About
Revata — Son of Anarta, Builder of Kushasthali, Father of Kakudmi, Grandfather of Revati
Revata · Revata · Reva · Anarta-putra · Sharyati-pautra · Vaivasvata-prapautra · Kushasthali-nirmata · Kakudmi-pita · Revati-pitamaha · Balarama-shvaśura
Revata — also called Reva in the Harivamsa — is the son of Anarta (the son of King Sharyati and twin brother of Sukanya); the grandson of King Sharyati (a son of Vaivasvata Manu); the builder and first king of the city of Kushasthali on the island in the Anarta province — the city that later became Dwaraka, the capital of Krishna and the Yadavas; the father of one hundred sons of whom Kakudmi (also called Raivata, meaning son of Revata) was the eldest; and the grandfather of Revati — who married Balarama, the elder brother of Krishna. His story is narrated in the Harivamsa (Adi Parva, Chapters 10–11), the Bhagavata Purana (Canto 9, Chapter 3), and the Vishnu Purana (Book 4). His name Revata gave the mountain near his city — the Girnar hills of present-day Gujarat — its ancient name Raivataka or Revantak Parvata, still partially preserved in the modern name Girnar. The Devi Bhagavata Purana (Skandha 7) specifically records that Revata was the first king who erected his capital in the island of Kushasthali and began to rule over it. Some Puranic sources additionally record that Anarta himself began fortifications at Kushasthali, with Revata completing and expanding the capital — the two traditions may record successive stages of the city's foundation rather than a contradiction.
✦ The Name
The Sanskrit name Revata — written Revata — is related to the root rev or ri (to flow, to move like a river, to cry out), connected to the river Reva — the ancient name of the Narmada. The name means the flowing one, the brilliant one, the son of Reva in its patronymic dimension. His alternate name Reva in the Harivamsa is the pure river-name form. The mountain near his city — the Girnar hills — was called Raivataka (belonging to Revata, the mountain of Revata) directly from his name. The Mahabharata (Sabha Parva and Adi Parva) refers to this mountain as Raivataka in several passages. The Puranas describe the area around Kushasthali and Raivataka as one of the most beautiful and prosperous regions of the ancient world, comparable to Indra's own Amaravati in its abundance and splendour.
✦ Lineage
- Father: Anarta — son of Sharyati (son of Vaivasvata Manu) and twin brother of Sukanya; eponymous founder of the Anarta region of present-day Gujarat; profiled separately in this series
- Paternal grandfather: Sharyati — son of Vaivasvata Manu; father of Sukanya and Anarta; father-in-law of the sage Chyavana; at whose soma sacrifice Chyavana officiated and created the demon Mada; profiled separately in this series
- Paternal great-grandfather: Vaivasvata Manu — the seventh Manu; son of Vivasvat (Surya) and Sanjna; survivor of the great flood; progenitor of all present-day humanity; profiled separately in this series
- Paternal aunt: Sukanya — twin sister of Anarta; wife of the sage Chyavana; who remained faithful to her husband through the Ashvini Kumaras' attempt
- Sons: one hundred sons of whom Kakudmi (Raivata) was the eldest and most celebrated; the ninety-nine younger brothers fled to different directions when the Punyajana Rakshasas occupied Kushasthali after Kakudmi's departure to Brahmaloka, establishing smaller kingdoms throughout the region
- Eldest son: Kakudmi — also called Raivata (son of Revata) and Kukudmi; king of Kushasthali; who went to Brahmaloka with his daughter Revati to seek Brahma's counsel on finding a suitable husband; who found on his return that twenty-seven chaturyugas had passed on earth; who gave Revati in marriage to Balarama on Brahma's direction; profiled separately below in this series
- Granddaughter: Revati — only daughter of Kakudmi; who married Balarama; described as so tall and statuesque (having grown to the physical scale of an earlier cosmic age) that Balarama gently pressed her height down with the tip of his plough to bring her to the appropriate scale for the current diminished Kali Yuga era
- Mountain named for him: Raivataka — the Girnar hills in present-day Junagadh district of Gujarat; mentioned in the Mahabharata (Sabha Parva 2.41.50) as the mountain near Dwaraka; the Mahabharata records the Yadavas' celebrations at the foot of Raivataka during the Rajasuya; the rock inscriptions at Girnar begin with Ashoka's edicts (circa 250 BCE) and continue through the Saka ruler Rudradaman I (circa 150 CE), making Raivataka/Girnar one of the most inscriptionally documented sacred sites in ancient India
✦ The Building of Kushasthali
The Wisdomlib Kushasthali entry, drawing from the Puranic Encyclopaedia, records the canonical account: it was Emperor Revata, son of Anarta and grandson of Vaivasvata Manu, who first built a city in Kushasthali and ruled the country. The Devi Bhagavata Purana (Skandha 7) confirms this, stating Revata was the first king who erected his capital in the island of Kushasthali and began to rule over it. The Authoralka source, drawing from the Harivamsa and the Bhagavata Purana, elaborates: Kushasthali grew under Revata into a prosperous and advanced kingdom comparable to Amaravati. From Kushasthali, Revata also ruled over large tracts of land including the Anarta kingdom which was named after his father. Revata had one hundred sons of whom Kakudmi was the eldest. The kingdom passed to Kakudmi. When Kakudmi left for Brahmaloka, the city fell into abandonment and was occupied by Punyajana Rakshasas. Kakudmi's ninety-nine brothers fled to different directions and established smaller kingdoms. The city remained ruined until the Yadavas under Krishna's leadership came west from Mathura and rebuilt and renamed it as Dwaraka.
✦ References
- Harivamsa (Adi Parva, Chapters 10–11) — the primary canonical source: Revata (Reva) as Anarta's son; his city Kushasthali in the province of Anarta; his son Raivata (Kakudmi) who was pious and obtained the kingdom; the hundred sons; the departure to Brahmaloka; the city's destruction and the flight of the ninety-nine brothers
- Bhagavata Purana (Canto 9, Chapter 3, Verses 27–29) — Revata as son of Anarta; father of Kakudmi; the Kushasthali kingdom
- Vishnu Purana (Book 4, Chapter 1, Verses 63–65) — Revata confirmed as Anarta's son with a hundred sons of whom Kakudmi was the eldest
- Devi Bhagavata Purana (Skandha 7) — Revata as the first king to erect his capital at the island of Kushasthali
- Wisdomlib — Revata (15 definitions); Wisdomlib — Kushasthali; Wikipedia — Kakudmi; Authoralka — The Riddles of Dwaraka; Devdutt Pattanaik — The Gates of Dwaraka: modern summaries drawing from the above primary sources