Episode 51 

                                   

Parasurama – the 6^th Incarnation of Maha Vishnu[i]

In one of our previous episodes (Episode 49 – Gangavataranam), we have read the anecdote of Maharshi Jahnu devouring the entire waters of Ganga and left the water to drop from his ears on the request of Bhagiratha. The sage Jahnu’s great grandson was Kusanabha and Kusanabha’s daughter was Satyavati, a beautiful lady par excellence.  

Rucheeka, a Brahmin from Brigu clan wanted to marry Satyavathi and told his intentions to Kusanabha. But Kusanabha did not like Rucheeka and so he told, ‘our tradition demands that the groom should fetch thousand white horses with black ears’ as ‘kanya sulka’ (money given for the marriage of a bride).

Rucheeka was not disheartened. He prayed to god Varuna and procured the horses as a gift from a pool of water (Varuna is the god of rain). The waters from which the horses emerged is even now venerated as Aswa Teertha (Aswa in Sanskrit means horse). He gave the horses as ‘kanya sulka’ and married Satyavathi.

One day Satyavathi approached her husband and prayed for sons both for her and her mother. Rucheeka prepared separate rice pudding with intonation of mantras and asked both to have it[ii]. Satyavathi disobeyed the specific orders of her husband and exchanged the pudding with her mother. Rucheeka got angry and told, ‘You shall have a son with kshatriya valour, and your mother shall have a son with a brahmin virtues’. Satyavathi begged excuse and asked, ‘Hey Swamy, let my son also be satvik in nature with Brahmin virtues and let my grandson be of kshatriya valour’. Rucheeka agreed.

In due course of time Satyavathi gave birth to Jamadagni, a saintly and sattvic rishi. He married Renuka and was leading a dharmic life. He was blessed with five sons and the last son was Parasurama. Parasurama destroyed the clan of kshatriyas by invading them twenty-one times and filled a lake with their blood.

Dharmaraja wanted to know why Parasurama became so aggressive against kshatriyas. The rishi started telling his detailed story.

Kartaveerya and his aggression

Haihayas were the foremost clan in kshatriyas in those days. The greatest amongst the Haihayas was a powerful king, Kartaveerya who was ruling the earth with Mahishmathi as his capital. He was so valorous that he defeated Ravana with his might and imprisoned him for some days. He was the disciple of Dattatreya and knew the ashta siddhis (eight special powers).

One day Kartaveerya was hunting in a forest and he reached the place of Jamadagni. With the blessings of his celestial cow, Jamadagni hosted a sumptuous lunch to all the soldiers of the king without any difficulty. Kartaveerya was impressed by the cow and forcefully took away the celestial cow much against the wish of Jamadagni.

War between Kartaveerya and Parasurama

Parasurama returned to the hermitage and learnt everything from his father. He was very angry and set out to kill Kartaveerya. A fearful battle took place. Initially Kartaveerya started sending his forces consisting of seventeen akshohinis but all those were killed by Parasurama. Kartaveerya himself reached the battlefield. Parasurama chopped off his thousand shoulders and his head with his axe. The sons of Kartaveerya took to their heels. Parasurama returned back to his father with the cow.

But Jamadagni was not happy with his son. He told, ‘My dear son! The king is the embodiment of god and you have killed him (अवधीन्नरदेवं यत्सर्व देवमयं वृथा)[iii]. Killing the king is more sinful than Brahma hatya (killing a Brahmin). I advise you to go on pilgrimages with a steadfast mind on Achyuta and get redeemed from the sin’. We Brahmins get respect from society by our power of forbearance (वयं हि ब्राह्मणास्तात क्षमय्याsर्हणतां गताः)[iv]. Parasurama obliged the orders of his father.

Parasurama killing his mother

Renuka, the wife of Jamadagni one day went out to fetch water from a river. Unexpectedly she saw a Gandharva by name Chitraratha enjoying and playing with his wives in waters. Her looks were deadly glued to him and mentally she aspired him. By the time she reached home, her glorious spiritual aura had just disappeared, and she looked pale and she was afraid to look at her husband’s face straight. Jamadagni could know from his personal insight the sin committed by her and he ordered his four sons to chop off her head. But they refused to kill their mother.

Jamadagni called out his fifth son, Parasurama. Without any hesitation he chopped off the heads of his mother and his brothers. Jamadagni became cool and asked Parasurama to ask for any boon. Parasurama asked for the restoration of lives of all those died. Jamadagni obliged; and Renuka and her other sons woke up as if they were waking up from the slumber.

