Mahabharata – 102

by 

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr. Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                                   Aadivamsavatarana Parva

Kacha as the disciple of Sukracharya used to lead the cows of Sukracharya to the meadows so that they could graze to their heart’s fill. One evening Devyani to her utter surprise found the cows back home.But Kacha was not there. Devayani,had some apprehansion.She instantaly went   to her father  & said  --- Oh Father! You are engaged in evening rites. The Sun also has set. The cows have returned home without him who takes care of them. Kacha is, indeed, not to be seen. It is plain that Kacha has been lost, or killed. Truly I say,Oh Father!, Without him I will not live!.

Sukracharya hearing this said, I will revive him by saying, Oh Kacha come back home presently.Then having applied  the science of  Sanjivani, Sukracharya summoned Kacha. And on summonning, Kacha appeared there in  gladness tearing  the bodies of the dogs. He was cut into thousand pieces by the demons & were devoured by number less dogs. And it was a miracle that those pieces came out separately from the tummy of each dog. And those pieces were welded together into a whole & Kachaa resurrected. He stood before his preceptor. He was the same Kacha in glory & appearance who was there at Sukracharya’s household presently before he was assassinated by the demons.  

When Kacha was asked about the cause of his delay in coming back from the woods by Devyani, he told her --  Oh  fortunate lady!' Burdened with sacrificial fuel, Kusa grass, and logs of wood,I was coming towards our abode. I sat under a banyan tree. The cows were grazing near by. The Asuras, seeing me, asked 'Who are you?' In reply I said, 'I am the son of Vrihaspati.'   My name is Kacha. As soon as I said this, the Danavas killed me,and broke my body into pieces & gave my remains away to dogs. And then they went home in  gladness. Oh amiable one, summoned by the high-souled Bhargava, I come before you fully revived.

Mahabharata – 101

by 

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr. Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                                   Aadivamsavatarana Parva

The preceptor of the demons the great Sukracharya granted Kacha’s prayer for discipleship with him.So Kacha’s internship at Sukracharya’s house started.It goes without saying that the discples in earlier days used to live in the very house of their preceptor. And during Kacha’s stay at Sukracharya’s house kacha met the exceedingly beautiful Devyani the daughter of Sukracharya.She was  bright with extraordinary intelligence. Kacha offered her fruits & flowers. Devyani readily accepted them with grace. Of course, Kacha spent much of his time in prayers & meditation. Otherwise Devyani would be there as the company of Kacha. Devyani was very fond of Kacha.His divine grace,& his graceful manners enamoured Devyani.

Five hundred years passed by in such idyllic environment. In the meantime the demons came to know who Kacha was & they were suspicious of the intention of Kacha.Once Kacha learns the art of reviving the dead  & goes back to the gods the demons will be outwitted by the gods.There was no point in asking the great Brahamin Sukracharya to turn out Kacha from his household & from his discipleship. One day  Kacha was left to himself alone in the woods reclining below a banyan tree. At a distance in the meadow a few cows were grazing.Kacha was looking after the cows which belonged to his preceptor Sukracharya.And lo! All of a sudden a few demons showed up & killed Kacha with a hammer.But Sukracharya could bring back the fleeting breath of Kacha.

The demons were however not given up.Another time they found Kacha left alone in the forest.The demons did not waste a minute.They arrested Kacha & killed him.But Sukracharya might revive the life of Kacha.So they cut the dead body of Kacha into thousand pieces. This is not all. The demons summoned some hundred dogs. And they feasted on the limbs & the flesh of Kacha. Thus Kacha seemed to have vanished from the  existence. The demons were very happy.There would be no more Kacha to learn from Sukracharya &the demons celebrated the killing of Kacha with lot of feasting on food & wine. 

