The Indian Dharma

• 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed some important pointers pertaining to why should we perform the “Tarpana” and the “Shraadha” regularly without fail. We’ve witnessed in multiple contexts earlier as well, but specifically to this context of Sage Jarath-Kaaru, we’ve witnessed how the Pitru Devatas are extremely worried since Sage Jarath-Kaaru is not getting married, which is becoming a stumbling block for the next generation to come up. Only if the next generation is up and running, will the “Pitru Devatas” be able to get the due share of their “Argya” through the Tarpanas and Shraadha, isn’t it? This is where the concern was. As the Pitru Devatas voice out thus, Sage Jarath-Kaaru decides to conclude his Brahmacharya-Vratha and get into the “Grihastha-Ashrama”. However, Sage Jarath-Kaaru is not going to get married so easily. Everything in this world comes up with “Terms and Conditions”, isn’t it? Even if we buy a product or a service in the market, it comes with some “Terms of usage”, etc.! 🙂 Even for marriage today, the bride and the groom have enormous terms and conditions for each other, isn’t it? Similarly, Sage Jarath-Kaaru had his own “Terms and Conditions” for his marriage! Let us look at them in today’s episode! 

As Sage Jarath-Kaaru is going to ask for the two conditions, he decided that he’s going to act a bit smart! Even though he had accepted the wish of the “Pitru Devatas” in getting into the “Grihastha-Ashrama”, something was preventing Sage Jarath-Kaaru in giving up the Brahmacharya Vratha. He still wanted to continue in it, despite the request of the “Pitru Devatas”. So he frames his conditions quite smartly here. Sage Jarath-Kaaru says thus, “Oh Pitru Devatas! So here are my two conditions – Condition 1: The person who is going to marry me should also have the same name as mine! My name is Jarath-Kaaru, and my wife should also have the name, Jarath Kaaru! Condition 2: Even if someone comes by the name “Jarath-Kaaru”, she should come in search of me. I wouldn’t go in search of anyone seeking a bride! Till these two conditions are satisfied, I shall continue with my Brahmacharya Vratha only. I would continue to live with the “Bhikhsa” (Offerings) given by other people and I would maintain this “Dharma” till someone comes to me voluntarily!”

Upon hearing this from Sage Jarath-Kaaru, the “Pitru Devatas” become thoughtful! How smart was Sage Jarath-Kaaru to ask for such impending conditions! Now where do they find a girl who has a boy’s name? This itself would be extremely rare! Even if they find someone like that, how would she have this particular name and not any other boy’s name? This is the second challenge! To compound this further, that girl should come in search of him, and he is not going to move an inch anywhere for this purpose! How to bring these three challenges together and find a solution for this? Days and months were passing by and nothing seemed to move further. Sage Jarath-Kaaru was again engrossed into his “Tapas” and he too did not seem to be interested in these things. Of course, Sage Jarath-Kaaru outrightly mentioned that he is not going to go anywhere in search of a bride and hence, it is only obvious that he’s not going to be interested! 

At this juncture, we’re going to change the scene once again! We’re going to leave this story of Sage Jarath-Kaaru at this stage and enter into a new story. At the end of this new story, we would tie the knot between these two stories. We’re now going into the story wherein Bhagawan Vishnu, along with the Devas and Raakshasas drilled the “Paar-Kadal” (Ocean of Milk) to search for the divine “Amrita”. I’ve already mentioned this earlier too, and we’ve also seen that Snake Vaasuki was the one who helped the entire process go through. As the “Manthara Mountain” was laid as a fulcrum, Snake Vaasuki was tied to it and was pulled in either ends by the Devas and the Raakshasas. Thus, Snake Vaasuki was like a pulley that was tied to the fulcrum called “Manthara Mountain”. This Snake Vaasuki was a very wanted person by the Devas, as he was always ensuring the welfare of Indra and Co. at the cost of the Raakshasas. Hence, Snake Vaasuki and the Devas, along with Bhagawan Brahma were extremely good friends. 

Snake Vaasuki’s mother was Kadru. In fact, this Kadru was the mother of all snakes in the Naaga Lokha. Kadru was none other than Sage Kashyapa’s wife. Sage Kashyapa had many wives, and Kadru was one among them. We are now going to witness what happened in Sage Kashyapa’s family, and how a problem was brewing up to dangerous levels! Let us wait till the next episode to continue this story further! Stay tuned! 🙂 

• 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed an important discussion as to why should we perform the “Tarpana” and the “Shraadha” regularly for our departed parents and grandparents. After their demise, since they become part of the “Pitru Lokha”, it is mandatory for us to offer our prayers and “Argya” (Offering) to our “Pitrus” or ancestors. We witnessed yesterday as to why do we perform the “Tarpana” and what is the significance behind it. We’ve witnessed how the water (“Argya”) that we offer here gets transformed into the food that the “Pitrus” consume at the “Pitru Lokha” with the chanting of the relevant “Mantras” as part of the process. Just like how our parents made sure that we never went hungry even for a single day while we were children, isn’t it our duty to ensure that our parents do not go hungry when they are in dire need of it? This is exactly what the Pitrus are explaining to Sage Jarath-Kaaru here. They are mooting him to go in for a family life, not only for the sake of experiencing the happiness and pleasures involved in it, but also to ensure that the next generation is born so that they can take care of the continuous supply of food and water to the “Pitrus”. This becomes extremely significant here as we’ve to remember this very carefully. 

