Mahabharata - 3. Bhishma (ಭೀಷ್ಮ / भीष्म) - the one who took a fierce vow

“O gorgeous lady on the banks of river Ganga, whoever you may be, you must certainly become my wife”, said king Shantanu (ಶಂತನು / शांतनु ). He was a great king of Hastinapur. The lady replied “O great king, I agree to be your wife. However, I do have a constraint. Under any circumstances, my actions shall not be questioned by you. The moment you break this, I shall leave you”. The king readily agreed to the condition and married her. They led a perfectly happy life, oblivious of the passage of time, until the birth of the first child. The lady carried the child to the Ganges river, drowned it and returned with a smiling face! King Shantanu was struck with horror and anguish by the act, but couldn’t do anything as he was bound by the constraint. This continued until the seventh child, and when the eighth child was born, Shantanu could no longer resist.

(From left : Shantanu and Ganga, Shantanu preventing Ganga from drowning the last baby)

“Will you please stop this horrendous act and handover the child to me” said king Shantanu in an outburst. The lady replied “O king, the love for your child has made you break the promise. As I had stated earlier, I shall no longer stay here”. She then revealed that she was none other than goddess Ganga, and the eight babies were the Ashta-Vasus (ಅಷ್ಟವಸು / अष्टवसु ) (Ashta  - Eight, Vasus - a class of Vedic deities) who were cursed to take birth as humans by sage Vasishta (ವಸಿಷ್ಠ / वसिष्ट). She was forced to play this hateful role of their mother. Before leaving, she added “I would take this child with me and bring him up for sometime, before I return him to you”. The boy was named Devavrata (ದೇವವ್ರತ / देवव्रत ) and he was taught Vedas by one of the greatest sages Vasishta himself. He learnt archery, sword fighting and the art of war by Parashurama (ಪರಶುರಾಮ / परशुराम ) (an incarnation of Lord Vishnu himself) and grew to be an incredible - a perfect blend of immense intellect and invincible war skills that one could only dream of.

Things don’t happen without a reason. The Ashtavasus had came across the hermitage of sage Vasishta and saw the sacred cow of his, ‘Nandini’ (ನಂದಿನಿ / नंदिनी), grazing there. They had heard of its divine powers and filled with greed and lust, they escaped with the cow. They were aided by the absence of the sage. The sage, on returning, came to know of this reprehensible act very soon through his yogic instincts. Their heinous deed, combined with the wrath of sage Vasishta proved too costly for them as they were cursed to be born on earth and face all the sufferings of the human life. Soon, they approached the sage, returning the cow and apologizing for their deed. Vasishta couldn’t reprieve the curse he had let out, however he decided to reduce the degree of the impact. The Vasus requested goddess Ganga to be their mother and relive them from the curse. Thus the seven Vasus were quickly deprived of their curse, barring the chief sinner who was born as the eigth child.

During a hunting affair, king Shantanu was taken aback when he saw an eight year old kid controlling the flow of river Ganga using a special formation of arrows. His joy knew no bounds when he came to know that he was none other than his own son, Devavrata. The entire kingdom rejoiced on the arrival of the prince, overwhelmed when they saw his skills. There was not a sign of doubt that he would become one of the greatest kings, but destiny had its own plot!

Several years after Ganga had left, king Shantanu was wandering along the banks of Yamuna. The air was filled with a divine frangrance, tracing which, led to a beautiful fisher-woman named ‘Satyavati’ (ಸತ್ಯವತಿ / सत्यवती), who was blessed by a boon to emanate such fragrance. King Shantanu was filled with desire and asked her if she could marry him. She directed him to her father to seek permission. The father couldn’t be more happier to marry his daughter to a renowned king, but, he had his own concerns. He said to the king that he could marry Satyavati on one condition. Satyavati’s child must become the successor of the king. The first thing that passed in the king’s mind was his son Devavrata, who was indeed the worthy successor of his. The king disagreed to the proposal and went back. However he was constantly haunted by the memory of the fisher-woman and gradually acquired a deep mental illness.

Devavrata, investigating on the cause of his father’s mental suffering, approached the fisherman quickly and sought the hand of his daughter for his father. The fisherman said “O great prince, apparently you have been deemed as the rightful heir to the king. It is this aspect which makes me reluctant to give my daughter. I want her son to be the heir”. On hearing this, without a second thought Devavrata promised that he would not succeed his father as the king and allow the fisher-woman’s son. The fisherman wasn’t completely convinced and questioned further - “O prince, you have done something which no one else from a royal blood have. However still, a doubt torments me. What if your children claim the right to the throne later? I am sure, naturally they would be as gifted as you and would have all the right to claim”. To this Devavrata took a vow announcing “I shall never marry and dedicate myself to the protection of the future kings and the welfare of this kingdom”.