Parasurama’s expedition against Kshatriya kings

One day when Jamadagni was alone in the house, the sons of Kartaveerya ransacked the hermitage of Jamadagni, dragged him out and mercilessly killed him to avenge the death of their father. By evening Parasurama came back and saw the dead body of his father. He wept bitterly and addressing his father’s corpse he cried, ‘Oh father! You are old, you are pious, you are nonviolent to the core and you are doing tapas. How can anybody kill you?’

Then he invaded the camps of Kartaveerya and killed all his sons. Many Kshatriya warriors came to their support and all were killed in the battlefield. Parasurama took the pledge to kill all the Kshatriya kings and started expeditions against them for twenty-one times. He conquered all the kingdoms upon the earth and gave the entire earth as a gift to sage Kasyapa and went to Mahendragiri (currently it is in Cambodia) for tapas.

Dharmaraja heard the story and he stayed for a night on Mahendragiri and on the following day he had the darshan of Parasurama.

Parasurama – Insights from Ramayana

In Ramayana we come across the arrival of Parasurama after Rama’s marriage with Sita. Parasurama reached the place of Sri Rama and challenged him to aim the powerful bow of Vishnu so that he can have the chance to wrestle with Parasurama.

तदहं ते बलं दृष्ट्वा धनुषोsस्य प्रपूरणे |

द्वन्द्वयुद्धं प्रदास्यामि वीर्य! श्लाघ्यस्य राघव![v]

(Show your strength by aiming this bow and get the accolades of the warriors. Then I shall bestow the honour of wrestling with me).

Parasurama refused to concede the request of Dasaratha to let Rama go. Rama accepted the challenge posed by Parasurama and took the Vishnu bow into his hands. Parasurama was awestruck to see the Vaishnava teja (the glory of Vishnu) just slipped into Rama from his own self. He realised that Rama was none other than Lord Vishnu and left the place to Mahendragiri for tapas.

Understanding the story

Parasurama is the incarnation of Lord Vishnu as per Hindu belief. If we read the entire story one gets the doubt as to what great deeds are accomplished in this incarnation and what the purpose of this avatara (incarnation) is! In fact, Jamadagni says that by killing a crowned king, Parasurama committed a sin (अवधीन्नरदेवं यत्सर्व देवमयं वृथा – Srimad Bhagavatam 9- 15.38). The whole narrative appears as if a person avenging the death of his father.

But the story has to be understood from a greater perspective. In Srimad Bhagavatam, the purpose of this incarnation is described as follows:

दुष्टं क्षत्रं भुवो भारमब्रह्मण्यमनीनसत् |

रजस्तमो वृत्त महन् फल्गुन्यपि कृतेऽहासि ||[vi]

(The Kshatriyas who are imbued with rajas and tamas and who oppress and exploit the learned dharmic people were destroyed by Parasurama for general welfare even if the offences were minute sometime). Jamadagni was a pious and learned sage and hosted a lunch for the king Kartaveerya. But the king took away his cow with force. Later the sons of Kartaveerya killed Jamadagni though he never offended them. The killing of Jamadagni is not just the killing of Parasura’s father but the killing of dharma itself. The purpose of incarnation has been spelt out very clearly in Gita-

·       for protecting the pious people - परित्राणाय साधूनां

·       for destroying the wicked people - विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम्‌

·       for establishing the righteousness in the world - धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय

All the three objectives are justified in this sixth incarnation of Parasurama.

Secondly, a few intellectuals commented that the narrative of the incarnation of Parasurama reflects the internal war between Brahmins and Kshatriyas and the story heralds victory of Brahmins over Kshatriyas. This assumption is totally baseless. The incarnation is never for caste aggressions or racism as some people interpret it. In Rama incarnation, Rama is a Kshatriya and he killed Ravana, a Brahmin. Vruttasura was a brahmin but an asura (demon) and so he was killed by Lord Indra. Hence Parasurama’s incarnation cannot be interpreted as aggression of Kshatriyas over Brahmins. The fight is between dharma vis-à-vis adharma and never on caste lines or from the moral lenses of current century.

The last point is can two incarnations exist at the same time. How is it possible? Commentators opine that it is possible to have many incarnations at the same time. The emergence of Sri Rama is when the purpose of Parasurama incarnation was just getting over.

Points to ponder

1.   What is the purpose of god’s incarnation upon earth?

2.   What do you understand by ‘kanya sulka’? Does this concept suggest the importance given to women in society of Maha Bharata times?

Stories connected to Parasurama

a.   The regional literature of Kerala eulogises Parasurama as the person who retrieved land from the ocean which is now being called as Kerala. The legend of Parasurama and his martial arts are very famous in Kerala.

b.   Parasurama was the guru of Bhishma and later Karna. For the sake of Amba who sought refuge with Parasurama, he fought with Bhishma for twenty-four days and perhaps this was the only occasion when the war resulted into stalemate and no one emerged victorious. 

