This article will largely be about the story of Chyavana Maharishi as mentioned in the Mahabharata. If its about Rishi Chyavana, then why the title - "Indra and Mada" - well, we will come to that later.
We all know Rishi Chyavana for the eponymous Chyavanaprash, the Ayurvedic prepraration for health and immunity which many households have in their kitchens or wherever. But who was he, what did he achieve, how did his life go.
Rishi Chyavana achieved renown right from his birth or I should also say, right by or through his birth. How did that come about? He was the son of the illustrious muni Bhrigu, most well known today for Bhrigu Sutras. Bhrigu was the son of Brahma himself. Bhrigu's wife was Pauloma. One day, when Pauloma was pregnant (with the soon to be born Chyavana), the Rishi went out as usual for his ablutions to the river. At that time, a Rakshasa or a demon entered their hermitage. Pauloma being a conscientious host, welcomed the Rakshasa and offered him food. But the Rakshasa attracted by Pauloma, forcibly carried her away. Now there's a bit of back-story to this (as there always is). The father of Pauloma had first betrothed her to this Rakshasa, but then later on he changed his mind and duly wedded her to the Rishi Bhrigu.
So the Rakshasa carrying Pauloma away to a distant place, then asks Agni - the Devata of fire, who is witness to any important ritual and who carries the offerings to all the other devatas. The Rakshasa asks Agni, whom Pauloma rightfully belongs. Agni was in a dilemma of how to answer this, yet he decided to speak the truth. He said that while Pauloma had been betrothed to the Rakshasa in the past, but since she was duly wedded with all proper rites and rituals to Bhrigu, she was truly Bhrigu's wife. The Rakshasa nevertheless carried Pauloma away yet again. Its a bit strange that after committing the crime, the Rakshasa was concerned about justifying it. And when it was not justifiable, he still did as he pleased. This show hypocrisy as well as putting selfish interest above general good.
Pauloma was terrified and in that force, from her womb, the baby Chyavana expelled forth and his tejas or brilliance was such that the Rakshasa gave up Pauloma and fell down and burnt to ashes. While Pauloma fell down, shaken but unhurt. She was soon reunited with her husband and there was a follow-up quarrel between Bhrigu and Agni. We will not delve into that in this article.
Since he was expelled, it's called "chyuta" in Sanskrit - hence he was named Chyavana. Thus Chyavana, at birth itself protected his mother and was caused of death of a Rakshasa.
He grew on to be a great rishi, ever engaged in austerities in his ashram deep in the forest. Once he went into such deep meditation, for such a long period that creepers grew over him, and then he was covered by ants and an anthill. When he was in such condition, at that time, the king Sharyati along with his family and entourage came into that forest for hunting and pleasure. The king's daughter, a beautiful young girl called Sukanya frolicked with her mates quite near the ashram of Chyavana.
The rishi bestirred from his meditation and through the ant-hill could see the beautiful form of Sukanya. And he called out of to her. The lady, not realizing where the sound came from, unconsciously came near the ant-hill covering the rishi. As the rishi was gazing, his eyes looked bright with light emanating from him. Through the ant-hill it seemed like two blobs of light. The young girl mistaking them for fire-flies, pricked them with the twigs from trees which she had. This pierced the eyes of the Rishi and he cried out in agony. Because of his distress, the entire entourage of Sharyati faced distress - and this was that they couldnt attend to the calls of nature. It was a peculiar situation resulting from the pain of the Rishi. The king, enquiring why this happened, realized the discomfort caused to the Rishi. With folded hands, he begged forgiveness of Chyavana. Chyavana said that he will forgive, only if he was given Sukanya's hand in marriage. Without hesitating Sharyati complied and with due rituals married her off to Chyavana. Thereafter leaving her with the Rishi, the king went back to his capital.
