Conversation Between Manu and Kardama
Maitreya continued by describing the meeting between Svayambhuva Manu, the first ruler of humanity in this cosmic age, and Kardama Muni, the powerful sage who had performed long austerities on the banks of the Sarasvati. Manu approached Kardama with great respect, recognizing the sage’s spiritual potency and his crucial role in establishing population and dharma. He requested Kardama to accept his daughter, Devahuti, in marriage, explaining that a union between a spiritually exalted sage and a virtuous princess would benefit the world by producing progeny devoted to the Lord. Manu’s proposal showed how governance and spirituality can cooperate when leaders value saintly association.
Kardama welcomed Manu warmly but initially expressed reluctance, noting his long practice of renunciation and desire to remain absorbed in meditation. However, he also acknowledged that the Lord had hinted he would marry and that a worthy bride would soon arrive. Understanding Manu’s request as aligned with divine will, Kardama agreed, seeing marriage not as a diversion but as service to the Lord’s plan for populating the world with spiritually inclined descendants. His acceptance illustrated that for a devotee, even household life can be undertaken as an offering to the Supreme.
Manu joyfully entrusted Devahuti to Kardama, giving lavish gifts while retaining an attitude of humility. He advised his daughter to serve her husband with devotion, knowing Kardama’s spiritual stature would uplift her. Manu then returned to his royal duties, confident that this alliance would produce great benefit. The exchange highlighted proper etiquette: a ruler honors a sage, offers his daughter respectfully, and departs without interfering in the sage’s autonomy, trusting in the Lord’s arrangement.
Maitreya emphasized that the conversation set a template for sacred household life. The sage accepted marriage only after aligning it with his vow to fulfill the Lord’s desire; the king offered his daughter not for political gain but for spiritual uplift; and Devahuti entered the relationship seeking purification, not material indulgence. This convergence of duty, devotion, and mutual respect made their household a locus of spiritual advancement rather than entanglement.
Vidura listened with appreciation, seeing how even worldly roles—king, sage, spouse—become transcendental when centered on service to the Lord. The narrative prepared him to hear how Devahuti’s devotion and Kardama’s mystic power would soon manifest extraordinary results, including the appearance of an incarnation of the Lord.
The chapter ends with Kardama and Devahuti beginning their married life in a hermitage atmosphere, poised to demonstrate how austerity, devotion, and mutual care can coexist within a household dedicated to pleasing the Supreme.