Footnotes

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[i] The story of Parasurama appears in Maha Bharata, Srimadramayana and Srimad Maha Bhagavatam. This story in this episode is taken from all these books.

[ii] In Maha Bharata, it is written that Satyavathi and her mother approached sage Bhrigu who was the father of Rucheeka and prayed for sons. In Srimad Bhagavatam, they approached Rucheeka.

[iii] avadhīnnaradevaṃ yatsarva devamayaṃ vṛthā - Srimad Bhagavatam 9- 15.38)

[iv] vayaṃ hi brāhmaṇāstāta kṣamayyāsrhaṇatāṃ gatāḥ - Srimad Bhagavatam 9-15.39

[v] tadahaṃ te balaṃ dṛṣṭvā dhanuṣossya prapūraṇe |

dvandvayuddhaṃ pradāsyāmi vīrya! ślāghyasya rāghava! - Valmiki Ramayana Bala kanda 75.4

[vi] duṣṭaṃ kṣatraṃ bhuvo bhāramabrahmaṇyamanīnasat |

Rajastamo vṛtta mahan phalgunyapi kṛte'hāsi || - Srimadbhagavatam 9.15-15

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Episode 50

Story of Maharshi Rushyasringa[i]

In the last episode we saw the story of descendance of the celestial Ganga from the heaven to earth. When the Pandavas were moving from one place of pilgrimage to another place, they came across the hermitage of Rushyasrunga.

The current story discusses the story of Rushyasrunga, a brahmachari and a Maharshi. The story discusses how the kingdom attracts difficulties if the intellectuals of the country are abandoned by the king. The story also discusses the subtle attraction between the male and female that normally exists in the Prakriti and emphasizes the necessity not to discourage dharmic kama.

The story indicates the necessity of having people of righteousness people in and around for general prosperity and happiness. The Honey trap that is very much employed in modern times has its genesis in this story but with a dharmic purpose of Lokasangraha.

Since this story is found both in Valmiki Ramayana and Vyasa Maha Bharata, the current story is built from the passages of both epics.

The Story

Dharmaraja along with his brothers and wife reached Kausiki river where sage Vishwanitra had done great tapas in the past. Lomasa, who was guiding the itenary of Pandavas showed the Ashrama of Rushyasrunga and Dharmaraja wanted to hear the greatness of the sage.

Dasaratha was the king of Ayodhya. He was a mighty warrior and a great king of Ikshvaku dynasty. His rule was so popular that the people used to treat him as their own father. He was having everything in his life, but he was not blessed children. In those days people used to believe that performance of Yagas (sacrifices) like ‘Aswamedha’ (Horse sacrifice) and ‘Putrakameshti’ (Yagna for sons) etc would help in having the children. Kings used to view Yagnas and Yagas as one more opportunity of feeding the people of the kingdom since those rituals involve lot of charity.

Dasaratha requested his chief purohit, Vasishta and other intellectuals like Sumantra, Vamadeva, Jabali and others to organize and supervise the activities of Aswamedha in a grand and dharmic way. The prime minister of Dasaratha was Sumantra. He had an occasion to listen the future events about Dasaratha’s Aswamedha from a Rishi by name Sanatkumara. Sanatkumara is believed to be the son of God Bramha from his very thought process (Manasika putra). As per that prophesy, the Yaga could not be completed without the presence of one famous Rishi by name Rushya Srunga. Who is this Rushya Srunga whose very presence would bring pleasantries to Dasaratha?  Sumantra started telling the story to Dasaratha.

Romapada was the king of Anga kingdom (present day Bihar). Though he was a mighty ruler, on some occasion he abased the dignity of his purohit and transgressed Dharma. The intellectual community abandoned the king and left the kingdom. Lord Indra stopped the rain for the entire country and there was a famine. The famine was so acute that people began feeling suffocation and oppression under its shadow. The king could not know what to do and how to remedy for his dereliction from dharma.

The ministers advised the king to bring one sage by name Rushyasrunga, son of Vibhandaka (son of Kasyapa) to the kingdom and they suggested that the very presence of the sage will bestow rain to the country.

Vibhandaka was a learned sage and one day, while taking a bath in a river, he happened to see Urvasi, the celestial Apsarasa on the waters. He was so exited that he had lost his control and his semen leaked out into water. A doe (female deer) just drank the water containing the semen and in due course of time it delivered a boy and he was christened as Rushyasrunga since he was having a horn on his forehead (Srunga in Sanskrit means horn). The doe was in fact a divine lady and was blessed by Brahma that she would attain her original status once she gives birth to a sage. After giving birth to the child she disappeared and Vibhandaka rose him up.

Vibhandaka gave him all the vedic knowledge and kept him in the forests much aloof from the civilized world. He was so secluded that he had never seen a lady in his life.

How to bring such an austere mendicant to the kingdom of Anga? The king consulted his ministers and well-wishers and charted out a plan. Romapada initially thought of deputing some learned ministers to talk and bring Romapada. But they were all afraid of Vibhandaka and could not venture in going to the forest. Then what to do? The chief purohit (priest) advised the king to send a few beautiful and intellectual young ladies to attract, trap and bring him to the court. The king called the beautiful courtesans (prostitutes) of his kingdom and asked them to bring Rushyasrunga with their talents.

Honey-trap – ensnaring Rushyasrunga

The courtesans were in tenterhooks since approaching the place of Vibhandaka might invite his curse; and disobeying the orders of the king might attract his wrath. Ultimately an old prostitute volunteered to take up the task and she left for forest with a selected bevy of beauties dexterous enough to attract physically and intellectually.

A beautiful ashrama was designed on the floor of the ship decked with ornaments and filled with sweet fruits and drinks. The ship was anchored a few yojanas (a yojana is approximately twelve kilometers) away from Vibhandaka Ashrama. She sent a few envoys to explore the presence of Vibhandaka in the hermitage. One day she got the news that Vibhandaka was not in the ashram.

The lady then asked her beautiful daughter to reach out to Rushyasrunga. The muni was awestruck to see a beautiful young person with all smiles on lips and fragrance all around. He had never seen such a muni and offered her arghyam (water for cleansing the hands and feet) and offered a seat of grass to sit. He thought that the person was another muni in different attire.

The lady then bent close to Rushyasrunga and told, ‘you are not supposed to offer prayers to me. According to our tradition, I deserved to be embraced by you’. Then she embraced him tight and offered the choicest fruits, sweets and cool drinks. She bent forward with grace and played with the ball, sang nicely and smiled and smiled. She repeatedly embraced him tight and then withdrew on the pretext that she had to leave the place to do the evening oblations.

Rushyasrunga was highly delighted with her touch and he could not forget her even after she had left the Ashram. He was a Bramhacari (one who practices celibacy). But his mind began wavering now though he could not distinguish male or female versions of humanity. He was simply attracted by the new human being who look beautiful and speak intellectual. The very touch of the lady was so pleasing to all his limbs that he heaved a sigh and sat glaring at the direction where she had left.

The sun was setting and Rushyasrunga had forgotten to perform Sandhyavandan. Vibhandaka reached home and surprised to find the ashram not lighted up. He found the pathetic son glaring at infinity. He asked as to what happened to him.

Rushyasrunga started narrating the sweet attraction that he could not forget. He was talking about the new sage who was embracing him. The person was not an ordinary muni with feeble body but endowed with bubbling flesh projected and withdrawn at different places and the very embrace was enchanting and delighting. Rushyasrunga was describing the lady as if he was a man since he had never seen a lady earlier.

Vibhandaka got suspicious. ‘Demons will be loitering this place to destroy the tapas of munis. Be careful’, he told and set out to search the new person but his efforts to trace her proved futile. After three days when Vibhandaka went out to fetch fruits, the lady again came to see Rushyasrunga. The muni was attracted by her that he volunteered to accompany the lady before his father could arrive to the ashram.

  

On seeing the sage coming towards her, she felt very happy and with all the attractions under her command, she lured him towards the capital of Anga desa.

Rushyasrunga was such a dharmic Rishi that the moment he set his legs on the land of Anga desa, the rain God was pleased to present showers on the entire landscape of the country. The king touched the feet of the great Rishi and offered his daughter Santha for marriage. Eventually the marriage was solemnized, and the sage began living in the court of Romapada.

When Vibhandaka did not find his son in the forest, he started searching and eventually reached Anga desa. He saw the riches of his son and was pleased by the pleasantries of Romapada. He blessed his son and daughter-in-law. He asked his son to come back to hermitage once he was blessed with a child.

After finishing the story of Rushyasrunga, the minister of Dasaratha advised the later to invite Rushyasrunga for performing the Yaga. Dasaratha was pleased to listen the story of the great sage and set out towards the Anga desa with all his queens. Romapada received the king with all grace and upon his request advised his son-in-law, Rushyasrunga to oblige the request of Dasaratha. Rushyasrunga and his wife reached the kingdom of Dasaratha and Rushyasrunga performed the Aswamedha yaga for Dasaratha. Dasaratha was quite happy for completing the Aswamedha as it was supposed to remove all sins which are the obstacles for attaining progeny. There upon, he requested Rushyasrunga for performing the Putra Kameshti.

Symbolic significance of the story

Rushyasrunga was the embodiment of dharma and a great Bramhacari. He was attracted by the young ladies not out of lust but out of his sheer innocence in distinguishing human beings into ladies and gents. In fact, he was a Bramhacari of par excellence. (A bramhacari is defined in our scriptures as one who keeps aloof from the company of ladies before marriage; and avoiding contact even with his wife after marriage on all days which are prohibited).

The story talks of the subtle attraction that prevails between a male and female in the Prakriti. Maha Bharata is an epic that has touched all fields of human activity and nothing is hidden, or nothing is obscured for readers as taboo. The instinct of a young man on seeing a beautiful lady is shown in the character of Vibhandaka when he secreted the semen on seeing the celestial beauty, Urvasi. Similarly, the tight embrace of the prostitute and the exhibition of beauty kindled the subtle manly maneuvers in Rushyasrunga and he started forgetting the things around.

Indirectly, the story emphasizes not to suppress the biological urges of a human being; and Hindu dharma never denied dharmic kama. A Grihasta (a household person) is a necessity to sustain the society since he has to feed the Brahmacharis, Sanyasis and the needy persons. Everyone is not supposed to embrace sanyasa unless he has the will power and determination to stand by it.

How can the arrival of Rushyasrunga help in getting rains? A dharmic person par excellence, Rushyasrunga’s presence itself brings prosperity to the country. We have similar story in Maha Bharatha when Duryodhana was enquiring as to how to trace Pandavas when they were undergoing the ordeal of ajnatavasa (remaining incognito in an unknown place). At that time Bhishma began telling that the presence of Dharmaraja in any country would be easily recognized. In that country there will not be any poverty or famine. Rains will pour profusely, and people will be happy. We also hear the concept of Ramarajya where people were always happy due to dharmic nature of king Rama.  Thus, we have many examples which say that the presence of righteous persons bring prosperity for the region.  

Rushyyasrunga was invited to Anga desa for social good and dharmic need. In Patanjali Yoga sutras we have a reference of ‘dharma megha’. Megha means mass or cloud. It is also known as "raincloud of dharma." Then dharma is virtue, morality, or merit. But virtue and morality are simply among the many good things. "Good" has long been one of the broader meanings of the word dharma. Rushyasrunga is akin to dharma megha and it is but natural that Anga desa witnessed profuse rain upon his arrival to the country.

The story also highlights the fact that one should not deviate the path of dharma or righteousness. If a king is unrighteous, he incurs the wrath of the nature. This became true when Romapada transgressed dharma. He had to face severe famine in his country. The symbolic significance of the story is that if we defame intellectuals of the country, we will be facing difficulties in the country.

The story suggests the practice of ‘honey trap’ in olden days also (At present, Honey trap implies trapping celebrity men with the help of beautiful and intelligent ladies). But in Maha Bharata time the supposed Honey trap was for the Lokasangraha or for the good of the society. It was a historic necessity to save the people from famine.

Points to ponder

1. What is Honey trap? Is it ethically permissible? On what occasions it is permitted?
2. Is it possible to isolate children from the society and give exclusive education to them?
3. Can we defame the intellectuals of the country for any reason?

Footnotes

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[i] This story is taken both from Valmiki Ramayana and Veda Vyasa’s Maha Bharata.

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Episode 49

Gangavataranam- Descendance of Ganga from Heaven to Earth[i]

In the last episode we saw sage Agastya devouring the ocean waters in one gulp for the common good of the society. Then how to fill the ocean with waters? The gods went to Lord Brahma and sought his help in filling the ocean depths. Brahma thought for a moment and told the gods that it would be filled with the waters of Ganga by the efforts of one king by name Bhagīratha.

Dharmaraja wanted to know the story of Gangavataranam and Bhagīratha’s efforts; and Lomasa Maharshi started telling the story.

Sagara and his sons

Once upon a time king Sagara of Ikshwaku dynasty was ruling Bharat with Ayodhya as his capital. Vaidarbhi and Saibya were his queens[ii]. He did great tapas in Kailasa mountaintains and Lord Shiva appeared before him to bless him with boons.

Sagara bowed before Lord Shiva and urged for children. ‘Oh, king! One of your wives will have sixty thousand warrior princes and the other lady will have one son who can take on your lineage’, Lord Shiva proclaimed and disappeared from the place.

