Rantideva () is a king of the

Lunar dynasty The Lunar dynasty ( IAST: Candravaṃśa) is a legendary principal house of the Kshatriyas varna, or warrior–ruling caste mentioned in the ancient Indian texts. This legendary dynasty was said to be descended from moon-related deities ('' ...

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or ''dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global po ...

. Described to be benevolent, he is stated to have achieved

moksha ''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriologica ...

(liberation) from

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within ...

when the

Trimurti The Trimūrti (; Sanskrit: त्रिमूर्ति ', "three forms" or "trinity") are the trinity of supreme divinity in Hinduism, in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified as a triad of ...

tested his faith. A descendant of Bharata, he is described as a generous king in

Hindu literature Hindu texts are manuscripts and voluminous historical literature which are related to any of the diverse traditions within Hinduism. A few of these texts are shared across these traditions and they are broadly considered Hindu scriptures. These ...

Legends

Origin of the river Charmanvati

As Rantideva was a faithful follower of

, the king gave away to the

Brahmanas The Brahmanas (; Sanskrit: , ''Brāhmaṇam'') are Vedic śruti works attached to the Samhitas (hymns and mantras) of the Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva Vedas. They are a secondary layer or classification of Sanskrit texts embedded within ea ...

his wealth and thus acquired righteous means. The king gave promises and engaged in performance of various sacrifices. Once, a mass of animals were in desire of attaining

Svarga Svarga (), also known as Indraloka and Svargaloka, is the celestial abode of the devas in Hinduism. Svarga is one of the seven higher lokas ( esoteric planes) in Hindu cosmology. Svarga is often translated as heaven, though it is regarded to ...

(heaven), and came by themselves to attain salvation in the

Agnihotra Agnihotra ( IAST: ''Agnihotra'', Devnagari: अग्निहोत्र) refers to the yajna of casting of ghee into the sacred fire as per strict rites, and may include twice-daily heated milk offering made by those in the Śrauta tradition. T ...

sacrifice. The blood that flowed from the slaughtered cattle formed a river, which came to be known as the Charmanvati (Believed in local tradition to be the Chambal river). This is mentioned in the

Drona Parva The Drona Parva ( sa, द्रोण पर्व), or ''the Book of Drona,'' is the seventh of eighteen books of the Indian epic Mahabharata. Drona Parva traditionally has 8 parts and 204 chapters.Ganguli, K.M. (1883-1896)Drona Parva in ''The Ma ...

passage of the Hindu epic

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the K ...

Meeting the Trimurti

In the

Bhagavata Purana The ''Bhagavata Purana'' ( sa, भागवतपुराण; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' or simply ''Bhagavata'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (''Mahapuranas''). Composed in S ...

, Rantideva is once described to have offered everything he possessed for the needs of others, such that his family became destitute. Forty-eight days passed, and the king did not even have a sip of water to drink. The next morning, he happened to obtain a

ghee Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from India. It is commonly used in India for cooking, as a traditional medicine, and for religious rituals. Description Ghee is typically prepared by simmering butter, which is churned fro ...

and milk based dish called samyava. When he was about to partake of the dish, a

Brahmana The Brahmanas (; Sanskrit: , ''Brāhmaṇam'') are Vedic śruti works attached to the Samhitas (hymns and mantras) of the Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva Vedas. They are a secondary layer or classification of Sanskrit texts embedded within ea ...

guest arrived at his doorstep. Perceiving the holy man to be a manifestation of Vishnu, he offered the man his share of the dish. When the meal was once again distributed among his family, a

Shudra Shudra or ''Shoodra'' (Sanskrit: ') is one of the four ''Varna (Hinduism), varnas'' of the Hindu caste system and social order in ancient India. Various sources translate it into English as a caste, or alternatively as a social class. Theoret ...

appeared, and the king offered him his share of the meal as well. Subsequently, a hunter with his hounds and a

Chandala Chandala ( sa, चांडाल, caṇḍāla) is a Sanskrit word for someone who deals with disposal of corpses, and is a Hindu lower caste, traditionally considered to be untouchable. A female member of this caste is known as a ''Caṇḍ� ...

appeared at the very moment Rantideva was about to consume the dish. He selflessly offered his remaining portion of the dish to the former, and all the water that remained to the latter, declaring that rather than wishing for samsara, he would opt to suffer for the sake of all living beings, so that they may be free of their miseries. Even as Rantideva was dying of thirst, he declared that offering water to the unfortunate Chandala liberated his senses from pain. The

appeared before the king, and the latter learnt that it had been these deities who had appeared as his guests to test his faith. He bowed before them, and attended completely to Vishnu. He did not seek any boon from them, sustained by the strength of his devotion to his deity.

References

{{Mahabharata Mythological kings Characters in the Mahabharata Characters in the Bhagavata Purana Lunar dynasty