(Bhishma’s vow)

On hearing this mighty vow, the Gods showered flowers on his head and the air was resounded with the cries “Bhishma, Bhishma” (Bhisma means one who has taken a fierce vow). Thus Devavrata came to be known as ‘Bhishma’ and continued to remain one of the most powerful characters of Mahabharata. King Shantanu was filled with pride by the sacrifice that his son had done. He granted Bhishma a boon that he could be ‘iccha marani’ (ಇಚ್ಛಾಮರಣಿ / इच्छामरणी , iccha - will , marana - death, meaning having death at one’s own will). This unthinkable vow by Bhishma portrays an epitome of selflessness and the love and respect he had for his father.

Mahabharata - 2. Sarpayaga (ಸರ್ಪಯಾಗ / सर्पयाग) - the great snake sacrifice

According to Hindu Mythology there are four ‘Yugas’ (ಯುಗ / युग , an era) :

Satya-yuga (ಸತ್ಯಯುಗ / सत्ययुग , also known as Krita-yuga (ಕೃತಯುಗ / कृतयुग)) , Treta-yuga (ತ್ರೇತಾಯುಗ / त्रेतायुग) , Dwapara-yuga (ದ್ವಾಪರಯುಗ / द्वापरयुग)  and Kali-yuga (ಕಲಿಯುಗ / कलियुग).

We are believed to be in the Kali-yuga(some sources say that it started after Krishna’s death and some others after the great Mahabharata war). According to the puranas, Lord Vishnu manifested himself on this earth as Lord Rama, who lived in Treta-yuga and Lord Krishna during the Dwapara-yuga. As per Aryabhata’s calculations, Kali-yuga started in 3102 BCE. We are in the 5119th year of Kali-yuga (still lakhs of years to go!). These yugas repeat cyclically.

From Satya-yuga (golden-age or a time of sheer truth and righteousness) to the present Kali-yuga (iron-age or an age of darkness), we see a gradual decilne of dharma(righteousness), wisdom, knowledge, intellectual capability, life span and emotional and physical strength.

(Source : http://veda.wikidot.com/vedic-time-system )

A nice and thought provoking video about the beginning of Kali-yuga is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSPUy9wzXkM

Fast Forward, Parikshit (ಪರೀಕ್ಷಿತ / परीक्षित) is ruling the inherited kingdom. (Parikshit is the son of Abhimanyu (ಅಭಿಮನ್ಯು / अभिमन्यु)  and the grandson of Arjuna (ಅರ್ಜುನ /अर्जुन)). True to his lineage, he was a brave, just and wise king who was loved by his subjects. One day, during an hunting affair, separated from his companions and exhausted, he came across a humble hermitage. It belonged to sage Shamika (ಶಮಿಕ / शमिक), who was in a deep meditation. The king humbly requested the sage for food and water multiple times. The sage had taken an oath of silence too and hence couldn’t respond. Anger had conquered the king by then, and he picked up a dead snake lying nearby and garlanded the sage.

The sage’s son, after hearing the incident through a friend could not take the insult to his father, and hence cursed the king : "Since out of the arrogance of his power Parikshit has garlanded my father with a dead snake, may he die on the seventh day from today, bitten by a snake. The impious king shall be sent to the abode of Yama (ಯಮ / यम, the God of death) by Takshaka (ತಕ್ಷಕ / तक्षक) , the king of the serpents. Thus shall the king whose very existence is an offense to the high-souled people, meet with an untimely death!". Sage Shamika, after learning about the curse, called his son and told him: ‘O son, what have you done! I had forgiven the king for the insult he did to me, as it was an act fueled by tiredness and hunger. Moreover he is a wise and just king, because of whom the sages are able to leave peacefully without any fear of interruption from the evil forces.’ Sage Shamika sent a message to the king apologizing for his son’s act of anger and asked him to take precautionary measures to counter the mishap.

The king grieved more for the insult he had committed, than for his own imminent death. He thanked the sage’s messenger and after a discussion with his courtiers, a magnificent new palace was constructed overnight!  It was raised on a single tall pillar, and the base of the pillar was inside a moat. Several people, skilled in the art of repelling snakes were placed around the palace to protect the King. An announcement was made, that anyone who had skill in the art of counteracting snake-venom should report to the king. They would be recompensed handsomely for the trouble. The king spent six days in the palace listening to sacred literature recited by the scholars. The D-Day arrived, by which, Takshaka, entrusted with a task had arrived at Parikshit’s place too.

The defense at the palace was almost impeccable. Takshaka was manipulating on entering the palace as the evening of the seventh day arrived, while the king having a sense of great escape. A regular fruit vendor carrying apples was about to enter the palace, and Takshaka, using his abilities, transformed himself into a small worm and entered one of those apples. (An apple a day keeps the doctor away? Alas, not for the king). As fate would have had it, Parikshit chose the apple in which Takshaka had entered and soon the worm came out and the serpent king  magnified and presented himself in his original form. Before anything could happen, he bit the king with his ferocious fangs. Such was the power of his venom, that the king was devoid of his life in no time!

(A bit of geeky stuff : What was the technique used by Takshaka here?

- ‘Transform and Conquer’).

Parikshit’s son, Janamejaya (ಜನಮೇಜಯ / जनमेजय) inherited the kingdom. One day a Brahmin named Uttanka (ಉತ್ತಂಕ / उत्तंक)  came to his court and said ‘You amaze me King Janamejaya. When the murderer of your father is roaming around free, you sit at ease in your court and enjoy the the comforts of a King. You have not even addressed this great injustice to your father!.’ Surprised by his words, Janamejaya turned to his counselors and learnt about the death of his father. (Janamejaya was a small child when his father had died and hence wasn’t very aware of the circumstances then). Angered by the cause of his father’s death, Janamejaya asked the Uttanka ‘O Brahmin, thank you for bringing this injustice to my attention. Kindly tell me by what means, could I accomplish this task of revenge.’  To which, Uttanka suggested ‘O King, there is a mention of a great sacrifice called snake-sacrifice in the puranas (ಪುರಾಣ / पुराण). On performing it, all the snakes, including Takshaka, will turn powerless by the recitation of mantras (verses that are recited during rituals) and fall into the great fire. The king readily agreed to it and ordered for the preparations to be made for it.

Now, why did Uttanka prompt king Janamejaya to perform this sacrifice? Because he had been troubled by Takshaka long back and was awaiting a revenge. A shortened version of this story goes like this:

Uttanka, after completing his education at the Gurukul (ಗುರುಕುಲ / गुरुकुल , the ancient school) asked his guru as to what he wanted from him as gurudakshina (ಗುರುದಕ್ಷಿಣ / गुरुदक्षिण , a form of fee, in return for the education). The guru’s wife needed a pair of ear-rings that belonged to the queen for a festival that was due in four days, and Uttanka was assigned this task of bringing it. Uttanka went to the capital and the queen readily agreed to give away the ear-rings, not before warning him about Takshaka, who was also in pursuit of the same. During his return to the Gurukul, Takshaka came in the form of a beggar and stole away the ear-rings. Uttanka chased him until he reached Sarpaloka (ಸರ್ಪಲೋಕ / सर्पलोक ,the abode of snakes). With the power of his learnings, Uttanka took the help of Gods and successfully brought the ear-rings just in time for the festival.

So, the sacrifice, directed towards a huge destruction, began. As the sages called each snake by its name, and uttered the fatal verse, they started falling into the sacrificial fire. The sacrifice continued for days. Snakes of all kinds and sizes were perishing in the flame in thousands. At this point a Brahmin named Astika (ಆಸ್ತಿಕ / आस्तिक) entered the sacrifice hall. The king greeted him with all due respects and asked him what he wanted. Meanwhile, Takshaka had sought asylum from his friend, Lord Indra. The sages uttered the name of Takshaka stating that whoever protected him may fall into the fire too. Both Indra and Takshaka started falling towards the fire and Indra let the serpent king go. Takshaka was moments away from falling into the great fire, when the sage ‘Astika’ requested the king to stop the sacrifice immediately. It was customary to grant a Brahmin’s request and thus Takshaka, escaped death by a whisker. The remaining snakes were saved and the king’s revenge remained incomplete.

         

(Left : The snake sacrifice, Right : Astika stopping the yaga and saving Takshaka)

Astika was created by the snakes to protect their clan. A question comes to our mind - why didn’t the sages sacrifice Takshaka first? (He was under the divine protection of Indra and it was not easy to get him initially. On a lighter note, probably they had saved the best for the last). However, this act of revenge looks outrageous! Of course, it was Kaliyug then - the dark time, and the evil continues to manifest even now! Also, there is another story that tells why king Janamejaya could not complete his task. But let us not make things too complex right now. We had read in the previous story that it was at this sacrifice, the Mahabharata story was narrated to a group of sages and later passed on. 

