Yoga Continued
“Why are you so despondent?” asked Brahma. “A terrible poison named kalakuta has emerged as a result of the churning of the ocean; replied the gods and the demons. “It is threatening to destroy the entire universe. It has even turned the great Vishnu’s complexion black.” “The only solution is to pray to Shiva,” said Brahma. “He alone can deliver us from the effects of this terrible poison.” Brahma and the other gods started to pray to Shiva.
Shiva was pleased at these prayers and appeared. He swallowed up the poison. But such was the strength of the poison that it made Shiva’s throat blue. The word nila means blue and kantha means throat. Since Shiva became blue of throat, ever since that day, he has been known as Nilakantha.Vedavyasa The sages requested Lomaharshana, “Please tell us how the sacred Vedas came to be divided.” Lomaharshana recounted the following story. When dvapara yuga arrived, Brahma noticed that people were becoming evil and were no longer paying sufficient attention to the Vedas. They were gradually deviating from the righteous path. Brahama decided that the Vedas needed to be divided so that their wisdom might be disseminated amongst people. Brahma accordingly instructed Krishna Dvaipayana Vedavyasa to divide the Vedas into four parts. Vedavyasa had five disciples. These were Jaimini, Sumantu, Vasihampayana, Paila and Lomaharshana. The four parts into which the Vedas were divided were known as the Rig Veda, the Sama Veda, the Yajur Veda and the Atharva Veda. Paila was taught the Rig Veda, Jaimini the Sama Veda, the Yajur Veda and Sumantu the Atharva Veda. “As for me.” continued Lomaharshana, “the great Vedavyasa taught me the Puranas.” Paila passed on what he had learnt to the sages Indrapramti and Vashkali. They were Paila’s disciples. Indrapramati’s disciple was Markandeya. From Markandeya the knowledge passed successively to Satyashrava, Satyashita, Satyarata and Satyashri. Satyashri had three disciples named Shakalya, Rathitara and Bharadvaja. “Shakalya was so proud that his vanity led to his destruction at the time of King Janaka’s horse sacrifice,” said Lomaharshana. “We don’t know the story,” responded the sages. “What is this horse sacrifice that you are talking about? Please tell us the story.” This is the story that Lomaharshana told. King Janaka organized an ashvamedha yajna (horse sacrifice). People came from far and near to attend the ceremony and numerous were the sages who graced the occasion with their presences. King Janaka began to wonder if there was any way of finding out who was the best among all the assembled sages. He devised a plan. Janaka decided to donate a thousand head of cattle, a thousand gold pieces, many villages and several servants. He then told the sages, “I have gathered all these rices as a tribute to knowledge. But I am unable to decide who amongst you is the most learned. Why don’t decide for yourselves? Let the person who is the most superior among you claim all this wealth for himself.” Hearing this, the sages started to fight and argue. Each wanted the wealth for himself. Therefore, each sage maintained that he was superior to all the others. Amongst the sages was the great sage Yajnavalkya and Yajnavalkya told his disciple, “Take all this wealth to my home. I am the most learned amongst the sages. I have studied the Vedas really well. I will debate with anyone who dares to challenge me and establish my supremacy. The other sages were naturally not at all pleased to hear these words and they began to debate with Yajnavalkya. Even though all the sages combined against Yajnavalkya, they were no match for him and Yajnavalkya easily defeated them. Yajnavalkya then addressed the sage Shakalya. “What about you, Shakalya?” he asked. “Why have you kept quiet? I know that you are full of vanity about your learning. What about debating with me?” “It is you who are proud and vain,” retorted Shakalya. “I will bring you down a peg or two . I am certainly going to debate with you.” The debate started. Shakalya asked Yanavalkya more than a thousand questions, but Yajnavalkya provided the right answers to all of these questions. He then told Shakalya, “I will ask you a single question. If you cannot give me the right answer. I curse you that you will die. Shakalya did not know the answer to the question that Yajnavalkya asked. He therefore died. But prior to these events having taken place , Shakalya had composed five sacred texts known as Samhitas. And he had taught these to his disciples Mudgala, Goloka, Khaliya, Matsya and Shaishireya.
