From birth, Saudāsa was strong, noble, and fair-minded. Yet destiny had already written upon him a mark — a dark spot on his leg, resembling a burn or stain. Because of this, the people began calling him Kalmāṣapāda, “the one with the spotted foot.”

In the beginning, after the cosmic dissolution (pralaya), only the unmanifested Brahman existed — infinite, formless, and beyond time. From that stillness, the Creator, Brahmā, was born on the lotus that emerged from the navel of Viṣṇu (who is considered the manifestation of Brahman, the source of everything).

Kardama Prajāpati was one of the mind-born sons (mānasaputra) of Brahmā, the Creator, born from his shadow (chāyā), intellect, or thought — depending on the Purāṇic version.