Episode 30

Mandapala’s Love with Jarita and Lapita

– the survival four Saranga birds[i]

Last week we saw how Khandava forest was scorched to ashes in a great fire. In the episode we also studied that four Saranga birds (some type of birds) survived the destruction. The current story is the story of the survival of four birds from the holocaust. The story has lot of symbolic significance and sage Vyasa used the text as a pretext to explain the ‘the theory of Creation’ as per our sruti literature. The story also talks as to how the eternal principles enshrined in Vedas are indestructible. Let us read the story.

The Story

There lived a Maharshi by name Mandapala in a forest. He led a life of celibacy and austerity. He was not allowed into higher worlds since he was not having progeny (पुं नाम्नो नरकात् पुत्रः त्रायते पितरं श्रुतिः[ii]). Mandapala came back from heavens to the forest. Birds breed fast and hence Mandapala, upon assuming the form of a bird, mates with a Saranga bird, Jarita and got blessed with four children. When they are still in egg stage, Mandapala developed acquaintance with Lapita, one more beautiful bird and started roaming with it.

With brimming motherly affection, Jarita could not leave her children and started rearing up the cute little pets in Khandava forest. She was unhappy for her husband left her in the lurch and was roaming with a rival bird.

One day Mandapala saw the fire god approaching the forest with the support of Nara and Narayana. Alas! His small kids were unable to fly. How could he help her children? He prayed to fire god profusely and sought a boon for the safety of his four children when the forest was put to fire. The god Agni was pleased with the prayers and promised to protect the pets from being scorched to ashes.

Jarita and her children were unaware of the promise of Agni to Mandapala. They got frightened on seeing the fire approaching so fast and so fearful. She recollected Mandapala telling about the four children – the elder child is responsible for preserving family lineage, the second one for pleasing the pitr devas (fore-fathers), the third one is responsible for doing penance and the fourth child is the torch bearer of brahmajnana. Whom should she protect? All were important in their own way? She advised her children to hide in the rat hole nearby.

The children did not agree with the suggestion of their mother. ‘You please protect yourself. By remaining here, you are inviting danger to your life. Anyway, we are destined to die in the scorching fire. You can fly with wings. We can’t go into rat hole. It is a sin to die by the bite of rats. It is glory if we die in fire. We are more worried as to how we can save our father in the higher world’, they told. What could Jarita do? It saw an eagle eating away the rats in the hole. ‘I saw an eagle eating the rats. Please go inside and save your skin’, it suggested.

Hi! Mother, ‘do not worry about our safety. If you live you can have children. Please leave this place by dropping down your love and affection towards us’, Unable to convince her children, Jarita flew to a safer destination.

In a matter of few minutes, the birds could see the fast approaching fire. All birds did not lose their heart. In fact, they were little Rishis born to Mandapalaka, a Maharshi. They started praying and praising the fire god Agni. They prayed and sought the protection. Agni recollected his promise to Mandapala and was also pleased by the prayers of little Risheis. He blessed them and did not gulp them in his gushes of fire. Instead, he asked what he could do to them. The birds requested, ‘here we have a few cats who always disturb us. You please devour all those cats’. Agni did the same and the birds untouched.

There Mandapala’s thoughts were occupied with the worry of his children safety. ‘What if the fire god forgotten the promise? What if the wind god pushed him towards the children?’ He started weeping with thoughts revolving around his children and wife. Lapita got angry. ‘The fire god promised protecting your children. He will not disown his pledge. Still you are worrying here. You love my rival Jarita and her children. You go to your lover and leave me to my fate. I also wander regretting for following a worst person’.

‘What you think is not wise. I am thinking about the safety of my progeny. No foolish person on earth will the leave the existing children anticipating the yet to be born future children’, saying thus Mandapala left towards Khandava forest. By this time the fires had subsided and Jaritha was back to her children. Mandapala reached the spot and found his wife caressing her cute children. Nobody spoke to Mandapala. Mandapala’s face paled before the enigmatic silence pervading the place. Ultimately Jarita broke out, ‘You did not anyone of us when we were in distress. Go to your lover Lapita’.

