Jāpakopākhyāna

Kauśika was a brāhmaṇa, the son of Paippalāda Maharshi. He sat near the Himavat (the Himālaya) and did japa (the steady repeating of a mantra) for a thousand years. Many great beings came to offer him the fruit of this tapas (austerity). He refused every offer and at the end he went to brahmaloka, the highest world, from which there is no return to birth.

This narrative is told in the Śānti Parva of the Mahābhārata, in the Mokshadharma section, in Chapters 196 to 200.

Where it comes in

Chapter 195 gives the setting. Bhīshma has just taught Yudhishṭhira about four kinds of dhyāna (meditation). These are control of the breath (kumbhaka), a support for the mind that is seen outside or inside, the jñāna support of dream and sleep, and meditation on one’s chosen form of Parameśvara (abhimata-dhyāna).

The Jāpakopākhyāna then shows how great japa is. It is as strong as the most elaborate yajña and tapas, and in some ways stronger.

Kauśika and his tapas

Kauśika was the son of Paippalāda Maharshi, a great ṛshi. Paippalāda’s line of the Veda was the Pippalāda śākhā of the Atharvaveda, and it was well known. Kauśika had learned the Vedas with all their six aṅgas (the Vedic branches of learning). He went to a place near the Himavat and there sat in japa for a thousand years. His japa was not a rite done now and then. It was an unbroken turning of the mind to Parabrahman through mantra.

When the thousand years were complete, Sāvitrī Devī herself appeared before him.

Sāvitrī Devī’s blessing

Sāvitrī Devī is the devī of the Sāvitrī mantra. She appeared before Kauśika and blessed him. She told him that his japa was complete and had borne fruit, and that it had made a very great store of tapas. She said that great beings would come to offer him the fruits of this tapas.

Dharma’s offer

After Sāvitrī Devī’s blessing, Dharma Devatā appeared before Kauśika. Dharma Devatā is dharma itself, the order of righteousness. Dharma offered him many higher worlds as the fruit of his thousand years of japa: svarga and the higher worlds that japa can reach. Kauśika refused every offer. He said:

“I am content in my japa alone. I ask for nothing else. The japa itself is my happiness. Let me continue.”

Dharma heard this and admired the way he gave up even the rewards of the higher worlds. Dharma then went away.

Kāla, Mṛtyu and Yama

After Dharma left, three great powers came one after another. They were Kāla (Time), Mṛtyu (Death) and Yama, who is lord of the dead and gives the fruit of karma. Each came with an offer and each offer was refused.

• Kāla offered freedom from the effects of time.
• Mṛtyu offered freedom from death for ages to come.
• Yama offered the highest svarga worlds that can be won through puṇya (merit).

Kauśika refused all three. He said:

“I do not seek freedom from time or death as a boon. I seek only to go on with japa. The japa is itself my freedom from these.”

The talk with King Ikshvāku

In this narrative Kauśika also talks with King Ikshvāku, the first king of the solar line. They speak about which is greater, satya (truth) or dāna (giving). The talk sets the path of satya beside the path of dāna.

Kauśika holds that satya is highest. Truth alone overcomes death. Truth is the base of all dharma. The highest tapas is satya.

Ikshvāku holds that dāna is highest. The world of life and karma moves by giving. The sun gives light, the clouds give rain, and the brāhmaṇa gives knowledge of the Veda.

Both paths are said to lead to the highest good. In the end Kauśika’s fruit of japa and Ikshvāku’s fruit of satya are seen as equal.

Virūpa and Vikṛta

Two figures named Virūpa and Vikṛta come to the place of Kauśika’s tapas. They are in a dispute. Virūpa means misshapen and Vikṛta means changed. They stand for Kāma (desire) and Krodha (anger), the two main obstacles to moksha named throughout the Mokshadharma section.

Their dispute is brought to Kauśika to settle. Kauśika is firm in his japa and is not moved at all by their coming. When the dispute is settled, the fruit of his tapas is fully shown: even Kāma and Krodha bow before the power of japa.

Indra and brahmaloka

After the dispute of Virūpa and Vikṛta was settled, Indra came to Kauśika’s āśrama with all the devas. Even the king of the devas came to honour the brāhmaṇa. Kauśika had kept up his japa for a thousand years without a break. He had refused all that Dharma, Kāla, Mṛtyu and Yama offered, and Kāma and Krodha had not moved him.

Kauśika was then led to brahmaloka. This is the highest world of all, beyond all the svarga worlds that are won as rewards. From it there is no punar-āvṛtti (return to birth). Kauśika gained moksha.

Teaching on japa

The narrative gives a teaching on japa across its five chapters.

• What japa is. Japa is the steady repeating of a mantra or of the names of Parameśvara, either silently or in a murmur. It is done wholly within. It needs no wealth, no materials and no exact ritual. It needs steady, unbroken attention.
• The fruit of japa. Japa done well gives a fruit of tapas greater than many yajñas. The inner heat of a thousand years of japa draws the notice of Dharma, Kāla, Mṛtyu and Yama, who seldom come to an ordinary performer of yajña.
• Japa without wishing for fruit. Kauśika did his japa without desire for any fruit, not even the highest svarga worlds. This is the nishkāma (desireless) way. Japa done with desire gives its fruit in svarga. Japa done without desire leads to brahmaloka.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Chapter 195 (the four kinds of dhyāna)
• Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Chapter 196 (Kauśika’s japa and Sāvitrī Devī’s blessing)
• Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Chapter 197 (Dharma’s offer)
• Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Chapters 198–199 (Kāla, Mṛtyu and Yama)
• Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Chapter 200 (the talk with Ikshvāku, Virūpa and Vikṛta, Indra and brahmaloka)