Episode 52
The Story of Chyavana Maharshi and Sukanya [i]
This is an interesting story which is found in Vana Parva of Maha Bharata. The story talks of Somarasam which was used to be an extract from the twigs of Soma plant.
The story has passages with lot of symbolic significance. The denting of the eyes of Chyavana, the creation on Madāsura (Intoxicator) and introducing the demonic spirit in ladies, gambling etc are the examples of this nature.
The story demonstrates the power of tapas over physical might.
The Story
We have seen in the last few episodes Pandavas moving from one place of pilgrimage to other place with Lomasa Maharshi guiding their itenary. In this sojourn, they had come across Vaidurya mountain on the banks of Narmada. This was the place where the celestial doctors, Aswin twins devoured Somarasa with the blessings of Maharshi Chyavana. When Lomasa was showing the mountain range, Dharmaraja curiously asked to narrate the story of Maharshi Chyavana. Lomasa started telling the story.
Chyavana was a great rishi of ancient lore. He sat on Veeraasana for quite long number of years with air as his food. Slowly and slowly ants started encircling his body and over a period of years an anthill engulfed his body. Since it was a thick forest, twigs and twines made the whole place dense. Chyavana stayed in the anthill and was in deep tapas.
Saryati was the king of the nearby kingdom and one day he came to the forest with all his soldiers, queens and daughter, Sukanya for a jolly trip. Sukanya was in her prime youth with glorious features and she was moving with her maids amidst the twigs and reached very near to the anthill.
रूपेण वयसा चैव मदनेन मदेन च |
बभञ्ज वन वृक्षाणां शाखा परम पुष्पिताः ||[ii]
With beauty, age, youthful pride and lust she just started tearing the twigs and branches of the trees.
Chyavana opened his eyes and her beauty just delighted him (Vana parva 122.11). With his feeble voice he called her, but she could not listen. His two eyelids were shining so bright from two holes in the anthill that they attracted the attention of Sukanya. With intellect shrouded by delusion, and thinking that they were light giving insects, she pressed them with a thorn. Suddenly she saw blood oozing from the eyelids. She was quite afraid and left the place to her palace.
Chyavana was very angry and with his power of tapas he stopped the urinary passage of all the soldiers of Saryathi. ‘Somebody must have committed a sin against a righteous person’, Saryati felt. He commanded all soldiers whether any one of them has offended sage Chyavana. But no one had done any harm to him.
Sukanya got the news and immediately rushed to her father and narrated as to how she had struck the eyelids inside the anthill without knowledge. Saryati rushed to the place of Chyavana and begged pardon and requested the sage to save his soldiers.
Chyavana was pleased with the politeness of the king. As the girl has committed the sin with youthful pride, he agreed to save the soldiers provided the king marry the girl to him. In the interest of his whole lot of soldiers, the king agreed, and the marriage took place immediately.
Arrival of Aswins to Vaidurya mountain
Sukanka became a dutiful wife of her husband, Chyavana and was venerating her husband. She was happy that she was relieved of the indirect blame from all the soldiers that she was responsible for their intestinal dysfunctions.
One day while Sukanya was taking bath in a river, the Aswin brothers happened to see her. Aswins were the physicians for the gods and they were most handsome brothers. They were awestruck at the beauty of Sukanya and approached her to know her details. Sukanya was shy and was also afraid. ‘I am the daughter of Saryati and wife of sage Chyavana. I have dedicated my life to my husband and treat him as god’, she proclaimed.
Aswins laughed at her and told, ‘Oh! Beautiful girl! You are extremely beautiful and glittering with youthful glory. How did your father marry you to an old man? How can you have family life with a desolated old man? Choose any one of us and enjoy the bliss of life’.
But Sukanya told, ‘I venerate Chyavana and Chyavana alone. For me he is everything’. Then they told, ‘Ok, young lady! We are the physicians for gods. We shall restore youth to your husband; and you pick any three of us as your life partner. If this proposition is acceptable, you can bring him here’.
Sukanya dutifully told everything to Chyavana. The maharshi was pleased by her sincerity and truthfulness. He agreed to meet Asvins and upon their advice, all the three entered into a river. It was surprising. They emerged out of the river with all freshness of youth and all the three looked alike. How to choose Chyavana now? It was a test to her chastity and devotion to her husband. Sukanya closed her eyes and prayed to Aswins to reveal their true identities and then picked up her husband easily.