Mahabharata – 100

by 

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr. Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                                   AadivamsavataranaParva

Kacha now set out for the capital of the demon king Vrishaparva.It was a wonderful city with well laid out streets roads & lanes, palaces & parks & woodland,foutains & flower gardens & play grounds. Kacha there met the great Sukracharya alight with the flames of wisdom which  soothe the souls & never burn.Kacha prostrated at the feet of Sukracharya & introduced himself as the son of Vrihaspati the preceptor of the gods & the grandson of Angirasa. Kacha wanted to be a discple of Sukracharya to get the share of Sukracharya’s wisdom.He vowed that he would observe celibacy & brahmacharya for thousand years.Sukracharya knew what Kacha was about.True that he was the son of Vrihaspati,his arch enemy. But this did not stand in the way of Sukracharya to impart knowledge to Kacha the son of his arch enemy Brihaspati. Indeed, the teacher should be large hearted enough to impart wisdom to his enemies even if they deserve it.  

Mahabharata – 99

by 

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr. Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                                            Aadivamsavatarana Parva

                 

Janamejaya said “ How did our ancestor Yayati who was the tenth generation from Brahma get married with the daughter of the great Sukracharya”?

Vaisampyana replied --- Oh the king! Yayati was a handsome & fair youth. In prowess he was like Indra. And in the past, for this reason both Shukracharaya, the Brahamin teacher & Vrishaparva the demon king selected him as their son in law.

Vaisampayana continued-- In the past, there were frequent encounters between the gods  & the asuras for the supremacy  of the three worlds. Here it should be noted that the gods & asuras were step brothers.The gods, then, from the desire of getting victory, put up Vrihaspati as their priest & couensellor, while their opponents,the demons  put up Sukracharya as their priest philosopher & guide for the same purpose.And there was always rivalry between those two Brahmanas.Now these gods & demons were ever fighting with one another.Peace if any between them was armed neutrality. And curiously enough the demons had an advantage  over the gods.True that the gods would not die in any battle. Because they had tasted nector presently after the churning of the ocean.But except Rahu & Ketu all the other demons were deprived of their share in the nector lifted from the ocean.But kill as many demons as you will.The friend, guide & philosopher of the demons the great Sukracharya can bring back the fleeting breath & revive the dead.The secret of reviving the dead was not known to the gods.Even their preceptor,the omnicient Brihaspati did not know how to awaken the dead in their graves & call back them to life.So the gods were in a fix.When they kill the demon it would come back to life.So the army of the demons remain ever the same.The strength of the demons did never wane.So the gods conspired among themselves & went to the son of Vrihaspati.His name was Kacha.The gods requested Kacha to go to Sukrcharya & become his disciple.He must learn from Sukracharya the mantra of reviving the dead.His father Vrihaspati also gave consent to this proposal.So at the request of the gods & being blessed by the gods Kacha went to Sukracharya of the enemy camp to embrace the discipleship of Sukracharya. But Sukracharya could read the mind of others. Why should he accept Kacha as a disciple? If the gods could possess the secret knowledge of Sukracharya they could outwit the demons perhaps.Besides there were followers of gods.They were not immortals unlike the gods.They were slain by the demons in the battles.If he gods could get at the secret knowledge of Sukracharya they could also revive their mortal folowers. But mind you Sukracharya is very fond of his daughter Devyani so Kacha must win her heart as well  to get at the secret knowledge of Sukracharya.

Mahabharata – 98

by 

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr. Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                                            Aadivamsavatarana Parva

Yati became a sage & through asceticism he became one with Parabrahman  -- the reality behind the show of things. Yayati was the prince with great prowess. He became the monarch. He had two wives in Devyani & Sarmishta.He had five sons. They were Yadu & Turvasu from Devyani & Druha, Aanu & Puru by Sarmishta. They were great archers. They were endowed with all the princely qualities.

After maintaining his subjects as per virtue for long time Yayati attained  old age.The aged Yayati  asked his sons  Yadu, Turvasu, Drhuya, Anu & Puru if one of them would give up his youth to rejuvenate his father, so that he could enjoy the worldly happiness for a longer period. Yadu the eldest son of Devyani asked Yayati what Yayati would do with the youth  of his children?