‘What a jealousy! No lady is spoiled in higher worlds with any sin other than the sin of jealousy and relation with other men. Even Arundhati, the legendary chaste wife of Vasishta felt jealous of her husband’s co-wife and lost her aura and glory’, Mandapala lamented. Then he recollected how he had prayed to Agni for the safety of children. He told his children, ‘My dear kids! I did not come to rescue you since you are all little Rishis and already know the Brahma- tatva. I also know the righteous nature of your mother. Dharma protects who protect dharma’.

The sons were pleased by the words of Mandapala and approached him with all love and affection. Later on, Mandapala left the place to an unknown destination.

A short analysis of the story

Maha Bharata and Ramayana are written down by sage Vyasa and Valmiki to convey the teachings of Vedas. The text is only a pretext to convey noble thoughts. The story of Mandapala, on the face of it, is a simple story. But it describes the origin of the universe, the indestructibility of Vedas etc in an indirect form.

The highlight of the story is the prayers to the fire god by the four small birds. These prayers are described in many verses by Ved Vyasa. When Agni started approaching the eldest kid says,

आत्मासि वायोर्ज्वलन शरीर मसि वीरुधाम् I

योनिरापश्च ते शुक्रं योनिस्त्वमसि चांभस: I I [iii]

 (Means- O! Agni, you are very soul of Lord Vayu, you are the body to the twigs, your very sperm is the fountain for water, and you are the cause for the origin of earth’). The prayer sloka eulogizes the fire as the cause for wind and earth. Look at the verse of Taitiriya Upanishad describing the origin of life on earth-

तस्माद्वा एतस्मादात्मन आकाशः संभूतः। आकाशाद्वायुः। वायोरग्निः। अग्नेरापः। अद्भ्यः पृथिवी। पृथिव्या ओषधयः। ओषधीभ्योऽन्नम्। अन्नात्पुरुषः।[iv] (Taitiriya Upanishad 1.1). The prayers of the little rishis (sons of Mandapala) echo the vedantic perspective of the origin of the universe-  that Vayu emerged out of Akasa, Agni out of Vayu, from Agni emerged water, from water the earth emerged, from the earth all medicinal plants and flora, from them the food and from the food emerged the human being’. All other verses relating to prayers to Agni are pregnant with vedantic thought. It is but natural that the fire god was pleased. Ved Vyasa introduced the concept of the theory of Creation to the common readers through a story. The story is thus a pretext.

Other way of understanding the story may be that Khandava dahana represents Pralaya (dissolution of the Universe) and the four little rishi birds represent four Vedas which remain as eternal truths. The dissolution of the Universe is the beginning of one more Creation but Vedas, representing eternal Truths remain indestructible entities.

Veda Vyasa hints at the Brahma Jnana possessed by the rishi birds when they suggested their mother that –

न चोपकृतमस्माभि: न चास्मान् वेत्तये वयम् ।

पीड्यमाना बिभर्ष्यस्मिन् कासती के वयं तव ।।[v]

- It means- we have not done any good to you. You do not who we were before our birth. Why should you trouble yourself to protect us? How we relate to you and how you are related to us? These words represent the futility of developing attachments and fall under the domain of Vedanta.

In this story we come across how an intelligent person can weave out an opportunity out of adversity. When Agni is pleased, the little bird prayed to destroy the cats and thus freed from further worries. Is it not a great management strategy?

The story is also interesting in the sense that a few scholars have modified the content of this story and molded it as a romantic love story of Mandapala with Jarita and Lapita.

Points to ponder

1. What is the theory of Creation as per Hindu philosophy?
2. What are the management lessons from this story?

Footnotes

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[i] This story is taken from Adi Parva of Maha Bharata written by sage Vyasa.

[ii] puṃ nāmno narakāt putraḥ trāyate pitaraṃ śrutiḥ - Adi Parva 228.14.

[iii] ātmāsi vāyorjvalana śarīra masi vīrudhām I

yonirāpaśca te śukraṃ yonistvamasi cāṃbhasa: - Adi Parva 231.7

[iv] tasmādvā etasmādātmana ākāśaḥ saṃbhūtaḥ। ākāśādvāyuḥ। vāyoragniḥ। agnerāpaḥ। adbhyaḥ pṛthivī। pṛthivyā oṣadhayaḥ। oṣadhībhyo'nnam। annātpuruṣaḥ। (Taitiriya Upanishad)

[v] na copakṛtamasmābhi: na cāsmān vettaye vayam ।

pīḍyamānā bibharṣyasmin kāsatī ke vayaṃ tava - Adi Parva 230.13

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