In due course of time Vaidarbhi delivered a bottle guard and Saibya delivered one son who was named as Asamanjasa. The king was disappointed on seeing the bottle guard and intended to throw it into forest. But there was a celestial voice from the sky. ‘Oh, king! Lord Shiva’s word will never go waste. Preserve the seeds of the vegetable in ghee pots.’ Sagara ordered for preserving the seeds in ghee pots and appointed separate maids to take care of the pots. Sixty thousand children emerged out of the pots after a long gestation and all were very powerful.

It was unfortunate that all the children of Sagara were cruel and wicked. Asamanjasa had the habit of catching hold of small children of the kingdom and drowning them into waters of lakes and ponds. He used to enjoy and rejoice on hearing the screaming sounds of children. The citizens found him unbearable and the king ordered for the exile of Asamanjasa from the kingdom. The sixty thousand children were proved to be most unwieldy and started troubling even gods and gandharvas. The gods approached Lord Brahma and urged to find a solution for their annihilation. But Brahma told, ‘Oh gods! Don’t get frightened. Due to their own sins they die on their own in due course of time’. The gods left the place.

King Sagara’s performance of Aswamedha Yaga

Sagara wanted to perform Aswamedha Yaga and the horse was let loose to wander the places of its choice. Since it was protected by all sixty thousand warrior sons, no king on earth had the courage to capture it. It so happened that Lord Indra stole the horse and he had taken it to Pātāḻa loka and kept it near the hermitage of sage Kapila.

The sons of Sagara roamed through all directions of the earth but in vain. Without horse, the Yaga could not be accomplished. What to do? They started digging the earth much to the inconvenience of all habitants of the earth and Pātāḻa. At last they reached Kapila’s Ashrama and found their horse.

अस्माकं त्वं हि तुरगं यज्ञीयं हृतवानपि |

दुर्मेधस्त्वं हि सम्प्राप्तान् विद्धि नस्सगारात्मजान् ||[iii]

Meaning- Oh! bad man! This is our Aswamedha horse! You have stolen this horse. Know that we are sons of Sagara.

Then they rushed towards Kapila. Kapila got angry and hissed at them. In no time all the sixty sons of Sagara caught up with flames and turned in to sixty thousand heaps of ashes.

As his sons did not return for many years, Sagara was worried. He could not afford to leave the Yaga which was started by him. He asked his grandson, Amsumantha (son of Asamanjasa) to go out and trace the horse.

Amsumantha’s adventure towards Pātāḻa loka

Amsumantha followed the path strewn by his parents and reached Pātāḻa loka. On the way he saw four mighty elephants shouldering the earth over their backs. He prayed to them and passed on till he reached the hermitage of sage Kapila. He saw the celebrated sadhu, Kapila and sixty thousand heaps of ashes and the horse nearby. Immediately he sat and intended to perform the last rites, but he did not find any water. By that time Garutmantha reached the place and told, ‘My dear Amsumantha! Don’t grieve for the death of your stepparents. The tried to harm the sage Kapila and scorched to death by his anger. ‘As per convention, they are not deserved for last rites (सलिलं नार्हसि प्राज्ञ दातुमेषाम् हि लौकिकम्) [iv] They get relieved from this stage only when the last rites are performed with the waters of Ganga’. Amsumantha obliged the words and prayed to sage Kapila. The sage was pleased and was ready to bestow a boon to Amsumantha.

Amsumantha sought two boons – permission to take the horse and higher abodes of heaven to his sixty thousand parents.

Kapila smiled and told, ‘My dear boy! Your stepparents were very cruel and died of my anger. Your grandson shall fulfil your second wish. Now you take the horse and let your grandfather perform Aswamedha Yaga’. He further added:

त्वयि क्षमा च धर्मश्च सत्यं चापि प्रतिष्ठितम् |

त्वया कृतार्थ: सागरः पुत्रवांश्च त्वया पिता || [v]

‘In you all the characteristics- patience, righteousness and truthfulness are well established. Sagara’s wish is fulfilled because of you. Your father has become ‘father of a son’ because of you’. Then he blessed him.

Amsumantha presented the horse to his grand father and saw that Aswamedha yaga was performed by Sagara. Sagara bestowed the kingdom to his grandson Amsumantha and reached heaven.

Amsumantha ruled the country for a few years and later his son Dileepa inherited the kingdom. Dileepa tried his best to redeem his forefathers but could not accomplish the task. Later, Dileepa’s son, Bhagīratha came to the throne.

Bhagīratha’s tapas and descendance of Ganga

Bhagiratha heard from his ministers as to how his forefathers were turned into ashes by Kapila and how they were not destined for higher lokas in the absence of oblations. He felt sad and decided in his mind to earnestly do tapas, please the goddess Ganga and must get her blessings in redeeming his pitru runam (for details of pitru runam- please see the analysis of the story).

