NACHIKETA

Nachiketa was the son of Vajashravas, a poor but very ambitious Brahmin. Wanting to be famous as a daani, Vajashravas performed a great yajna in which he planned to give away many cows in daana. Unfortunately, all the cows were completely useless and emaciated. Noticing that anything given in daana must be of use to the receiver, Nachiketa was upset and asked his father to whom he planned to give his son away in daana. In anger, the father said that he would gift him to Yama. Taking his father’s words as gospel, Nachiketa left for Yama’s abode immediately, something that was unheard of. The father repented his anger and felt helpless. Finding that Lord Yama wasn’t there, he waited for him outside for three days without eating or drinking water. After Yama returned, he and his wife felt guilty for a brahmachari guest had been left unattended. In lieu of it, Yama asked the boy to ask for three boons. Nachiketa asked him to ensure that his father would not worry about him and would welcome him when he returned home. Next, Yama taught him Agnividya , which was the second boon. As the third boon, Nachiketa wanted to know about the Ultimate Truth – whether man exists after death. Yama was dumbfounded because this was a secret even the Devas were not aware of. How could a young boy be let into it? Yama tried to attract him with other gifts but the boy was very firm. Finally, Yama explained to him what Atma Vidya meant and was pleased to give him jnana deeksha. Nachiketa acquired Brahmavidya from the Lord of Death and then returned to his father who became his son’s disciple. This is the story of Nachiketa as it appears in the Kathopanishad.

ನಚಿಕೇತ

ವಾಜಶ್ರವಸ್ ಎಂಬ ಬಡಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣನಿಗೆ ನಚಿಕೇತನೆಂಬ ಒಬ್ಬ ಪುಟ್ಟ ಬಾಲಕನಿದ್ದ. ವಾಜಶ್ರವಸ್ ತಾನು ದಾನಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠನಾಗಲು ಬಯಸಿ ಯಜ್ಞವೊಂದನ್ನು ಆರಂಭಿಸಿದ. ಹಾಲುಕೊಡದ ಬರಡುಹಸುಗಳನ್ನು ದಾನವಾಗಿ ಕೊಡಲು ತಂದಿದ್ದ. ದೇವತೆಗಳೆಲ್ಲರೂ ಉಪಸ್ಥಿತರಿದ್ದರು. ಇದನ್ನು ನಚಿಕೇತ ವಿರೋಧಿಸಿದ. ಒಂದು ವೇಳೆ ಮಗನನ್ನೇ ದಾನವಾಗಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟರೆ ಯಾರಿಗೆ ಕೊಡುತ್ತಿ ಎಂದು ತಂದೆಯನ್ನು ಪ್ರಶ್ನಿಸಿದಾಗ ಯಮನಿಗೆ ದಾನ ಕೊಡುತ್ತೇನೆ ಎಂದು ವಾಜಶ್ರವಸ್ ಕೋಪದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೇಳಿದ. ತಂದೆಯ ಮಾತನ್ನು ಪರಿಪಾಲಿಸಲು ನಚಿಕೇತ ಯಮನ ಮನೆಗೆ ಹೋದ. ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಯಮನಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಮೂರುದಿನಗಳ ಕಾಲ ಅನ್ನ ನೀರಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಕಾದು ಕುಳಿತ. ನಂತರ ಬಂದ ಯಮ ತನ್ನಿಂದ ಆದ ತಪ್ಪಿಗಾಗಿ ಮೂರು ವರಗಳನ್ನು ಕೇಳು ಎಂದಾಗ ನಚಿಕೇತ ಮೊದಲು ತಂದೆಗೆ ಮುಂಗೋಪ ದೂರವಾಗಿ ಒಳ್ಳೆಯದಾಗಬೇಕೆಂದೂ ಎರಡನೆಯದಾಗಿ ಜರಾಮರಣಗಳೇ ಇಲ್ಲದಂತಹ ಸ್ವರ್ಗ ಹೇಗೆ? ಪಡೆಯಬಹುದು ಎಂಬುದಾಗಿ ಮತ್ತು ಮೂರನೆಯದಾಗಿ ಆತ್ಮವೆಂಬುದು ಶರೀರ ಮತ್ತು ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗಿಂತ ಭಿನ್ನವಾಗಿರುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದನ್ನು ಅರಿಯುವ ಆತ್ಮಜ್ಞಾನಗಳನ್ನು ವರವಾಗಿ ಪಡೆದು ಹಿಂದಿರುಗುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಈ ಕಥೆಯು ಕಠೋಪನಿಷತ್ತಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಣಬರುತ್ತದೆ.

