama and kapila (Kapila) was their son).
Though akUti had brothers (bhrAtRmatI), manu gave her to the prajApati ruci.
(In the early days of very few people, marriages between brothers and sisters were accepted in ancient cultures like India and Egypt and other places too (you can also read the Old Testament of the bible for the example of daughters bearing their fathers’ children). Later yama, the controller, the son of sUrya (the sun) and sandhyA (the dawn) ruled that brothers and sisters should not marry each other. Other cultures adopted this niyama or principle much later on – but use these examples for Hindu-bashing. So if someone tries this with you – you must say – Indians were the first to “stop” marrying sisters right at the time of the yama-yami samvAda in the Rg vEda.
Today even sagOtra marriages and marrying a girl from the same village are sometimes forbidden since the boy and girl are deemed brother and sister. But this again is used for hindu-bashing because other cultures only rule out marrying blood brothers and sisters.
Anyway.. let’s get back on track..)
manu made a pre-condition called putrikA dharmam. This means that a girl’s father can stipulate that his grandson be given back to him as his own son.
prajApati ruci was happy to agree to the condition and to marry AkUti.
(prajA-pati means master of the children/subjects. They were like the kings in that period.)
ruci was a brahma-varcasvī, a practicing brahmin, pure, splendid, knowledgeable and following the most rigid of self-disciplines.
By his great (parama) samAdhi, Ruci gave AkUti twins, a boy and a girl.
The boy was yagnya an incarnation of viSNU and the girl was dakSiNA an ams’a or portion of bhUti – welfare, prosperity (s’rI), who was never separated from viSNu.
(We have already discussed Vishnu as the universe and Lakshmi as light. Now we see Vishnu as Yagnya and Lakshmi as Dakshina! Yagnya comes from the root yaj to worship and dakSiNA is the gift that goes along with the worship. The yagnya-puruSa is viSNu, the essence of the yagnya is viSNu, and the gift is a bit of s’rI the goddess of welfare!
आकूति (AkUti) itself means wish, intention and रुचि (ruci) means desire, taste, splendour, liking etc.
Thus yagnya (worship) and dakSiNa (gifts) are born of intentions and tastes.)
swAyambhuva manu brought yagnya home and ruci happily kept dakSiNA.
Later yagnya married dakSiNA who was so happy, tuSTA, and he was also happy tOSam Apannah.
They had 12 sons.
These were tOSa – delight, pratOSa – gratification, santOSa-contentment, bhadra -welfAre, s’Antih- peace, इडस्पति – iDaspati – lord or refreshments, idhma – fuel used in vedic agni, kavi – seer, wise one, vibhu – the lord, powerful one, sudEva – the good dEva, rOcana – the bright/radiant one!
These 12 sons became the tuSItAs and were also dEvAs in the time of svAyambhuva manu.
marIci became the head of the seven RSis and yagnya became the lord of the hordes of surAs (devAs), ie yagnya became indra!
I hope you liked this story at its various layers. I hope it made you tuSita – a happy one!
satyA
tusto(a)ham