The young girl, very sincerely served the Rishi. Considering that the Rishi was old and infirm, she had lot of responsibilities, but she managed them very well. In thus manner, time passed. One day, while she was bathing, the devatas known as Ashwini Kumaras beheld her and were attracted to her. The Ashwinis were physicians of the devatas, they were intelligent, knowledgeable, brilliant and both very handsome. They are the sons of Surya, through Sanjna when both Surya and Sanjna were in the form of horses. So the Ashwinis approached Sukanya and then inquiring of her, they came to know she was wife of Rishi Chyavana. Despite that they proposed to her to marry one of them and promised her all riches, pleasure etc. Sukanya very clearly refused them. Then they tried to lure her through a boon - saying that if she agreed to come with them, then they would restore the Rishi to youth and beauty. Now Sukanya was in a dilemma, she wished for good things for her husband. Should she let her fidelity come in way of good health to her husband. So she decided to go and refer this matter to the Rishi and let him decide. When the Rishi heard this, he intelligently told her to go to the Ashwinis and take up the challenge. So thereafter the Ashwinis led the Rishi to the river and then they all dipped fully inside the water. When they came out all three were brilliantly shining, robed in rich garments and ornaments and looking youthful and handsome. Dilemma was that all of them looked entirely alike, even to their attire and garments. The challenge now in front of Sukanya was to recognize her actual husband. Yet the honorable lady, overcame this challenge, after some deliberation and correctly guessed her husband amongst the three.
How she guessed is not mentioned in the Mahabharata. Yet I have heard of versions such as that while the celestials didnt leave footprints, the Rishi being a human did have footprints and from that Sukanya guessed rightly. Yet another version states that when the Rishi Chyavana beheld Sukanya after getting back his eyesight, he blinked his eyes looking at her, surprised at her beauty, while the devatas were nonchalantly looking at her.
Anyhow, the Rishi was very pleased with the devatas and promised them that he will conduct a yajna and the offerings of it i.e. the soma drink will be offerred to them. Now this was a very big promise to give. Because the Ashwinis were not considered by the devatas to be of equal footing as themselves as they were servants in the form of physicians. And because of this the Ashwinis didnt get any share of sacrificial offerrings.
The Rishi, then through his father-in-law's good offices conducted a large-scale ritual. And in the end offered the soma juice to the Ashwinis. At that time Lord Indra came there and asked the Rishi to desist from this, saying that the Ashwinis didnt deserve anything. But the Rishi didnt budge. Then Indra threatened to hurl his weapon vajra, the thunderbolt. Yet the Rishi was undettered and smilingly continued with his resolve. Then as Indra was about to hurl the vajra, the Rishi chanted mantras which paralysed Indra - he was unable to move or hurl the weapon. Then the Rishi went further and invoked a rakshasa called Mada. Mada was a fearsome Rakshasa who immediately rushed towards Indra with the intention to devour him. Indra was petrified and he immediately sought forgiveness of the rishi and even promised that the Ashwinis will henceforth be eligible for their share of all sacrificial offerings. So that was the happy ending.
I thought over what Mada is and what it meant in this context. We know that "mada" means intoxication. Mada is also one of the shad-ripus or 6 weaknesses that afflict us - kama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, matsarya.
Why was Indra threatened by mada. Because Indra was arrogant about being the king of devatas, he was then very angry with the sage for offering soma to the Ashwinis. He felt that the soma belonged to only him and other devatas only, and not to the Ashwinis. So there was a sense of entitlement. What this teaches us, I believe, is that ego or ahamkara is the root of weaknesses or ripus. Because of ego comes the sense of posession, like Indra felt it was he who possessed the soma, because he possessed the title of Indra, king of devatas. And because of this entitlement comes anger, when that entitlement is challenged. Hence does one also have insecurities. And then when anger begins, then one loses control. As the verses (2.62 and 2.63) in Bhagavad Gita say -
We all know Rishi Chyavana for the eponymous Chyavanaprash, the Ayurvedic prepraration for health and immunity which many households have in their kitchens or wherever. But who was he, what did he achieve, how did his life go.
