Priyavrata was the son of Swayambhuva Manu. He was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu right from his childhood. He did not listen to anything else but the shlokas connected with the Lord and the narration of His life. He had attained the supreme knowledge by the grace of sage Narad. He used to live in the proximity with Narad at Gandhamaadan Mountain and used to listen to the divine narration of the Lord Vishnu from him.

When Priyavrata's father, Manu had decided to go to the forest along with his wife Shataroopa, he transferred the kingship to Priyavrata. But Priyavrata refused to accept it because his heart was filled with the thoughts of Lord Vishnu and he desired nothing else. He did not want to get entangled in the materialistic illusions of the world.

When Priyavrata denied to accept the throne at any cost, Brahma descended on earth from his abode Brahmaloka, to change Priyavrata's decision. Brahma advised him in the following words: "Son, Priyavrata, you must not find faults with the decision of the Almighty Vishnu who has given you this duty to rule. You must follow His command without questioning".

"Even the liberated souls have no choice but to face the consequences of destiny and have to remain alive. They too have to face the result of their Karmas (actions)".

"As far as living in the forest is concerned, it is not a solution because by becoming a recluse, there is no guarantee that your mind will be free from all the sensual defects like lust, anger, attachment, fear etc. But one, who is alert, can control his sensual desires, even while living like a householder. Moreover, you are a devotee of Vishnu, so enjoy the pleasures by His consent and serve your subjects by His grace without being trapped by the defects".

Priyavrata agreed to obey Brahma's command. He returned to his capital and married Bahismiti, the daughter of Vishwakarma. Ten sons and a daughter were born to them.

Priyavrata was the lord of the whole earth. He did not like the fact that only half of his kingdom remained illuminated by the light of the Sun and the other half used to remain in darkness during the day.

So, he decided one day to proceed towards that portion of the earth which was engulfed by darkness, on his chariot, which was faster than even sunlight and with the help of his divine powers, he stopped the night from descending on that portion. Brahma, seeing him interfere with the laws of nature and becoming fearful of its consequences, stopped him from doing so.

The marks made by the wheels of his chariot created the seven oceans. He distributed the seven islands, which were created as a result of these oceans among his seven sons. Aagneedhra was given the Jambu island, Ishmahjiva was given the Plaksha island, Yagyabahu was gifted with Shalmali island, Heeranyareta was given the Kusha island, Dhritaprishta was given Kronch island, Medhatiti was gifted with Shaka island and Veetihotra was given Pushkar island.

The remaining three sons, Kavi, Mahaveera and Savana maintained celibacy all their lives and were disinterested in the worldly matters. But inspite of having all the splendours, wealth etc. Priyavrata was never attached to them. As a matter of fact, he was a dejected person due to the attachment he had with his wife.

So, ultimately, he went back to the mountain of Gandhamadana to live with Narad after abandoning everything and giving it to his sons.