Indradyumna Upākhyāna
The Indradyumna Upākhyāna is an account in the Vana Parva of the Mahābhārata (chapter 199). It is about Indradyumna, an ancient and righteous king who lived in svarga (heaven) for a very long time and was then sent back down to earth. The ṛshi Mārkaṇḍeya Maharshi tells it to Yudhishṭhira and the Pāṇḍavas.
The king who fell from svarga
Indradyumna was a great and righteous ruler. In his life he performed a vast number of yajñas (fire rituals), gave huge numbers of cows as go-dāna (the gift of cows), and did many other acts of puṇya (merit). Because of this puṇya he lived in svarga for an immeasurable time.
The devas then declared that no one on earth remembered him any more. His fame had faded, and he was cast out of svarga. He came down to earth.
The king comes to Mārkaṇḍeya
Indradyumna went straight to Mārkaṇḍeya. Mārkaṇḍeya is the long-lived ṛshi of the Bhṛgu line, who has lived through many ages and is the oldest witness of what has happened on earth.
The king asked him, “Maharshi, do you know me? Do you know who I am?”
Mārkaṇḍeya answered honestly. He had lived so long, seen so many events, and spent so much time in tapas (austerity) and on pilgrimage, that he could not be sure of his memory of people from earlier ages. He could not say he remembered Indradyumna, though he did not say he had never known him. He said there might be beings older than himself who could answer better. He named the owl Prāvārakarṇa, who lived in the Himālaya.
The owl Prāvārakarṇa
Indradyumna carried Mārkaṇḍeya on his back in the form of a horse and went to the Himālaya. There they found the ancient owl Prāvārakarṇa.
They asked the owl whether it knew Indradyumna. The owl thought deeply, but in the end it said it could not say it recognised him. It knew of a creature even older than itself, the crane Nāḍījaṅgha, who lived at a lake nearby.
The crane Nāḍījaṅgha
The group went to the lake where the great crane Nāḍījaṅgha lived. They asked whether it knew Indradyumna. The crane also thought carefully, but it could not say for certain that it remembered the king.
It knew of one older still. This was the tortoise Akūpāra, who lived in the depths of the same lake and was ancient beyond ordinary counting.
The tortoise Akūpāra
Akūpāra was called up from the bottom of the lake. When it came out and saw Indradyumna, its eyes filled with tears and its whole body trembled. For a moment it could not speak. Then it spoke, with the weight of countless years in its voice:
“How could I not know him? Do I not remember him? This great king performed a thousand agni-cayanas (constructions of the fire-altar). He gave away countless cows as go-dāna. His gift was so large that the cows, moving in great streams through this very place, churned up the earth with their feet and made this lake where I now live. The lake is the result of his gift. I live in the lake of his puṇya. This man I know.”
Akūpāra’s recognition was complete. It left no doubt about Indradyumna’s piety.
Return to svarga
As Akūpāra spoke, a divine chariot came down from svarga. The voice of the devas was heard: “Indradyumna’s fame is still alive on earth. The lake bears witness to his deeds, and the creatures who live in it know him. His place in svarga is waiting for him. Come.”
Indradyumna thanked Mārkaṇḍeya, who had guided him; Prāvārakarṇa, who had pointed him onward; Nāḍījaṅgha, who had carried on the search; and Akūpāra, who had spoken the words of recognition that gave him back his place in svarga. He took Mārkaṇḍeya back to his own place and made sure the owl and the crane were safely back in theirs. Then he rose in the divine chariot to his rightful place in svarga.
Mārkaṇḍeya’s closing words
After he had told this account to the Pāṇḍavas, Mārkaṇḍeya said that he is a chiranjīvin (one who lives for ages) and has lived since before Indradyumna’s time, so he had seen many such events himself. The Pāṇḍavas praised the account.
Mārkaṇḍeya then added, “Śrī Kṛshṇa has also done what I did for Indradyumna. He rescued the righteous king Nṛga from naraka (hell), where Nṛga had fallen because of a fault in giving, and he raised Nṛga back to svarga.”
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, chapter 199