As we move on, there might be one myth that might constantly be troubling us at the back of our minds. We might ask this question – As our parents pass away from this “Manushya Lokha”, getting into Vaikunta, Svarga Lokha or Naraka Lokha totally depends upon their individual “Paapa” and “Punya” accounts, isn’t it? What bearing that this “Tarpana” or “Shraadha” have in them going to Vaikunta and attaining “Moksha”? How does the water that we offer take them to “Moksha” all the way? This is where we confuse ourselves – In no place does the “Sanaatana Dharma” mention that our parents attain “Moksha” by the “Tarpana” that we perform. Then why at all do we do this “Tarpana” and “Shraadha”? The sole reason behind it is that, we’ve to go to “Moksha” tomorrow, isn’t it? It is for this reason we perform the “Tarpana” and “Shraadha”. Of course, our parents and grandparents go to “Moksha” based on their “Paapa” and “Punya” accounts. Some people get reborn in this world in some other place, which we wouldn’t be aware of. However, the reason behind our “Tarpana” is solely our “Moksha” path. Bhagawan has clearly laid out the path here – “If you perform the “Tarpana” by offering the “Argya” correctly as per due procedure, my heart gets satisfied and happy! It is through my happiness that you attain “Moksha” and not because of the water that you offer!” 

Thus, we’ve to understand very clearly here that we perform the “Tarpana” and the “Shraadha” solely because Bhagawan wants us to do this, as a duty to our parents. As we perform these important “Karmas”, our “Paapa” account keeps getting nullified then and there. This would pave the way automatically to reach Bhagawan. This is exactly what the “Pitrus” are explaining to Sage Jarath-Kaaru here. As they explain thus, Sage Jarath-Kaaru decides that he has had enough with his Brahmacharya Vratha, and it is time for him to move on with the next stage of life – The “Grihasta-Ashrama”. However, Sage Jarath-Kaaru adds a small clause here – “Oh Pitrus! I shall get married, but under two conditions!” Many of us today have “n” number of conditions to get married, isn’t it? 🙂 For instance, some people demand that the boy should be a graduate from IIT and / or IIM, the boy should be a gold medalist, the boy should earn 10 Lakh rupees per month, etc.! 🙂 I seriously doubt what the girls’ side is going to do with Rs. 10 Lakh per month! Normally we require money for a decent living with all required basic facilities and essentialities. However, if we’re going to marry for the sole aim of accumulating more and more property and money, I seriously doubt whether such marriages would sustain in the long run! 

Coming back to this context again, Sage Jarath-Kaaru comes up with a couple of conditions here for his marriage. So what are the conditions that Sage Jarath-Kaaru is putting forth? Let us wait till the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 🙂 

• 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sage Jarath-Kaaru being convinced by the “Pitru-Devatas” to enter into the “Grihasta-Ashrama”. The main worry for the Pitru Devatas was that, if Sage Jarath-Kaaru did not have a family of his own, then who would continue the “Pitru-Kaarya” routine after Sage Jarath-Kaaru? We had witnessed earlier that Sage Jarath-Kaaru had absolutely no interest in getting married and having a family of his own. He was so engrossed into his “Brahmacharya Vratha” that he thought of attaining “Moksha” through this practice only. Hence, he was into deep penance most of the time and never even realized what was happening around him. It is only with the timely intervention of the “Pitru-Devatas” in between his “Tapas”, that Sage Jarath-Kaaru was made aware of the importance of having a family. On the request of the Pitru-Devatas, Sage Jarath-Kaaru agreed to get married and to enhance the family tree from there on. 

This is where we’ve to realize the importance of having a family too, and most importantly, performing all the “Tarpanas” (Spiritual Offerings to our Pitru Devatas) regularly without fail. I’ve emphasized this point many times before as well, but given the context, it is good to remind ourselves of this important duty. As “Grihastas” living in this world, we have the bound duty to perform the “Tarpana” to our parents after they depart from this world. All this is part of our “Karma” and we’ve to meticulously perform it without fail. For instance, if it is an “Amaavashya Tarpana” (The offering that is done on a no-moon day), or “Mahaalayapaksha Tarpana” (The offering that is done during the Mahaalayapaksha time), etc. – All these should be performed without fail. This is the only way that we feed our “Pitru Devatas”, with whose blessings we shall be able to lead a happy and a peaceful life. In fact, many of them suffer in their daily lives because of the failure to adhere to these norms. Failure to perform this “Karma” leads us to accumulate truckloads of “Sins” and our “Paapa-Karma” account keeps on getting replenished. This would automatically get reflected in our horoscope and our planetary positions in the future or even in our subsequent births would make sure that we would undergo the repercussions of what we’ve failed to do today. This is where we’ve to be careful. 

Of course, I’m not trying to scare anyone. There is no need for us to get into a fear that if we do not do the “Tarpana” properly, our life would be doomed. Instead, we should take it as our bound duty to feed our “Pitru Devatas” using the “Tarpana”. Afterall who are these “Pitru Devatas”? They are our own parents, our grandparents and our great grandparents, isn’t it? How can they ever curse us? Even when they were alive, all of them wanted to see us in a good position and leading a peaceful and a happy life, isn’t it? The same mindset would continue even after they become “Pitru Devatas”. However, isn’t it our duty to give them back for all whatever they’ve done to us? For instance, our parents would have to undergo so much suffering for us to come to a good position in life, isn’t it? What are we going to give our parents back? How are we going to compensate for their phenomenal sacrifice that they’ve done for our benefit? It is only through the “Tarpana”. When our parents become “Pitru Devatas”, all they would expect from us is thus, “Oh! Till we were alive, we were feeding our son regularly and made sure that our son did not feel hungry even for a single day. Now we’re unable to feed him anymore. Atleast now won’t our son feed us for a change? Will our son make sure that we do not go hungry at the end of the day?” Thus, isn’t it our bound duty to fulfill our parents’ hunger at a time when it is required the most? 

Even when we are alive, we can somehow search for food and satisfy our hunger. But when we become “Pitru Devatas” after our demise, we would be able to accept food only through our son and nobody else. The water that we pour as “Argya” as part of the “Tarpana” process, combined with the “Mantras” that we chant, gets transformed into the food for our “Pitru Devatas”. We should understand this point very keenly here – Many of us might have this doubt – Oh! Why are we “wasting” water by doing all these “Tarpanas”? Instead, we shall use this water to nourish plants or other living beings, isn’t it? This is an absurd question to ask! As mentioned earlier, the water that we pour for the “Tarpana” gets transformed into the food that they eat at the “Pitru Lokha”. We do not know what kind of food they eat there. This is why we offer water along with the “Mantras” chanted along with it. These “Mantras” are so powerful that they would be able to transform the water that we pour into the food that they eat. 

For instance, if we’ve to transfer money from one bank account to another, do the same currency notes get transferred? No, isn’t it? Only the amount gets transferred, and the person who is withdrawing this money from another location gets different currency notes as per the availability at that particular location, isn’t it? Similarly here also, the water that we pour here, gets transformed into the food that they consume in the “Pitru Lokha”, and once we do this, our parents are extremely happy! In turn, they shed tears of joy and with that, they bless us with all their heart! This blessing is what makes our lives happy and peaceful! 

So for today, let us understand this important point and let us do the needful in this regard! We shall wait till the next episode to witness the continuation of Sage Jarath-Kaaru’s accord as to how he got married to Snake Vaasuki’s sister. Stay tuned! 🙂 

• 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed a background of Sage Aasthika, who is going to be instrumental in stopping the “Sarpa Yaaga” that King Janame-Jaya is going to perform. Fuelled by Sage Utthanga, on one side, King Janame-Jaya is all set to begin the “Sarpa Yaaga”, which is meant to bring all snakes to the “Fire of death”, for all the havoc that they had wreaked. On the other side, as we commence with the “Aasthika Parva”, Sage Vyaasa gives a detailed accord on who is this Sage Aasthika. We’ve seen in yesterday’s episode that Sage Aasthika was born to a “Naaga-Kaanika” (Woman from the Naaga-Lokha), who was the sister of Snake Vaasuki. All of us know by now that Sage Vaasuki was the one who was instrumental in drilling the “Ocean of Milk”, to obtain the divine nectar (Amrita). Since Sage Aasthika was born to Snake Vaasuki’s sister, he obviously had a “soft corner” for snakes in the world. It is this Sage Aasthika who makes his way to King Janame-Jaya’s palace. 

Now that we’ve seen the jist of the story, we shall go into the detail. Sage Jarath-Kaaru who was Sage Aasthika’s father, was one day, performing an intense “Tapas”, and with this, he was able to see his ancestors in the “Pitru Lokha”. He was looking at everybody who was there in the “Pitru Lokha” and found that all of them looked extremely sad for some reason. Immediately, Sage Jarath-Kaaru was anxious with regards to their sadness. He has never seen them this sad till date. Hence Sage Jarath-Kaaru enquires with the Pitrus as to what is making them sad. Upon Sage Jarath-Kaaru’s enquiry, the Pitrus reply this, “Oh Sage! We’re quite happy with all what we have. We do not worry whether we would be able to attain “Moksha” from this stage or not. We’re getting all the “Argya”, “Aaraadhya”, etc. from our next generations who are living in the world currently. Having said thus, we only have one worry – There is one person in this world, who is part of our generation and lineage. He is the main cause of worry for us! He’s not understanding our requirement and wish. Of course, he is extremely good at “Tapas” and penance, but the only thing that he’s not understanding is that, he has to have a family, through which the next generation would arise. If the next generation doesn’t arise, how will we continue getting the “Argya” and “Aarradhya”? If we do not receive them properly, we would be doomed, isn’t it? At one stage, we would not be able to transcend to “Moksha” and instead, we would be pushed upside down into this world again! This is our main cause of worry! We sincerely hope that this person understands our urgent requirement. Till this current generation, everything is going on smoothly. But for the future continuation of this smooth process, a requirement of the next generation being born is necessary!” 

It is to be understood that the “one person” that the “Pitrus” are referring to, is none other than Sage Jarath-Kaaru himself! 🙂 They’re indirectly pushing Sage Jarath-Kaaru to get married and make way for the next generation to continue the “Pitru” offerings. Out of curiosity, Sage Jarath-Kaaru asks the Pitrus thus, “Oh dear Pitru Devatas! I’m so sorry to hear this. But, may I know who is that person you’re referring to all this while?” Upon this, the Pitrus slowly replied thus, “That person has a name “Jarath-Kaaru”. He is extremely good at “Tapas”. However, he’s so immersed into the “Tapas” that he forgets that having a family is also equally important. For some reason, he is not willing to marry and have a child!” As Sage Jarath-Kaaru hears thus, he was shell-shocked! Till this time, he did not realize that the main cause of the Pitru Devatas’ worry was he himself! He thus immediately falls on the feet of the Pitrus and proclaims thus, “Oh Pitru Devatas! Till this time you were referring to someone called “Jarath-Kaaru” isn’t it? I’m the one whom you were referring to! I’m Sage Jarath-Kaaru, and I’m the sole reason for all your sorrows! So please tell me, what should I do now!” 

As Sage Jarath-Kaaru surrenders to their feet, the Pitru Devatas are extremely happy! They reply to him collectively thus, “Oh Sage Jarath-Kaaru! We’re extremely happy that you realized what our notion was. The first thing that we want you to do is to renounce and give up your Brahmacharya Vratha. Till date you have fulfilled all the requirements of the Brahmacharya Vratha, and now the time has come to move on to the next stage in life – The Grihastha Ashrama. Hence, you should look out for a good girl and get married to her. This is the first step that you need to do. Once this is done, all other things would automatically fall in place!” As the Pitru Devatas request him thus, Sage Jarath-Kaaru replies to them, “Oh Pitru Devatas! Till now I was engrossed into the Brahmacharya Vratha and I did not realize that there is a world apart from this. I was thinking that I would be able to directly attain Moksha through the Brahmacharya Vratha itself. Anyways, you’ve put forth your request and I realize your point. Perhaps, it is only possible to attain “Moksha” via the “Grihastha Ashrama” and if that is your wish, I shall fulfill it with all my heart and soul!” 

Thus, the important lesson to learn here for all of us is that, if we satisfy the wishes of the “Pitru Devatas”, we would be able to lead a happy and a peaceful life. This is why we should make it a point that we do all the “Tarpanas” (Divine offerings) to the Pitru Devatas on time. So for today, let us understand upto this point and we shall continue this discussion tomorrow in the next episode! Stay tuned! 🙂 

• 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the completion of the “Puloma Parva” and a brief commencement of the “Aasthika Parva”. All these are “Upa-Parvas” under the main “Aadhi Parva” and readers should remember this always as we go through further. In the “Puloma Parva”, we had witnessed Sage Bruhu’s family lineage and how Sage Ruru was born. Eventually when Sage Ruru was about to get married, his wife was bitten by a snake, and henceforth Sage Ruru had this notion of seeking vengeance against all snakes in the world. As he was going on a rampage of killing each and every snake that was coming to his vicinity, one day he came across Snake Dunduba, alias, Sahasrapaada. On the advice given by Sahasrapaada, Sage Ruru was extremely eager to know about King Janame-Jaya and how he wanted to perform the “Sarpa-Yaaga” to bring all the snakes into the “Agni” (Fire). Hence, Sage Ruru rushed to his father, Sage Pramati to seek more details on this. As Sage Pramati begins his accord, he explains why Sage Aastika arrived at King Janame-Jaya’s palace and why did he stop the “Sarpa-Yaaga” from proceeding further. All this is covered in the next “Upa-Parva” called “Aastika Parva” and this is where we are currently. 

Moving on further, we shall move back to the scene at King Janame-Jaya’s palace. Readers should remember here – Sage Utthanga makes his way to King Janame-Jaya and motivated him to perform the “Sarpa-Yaaga”. It should be remembered that Sage Utthanga too had a bad experience with Snake Takshaka, wherein he tried to steal away the diamond rings that he had to give to Guru Veda’s wife as the Guru Dakshina. We’ve witnessed all this in our previous episodes. Subsequently we’ve also seen that Indra intervened in the middle and he made sure that Takshaka gave back the diamond rings to Sage Utthanga before he escaped away! Post this, Sage Utthanga was fuming with anger and he was seeking the right opportunity to avenge Takshaka for what he had done. In this way, Sage Utthanga came across King Janame-Jaya, whose father, King Parikshit was also killed by Snake Takshaka earlier. Thus, Sage Utthanga motivated King Janame-Jaya to seek revenge and perform a grand “Sarpa Yaaga” to bring all the snakes to justice. Now, as we move on, Sage Pramati is going to narrate the entire story of the “Sarpa-Yaaga” to Sage Ruru. All this is going to be covered under the “Aasthika Parva”. This “Upa-Parva” obtained its name after Sage Aasthika as he is going to be the central point in this entire stage. 

Before we move into what King Janame-Jaya did, we would first look into who is this Sage Aasthika. There was a person by name “Jarath-Kaaru”. This Jarath-Kaaru marries a “Naaga-Kaanika” (A woman from the Naaga Lokha). In fact, this Sage Jarath-Kaaru was in no mood to get married. He was in extreme levels of penance, and did not have any connection with what was happening in the world around him. He was steadfast in his “Brahmacharya-Vratha”. Thus, at one stage when Sage Jarath-Kaaru relents from his extreme “Tapas”, he comes across this “Naaga-Kannika” who is none other than the sister of Snake Vaasuki. Readers might be knowing by now, who is Snake Vaasuki. He was instrumental in drilling the “Ocean of Milk” where Bhagawan Vishnu resides, isn’t it? He was instrumental in helping the Devas obtain the divine “Amrita” from beneath the ocean floor. We’re going to witness this story again in this “Upa-Parva” as we move on. Here, readers might have a doubt – We’re currently talking about people in the “Dvaapara Yuga”, whereas, this story of Bhagawan’s Mohini Incarnation and the divine Amrita takes place during the “Krita Yuga”, which was thousands of years before. What is the connection between the two? 

This is where the Mahabharata has its own significance. If someone utters a single word from somewhere, the Sages who are listening to the story continuously, would intervene in the middle, and would ask the narrator to explain that one word in detail before continuing further. This is why we would have several hundreds of “sub-stories” inside the main story of the Mahabharata text. Just like how a huge banyan tree would have several hundreds of branches arising out of a single stem, the Mahabharata story too has several stories branching out of a single stem. Coming back to the context now, Sage Jarath-Kaaru cites this Naaga-Kannika, who is Snake Vaasuki’s sister and falls in love with her. Eventually, they marry each other and have a son by name Aasthika. This Aasthika is also a great sage by birth itself. As he grows up, Sage Aasthika immerses himself into extreme “Tapas” just in lines with his father. Upon seeing this, Bhagawan Brahma is impressed and he wants to give Sage Aasthika a boon. It is only with this boon given by Bhagawan Brahma, Sage Aasthika is able to protect all the snakes that were about to fall into the “Sarpa Yaaga” conducted by King Janame-Jaya. 

We can see the link here isn’t it? Again, another speciality of this Mahabharata text is that, although it might have thousands of sub-stories in it, each and every sub-story would have a definitive link with the main story. They are not stand-alone stories by themselves. So in this case, now we’ve witnessed how Sage Aasthika had a connection with snakes – It is because he was born to a “Naaga-Kannika” isn’t it? Now, we’re going to witness in the next episode, how Sage Aasthika made his way into King Janame-Jaya’s “Sarpa Yaaga” and how did he protect the snakes from it! Stay tuned! 🙂 

• 

We’re at an important juncture wherein we’re witnessing a meeting point of two separate events – One is King Janame-Jaya preparing himself to perform the “Sarpa-Yaaga” and the other one is the narration of the family lineage of Sage Bruhu. This Sage Bruhu’s story leads us to Sage Ruru, wherein his wife was allegedly bitten by a poisonous snake. Thanks to Indra’s and the Devas’ timely intervention, she was saved from the snake bite. Eventually, Ruru is avenging his anger by killing all snakes that came in his vicinity. As he was continuously doing thus, one day, there was a water snake by name “Dundubha”. As Sage Ruru was gearing up with his agenda of killing it, the snake changed its form into a human being by name Sahasrapaada, who gave him important advice. He highlights that killing living beings isn’t a practice of a Brahmana Rishi, whose agenda is something different. Killing and protecting living beings are the roles that a Kshatrya has to play, and with this, Sahasrapaada explains the entire story of King Janame-Jaya and how he too got entangled into doing something similar that Ruru was trying to do. 

As Sahasrapaada is narrating thus, Sage Ruru asks back, “Oh Sahasrapaada! Who is this King Janame-Jaya? Why did he perform the Sarpa-Yaga? Who is Sage Aasthika who came in the middle to stop the Sarpa-Yaaga? Did King Janame-Jaya stop it? What happened to Snake Takshaka? Did he escape the fire?” Even though Ruru asked these questions, Sahasrapaada did not give an answer, but left immediately from that place. Sage Ruru was getting eager to obtain answers for all his questions. He was puzzled as to what happened to King Janame-Jaya’s Sarpa-Yaaga and was extremely eager to know whether he was successful in killing all the snakes. He straightaway goes to his father, Sage Pramati. We’ve already witnessed this, isn’t it? Sage Ruru is the son of Sage Pramati and the son is now asking the father as to who was King Janame-Jaya and why did he perform the “Sarpa-Yaga”. However, as Sage Ruru became so excited, he starts to run all his way to reach his father’s place. On the way, Sage Ruru fell down on the road and injured himself! However, that did not perturb him from reaching his father’s place and asking his questions. He finally reaches and asks Sage Pramati about the entire story.

Upon hearing this from his son, Sage Pramati is extremely happy! He replies thus, “Oh Ruru! You’ve come all the way here to understand who Sage Asthika was? Let me tell you everything in detail!” As Sage Pramati starts explaining thus, we finish up with the “Puloma Parva”, and we move on to the next “Upa-Parva” called “Aasthika Parva”. This is quite simple here – Since this “Upa-Parva” talks at length about Sage Aasthika, it is named so. This is quite a big one, where we invoke the “Charitras” of Bhagawan Garuda, Bhagawan Aadisesha, the “Charitra” wherein the divine “Amrita” (Nectar) was born and how Bhagawan Vishnu incarnated as Bhagawan Mohini to distribute it amongst the Devas, etc. Subsequently, we would also be witnessing a short accord on Sage Jagadruga and how he married the sister of Snake Vaasuki. All of us know who Snake Vaasuki is, isn’t it? We’ve already witnessed about him in our previous projects of Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana and Shri Vishnu Puraana. Snake Vaasuki was used by the Devas and Raakshasas to explore the “Paar-Kadal” (Ocean of Milk) to extract the divine “Amrita”. Subsequently we would also continue with how King Janame-Jaya was stopped from proceeding with the “Sarpa-Yaaga” and how Sage Lomaharshana’s son, Sage Vaishampayana heard the entire Mahabharata story along with King Janame-Jaya, and with this, we would enter into the actual set of events. 

So for today, let us leave it at this, and in the next episode, we shall commence our detailed discussion on the “Aasthika Parva”, which is going to lay the foundation for the entire Mahabharata story to be launched! Stay tuned! 🙂 

• 

We’re in the midst of witnessing some key moments that took place in Sage Bruhu’s family lineage, wherein we’re currently witnessing Ruru and his “Charitra”. We’ve witnessed Ruru getting married to Pramaadvara and before the marriage, how Pramaadvara was bitten by an extremely poisonous snake. As she was at the verge of dying, the Devas chipped in to help her get a new lease of life by taking away half of her father’s lifespan. As she wakes up again unscathed, the marriage between herself and Ruru takes place with a grand celebration and according to all the principles of our Sanaatana Dharma. However, the story starts only after marriage. Ruru was extremely angry that his wife was bitten by a snake, and hence from that point onwards, he took up a savage resolution to seek vengeance over snakes in general! Thus, everytime when he comes across a snake, he would make sure that it would be beaten to death on the spot. Ruru made sure that none of the snakes that came into his vicinity returned back with life in them. He started to completely destroy the entire snake community as time progressed. 

Once upon a time, there was a water snake by name Dundubha, who was passing by the vicinity of Ruru. As usual, Dundubha was the target of Ruru that day and he aimed a blow with a heavy stick at Dundubha. However, Dundubha knew that he was the target of Ruru and hence started to talk and pacify him. Dundubha advised Ruru not to kill all snakes, just because his wife was bitten by one particular snake. Thus, instead of doing this with a knee-jerk reaction, Dundubha advised Ruru to look out for that particular snake which bit his wife. As Dundubha explains thus, he also recollects his past background here. He explains this to Ruru thus, “Oh Sage Ruru! I was once cursed by a sage for some wrongdoing in the past. It is because of this curse that I’m roaming around as a snake. As I begged pardon with that Rishi, he explained to me out of compassion that when I obtain Sage Ruru’s divine darshan, I shall be freed from this curse! Today I’ve obtained your divine darshan. With this, I should be free from this curse of roaming around as a snake. You might be wondering how come a snake is talking with you in human language, isn’t it? This is the background to the story! My name is “Sahasrapaada”!” 

As Ruru heard Sahasrapada thus, he asked back, “Oh Sahasrapaada! So tell me now what should I do!” Sahasrapada replied to Ruru thus, “Oh great Sage! I do not need to explain your significance to you! You know how great you are as a sage. For a sage of such a high calibre, it is not good to follow the “Himsa” method and harm fellow living beings, isn’t it? As a Brahmana Rishi, you should be following the “Ahimsa” pattern and show compassion towards all living beings, including the snakes! It is the duty of the Kshatryas to follow “Ahimsa” and kill those beings who create harm for the country, isn’t it? A Brahmana Rishi shouldn’t do what a Kshatrya should do. For a Brahmana Rishi, “Ahimsa” (Non-violence & compassion towards living beings), “Kshamaa” (Patience)  and “Satya-Vakya” (Telling the truth at all times) are the three important pillars. You’ve forgotten this!”

As Sahasrapada explains thus, he also adds an important point here – “Similar to what you’re trying to do today, King Janame-Jaya once performed the Sarpa Yaaga for killing all the snakes, including Takshaka, who was the orchestrator of King Parikshit’s death. However, as the snakes started falling to death one after the other, Takshaka should have also fallen to death. However, at that crucial point, Sage Aasthika entered inside and stopped King Janame-Jaya from proceeding with the Sarpa-Yaaga further. With this, Sage Aasthika ensured that he protected the snakes from falling to death as a result of the Sarpa Yaaga!” 

Readers would be surprised and taken aback by this! 🙂 From where did King Janame-Jaya suddenly appear? From where did this Sarpa-Yaaga discussion come all of a sudden? This is how the Mahabharata story would have twists and turns here and there! We had left at the point where King Janame-Jaya was preparing for the Sarpa-Yaaga and deviated into Sage Bruhu’s family lineage, and from nowhere, we’ve again landed at King Janame-Jaya’s “Sarpa-Yaaga” episode! Now, as Sahasrapada is explaining all this, Sage Ruru did not understand the head or tail of what he was telling! Who is King Janame-Jaya? Why did he perform the Sarpa-Yaaga? Who was Takshaka and what wrong did he do to King Janame-Jaya? These were the questions that were intriguing in Ruru’s mind. 

As Ruru asks thus, Sahasrapaada explains all what happened at King Janame-Jaya’s courtroom – How he got cursed by a “Deva-Lokha-dog” and henceforth all the events that led him perform the “Sarpa Yaaga”. I’m not narrating all this again as we’ve already witnessed it earlier. From now onwards, we’ve to witness what happened as part of the “Sarpa Yaaga” and how King Janame-Jaya was successful in bringing all the snakes to their knees! We shall continue from this point onwards and from now, Sahasrapaada is narrating this entire story to Sage Ruru! Again – Readers shouldn’t get confused as to who is narrating what! We shall continue this discussion further in the next episode! Stay tuned! 🙂 

• 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the family lineage of Sage Bruhu and how his wife, Puloma, was abducted by Raakshasa Puloma. Agni Bhagawan tried to come to the defence of Puloma, however, the Raakshasa was over-smart in claiming rights over Sage Bruhu’s wife. Finally, as Chavana Maharishi was taking birth from Puloma’s womb, he made sure that even while he was a newborn baby, he unleashed a plume of powerful fire that destroyed Raakshasa Puloma then and there! This saved his mother from a great disaster. Upon knowing all what had happened, Sage Bruhu was extremely happy with his son, and eventually he became a great sage like his father. Chavana Maharishi got married to Sukanya and gave birth to Pramati. Pramati got married later on and gave birth to Ruru. As Ruru grows up, he was about to get married to “Pramaadvara”. This Pramaadvara was the daughter of Sage Sthoolakesha.

As the marriage events were getting planned systematically as per the due procedure, Pramaadvara and Ruru were excited and were eagerly waiting for the big event. However, as the marriage date came closer, Pramaadvara was bit by a snake. The snake was so poisonous that she was about to die any moment. Upon seeing his daughter being bit by a snake, Sage Sthoolakesha cried helplessly. Her fiance, Ruru was also extremely sad that his would-be is going to die because of this unfortunate happening. As these people were crying helplessly, the Devas (Celestial Beings) came down to console them. As they were doing so, they gave a solution to this problem. The Devas explained to Sage Sthoolakesha thus, “Oh great Sage! It is very bitter to see such great sages crying in pain and sadness. There’s one way to save Pramaadvara’s life – You should give up half of your lifespan to her, and with this, she can survive this snake bite! If you’re ready to sacrifice your life for your daughter, she would again get up and shall be able to live a happy life with Ruru!” 

As the Devas explain thus, Sage Sthoolakesha was more than ready to do whatever is asked for! He immediately accepted the solution wholeheartedly and gave away half of his lifespan to his daughter. With this, Pramaadvara got up unscathed! Henceforth, subsequently all the marriage arrangements continued in full swing and Ruru was a happy man too! The marriage too takes place with lot of grandeur, blessed by Indra and all the Devas together. As the couple gets married thus, Ruru was simmering with anger within. He felt disgusted with snakes henceforth, since his wife had been a victim of one! Hence, whenever and wherever Ruru sees a snake crawling around, he would make sure that the snake is immediately killed without any question being asked. He wanted to take vengeance on the snake community for the gross injustice meted out to his dear wife. 

As days, months and years passed by, Ruru’s mindset never changed. In fact, the vengeance towards snakes only increased day after day. Many snakes had to die in the hands of Ruru over the years and this continued unabated. Now Ruru and Pramaadvara had a baby together and this baby is none other than Sage Sunaka. Sage Sunaka in turn had a son by name Shounaka. We’ve already witnessed some excerpts about Sage Sunaka and Sage Shounaka earlier, isn’t it? This is how the entire family lineage panned out to be! 

To summarize the lineage once again – Sage Bruhu and Puloma had a son, who was none other than “Chavana Maharishi”. Chavana Maharishi got married to Sukanya and gave birth to Pramati. This Pramati and Gritachi got married and gave birth to Ruru. Now Ruru and Pramaadvara got married and gave birth to Sage Sunaka. Sage Sunaka got married and gave birth to Sage Shounaka. It is this same Sage Shounaka who is sitting amidst the banks of Naimishaaranya and listening to the entire story of Mahabharata. Sage Pouranika was narrating the entire Mahabharata text to a group of great sages at Naimishaaranya, and again, we’ve witnessed all this earlier. One amongst the many great sages who is sitting and listening to the Mahabharata text was Sage Shounaka. 

As Sage Vyaasa explains all this as part of the “Puloma Parva”, he quickly goes back to Ruru again. We’ve already seen how Ruru was taking vengeance towards all the snakes and was trying to kill whichever snake came in his vicinity, isn’t it? One fine day, Ruru spots a water-snake crawling its way across. As usual, Ruru was spot on! He decided to take that snake down immediately. He thus took out a huge wooden stick and rushed towards the water-snake with great anger. At the time when Ruru was about to give a decisive blow to the snake, it interrupted him with a message thus, “Oh Ruru! I’m Dundubha and I’m not a poisonous snake like you think! Moreover, instead of killing that particular snake which harmed your wife, why are you killing each and every snake that you see here and there? Isn’t it wrong on your part to do it? Just because your wife was harmed by some snake, what fault did I do to be killed by you treacherously? Hence, instead of targeting other snakes, try to look for the one that bit your wife!” 

As Ruru listens to Dundubha, he was initially surprised! How can a snake talk like a human being? This itself was a shocker to Ruru. However, making up his mind, Ruru asked Dundubha back thus, “Oh Dundubha! Now where would I go searching for that one particular snake that harmed my wife? As I keep killing snake after snake, that particular snake would also come up one day and I shall kill him. This is how I believe I should go about it. Moreover, you are a snake with fangs. Why shouldn’t I kill you? Give me one valid reason for me not killing you!” As Dundubha listens to the threatening accord of Ruru, he starts giving his flashback story! Now what is that flashback story and how relevant is that to the present context(s) that we’re discussing here? Let’s wait for the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 🙂 

• 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the commencement of the “Upa Parva” called “Puloma Parva” under the main “Aadhi Parva”. In this, we’re witnessing the “Charitra” of Sage Bruhu and his wife Puloma. In this Charitra, there is another Raakshasa by name Puloma. Readers should be careful to differentiate between these two Pulomas. One was Sage Bruhu’s wife, and the other was a Raakshasa. This Raakshasa Puloma had an eye on Sage Bruhu’s Puloma for a long time. We had witnessed yesterday, how Raakshasa Puloma invaded Sage Bruhu’s house one day when the sage had gone out for something. At this time, Puloma was all alone at home and Raakshasa Puloma saw this as a chance to abduct and marry her. In this, Agni Bhagawan was made a “witness” by Raakshasa Puloma. He recollected an important set of words uttered by Puloma’s father before her marriage that if she doesn’t obey his words, he would get her married to a Raakshasa. Since he had given that word to her, Raakshasa Puloma claims now that the words of a Brahmana Rishi shouldn’t go down as a lie. It should come true. However, on the other hand, Sage Bruhu has followed all the due procedures of marriage and has officially married her. Now how does Agni Bhagawan answer Raakshasa Puloma here? He is clearly caught in a fix between the two cases, which sound to be completely true. Agni Bhagawan did not know to whom he would answer! If Sage Bruhu comes back and doesn’t find Puloma, what would Agni Bhagawan say to him? On the other hand, how does he give a verdict to Raakshasa Bruhu? 

Thinking twice or thrice thus, Agni Bhagawan comes up with his verdict to Raakshasa Puloma – “Oh Puloma! You’re saying that you’ve already married Puloma mentally, the moment her father gave that word. I agree to it completely. However, if we look at the spiritual angle of things, Sage Bruhu has followed all the due procedures of marriage physically and hence, Puloma officially belongs to him. You cannot claim rights to her now. You should have done that before Sage Bruhu would have married her. Now it seems to be too late. So, my verdict would be that, Puloma rightly belongs to Sage Bruhu and not to you, since he has officially married her in front of everyone!” 

As Agni Bhagawan comes up with such a verdict, Raakshasa Puloma gets extremely angry! It is to be remembered here that as this fiery conversation was going on between Raakshasa Puloma and Agni Bhagawan, Puloma was carrying. Notwithstanding Agni Bhagawan’s argument, Raakshasa Puloma saw this as a chance, abducted her and started running. As Puloma was being abducted by Raakshasa Puloma, her “Garbham” (Womb) fell on the ground with a fully-grown child, who was none other than “Chavana Maharishi”. This Chavana Maharishi was a great sage. He had so much of power within himself even as he took birth! Of course, he would have that because he is the son of a great sage, isn’t it? Hence, as Chavana Maharishi takes his incarnation, he comes with a plume of fire! This fire was extremely intense in such a way that it started chasing Raakshasa Puloma. Unable to withstand the fire’s intensity, Raakshasa Puloma died on the spot as the fire engulfed him. 

Upon seeing this, Sage Bruhu came running and he was utterly shocked! He enquired with his wife as to what had happened! Puloma thus narrates the entire set of events and explains to Sage Bruhu that it was their son who saved both of them from the Raakshasa’s wrath. Puloma explains to her husband that their son is not an ordinary boy, and that, he was extremely powerful even from the minute he took birth. Upon hearing all this from Puloma, Sage Bruhu was extremely happy and relieved. They went back to their hamlet and continued their lives further. As years passed by, Sage Chavana attained the age of marriage, and he was married to a girl by name Sukanya. This couple then had a baby boy by name “Pramati”. This Pramati got married to an “Apsaras” woman by name Gruthaachi. This couple in turn had a child by name “Ruru”. This Ruru was about to get married to a girl by name “Pramaadvara”. This Pramaadvara was the daughter of a great sage. Sage Vyaasa is going to explain this in the next “Adhyaaya” in detail. We shall also wait till Sage Vyaasa gives a detailed explanation on the same, which we would witness in the next episode! Stay tuned! 🙂 

• 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the commencement of the next “Upa-Parva” called “Pouloma Parva” under the main “Aadhi Parva”. As King Janame-Jaya was preparing himself for the Sarpa Yaaga, we had come to the end of the “Poushya Parva”. Now at this stage, we put a break on King Janame-Jaya’s Sarpa Yaaga, and we would come to this again a bit later. Now as we commence with the “Pouloma Parva”, we digress a bit from this and we go into an important discussion of the “Bruhu Vamsa”. We are going to witness an accord on Sage Bruhu and his wife Pouloma. As we had witnessed yesterday itself, Sage Bruhu was Bhagawan Brahma’s “Maanasa Putra” and he took birth in the world to serve a definite purpose. We shall witness the story of Pouloma and then come back into King Janame-Jaya’s Sarpa Yaaga in a bit. 

As we’re witnessing the “Charitra” of Sage Bruhu, he gets married to Puloma. They later had a child by name “Chavana”. This might be a bit confusing here, but I shall try and explain in a lucid way. As Puloma attains pregnancy (“Garbha”) with “Chavana” in her womb, one fine day, the “Garbha” falls down on the ground accidentally. Since the baby was born out of the womb that accidentally fell on the ground, he was named as “Chavana”. This baby was also a great sage by birth itself. As the baby was born, a “Raakshasa” came to Puloma. This “Raakshasa” was also having the name “Puloma”. This “Raakshasa” started having an interest on Puloma after seeing her for the first time. He decided to abduct her and claim that she is his wife! As this was happening, Sage Bruhu had gone out for some work. However, there was a fire (“Agni”) that was constantly burning at their house. As Raakshasa Puloma approaches Puloma, he asked “Agni Bhagawan” thus, “Oh Agni Bhagawan! Tell me the truth here – I’m the actual husband of Puloma, isn’t it? How come she is married to someone else?” 

Upon hearing this from Raakshasa Puloma, Agni Bhagawan got confused for a moment! After a while, he realizes an important event – When Puloma was a little girl before marriage, her father used to threaten her thus, “Oh Puloma! If you’re not leading a life with responsibility, you’ll be harmed and attacked by a Raakshasa!” Upon recollecting this, somehow, Raakshasa Puloma came with this claim – He had been listening to these words of Puloma’s father. Since these words came out of a “Brahmana Rishi”, they should be made true. Hence, Raakshasa Puloma saw this as a chance to come and claim Puloma. Agni Bhagawan was pulled into this as a “witness” for the whole thing, and hence, now, Agni Bhagawan becomes speechless! 

On the other hand, after Puloma attains the marriage age, she marries Sage Bruhu as per the traditional method of marriage. All “Mantras” are chanted as per the protocol and with that, she had married Sage Bruhu. Now this is also legal in terms of our “Sanaatana Dharma”. What does Agni Bhagwan do now? He’s clearly caught in between two hurdles. Both seem to be valid, isn’t it? On one hand, a Brahmana Rishi’s words should always come true. On the other hand, Sage Bruhu has “legally” married Puloma. This Raakshasa Puloma is now claiming that Puloma (Sage Bruhu’s wife) is his! Whose side is Agni Bhagawan going to take? Let us wait till the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 🙂