BHARADWAJA

Bharadwaja was sage Valmiki’s disciple, son of Uthathya and Mamatha. Drona was his son. He was one of the Saptharishis who belonged to the Vedic Age. He lived through the first three yugas and was the originator of the Bharadwaja gotra. He was the first person to listen to the Ramayana from his guru. He had a major role to play in many events in the Ramayana. He was extremely intelligent. Unfortunately, he was deserted as a child by his parents. The Maruth Devas found the abandoned child and took him under their care. Later he was asked to do severe tapas to get more knowledge from Devendra. Bharadwaja had an insatiable thirst for knowledge. However, Indra felt that all that would go waste if his lineage was not taken care of. Indra advised him to become a gruhastha . Though he wasn’t interested , he realized that it was a responsibility and hence sought Indra’s blessings for the purpose . The Maruth Devas found that none of Bharatha’s children survived to succeed him. So they asked him to adopt Bharadwaja. Thus the sage got married to Susheela and got entitled to ascend the throne. But as he was interested in spreading the message of the Vedas, he prayed to AgniDeva to bless Bharatha with a son. He anointed him king and left to perform the duty that was close to his heart. He established an ashram on the banks of the river Saraswathi and it came to be one of the most sought after centers for the study of the Vedas. Later, when there was a dreadful epidemic, he learnt Ayurveda from Devendra and used his knowledge to give relief to multitudes of people. He distributed a huge number of royal gifts that he had received from two royal disciples, Divodasa and Abhyavarthi. He had no use for them! He was a true patriot and did everything to preserve and protect dharma.

ಭರದ್ವಾಜ

ವಾಲ್ಮೀಕಿ ಋಷಿಗಳ ಶಿಷ್ಯ ಭಾರದ್ವಾಜ. ದ್ರೋಣರು ಭಾರದ್ವಾಜರ ಮಗ. ವೇದಗಳ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಪ್ತಋಷಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಒಬ್ಬರಾಗಿದ್ದರು. ಭಾರದ್ವಾಜ ಗೋತ್ರದ ಪ್ರವರ್ತಕರಾದ ಅವರು ಮೊದಲ ಮೂರು ಯುಗಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಜೀವಿಸಿದ್ದರು. ಸುಶೀಲ ಎಂಬುವರು ಇವರ ಪತ್ನಿ. ರಾಮಾಯಣವನ್ನು ಮೊಟ್ಟಮೊದಲಿಗೆ ಗುರುಗಳಿಂದ ಕೇಳಿದ ಶ್ರೇಯಸ್ಸು ಇವರಿಗೆ ಲಭಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಅವರು ಜ್ಞಾನದಾಹಿಗಳಾಗಿದ್ದರು. ಅನಾಥರಾಗಿದ್ದ ಇವರನ್ನು ಮರುದ್ದೇವತೆಗಳು ಸಲಹಿದ್ದರು. ಮುಂದೆ ಅವರ ಸಲಹೆಯಂತೆ ಭರತನ ದತ್ತುಪುತ್ರನಾಗಿ ಸಿಂಹಾಸನವೇರಿದರು. ಆದರೆ ಧರ್ಮ ರಕ್ಷಣೆಗಾಗಿ ಅದನ್ನು ತ್ಯಜಿಸಿದರು. ವೇದಗಳ ಸಂದೇಶವನ್ನು ಪ್ರಸರಿಸಲು ಇಷ್ಟಪಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಅವರು ದೇವೇಂದ್ರನಿಂದ ಆಯುರ್ವೇದವನ್ನು ಕಲಿತು ಅದರ ಉಪಯೋಗವನ್ನು ಜನಸಾಮಾನ್ಯರಿಗೆ ತಲುಪುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡಿದರು. ಅವರು ನಿಜವಾದ ದೇಶಭಕ್ತ ಮತ್ತು ಧರ್ಮರಕ್ಷಣೆಯ ಹೊಣೆ ಹೊತ್ತಿದ್ದರು.

BHRIGU

Sage Bhrigu was a great tapasvi, one of the saptharishis who helped the Lord in the task of creation. He had mastered yoga and the art of Sanjivini Vidya. He belonged to the first manvanthara. He came out of Lord Brahma’s heart and was called Brahmamanasaputra. He established the clan that came to be known as Bhargava gotra. The sage came out of fire after Varuna performed a great yajna. Brahma, Agni and Varuna vied for him but the Devas supported Varuna’s claim. As a young boy, he mastered Brahmavidya through severe penance. Once he conducted a yaaga to find out which among the Trinity was the greatest. He cursed Vishnu for killing his wife, and so, in his incarnation as Rama, Vishnu suffered from separation pangs. Later when Bhrigu was able to bring back his wife to life, he repented the curse and started worshipping Vishnu. In fact, it’s interesting that Narayana became Bhrigu’s son-in-law as he got married to Sridevi who was none other than Lakshmi and the sage’s daughter. While Bhrigu was known to be short tempered, he was also merciful when the situation demanded. He brought back Jamadagni to life and later helped Parasurama to give up the Kshatra way of life. Bhrigu released heaven from the arrogant rule of Nahusha and restored it rightfully to Devendra. The sage did everything to preserve dharma and didn’t spare even Agnideva once as he went against it. Brahmadeva had to intervene to ease the situation. Thus, Bhrigu led a full and useful life preaching the righteous way of life to the world.