Bhagīratha entrusted the kingdom to his trusted ministers and proceeded to the Himalayas. For thousands of years he did penance. Ganga was pleased by the determination of Bhagīratha and appeared before him. She was willing to drench the sixty thousand ash moulds and redeem them from Preta loka to higher abodes of heaven. But she was afraid whether the earth can withstand her kinetic force. She suggested that he should please Lord Shiva who alone could hold her force when she falls from heavens to earth.

Bhagīratha immediately started doing penance invoking Lord Shiva. After a few years Lord Shiva appeared before Bhagīratha. The intentions of Bhagīratha were matching with the intentions of gods. In fact, the gods had requested Brahma to fill the ocean with waters once they were devoured by Agastya. The descendance of Ganga to the earth is to relieve the sins of thousands of humans upon the earth. Lord Shiva agreed to his request.

Shiva reached the Himalayas and unfurled his plait of hair to hold the speed of the Ganga river. Bhagīratha prayed to the Goddess Ganga with all devotion and sincerity. On seeing Shiva ready with his unfurled hair, Ganga just slipped from heaven and started falling with all force into the web of his matted locks.

Initially Ganga thought that she would carry Lord Shiva to Pātāḻa with her force (विशाम्यहं हि पाताळं स्रोतसा गृह्य  शङ्करम्)[vi] Shiva could see the pride of Ganga and he wanted to teach her a lesson. When she fell with force into his matted her, Shiva just held her in his hair only; and not a drop of water ever fell upon earth. She struggled to come out but in vain. Bhagīratha was anxious as he could not see Ganga anywhere.

Bhagīratha sat for tapas again propitiating Lord Shiva. All gods, Gandharvas and other celestial beings who came to witness the descendance of Ganga were amazed at the strength of Shiva and started praying. Shiva was pleased and he released Ganga into Bindu Sarovara which was built by Lord Brahma. The Ganga started flowing with burbling noise and it was full of fish, crocodiles, reptiles and other aquatic animals.

The earth appeared beautiful by decorating with the flurrying flow of river in curves in some places, gorgeous fall in some places and babbles, ripples or trickles in certain places. At some places she was moving with dignity like a chaste woman; in some places going directions like a prostitute, in some places jumping like a dancer and in some places forward and backwards with arrogance like a lady who acquired riches suddenly (Bala Kanda 43.24). All the living beings upon earth felt very happy and they started performing pujas with flowers and petals.

Ganga and the sage Jahnu.

Bhagīratha sat on a celestial chariot and Ganga followed his chariot. While they were travelling, they passed throw near the hermitage of sage Jahnu. Ganga drowned the entire ashram with arrogance. The sage felt angry and with his power of penance devoured the entire water of Ganga in one gulp. The gods prayed to Jahnu to release the water. Bhagīratha turned back and sat for praying to Jahnu. Jahnu released all the waters from his ear in a flow. From that day Ganga is considered the daughter of Jahnu and she is also known to the world as Jāhnavi.

Ganga redeeming the sons of Sagara

Ganga followed the chariot and filled all the oceans and ultimately reached Pātāḻa and drenched the sixty thousand heaps of ashes. Sagara’s sons were relived and reached the higher abodes of heaven. Lord Brahma appeared before Bhagīratha and told, ‘Oh king! All your forefathers are now relieved from PRETATVAM[vii] and they have now reached heaven. You have done yeoman services to the society and brought waters of Ganga to the doorsteps of all common people. Ganga, from henceforth will be your elder daughter and will be called as Bhāgīrathī. You have attained name and fame and your name will remain upon earth forever’.

Bhagīratha felt happy and he could see his determined efforts bore fruit at the end. He ruled the country with all happiness and contentment for thousands of years and left for heavens.

Analysis of the story

The theme of the story revolves around two issues predominantly discussed in Hinduism. They are- the concept of Pitru Runam and the second one is about ‘Purusha Prayatnam’. Let us discuss both.

According to Sanatana dharma every man born upon this earth is born with three debts- Deva Runam (debt to gods for the boons that we receive from them), Pitru Runam (debt to parents for our physical body and intellect) and Rishi Runam (debt to sages and our ancestral Rishis for the wisdom that we receive from them). Sanatana dharma expects every human being to propitiate gods to redeem deva runam; to read and propagate the wisdom of vedic knowledge to redeem rishi runam; and to give birth to a son and perform the last rites to redeem pitru runam.

It is believed that if the last rites are not performed, the spirit of the dead person is believed to wander with extreme thirst and hunger and will never reach heaven till the obsequies are performed. ‘Pinda Pradanam’ has thus gained lot of significance in Sanatana dharma. This belief is not restricted to Bharata desa alone. The idea of forefathers loitering with extreme hunger and thirst is prevalent in all south east Asian countries and in China.

In this story when the sons of Sagara were scorched to death by Kapila, all the progeny including Amsumantha, Dileepa and Bhagīratha put all their efforts to bring the celestial Ganga for performing the last rites and only Bhagīratha could succeed in his efforts.

The question is why did not Dilipa or Amsumantha perform the rites with normal water? Garutmantha cautions Asamanjasa that as per convention the sons of Sagara are not entitled to receive Sraddha (Pinda pradanam) with normal waters. As per Sruti (Veda), there is a restriction if a person is died of certain reasons, he is not entitled for receiving obsequies. The restrictions are as follows:

 चण्डालादुदकात् सर्पात्, वैद्युतात् ब्राह्मणादपि |

दण्ष्ट्रिभ्यश्च पशुभ्यश्च, मरणं पाप कर्मणाम् ||

उदकं पिण्ड दानं च, एतेभ्यो यद्विधीयते |

नोपतिष्ठति तत्सर्वं अन्तरिक्षे विनश्यति || - (Govindarajeeya Vyakhya- Valmiki Ramayana).

Meaning - The obsequies given out to those sinners who died of Chandalas, water bodies, thunders, Brahmins, animals and horny animals will evaporate in the skies before reaching the dead persons.

In the current story the sons of Sagara are cruel and sinners. Again, they are scorched to death by Kapila, a Brahmin. Hence Garutmantha suggested that they are not entitled for final rites with normal waters. Hence the necessity of bringing the celestial Ganga waters. Precisely for this reason, Hindus believe in immersion of the bones and ashes of the elderly persons in the waters of Ganga to relieve them from Pitru loka.

The second aspect of the story relates to Purusha Prayatnam- individual effort. Our ancient Indians gave lot of importance to individual efforts to achieve the desired goals. Unfortunately, a few historians[viii] attribute Indians as fatalists and hence they believe in the inevitability of happening of certain events and negate individual efforts. If we investigate the history of India, we find at no point of time our society is dormant showing signs of fatalism and weakness. We have been rich in our philosophical moorings, potency of language, architecture, grammar, art, music, medicine, engineering, science & technology and what not. In the story, Bhagīratha is a person who did not leave things to happen on their own. His determination was supreme, and he put all his efforts to bring the celestial river to the earth.  He performed tapas invoking Ganga, Shiva, again Ganga, again Shiva and ultimately, he was ready for praying for Jahnu. In Sanskrit language Bhagīratha Prayatnam is synonym for supreme effort with dedication. The story dispels the myth that Indians are fatalistic.

Kings of ancient India ruled the country in the interest of its citizens. They were ready to sacrifice anything for the sake of people. In Ramayana, Rama was ready to exile his own wife. In the current story Sagara exiled his own son Asamanjasa when he was proved to be a burden to the citizens. This is one of the greatest aspects of Indian culture in ancient days.

Points to ponder

1. What are the debts a human being has in his lifetime? How can he redeem them?
2. How can you justify that Indians are not fatalistic? How can you interpret the famous sloka of Gita- Karmanyevadhikaraste…….?

Footnotes

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[i] This story is available both in Maha Bharata and Ramayana. The story is built based on Ved Vyssa’s Maha Bharata and Valmiki’s Ramayana.

[ii] In Valmiki Ramayana the two wives of Sagara are mentioned as Kesini (daughter of Vidarbha king) and Arishtanemi (sister of Garutmantha)

[iii]  asmākaṃ tvaṃ hi turagaṃ yajñīyaṃ hṛtavānapi |

durmedhastvaṃ hi samprāptān viddhi nassagārātmajān || - Bala Kanda 40.28 (Valmiki Ramayana)

[iv]  salilaṃ nārhasi prājña dātumeṣām hi laukikam -Bala Kanda (Valmiki Ramayana) 41.18.

[v]  – Vana Parva 107.55

[vi]  viśāmyahaṃ hi pātāḻaṃ srotasā gṛhya  śaṅkaram - Ramayanam Bala Kanda 43.6.

[vii] Preta is the spirit of any dead person, especially before the obsequies / rites are performed by the progeny. Before reaching heavens, the spirits are believed to wander till the last rites are performed. In the present story, the last rites are not performed to the sons of Sagara till the descendance of Ganga.

[viii] Romilla Taper says that ‘Indian culture had been static, largely owing to the gloomy, fatalistic attitude to life’ (Early India).

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