Śukra and the Sañjīvanī Vidyā

This account is told in the Brahma Mahā Purāṇa, in the Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 25. Śukra, whose other name is Kavi, was the son of Bhṛgu. His teacher did not treat him as he treated his own son, so Śukra left and found a new teacher. Following the advice of the old ṛshi Gautama, he prayed to Bhagavān Śiva on the bank of the Gautamī. Bhagavān Śiva gave him the Sañjīvanī Vidyā, the knowledge that brings the dead back to life. No other deva or ṛshi had it.

Aṅgiras and Bhṛgu make an agreement

The ṛshis Aṅgiras and Bhṛgu lived in the same age. Each had a son of equal worth. Aṅgiras’s son was Jīva, also called Bṛhaspati. Bhṛgu’s son was Kavi, also called Śukra. When both boys had gone through the upanayana (the thread ceremony that begins study), the two fathers agreed that one of them alone would teach both sons.

Aṅgiras offered: “I shall teach them equally. Let Bhārgava remain carefree.” Bhṛgu said, “So be it,” and gave his son Śukra to Aṅgiras.

But Aṅgiras taught the two boys with unequal feeling. He favoured his own son. After a long time Śukra spoke to his teacher directly: “O preceptor, everyday you teach me with discrimination. Discrimination between son and disciple is not proper on the part of a preceptor. Only teachers of deluded thinking practise discrimination. There is no limit to the pāpa (sin) incurred by persons with discriminatory feelings. O preceptor, you have been well understood. I shall bow down to you again and again. I shall go to another preceptor. Permit me.”

Śukra goes to Vṛddha-Gautama

Śukra left with permission. He thought, “I shall go to my father only after I have acquired learning.” He asked the old ṛshi Vṛddha-Gautama (old Gautama) who could be a teacher fit for all three worlds.

Old Gautama told him plainly: “Approach Bhagavān Śiva, the preceptor of the universe. Remaining pure in mind and body on the Gautamī Tīrtha, propitiate Śiva by means of hymns. The ruler of the three worlds, being pleased there, will impart learning to you.”

Śukra praises Śiva at the Gautamī

Śukra went to the Gaṅgā and took a holy dip. When he was pure, he sat on the northern bank of the Gautamī and praised Śiva with devotion:

“O Śambhu, I am seeking refuge in you, the sole refuge for the poor and the helpless. O wearer of the crescent moon, I am a boy of puerile intellect. I do not know how to eulogise you. I have been abandoned by my preceptor. I have neither friends nor comrades. In every respect you are the master. You are weightier than the weightiest and greater than the greatest. I am only a small boy. O Śiva, who are one with the universe, obeisance to you. It is for the sake of learning that I have come. O ruler of the devas, I do not know your way. Look at me with kindness. Obeisance to you, O witness unto the worlds.”

While Śukra praised him, Śiva was pleased and appeared before him. He said: “Welfare unto you. Choose what you wish, even if it were difficult of access unto devas.”

The gift of the Sañjīvanī Vidyā

Śukra asked for “that learning which is not accessible to the ṛshis, nor to Brahmā and others. You are my preceptor. You are my deva.”

Śiva gave Śukra, who stood before him as a suppliant, the Vidyā called Sañjīvanī. It is the knowledge of reviving the dead, a secret not known even to the devas. Other vidyās are worldly or Vedic, and many people know them. But when Śaṅkara is pleased, what remains unachieved?

After gaining this supreme knowledge, Śukra went back to his father Bhṛgu. Because of this unique learning he received great honour. He became the teacher of the Daityas, the asuras. By this vidyā he kept their armies alive through the great battles against the devas.

Later Kaca, the son of Bṛhaspati, got this vidyā from Śukra. From Kaca, Bṛhaspati got it, and from Bṛhaspati the devas received it separately. So the supreme knowledge of Mṛtasañjīvanī, the other name for the Sañjīvanī Vidyā, came at last to the devas by a long path. But it came only because Śukra first received it directly from Śiva at the holy Gautamī.

Śukratīrtha

The place where Śukra gained this vidyā, after worshipping Śiva on the northern bank of the Gautamī, is called Śukratīrtha. It helps to increase life and health. A holy dip and gifts given there bring lasting puṇya (merit).

Sources

• Brahma Mahā Purāṇa, Gautamī Māhātmya, Chapter 25