ಭೃಗು

ಭೃಗುವು ಮಹಾತಪಸ್ವಿಯೂ ಸಪ್ತರ್ಷಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಒಬ್ಬರೂ ಆಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಅವರು ಯೋಗ ಮತ್ತು ಮೃತಸಂಜೀವಿನೀ ವಿದ್ಯೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಪರಿಣತರು. ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಮಾನಸಪುತ್ರರಾದ ಇವರು ಭಾರ್ಗವಗೋತ್ರ ಪ್ರವರ್ತಕರು. ಧರ್ಮಸಂಸ್ಥಾಪನೆಗಾಗಿ ಇವರು ಸದಾ ಕಟಿಬದ್ಧರಾಗಿರುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಅಡ್ಡಿಪಡಿಸುವ ಯಾರನ್ನೂ ಅವರು ಸುಮ್ಮನೆ ಬಿಡುತ್ತಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಸರಿಯಾದ ಮಾರ್ಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಜೀವನ ನಡೆಸಲು ಅವರು ವಿಶ್ವದ ಜನರಿಗೆ ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ಉಪದೇಶಗಳನ್ನು ನೀಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

INDRA

Indra, son of Aditi, king of Devas, is the Lord of the east, of Heaven and space. He’s an enemy of the rakshasas. He’s the first one to receive nectar from Garuda after which he protected the Prithvi mountain ranges, created space and placed Dyuloka in its position. But he has one weakness- he cannot stand anyone surpassing his power or position. Amaravathi is his capital and Indrani is his consort. His proud possessions include Ucchaishravas, Iravatha, Kamadhenu, and Kalpavriksha. It was because of his pride that he once angered sage Brihaspathi and lost his kingdom. On killing Vritrasura, he found that he had committed the sin of killing a Brahmin and hence hid himself in the Manas lake. King Nahusha took Indra’s position and became very proud and arrogant. Later Indra performed Aswamedhayajna and regained his lost kingdom. It is because of his own folly that a bird-hero who was stronger than himself, Garuda, was born. Even his Vajrayudha couldn’t hurt Garuda. Later, they both became friends. Indra put emperor Shibi to test and obtained Karna’s kavacha and kundala in order to weaken him and protect his own son, Arjuna. He sent his chariot for Rama to face Raavana in the mighty battle. However, he invited sage Durvasa’s curse due to his pride. Indra came down to earth and conferred on Lord SriKrishna the title Upendra.

ಇಂದ್ರ

ಇಂದ್ರ ಅದಿತಿಯ ಮಗ. ದೇವತೆಗಳ ರಾಜ. ಪೂರ್ವದಿಕ್ಕಿನ ದೇವತೆ. ಸ್ವರ್ಗ ಮತ್ತು ಆಕಾಶದ ದೇವತೆ. ಅವನು ಅಮೃತವನ್ನು ಗರುಡನಿಂದ ಪ್ರಥಮವಾಗಿ ಪಡೆದು ಆಕಾಶವನ್ನು ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಸಿದ. ಅವನಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ದುರ್ಬಲತೆ ಇತ್ತು. ಯಾರಾದರೂ ತನ್ನ ಸ್ಥಾನವನ್ನು ಆಕ್ರಮಿಸಿದಾಗ ಹಿಮ್ಮೆಟ್ಟಿಸುವ ಶಕ್ತಿ ಆತನಲ್ಲಿ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ವ್ರತ್ರಾಸುರನನ್ನು ವಧಿಸಿ ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಹತ್ಯಾಪಾಪದಿಂದ ಆವರಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟು ಅವನು ಮಾನಸ ಸರೋವರದಲ್ಲಿ ಅಡಗಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಅಮರಾವತಿಯು ಅವನ ರಾಜಧಾನಿ. ಒಮ್ಮೆ ನಹುಷನು ಸ್ವರ್ಗವನ್ನು ಆಕ್ರಮಿಸಿ ಇಂದ್ರನನ್ನು ಪದಚ್ಯುತಗೊಳಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ. ನಂತರ ಅಶ್ವಮೇಧಯಾಗವನ್ನು ಮಾಡಿ ಇಂದ್ರ ತನ್ನ ಅಧಿಕಾರವನ್ನು ಪುನಃ ಪಡೆಯುತ್ತಾನೆ. ರಾಮ-ರಾವಣರ ಯುದ್ಧದಲ್ಲಿ ಅವನು ತನ್ನ ದಿವ್ಯರಥವನ್ನು ರಾಮನ ಸಹಾಯಕ್ಕೆ ಕಳುಹಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ.

