Dharma In You Kids
Cover of Revati: The Princess Who Crossed Time. Revati holds a lamp on a temple balcony beneath a spiral galaxy.

Revati: The Princess Who Crossed Time

By Prem Devkota

One short song in the court of Lord Brahma. Twenty-seven great ages on Earth. A story from the Puranas, told in pictures, for children and the grown-ups who read with them.

  • Curiosity
  • Courage
  • Kindness
  • Patience
  • Love
  • Wonder
Paperback coming soon on Amazon Watch the full story free

The story

One night in London, Asha asks her Hajurama a question that will not let her sleep: could time go faster in one place than another? Her grandmother answers the way grandmothers do, with a story.

Long ago, King Kakudmi ruled Kushasthali, a shining city in the sea. His daughter Revati was clever and kind, and no prince on Earth seemed right for her. So the king made an impossible plan: to ask Lord Brahma, the creator himself. They waited while celestial singers finished one short song. When they returned home, twenty-seven great ages had passed, and Revati had to find her place in a world she no longer knew.

Look inside

Page 1 of 6
Meet the characters page showing Revati, King Kakudmi, Lord Brahma, Balarama, Krishna, Haha and Huhu, Asha and Hajurama.
Meet the characters
Comic page: in London at night, Asha asks Hajurama whether time can go faster in one place than another.
A question at bedtime
Comic page: children race through the bright market lanes of Kushasthali, where every lane has its own song.
The city that sang
Comic page: at festival time, lamps glitter across Kushasthali like the night sky.
The festival of light
Comic page: Revati and her father ride a golden chariot beyond every earthly road, through the stars.
A path through the cosmos
Comic page: Revati returns to the shore to find broken pillars where her city once stood.
Where did everyone go?

Meet the characters

  • Revati

    Princess of Kushasthali. Clever, kind, and about to cross time.

  • King Kakudmi

    Revati's father, also called Raivata, who wants the very best for her.

  • Lord Brahma

    The creator of the universe, whose single day lasts longer than we can imagine.

  • Balarama

    Elder brother of Krishna, strong and gentle, who carries a plough.

  • Asha

    A curious girl in modern London who asks the question that starts it all.

  • Hajurama

    Asha's grandmother. Hajurama is the Nepali word for grandmother.

Watch the read-along

Every page, narrated with a voice for each character. Free on YouTube.

  1. Episode 1: The City in the SeaCuriosity, kindness and familyWatch
  2. Episode 2: One Song, 27 AgesPatience, wonder and big questions about timeWatch
  3. Episode 3: A Stranger in a New AgeCourage and adapting to changeWatch
  4. Episode 4: A Father's FarewellLove, letting go and remembering where we come fromWatch
  5. Episode 5: Two ClocksScience, stories and asking big questionsWatch

Where this story comes from

Bhagavata Purana 9.3.27–36
King Revata builds Kushasthali in the sea. Kakudmi takes Revati to Brahmaloka, where they wait while the gandharvas perform. Brahma tells them twenty-seven cycles of ages have passed and sends them to Balarama.
Vishnu Purana, Book 4, Chapters 1–2
Names the singers Haha and Huhu, tells that Kushasthali is now called Dwaraka, and that Raivata goes to the Himalaya. Book 4.15.11 names Revati and Balarama's sons, Nishatha and Ulmuka.
Bhagavad Gita 8.17
A day of Brahma lasts a thousand ages.

Added for this retelling: Asha, Hajurama and the other modern characters, all of the dialogue, and scenes such as Revati's childhood, the festival and the farewells. Where the texts differ, the book's own notes explain how.

About the book

Author
Prem Devkota
Pages
48, including 40 illustrated story pages
Extras
Pronunciation guide, source notes and Asha's science corner
Format
Paperback, coming soon on Amazon
ISBN
979-8-16647034-8
Imprint
A Dharma In You book

Reading together

The book ends with notes for grown-ups: how to say each name, where every scene comes from, and what science really says about time stretching. It does not claim the story is hidden science, and it does not claim science proves the story.

For bedtime questions drawn from each part of the story, try Light the lotus.

The illustrations were created with AI image tools under the author's direction. Read how we use AI.