Chyana became young and he was pleased to do a favour to Aswins. All these days, Soma rasam was being given to gods and Aswins were left out as they were considered servants to gods. Chyavana promised that he would give Soma rasam to them.
Indra immobilized
On hearing the news of Chyavana becoming a young man, Saryati was very happy. Chyavana performed a great yagna and picked up Somarasam as oblations to Aswins. Indra suddenly appeared on the scene and objected the act of giving Somarasam to them. He could not tolerate equating the physicians of gods with gods. He raised his hand to hurl the powerful vajrayudha upon the rishi.
But Chyavana, with the power of his tapas, immobilised the hand of Indra. From the Yagna altar, he created a gigantic demon, Madāsura to kill Indra. Indra got frightened and agreed to recognise Aswins on par with gods and begged pardon from the rishi. The anger of Chyavana subsided and the Aswins drank Somarasa with the rishi and Indra.
Madāsura had no specific assignment and he could not understand the purpose of his birth and existence. He went up to his creator Chyavana and asked as to what he should do and where he should stay. Chyavana thought for a while and introduced the vivacious demonic spirit equally into Madyam (liquors), Maguva (beautiful girls), dyutam (gambling) and hunting.
Chyavana, thus demonstrated his powers and spent rest of his life happily with his wife, Sukanya.
Dharmaraja heard the entire story from Lomasa and took bath in the place where Chyavan regained his youth and where Aswins drank somarasa in the company of the rishi and Indra.
Understanding the Story
The story starts with Chyavana sitting in Veerasana posture for many years that anthill cropped up over him. We see similar type of tapas in case Valmiki who was the author of Srimad Ramayana. When his eyes are pierced by a thorn, the rishi’s anger resulted into intestinal dysfunctional problem for all soldiers.
In literature, certain stories are to be understood from the contextual point of view and not to be carried over by literary hyperbole. Here Chyavana, a sage, was harmed by the daughter of the king; and the denting of a thorn into his eyes symbolises denting into the heart of dharma. When dharma glani (discrepancies in dharma happens or when dharma is derailed) happens there will be huge deluge to the populace. In Virata Parva of Maha Bharata, when the king Virata threw the dice over Yudhishtira’s face, Draupadi rushed towards him to prevent the fall of even a single droplet of his blood over the earth. She tells that fall of a single droplet of blood of a dharmic person will result in famine for the entire country. The idea behind this narrative is that punishing an innocent and dharmic persons knowingly or unknowingly will certainly end up in doom for the whole country.
The second important point is why did young Sukanya dutifully agree to marry a very old man? In Sanatana Dharma, Dhama (righteousness) supersedes kama (desire) and artha (wealth). Sukanya had committed a sin and all the soldiers were affected. It is her dharmic duty to save them and her sin should not be a cause for someone’s troubles. Hence, she agreed to the proposal. Why did Saryati agree to the proposal? Again, in the interest of his people. The core question is why did an old sage aspire for a young lady? Again, Hindu philosophy believes in having progeny to get relieved from a hell called- punnama narakam.
The third point of interest is about ‘Soma rasam’ which was used to be prepared from the twigs of one Soma plant. In Ayurvedic texts there are number of references to this celestial drink. The participants in the yagna used to drink this drink before and after the yagna and it was being offered to the gods. The Soma plant is now extinct and serious researchers have to identify and trace this plant for knowing its efficacy in geriatric usage.
At the end of the story we find Chyavana creating a demon- Madāsura. Mada (मद) means Intoxicator. The famous Ayurvedic text, Susrutha Samhitha states- मदस्य त्रयो अवस्था: (मद has three stages- In the first stage, it is exhilarating and delighting. It does not affect the intellect. In the mid stage, memory gets affected and causes confusions, irrelevant talkativeness, rambling postures and the like. In the third stage, the individual becomes static like a torn wood with mind occupied with narcosis and confusion- similar to dead but alive). Chyavana creating Madāsura symbolises the creation of Intoxicator. The symbolic significance of introducing this demon in four places - Madyam (liquors), Maguva (beautiful girls), dyutam (gambling) and hunting is that all these four intoxicate the man. A person addicted to these four or any one of these four is sure to perish. Indirectly, the story cautions the reader to stay aloof from these weaknesses and remain firm in life.
Points to ponder
- What are the things that intoxicate an individual? What are the effects of getting addicted to them?
- What are the implications if righteousness is derailed and innocent people are humiliated in a country?
Footnotes
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please share your feedback