Pippala

The sage Kashyapa had a son named Pippala.

Pippala desired to attain powers that were unrivalled by anyone else in the universe. He therefore went to a forest named dasharanya and began to meditate there. He meditated without any food or water. So amazing was this tapasya that the gods and the sages marvelled to see what was happening. The passing of the seasons made no impression on Pippala. He sat there like a boulder and meditated.

A thousand years passed in this fashion. Termites built a hill all around Pippala. But the sage was unmoved. Venomous snakes wound themselves around Pippala’s body and bit him. But Pippala did not even notice these snakes. Soon, the power of the tapasya made Pippala’s body radiant. Circles of energy hung around his body like a halo.

Pippala lived only on air.

After three thousand years had passed in this way, the gods showered down flowers on Pippala. “You have pleased us with your meditation,” they said. “Crave whatever boon you wish for.”

“I desire the boon that all objects in this universe may obey my will,” said Pippala.

The gods granted this boon.

Pippala was delighted with what he had achieved. He sat down near a pond and began to congratulate himself on his newly-acquired powers. Surely, there was no one else in the universe who could rival his powers.

A crane was standing in the pond and it sensed Pippala’s thoughts. “You fool,” the crane told Pippala. “Why are you so delighted with yourself? I do not think that you have achieved anything at all. You have wasted three thousand years of tapasya. Sukarma is far more learned than you are. And he did not have to perform any difficult tapasya to become learned.”

Pippala was greatly surprised to hear a crane speak thus. “Who are you?” he asked the crane. “Are you Brahma, Vishnu or Shiva?”

“Why don’t you go and ask Sukarma who I am?” retorted the crane. It also told Pippala how to find Sukarama.

Sukarma

There was a brahmana named Kundala and Sukarma was Kundala’s son. Sukarma spent all his time in serving his aged parents. That was his sole purpose in life.

It was to Kundala’s hermitage that Pippala came in search of Sukarma.
Sukarma welcomed Pippala with offerings. “Great sage,” he said. “I am indeed gratified that you have come to pay us a visit. I know why you have come. You have spent three thousand years in difficult tapasya. And the gods have granted you the boon that you will be able to subjugate all the objects that there are in the universe. Yet the crane told you that you are ignorant and know nothing at all.

“Who was that crane?” asked Pippala.

“That crane was the brahman,” replied Sukarma. “Is there anything else that you wish to know?” (The brahman is the divine essence.)

“Can you also control all the objects in the universe?" asked Pippala.

“Judge for yourself,” replied Sukarma. He called upon the gods to arrive before him.

Indra and the other gods immediately appeared before Sukarma to do his bidding. “Why have you summoned us?” they asked.

Sukarma explained that he had done this to demonstrate to Pippala his powers. The gods blessed Sukarma that he would always be devoted to his parents. Sukarma also explained to Pippala that all his powers were due to his devotion to his parents. He performed no tapasya, he chanted no incantations. There were no tirthas that he had visited. The punya that could be acquired through performing yajnas could be bettered by serving one’s parents faithfully. What was the point of studying the Vedas if one was not going to serve one’s parents?

“This is the knowledge that I can impart to you,” Sukarma told Pippala. “And if you wish, I will tell you the story of Yayati.”

Yayati

There was a king named Nahusha who was born in the lunar dynasty. Nahusha was a righteous king. He donated a lot of alms and performed many yajnas. Such was the power of his punya that he acquired the title of Indra and ruled over the gods in heaven. (This story is related subsequently in the Padma Purana. It is also to be found in the Mahabharata.)

Nahusha had a son named Yayati and when Nahusha went to heaven, the kingdom was handed over to Yayati.

Yayati was a good king who ruled according to the dictates of dharma (righteousness). He took good care of his subjects.

Yayati had four sons, brave and learned. Their names were Ruru, Puru, Kuru and Yadu. (The names are strange and contradict the names usually given in other Puranas or in the Mahabharata. Yayati had two wives, Devayani and Sharmishtha. As per the more common account, Devayani’s sons were Yadu and Turvasu. Sharmishtha’s sons were Druhya, Anu and Puru.)
For eighty-one thousand years, Yayati ruled wisely and his fame spread far and wide. Indra got to know about Yayati and desired to meet him. Indra’s charioteer was named Matali. Indra sent Matali to Yayati so that the king might be brought to heaven. Matali tempted Yayati with stories of the riches that heaven offered. But Yayati refused to go to heaven unless he could be taken there in his own physical body. He refused to die.

“Look at me,” said Yayati. “I am a hundred and fifty years old, but there are no signs of old age. Thanks to the punya I have accumulated, I seem to be only sixteen years of age. Why should I give up this body? As for riches, I have plenty of them here on earth.”

(There is a contradiction between someone who is a hundred and fifty years old having ruled for eighty-one thousand years. The Padma Purana reconciles this by explaining that the hundred and fifty years refer to years of the gods, and not human years.)

Matali reported to Indra what the king had told him. Meanwhile, Yayati instructed his subjects that they should all follow the path of dharma and worship Vishnu. The reslt was that all of Yayati’s subjects became righteous; old age, disease and sorrow were banished from earth. People stopped dying. Yama had no more work to do and was alarmed. He went and complained to Indra that his occupation was being threatened because of Yayati’s righteousness. Earth had become like heaven.

Indra decided that Yayati would have to be tempted so that he might become evil and deviate from the righteous path. He sent the god of love, Kandarpa, to accomplish this task. Because of Kandarpa’s blandishments, Yayati gave up some of his clean ways. He forgot to bathe at the appointed hours. Seizing this opportunity, old age entered the king’s body and Yayati became an old man. And once he had become and old man, he became more addicted to material pursuits.