Rishi Chyavana achieved renown right from his birth or I should also say, right by or through his birth. How did that come about? He was the son of the illustrious muni Bhrigu, most well known today for Bhrigu Sutras. Bhrigu was the son of Brahma himself. Bhrigu's wife was Pauloma. One day, when Pauloma was pregnant (with the soon to be born Chyavana), the Rishi went out as usual for his ablutions to the river. At that time, a Rakshasa or a demon entered their hermitage. Pauloma being a conscientious host, welcomed the Rakshasa and offered him food. But the Rakshasa attracted by Pauloma, forcibly carried her away. Now there's a bit of back-story to this (as there always is). The father of Pauloma had first betrothed her to this Rakshasa, but then later on he changed his mind and duly wedded her to the Rishi Bhrigu.
So the Rakshasa carrying Pauloma away to a distant place, then asks Agni - the Devata of fire, who is witness to any important ritual and who carries the offerings to all the other devatas. The Rakshasa asks Agni, whom Pauloma rightfully belongs. Agni was in a dilemma of how to answer this, yet he decided to speak the truth. He said that while Pauloma had been betrothed to the Rakshasa in the past, but since she was duly wedded with all proper rites and rituals to Bhrigu, she was truly Bhrigu's wife. The Rakshasa nevertheless carried Pauloma away yet again. Its a bit strange that after committing the crime, the Rakshasa was concerned about justifying it. And when it was not justifiable, he still did as he pleased. This show hypocrisy as well as putting selfish interest above general good.
Pauloma was terrified and in that force, from her womb, the baby Chyavana expelled forth and his tejas or brilliance was such that the Rakshasa gave up Pauloma and fell down and burnt to ashes. While Pauloma fell down, shaken but unhurt. She was soon reunited with her husband and there was a follow-up quarrel between Bhrigu and Agni. We will not delve into that in this article.
Since he was expelled, it's called "chyuta" in Sanskrit - hence he was named Chyavana. Thus Chyavana, at birth itself protected his mother and was caused of death of a Rakshasa.
He grew on to be a great rishi, ever engaged in austerities in his ashram deep in the forest. Once he went into such deep meditation, for such a long period that creepers grew over him, and then he was covered by ants and an anthill. When he was in such condition, at that time, the king Sharyati along with his family and entourage came into that forest for hunting and pleasure. The king's daughter, a beautiful young girl called Sukanya frolicked with her mates quite near the ashram of Chyavana.
The rishi bestirred from his meditation and through the ant-hill could see the beautiful form of Sukanya. And he called out of to her. The lady, not realizing where the sound came from, unconsciously came near the ant-hill covering the rishi. As the rishi was gazing, his eyes looked bright with light emanating from him. Through the ant-hill it seemed like two blobs of light. The young girl mistaking them for fire-flies, pricked them with the twigs from trees which she had. This pierced the eyes of the Rishi and he cried out in agony. Because of his distress, the entire entourage of Sharyati faced distress - and this was that they couldnt attend to the calls of nature. It was a peculiar situation resulting from the pain of the Rishi. The king, enquiring why this happened, realized the discomfort caused to the Rishi. With folded hands, he begged forgiveness of Chyavana. Chyavana said that he will forgive, only if he was given Sukanya's hand in marriage. Without hesitating Sharyati complied and with due rituals married her off to Chyavana. Thereafter leaving her with the Rishi, the king went back to his capital.
The young girl, very sincerely served the Rishi. Considering that the Rishi was old and infirm, she had lot of responsibilities, but she managed them very well. In thus manner, time passed. One day, while she was bathing, the devatas known as Ashwini Kumaras beheld her and were attracted to her. The Ashwinis were physicians of the devatas, they were intelligent, knowledgeable, brilliant and both very handsome. They are the sons of Surya, through Sanjna when both Surya and Sanjna were in the form of horses. So the Ashwinis approached Sukanya and then inquiring of her, they came to know she was wife of Rishi Chyavana. Despite that they proposed to her to marry one of them and promised her all riches, pleasure etc. Sukanya very clearly refused them. Then they tried to lure her through a boon - saying that if she agreed to come with them, then they would restore the Rishi to youth and beauty. Now Sukanya was in a dilemma, she wished for good things for her husband. Should she let her fidelity come in way of good health to her husband. So she decided to go and refer this matter to the Rishi and let him decide. When the Rishi heard this, he intelligently told her to go to the Ashwinis and take up the challenge. So thereafter the Ashwinis led the Rishi to the river and then they all dipped fully inside the water. When they came out all three were brilliantly shining, robed in rich garments and ornaments and looking youthful and handsome. Dilemma was that all of them looked entirely alike, even to their attire and garments. The challenge now in front of Sukanya was to recognize her actual husband. Yet the honorable lady, overcame this challenge, after some deliberation and correctly guessed her husband amongst the three.
How she guessed is not mentioned in the Mahabharata. Yet I have heard of versions such as that while the celestials didnt leave footprints, the Rishi being a human did have footprints and from that Sukanya guessed rightly. Yet another version states that when the Rishi Chyavana beheld Sukanya after getting back his eyesight, he blinked his eyes looking at her, surprised at her beauty, while the devatas were nonchalantly looking at her.
Anyhow, the Rishi was very pleased with the devatas and promised them that he will conduct a yajna and the offerings of it i.e. the soma drink will be offerred to them. Now this was a very big promise to give. Because the Ashwinis were not considered by the devatas to be of equal footing as themselves as they were servants in the form of physicians. And because of this the Ashwinis didnt get any share of sacrificial offerrings.
The Rishi, then through his father-in-law's good offices conducted a large-scale ritual. And in the end offered the soma juice to the Ashwinis. At that time Lord Indra came there and asked the Rishi to desist from this, saying that the Ashwinis didnt deserve anything. But the Rishi didnt budge. Then Indra threatened to hurl his weapon vajra, the thunderbolt. Yet the Rishi was undettered and smilingly continued with his resolve. Then as Indra was about to hurl the vajra, the Rishi chanted mantras which paralysed Indra - he was unable to move or hurl the weapon. Then the Rishi went further and invoked a rakshasa called Mada. Mada was a fearsome Rakshasa who immediately rushed towards Indra with the intention to devour him. Indra was petrified and he immediately sought forgiveness of the rishi and even promised that the Ashwinis will henceforth be eligible for their share of all sacrificial offerings. So that was the happy ending.
I thought over what Mada is and what it meant in this context. We know that "mada" means intoxication. Mada is also one of the shad-ripus or 6 weaknesses that afflict us - kama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, matsarya.
Why was Indra threatened by mada. Because Indra was arrogant about being the king of devatas, he was then very angry with the sage for offering soma to the Ashwinis. He felt that the soma belonged to only him and other devatas only, and not to the Ashwinis. So there was a sense of entitlement. What this teaches us, I believe, is that ego or ahamkara is the root of weaknesses or ripus. Because of ego comes the sense of posession, like Indra felt it was he who possessed the soma, because he possessed the title of Indra, king of devatas. And because of this entitlement comes anger, when that entitlement is challenged. Hence does one also have insecurities. And then when anger begins, then one loses control. As the verses (2.62 and 2.63) in Bhagavad Gita say -
dhyāyato viṣhayān puṁsaḥ saṅgas teṣhūpajāyate
saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ kāmāt krodho ’bhijāyate
While contemplating on the objects of the senses, one develops attachment to them.
Attachment leads to desire, and from desire arises anger.
krodhād bhavati sammohaḥ sammohāt smṛiti-vibhramaḥ
smṛiti-bhranśhād buddhi-nāśho buddhi-nāśhāt praṇaśhyati
Anger leads to clouding of judgment, which results in bewilderment of the memory. When the memory is bewildered, the intellect gets destroyed; and when the intellect is destroyed, one is ruined.
Translations from: https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/chapter/2/verse/63
So the flow is Ego-->Attachment--->Desire---->Anger---->Clouding of Judgment---->Memory distortion---->Destruction of intellect---->Ruin of self
Thus one sees that ego and attachment brings forth the weakness called shadripu. It is the root cause of addiction, Mada is the ripu related to addictions, specifically to liquor.
Notes:
The story of Bhrigu and Chyavana's birth in in Pauloma parva of Adi Parva
The story of Sukanya, Ashwinis, Indra and Mada is in the Tirtha Yatra Parva of Vana Parva
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