The next post, shall have Mahabharata stories, beginning with the story of king Shantanu (ಶಂತನು / शांतनु) and Bheeshma (ಭೀಷ್ಮ / भीष्म , one of legendary characters).

Mahabharata - 1. Veda Vyasa and Lord Ganesha

Shuklambaradharam Vishnum

Shashi Varnam Chaturbhujam |

Prasanna Vadanam Dhyayet

Sarva Vighnopashantaye ||

- I meditate upon the Lord Ganesha who is clad in white garment (dhoti), who is pervading, who is as bright colored as Moon, who has a smiling face, having four shoulders (or hands), and who is the remover of obstacles.

Mahabharata (ಮಹಾಭಾರತ / महाभारत) also referred to as ‘Jaya’(victory) contains the story of a race descended from King Bharata (ಭರತ / भरत) , who was the son of Dushyanta (ದುಷ್ಯಂತ / दुष्यंत) and Shakuntala (ಶಕುಂತಲ / शकुंतला). ‘Maha’ means great, and ‘Bharata’ means the descendants of King Bharata, from whom India has derived its name, ‘Bharata’. Mahabharata means Great India, or the story of the great descendants of Bharata.

Bhagavan Veda Vyasa, a great sage, considered as the compiler of Vedas, was the son of sage Parashara (ಪರಾಶರ / पराशर). At this point, it is interesting just to note that Veda Vyasa was the grandfather of Pandavas and Kauravas (the central characters in Mahabharata). He was a very powerful sage who knew all the characters of  Mahabharata closely, and had conceived a story of Mahabharata. He meditated on Brahma and the Lord appeared. Vyasa reverently bowed to the creator and said ‘Dear Lord, I have an epic story in my mind. I wonder who is capable of penning down the same.’ Lord Brahma replied ‘O sage, pray Lord Ganapathi and he shall agree to be the scribe’.

In this technological era, a child holds a mouse before holding a pen!

Lord Ganesha too possessed a mouse and a pen, distinct and brilliantly used (mouse is the vehicle of Lord Ganesha).

Vyasa invoked Ganapathi and with all humbleness requested him: ‘Lord Ganesha, I shall dictate the story of Mahabharatha and request you to pen it down’. Lord Ganapathi readily agreed, not before posing a condition, ‘O sage, I accept to write it down, however, at any point of time, you should never pause or hesitate during your recitation. My pen should not stop writing.’ The wise sage thought about it and came with a counter constraint, ‘Fine, I agree to your condition. However, you should first grasp the meaning of my composition before penning it down.’

Ganapathi smiled and agreed to the condition. Whenever Vyasa needed some rest, he threw semantically and grammatically complex compositions, enabling him to buy some time to catch up with the speed of Lord Ganesha’s writing. Lord Ganapathi is also referred to as ‘Ekadanta’ (Sanskrit words Eka - one, Danta - teeth), meaning ‘the one with a single tooth(tusk)’. There are several versions of the story as to how Lord Ganesha lost one of his tusks. One of the versions (probably the least likely version) goes like this:

While writing the Epic Mahabharata, Lord Ganesha noticed that his pen was unable to keep up with the pace and at a point of time it broke. Hence, he cut one of his tusks out and used it as a pen!

Thus the epic, Mahabharata came into writing by Lord Ganapathi under the dictation of sage Vyasa. The original version is said to have comprised of about a hundred thousand verses and 2 million words in all. Comprising of a great number of stories, a lot of characters, Mahabharata has more to offer in terms of complexity, plot, logic, thrill and excitement, understanding life, than any of the modern day works (be it Inception or the Game of Thrones). No wonder it is called an Epic!  

The memory of the learned was the only way of passing knowledge in that era with no printing! Vyasa first taught the great epic to his son, sage Suka (ಶುಕ / शुक). He also taught this epic story to his disciples too. Vaishampayana (ವೈಶಂಪಾಯನ / वैशंपायन), one of the chief disciples of Sage Vyasa narrated this epic at ‘Sarpayaaga’(ಸರ್ಪಯಾಗ / सर्पयाग) (a great snake sacrifice) conducted by king Janamejaya (ಜನಮೇಜಯ / जनमेजय) (I’ll post this interesting story next). Later on, sage Suta (ಸೂತ / सूत) narrated this to a group of sages under the leadership of sage Shaunaka (ಶೌನಕ / शौनक) in a forest called ‘Naimisha’(ನೈಮಿಷ / नैमिष). This is the version that is believed to be known to us.