On one occasion, Yayati went to the forest on a hunt. While pursuing a deer, he came upon a beautiful pond inside the forest. Floating in the pond was a gigantic lotus. And seated on the lotus, there was a beautiful woman. The woman was singing. So wonderful wa her son, that Yayati immediately fell in love with her.

“Who are you ?” asked Yayati. “I am the great Yayati, king in the lunar line. I have fallen in love with you. “Please marry me.”

“ My name is Ashruvindumati,” replied the woman. “The goddess of love is Rati and I am her daughter. I am waiting here for an appropriate husband. But I will not marry you. You are an old man. Become young and come here again and I shall certainly marry you.”

Yayati returned to his capital. He called his four sons to him and explained to them the problem. He wished that one of his sons might accept Yayati’s age in exchange for his youth. This would enable Yayati to marry Ashruvindumati. When Yayati got tired of the worldly life, he would return the youth and take back his old age.
With the exception of Puru, all the other sons refused to perform this exchange. They felt that, if Yayati had become old, he had no business to marry again. Ruru, Kuru and Yadu were therefore cursed by Yayati that they would never inherit the kingdom. Their lines would be cursed and no kings would be born in them. As for Puru, he gave his father his youth and was blessed by the king.

Yayati went back to the pond in his youthful form and met Ashruvindumati. “Surely, there is no problem in marrying me now,” he said.

“Yes, there is,” replied Ashruvindumati. “You have two other wives - Sharmishtha and Devayani. Before marrying me, you have to give me your word of honour that you will no longer treat them as your wives Moreover, you have to agree that you will always do my bidding.”

“I agree to these conditions,” said Yayati.

(In fact, Yayati asked Yadu to kill Sharmishtha and Devayani. When Yadu refused, he was cursed by Yayati that Yadu’s descendant, the Yadavas, would become matriarchal.)

Now that her conditions were met, Ashruvindumati married yayati and the two lived happily for twenty thousand years. Ashruvindumati asked Yayati to organise an ashvamedha yajna (horse sacrifice). Yayati entrusted the task to his son Puru and the ceremony was an outstanding success.

After many years had passed, Ashruvindumati told Yayati, “We have had enough of worldly pleasures. Let us now ascend to heaven.”

Yayati accordingly called Puru and returned him his youth. He accepted his old age. Then, with Ashruvindumati, he died and went to heaven, after having profusely blessed Puru.

“One should be like Puru,” Sukarma told Pippala. “There is no punya that is superior to serving one’s parents.”

Chyavana

In the line of the great sage Bhrigu, there was a sage named Chyavana. Chyavana desired to attain true knowledge. He decided that the only way to attain true knowledge was by visiting famous tirthas. Chyavana therefore visited all the places of pilgrimage that were along the banks of the rivers Narmada, Sarasvati and Godavari. His travels eventually brought him to a place named Amarakantaka, on the southern banks of the river Narmada.

Chyavana was tired from his travels and he sat down to rest under a banyan tree. On that tree lived a learned parrot (shuka). The parrot was named Kunjala. Kunjala had a wife and four sons. The sons were named Ujjvala, Samujjvala, Vijjvala and Kapinjala.
Every morning, the sons would go out to find food. And they would bring some back for their parents. It was evening when Chyavana sat down to rest under the tree. The sons had just returned from their foraging.

After the family had fed, Kunjala asked Ujjvala, “Son, where did you go today? Tell us all that you saw and heard.”

“I always go to Plakshadvipa in search of food,” replied Ujjvala. “That region has many countries, mountains, river and forests. A king named Divodasa rules in Plakshadvipa. He has a beautiful daughter named Divyadevi.”

When the daughter had grown up, Divodasa looked around for an appropriate son-in-law and decided to get his daughter married off to King Chitrasena of the kingdom known as Rupa. The engagement ceremony was held. But before the marriage could take place, Chitrasena died.

“What am I to do now?” Divodasa asked his ministers.

“Since the marriage did not actually take place, Divyadevi can be married again,” replied the ministers. “Please look for another groom.”

This time, Divodasa chose King Rupasena. The engagement ceremony was held. But before the marriage could take place, Rupasena died. Divodasa looked for another groom and the process went on twenty-one times. On each occasion, the prospective bridegroom died before the marriage ceremony could take place.

In desperation, King Divodasa decided that his daughter would be married through a svayamvara ceremony. (In this ceremony, the bride chooses her own husband from amongst the invitees.) All the kings and princes of Plakshadvipa were invited to this august gathering. But a strange incident took place on the occasion of the svayamvara. The assembled kings and princes fell to fighting amongst themselves and killed one another.

Divyadevi could not get married. She retired to the forest to meditate.

“This is what I wistnessed in Plakshadvipa,” concluded Ujjvala. “Please tell us, father, why Divyadevi was so unfortunate.”

“I will,” replied Kunjala. “I know her story.”

Divyadevi

There is a sacred city named Varanasi. In that city, there lived a righteous vaishya (the third of the four classes) named Sudhira. Sudhira’s wife was called Chitra. Sudhira was rich and he was devoted to his wife.

But Chitra was evil. She had no interest in performing deeds that brought punya. She disobeyed her husband and went against his wishes. One of her favourite pastimes was to criticise Sudhira. When she got tired of this, she visited all the neighbours, spreading gossip, enmity and jealousy.