DADHEECHI – NAABHAAGA

Dadheechi was a sage who donated his own body to the devas for making weapons to kill the rakshasas. He was sage Agnivesha’s grandson. Devendra initiated him into two valuable arts called Pravarga and Madhu. In order to perform a yajna which was to last several years, the devas deposited their weapons with Dadheechi who reluctantly agreed to take care of them. Finding that the devas did not return to take them back, he reduced them all to liquid and drank it up. This gave a new strength to his bones and body. When the devas were in need of their weapons and came to know what had happened, they took Vishnu’s advice. Bowing down to Vishnu’s request, Dadheechi entered into a state of trance and left his body. Indra and the other devas now used his bones to create many weapons including Vajrayudha and Brahmasira. Naabhaaga belonged to the lineage of sage Marichi. Taking advantage of his thirst for knowledge, his brothers wronged him by not giving him his share of their father’s property. Naabhaga approached his father who gave him confidence by saying that as a scholar, he would be revered everywhere and it would be better if he lived away from his selfish brothers. He also asked him to help sage Angirasa at his yajna. At the end of the yajna, the sage gave Naabhagaa all that was remaining – money and things. As luck would have it, Naabhagaa met Rudradeva on the way who reminded him that whatever he was carrying belonged rightfully to him as per Brahmadeva’s wish. Naabhaaga promptly apologized to Rudradeva who was so pleased with his righteous behavior that he not only restored everything to him but also initiated him into the knowledge of the Ultimate.

ದಧೀಚಿ-ನಾಭಾಗ

ದಧೀಚಿ ಎನ್ನುವವನು ಒಬ್ಬ ಋಷಿ. ರಾಕ್ಷಸರ ಸಂಹಾರಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಶಸ್ತ್ರಗಳನ್ನು ತಯಾರಿಸಲು ತನ್ನ ದೇಹವನ್ನೇ ದಾನಮಾಡಿದವನು. ಅಗ್ನಿವೇಶನ ಮೊಮ್ಮಗ. ಒಮ್ಮೆ ದೇವತೆಗಳು ಯಜ್ಞಮಾಡಲು ಆರಂಭಿಸಿದಾಗ ಹಲವಾರು ವರ್ಷಗಳೇ ಕಳೆದುವು. ಆಗ ಅವರು ತಮ್ಮ ಆಯುಧಗಳನ್ನು ದಧೀಚಿಯ ರಕ್ಷಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇಟ್ಟರು. ದಧೀಚಿ ಅವುಗಳನ್ನು ಕರಗಿಸಿ ಕುಡಿದುಬಿಡುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಆ ದ್ರವವು ಅವನ ಮೂಳೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಜೀರ್ಣವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಮುಂದೆ ದೇವತೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಆಯುಧಗಳ ಅವಶ್ಯಕತೆ ಉಂಟಾದಾಗ ದಧೀಚಿ ತನ್ನ ದೇಹವನ್ನು ತ್ಯಜಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಅನಂತರ ಅವನ ದೇಹದ ಮೂಳೆಗಳಿಂದ ದೇವತೆಗಳು ಪುನಃ ಆಯುಧಗಳನ್ನು ಮತ್ತು ವಜ್ರಾಯುಧವನ್ನು ತಯಾರಿಸಿ ವ್ರತ್ರಾಸುರನನ್ನು ಸಂಹರಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ.ಮರೀಚಿ ಋಷಿಯ ವಂಶಕ್ಕೆ ಸೇರಿದವನು ನಾಭಾಗ. ಜ್ಞಾನದಾಹ ಉಳ್ಳವನು. ಪಿತ್ರಾರ್ಜಿತ ಆಸ್ತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪಾಲು ಸಿಗದಿದ್ದಾಗ ತಂದೆ ದೇಶ ಸುತ್ತಿಬರಲು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಅಂಗೀರಸನ ಯಜ್ಞದಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾಗಿಯಾಗುವಂತೆ ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಯಜ್ಞ ಮುಗಿದ ಮೇಲೆ ಉಳಿದ ಧನ ಮತ್ತು ವಸ್ತುಗಳನ್ನು ಒಯ್ಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾಗ ರುದ್ರನು ಎದುರಾಗಿ ಯಜ್ಞಾವಶಿಷ್ಟವೆಲ್ಲವೂ ತನಗೇ ಸೇರಿದ್ದು ಎಂದು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾನೆ. ನಾಭಾಗನು ಕ್ಷಮೆ ಯಾಚಿಸಲು ರುದ್ರನು ಎಲ್ಲವನ್ನೂ ಅವನಿಗೇ ಕೊಟ್ಟು ಆಶೀರ್ವದಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ.