- Source: Shrutadeva
Shrutadeva (Sanskrit: श्रुतदेव) was a famous devotee of Lord Krishna in the Kingdom of Mithila. He was contemporary to the king Bahulashva Janaka in Mithila.
Etymology
According to the Bhagavata Purana, the literal meaning of the word Shrutadeva is a Deva associated with knowledge.
Early life
Shrutadeva was born in a family of Maithil Brahmin in the ancient Mithila Kingdom.
Description
In the text Bhagavata Purana, the sage Shukhadeva introduced about a great Brahmin named as Shrutadeva while narrating the text to the king Parikshita of the Kuru Kingdom. According to him, the Brahmin Shrutadeva was accomplished by all his goal of the life with the resolute single-minded devotion to the Lord Krishna. He was full of devotional wisdom and free from any attachments to the meterial pleasure. Due to his devotional attitude Bhakti towards Lord Krishna, later he became one of the pāriṣadas i.e, members of the assembly, at the court of Lord Krishna in Dwarka.
In the section Vaishakhamasa Mahatmya of the second book known as Vaishnava Khanda of the text Skanda Purana, there is a dialogue between the sage Shrutadeva and the king Bahulashva Janaka of Mithila about the salvation of Pishacha. In this dialogue, the sage explained the importance of the ritual known as Vaishakha Vrata performed in the month of Vaishakha. He explained the importance of the ritual by giving the example of his own father's salvation.