Lomaharshana coninued with Yajnavalkya’s story. You will remember that Vedavyasa taught the Yajnavalkya’s story. You will remember that Vedavyasa taught the Yajur Veda to Vaishampayana. Vaishampayana composed sixty-six samhitas and taught them to his disciples. These disciples came to be known as the charakas. (These are not to be confused with the sage Charaka who is credited with having composed the charaka samhita, the primary source of all knowledge of ayurveda (medicine).) “Why did these disciples come to be known as the charakas?” the sages asked Lomaharshana. Lomaharshana recited the following story. There was an occasion when an important religious rite had to be performed. All the sages agreed to meet on Mount Sumeru so that they might decide on the modus operandi for observing this religious rite. It was also agreed that any sage who failed to attend the assembly on Mount Sumeru would be regarded as guilty of having committed a sin. And the sin would be equivalent in severity to the sin committed from killing a brahmana. For various reasons, Vaishampyana could not attend the assembly. For a sin that was equivalent to the sin committed in killing a brahmana. Vaishampayana had to perform severe penance. This involved the observance of a difficult religious rite (vrate). Vaishampayana told all his disciples, “Please help me in the observance of this difficult vrata.” Amongst Vaishampayana’s disciples was Yajnavalkya. Yajnavalkya said, “Why are you bothering all these disciples? My powers of tapasya are such that I alone can perform what is required. Vaishampayana regarded this as unwarranted vanity on his disciple’s part. He therefore told Yajnavalkya that he no longer wished to have Yajnavalkya as a disciple. Yajnavalkya should also return whatever it was that he had learnt from Vaishampayana. Yajnavalkya therefore vomited out his knowledge of the Yajur Veda. (The Vayu Purana does not tell us what happened to this knowledge that was vomited out. According to the Shatapatha Brahmana, the other sages adopted the forms of birds and swallowed up this knowledge. Since these birds were tittiras, this branch of knowledge came to be known as the taittiriya Samhita.) To re-acquire the knowledge of the Vedas, Yajnavalkya started to meditate. He prayed to the sun-god, Surya. From Surya, Yajnavalkya came to acquried knowledge of the Yajur Veda.) Yajnavalkya taught this knowledge of the Yajur Veda. (This is known as the Shuka Yajur Veda.) Yajnavalkya taught this knowledge to fifteen of his disciples. These disciples were named Kanva, Vaidheyashali, Madhyandina, Shapeyi, Vidigdha, Apya, Uddala, Tamrayana, Vatsya, Galava, Shaishiri, Atavi, Eni, Virani and Saparayana. Why were Vaishampana’s disciples known as the charakas? The word acharana means act. Since Vaishampayana had committed an act that was the equivalent of killing a brahmana, his disciples came to be named Charakas, Lomaharashana also told the sages that he himself had taught the Puranas to six of his disciple. These disciples were Sumati, Akritavrana, Bharadvaja, Mitrayu,Savarni amd Susharma.Manvantaras Lomaharshana next told the sages about the various manvantara (eras). You will remember that each of Brahma’s days is referred to as a kalpa (cycle) and that there are fourteen manvantaras in each kalp. Each manvantara is ruled over by a Manu and lasts for a duration of 30,67,20,000 years. The gods, the seven great sages and the individual who holds the title of Indra change from one manvantara to another. In the present kalpa, six manvantaras have already passed. The first Manu was Svayambhuva. The second Manu was Svarochisha. The gods then were the tushitas and the paravatas, and there were twenty-four such gods. Vaidha ruled as Indra then and the seven great sages were Urjja, Stambha, Kashyapa, Bhargava, Drona, Rishabha and Angira. The third Manu was Outtama. The gods then were the sudhamanas, the devas, the pratardanas, the satyas and the shivas. The fourth Manu wa Tamasa. The gods of this manvantara were the satyas, the svarupas, the sudhis and the haris. Shibi held the title of Indra then, and the names of the seven great sages were Kavya, Harsha, Kashyapa, Prithu, Atreya, Agni and Jyotirdhama. The fifth Manu was Raivata. The names of gods of this era were the vipras, the amritias, the supatis and various others. The Indra of this period was Vibhu and the seven great sages were Poulastya, Vedavahu, Yajuh, Hiranyaroma, Vedashri, Bhargava and Urddhavahu. The sixth Manu was Chakshusha. The gods then was the adyas, prasutas, the bhavyas, the prithukas and the lekhas. Manojava held the title of Indra and the seven great sages were Havirdhana, Sudhama, Vashishtha,Viraja, Poulastya, Poulaha and Madhuratreya. The present Manu is known as Vaivasvata and this is the seventh manvantara of the present kalpa. The gods of this era are the adityas, the vasus, the rudras, the sadhyas and the vishvadevas. The title of Indra is held by Purandara and the seven great sages are Vishvamitra, Jamadagni, Bharadvaja, Sharadvata, Goutama, Atri, Vasumana and Vatsari. There will be seven more manvantaras in the future before the universe is destroyed. The eighth Manu will be Savarni. The seven great sages then will be Galava, Bhargava, Dvaipayna, Kripa, Diptimana, Rishyashringa and Ashvatthama. The gods will be the amitabhas, the sutapas and the sukhas, and the title of Indra will be bestowed on Vali, the son of Virochana. The ninth Manu will be Merusavarani or Dakshasavarni. Adbhuta will hold the title of Indra then. The seven great sages will be Skanda, Medhatithi, Vasu, Jyotishmana, Dyutimana, Havyavahana, Sutapa and Vasita. The tenth Manu will be Dharmasavarni. The gods then will be the sukhamanas and the viruddhas. The title of Indra will be held by Shanti and the seven great sages will be Havishmana, Sukirti. Atri, Apamurti, Pratipa, Nabhaga and Abhimanyu. The eleventh Manu will be Bhavasavarni (alternatively known as Rudrasavarnii). The gods then will be the nirmanaratis, the kamajas and the manojavas. The seven great sages will be Havishmana. Vapushamana, Varnui, Bhaga, Pushti, Nishchara and Agniteja and Vrisha will hold the title of Indra. The twelfth Manu will be Ritasavarni. The gods then will be the haritas, the rohitas, the sumanas, the sukarmas and the suparas. The title of Indra will vest with Ritadhama and the seven great sages will be Kriti , Sutapa, Tapomurti, Tapasvi, Taposhayana, Taporati, and Tapomati. The thirteenth Manu will be Rouchya. The sutramas, the sudharmas and the sukarmas will be the gods then. Divaspati will be the ?idra and the seven great sages will be Dhritimana, Pathyavana, Tattvadarshi, Nirutsaka, Nishprakampa, Nirmoha and Svarupa. The fourteenth and final Manu will be Bhoutya. (The names of the fourteen manvantaras are given in other Purana as well. But the names tend of differ, particularly for the future manvantaras. The names of the gods, the names of the seven great sages and the individual who holds the title of Indra, also tend to differ.)Vena and Prithu You will remember that the sixth Manu was Chakshusha. One of Chakshusha’s descendants was the great king Pirthu, the son of Vena. Chakshusha had a son named Uru and Uru had a son named Anga. Agna maried Sunitha, and they had a son named Vena. Vena was evil and when he became the king, he started to oppress the world and his subjects. The sages had no option but to kill Vena. (The other Puranas state that they did this with some sanctified grass.) The sages then began to knead Vena’s dead body. When the right arm of the dead body was kneaded, Prithu was born. He emerged fully grown and with a bow and several arrows held in this hand. He as also dressed in invincible armour. Such was Prithu’s radiance that he blazed like the flaming sun. The sages interrupted Lomaharshana. “How came Vena to be evil?” they asked. “And if Vena was evil, why wasn’t Prithu evil as well?” they asked. Vena’s mother was Sunitha and Sunitha was the daughter of Mrityu was really evil. Right from his birth, Vena tended to associate with this maternal grandfather and thus picked up evil ways. He stopped believing in the Vedas . In fact, when he become king, Vena instructed that all yajnas should cease in his kingdom. There was no need to pray to the gods. The only person who was deserving of worship was Vena himself. The sages tried to persuade Vena to give up his evil ways and bring him back to the righteous path, but Vena refused to listen. It was then that the sages slew Vena. But Vena had no son. Who would be king in his place? There had to be a king, otherwise the kingdom would degenerate into anarchy. To obtain a son, the sages started to knead the dead body. When the left arm was kneaded, a dwarf was born as a result of the kneading. The dwarf was dark in complexion and exceedingly ugly. “Sit,” the sages told the dwarf,”nishida.” (The word nishida means ‘to sit’). All the evil that was in Vena’s body went into the body of the dwarf and the dead body was cleansed of all evil. The dwarf came to acquire the name of nishada from the word nishida. His descendants were also known by the same name and became a race of hunters and fishermen. They lived in the Vindhya mountains. Thus, when the dead body was kneaded again, there was no more evil left and Prithu came to be righteous. The word prithu means plump. Since Vena’s right palm was fairly plump and since Vena’s son was born when the right palm was kneaded, the son acquired the name of Prithu. The sages arranged for Prithu’s coronation. The waters of all the rivers and all the oceans were brought for this ceremony. All the gods graced the occasion by their presence. Thus it was that Prithu came to rule over the entire earth. He ruled well and his subjects prospered. The earth yielded an abundant supply or foodgrains. The cows were full of milk.
It was at the time that Brahma organised a yajna. Two classes of people known as the sutas and the magadhas were born from this yajna. They were actually cross-breeds. The sutas were, for example, the offspring of kshatriya fathers and brahmana mothers. The sages asked the sutas and the magadhas to compose and sing songs in praise of the great king Prithu. Even since that day, the sutas and the magadhas became raconteurs who sung songs in praise of kings. The sutas were asked to live in the region known a Anupa and the magadhas in the region known as Magadha.
However, Prithu’s subjects still did not possess any specific occupations. They therefore went to their king and said, “Please tell us how we may make a living.”
To achieve this end, Prithu decided to level out the earth. But the earth was scared and, adopting the form of a cow, started to flee. This angered Prithu and he pursued the earth with his bow in his hand. Wherever in the three worlds the earth fled to. Prithu followed. He was determined to kill the earth.
Finally, the earth sought refuge with Prithu himself. “Please do not kill me,” she said. “I am a woman and killing a woman is a crime. Besides, if you kill me, how will your subjects make a living? I have a better idea. I have adopted the form of cow. Milk me instead and your objective will be attained.”
Prithu did what the earth had asked him to. He milked the earth. As a result of this milking, seeds of foodgrains emerged and people could make a living out of these. Prithu also used his bow to level out the earth. Villages and cities could now be built in the plains. Earlier, these had been unknown. Agriculture, animal husbandry and trade had also been unknown earlier.
It was after Prithu that the earth came to be known as prithivi.
This milking of the earth was in addition to the original milking of the earth that Brahma had performed. In fact, the earth was milked once in every manvantara.