In reply Yayati said that with the youth of his child he would enjoy the wealth of flesh. He added -- Oh my sons though I devoted the greater part of my life in observing sacrifices, due to the curse of Shukracharya the preceptor of demons I lost my youth. I am now an impotent old man. For that I am in great distress. If any one of you accept my old age & rule my kingdom  I  could enjoy my  youth  borrowed from you & have worldly happiness until I am ready to embrace my old age. The eldest son turned down his father’s request and so also the next three brothers. The youngest, the most devoted & the strongest Puru, however, said to him-- As per your wishes, take my youth & enjoy the worldly pleasures & let me rule the kingdom as a king by accepting your old age. On hearing thisYayati at once was transformed into a young man in his prime through his ascetic power. And thus king Yayati was enjoying the worldly pleasures borrowing the youth of Puru & Puru ruled the kingdom  of Yayati as per contract between father & son.Yayati rushed out as a young man to enjoy his life like a tiger & thus he spent thousand years. He went on for something like a fuckfest with Sharmishtha and Devayani. After some time, he also cohabited with the beautiful apsara Viswachi  of heaven at the  forest of Kubera, and enjoyed. But the more he had sex, the more he wanted to have more of it. And then he realised that sex is like oil in fire. The more you have sex, the more you want it. The want never ends. The globe with all its gems,the entire wealth of the globe & the female folk  can never make a person happy. Similarly sex desire can never be satisfied through enjoyment of sex.

Yayati further realised that when a human being with all his senses never tries to harm any body,he  achieves the Brahman.When a human being becomes fearless & no animal ever feels any enmity from him he ennobles himself. The person who is earmarked for the realisation of Brahman never desires anything from anybody. He never desires to do harm to others. And Yayati decided to give back the youth he had borrowed from Puru. Yayati repented after years spent in vain effort to quench his desires by indulgence, now made Puru the king. Puru got back his youth. And he said to Puru --- Oh my son! You are my real heir in the line & your race will be known as the famous Paurava race in the world.

Yayati then returned to the forest  of the Bhringutunga mountain & spent the rest of his days  with his wives in austerity. In due course, he attained heaven.

The episode of Yayati seems to have deeper meaning on many levels. Firstly Yayati was frank.He wanted to have longer youth & more sex. When he found that desire for pleasures of life are not extinguished through having pleasures. Just as the more you pour petrol into fire the fire burns the more. Similarly the more there are the supplies of the objects of desire, the fire of desire increases the more. True. But this must be realised from the depth of one’s being.Yayari pursued his desires till he realised the hollowness of desire of every kind.One must run after pleasures hundred percent. And only then one understands how hollow the desire is. Then he can renounce the world without any compunction in the mind.That is the road to the realisation of Brahaman.In this light one might argue that the world today mad with consumerism might realise the hollowness of  desire.Consequently the Satyayuga or golden age might be ushered in. Secondly Yayati having reached his old age wanted to get back youth & thereby he went against Nature & time. If modern civilisation & science go against Nature all their efforts will be in vain.However,Yayatis efforts were heroic.Because he wanted to take the wheel of time back.Now Yayati took the youth from Puru.Naturally Puru lost his youth.In exchange Puru attained royal power.This puts a crucial question before us.Is the desire for the pleasures of the flesh is more valuable than the craving for power?Yayati was a king for a long time.With him the desire for the flesh had the priority.But with Puru the desire for power was more important than the desire for flesh. The story poses the question before the listeners --- which one is more important – power or sensual pleasure?On another level Puru’s sacrifice of his youth for the sake of his father is as noble & as heroic as the readiness of Christ to die for the world & man to satisfy the will of God.Of course, Puru got his return.His Paurava race became famous in the world & this is singularly significan.Puru was the son of Yayati & Sarmishta.Sarmishta was a daughter of a demon.Thus in the figure of Puru both the lines of gods & demons unite. Besides the curse of the preceptor of demons on Yayati was farsighted. Because had not Yayati been impotent, Puru could not have proved his mettle & the lines of demons would pale. But at the same time the preceptor was not partial. Though Devyani was his daughter the children of Devyani were outdone by the child of Sarmishta.      

Mahabharata – 97

by 

Sankar Mukherjee

&

Dr. Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                                            Aadivamsavatarana Parva

The crown prince among the ancient poets Kalidas composed a drama entitled Vikramorvasiyam meaning Urvashi won by prowess. It dwells on the Vedic love story of king Pururava & the celestial nymph Urvashi. The plot of the drama harks back to Samvada Sukta of the Rig veda. And yes the Mahabharata alludes to the same story as a part of ancient history.And it has also left stamp on Kalidas.The love story of Pururava & Urvashi is of singular significance in the history of man because it was this love that ocassioned the birth of six sons in Aayu,Dhiman,Amabasu,Dridhayu, Vanayu & Shatayu.

And Aayu gave birth to Nahusha,Briddhasharma,Raj,Gaya,& Anena in the womb of Swarvanavir. Nahusa was a very wise person.His prowess was great.He ruled his vast kingdom according to law.In course of time he became the Indra of heaven.Here it should be noted that Indra is not a person destined  to rule the gods for all time to come.One is elected to be an Indra when one excels all the other gods in virtue.In other words the office of Indra does not belong to any royal family of the divinity & ofcourse every one could be an Indra provided he cultivates virtue upon earth.This could charge the listeners of the Mahabharata with fresh hopes,just as the mafias of today could hope to become a law maker in the so called democracy.Here on earth the excellence of character does not come.When Nahusa became the ruler of the heaven or Indra, he used to protect every one’s property.He protected the fathers & gods, sages & gandharvas as well as rakshsas.This is an important data. The conflict between the gods & rakshsas are well known. But Indra did not see to that rakshsas were eliminated. And needless to say Indra ruled a pluralistic society.In the world of the mortals Nahusa in the capacity of Indra saw to that all the four castes the brahamanas, the ksatryas, the vaisyas & sudras flourished in peace.Indra saw to that the sages could pursue the path of penance. And of course Nahusa/Indra shared one sixth of the fruition of asceticism of the sages as tax. This is a very significant point. If any government today protects the pious & the good men, the government & the bureaucracy are sure to share one sixth of the benefits that this pious reap. Attention! The IAS officers of our country. 

Nahusha had six fair speaking sons. They were ------ Yati.Yayati,Samyati,Aayati,Ayati & Dhruba.

Mahabharata – 96
by
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr. Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
                                            Aadivamsavatarana Parva

The famous Pururava took birth from Ila .And  we learned  that Ila was
the father & mother of Pururava. The famous Pururava being a human was
brutal in nature. He used to rule thirteen islands of the ocean. The
mighty Pururava entered into dispute with the Brahmins & despite
their laments, he took away their wealth by force. And then Sanatkumar
advised Pururava from Bramahaloka. But he never paid heed to
Sanatkumar’s words.Then the greedy & haughty & insensible Pururava was
ruined due to the curse of the great sages.
Before that he along with Urvashi brought from the Gandharvaloka three
fires for the sacrificial rites. Thus Pururava was the Prometheus of
Indian mythology. Prometheus defied the gods & stole fire from heaven
to help man in innovative activity. But our Pururava was enamoured  of
the child of heaven – Urvashi. And thereby he could bring three fires
from heaven so that the men on earth could develop spiritually through
the observation of fire sacrifice.
Be that as it may, while Prometheus was tortured ceaselessly by the
angry gods as he had stolen fire from heaven Pururava had to undergo
the curse of gods & sages for becoming cruel to his subjects & to
other men. Anyone can guess where ancient Indian myths differ from the
Greek myths.