Saṃvarta and Marutta

The Saṃvarta and Marutta account is an itihāsa (a record of events) that Vyāsa tells Yudhishṭhira in the Aśvamedhika Parva of the Mahābhārata. Yudhishṭhira has agreed, at Vyāsa’s urging, to perform an Aśvamedha. But after the great war at Kurukshetra he has no wealth left to pay for it. He will not tax his ruined people. Vyāsa answers that a huge store of gold still lies on Himavat. It was left behind at the very rich yajña of the ancient king Marutta. Vyāsa then tells the whole account of how that gold came to be there.

The account tells of the rivalry between the brothers Bṛhaspati and Saṃvarta. It tells how Bṛhaspati, bound by his word to Indra, refused to be Marutta’s purohita (priest). It tells how Nārada showed Marutta how to find the hidden ascetic Saṃvarta at Kāśī by the corpse test. Saṃvarta agreed to perform the yajña. His great stotra to Bhagavān Śiva at Muñjavanta showed a mountain of hidden gold. Then Indra and Marutta came into conflict. Agni and then a gandharva named Dhṛtarāshṭra went between them. Saṃvarta’s power of tapas (austerity) alone turned the danger aside. In the end Indra made peace and came to the yajña. When Yudhishṭhira hears all this, he decides at once to bring the gold and pay for his Aśvamedha with it.

The frame: Vyāsa’s answer to Yudhishṭhira’s lack of wealth

Vyāsa had rebuked Yudhishṭhira for his grief. Yudhishṭhira accepted Vyāsa’s advice to perform a great yajña, but he raised a real difficulty. He had already done the mahā-jñāti-vadha (the great killing of his kinsmen). How could he now also take a proper dakshiṇā (gift to the priests) from a treasury and from a people both drained by Duryodhana’s war? He refused to tax orphaned children, grieving princes and the still-wounded just to pay for a yajña, “using yajña as a pretext”. He asked Vyāsa for a true answer and not a makeshift one.

Vyāsa thought for one muhūrta (a short time) and answered: “Even your emptied treasury will be filled again. That wealth lies on the mountain Himavat. It is the wealth the brāhmaṇas left behind, unclaimed, at the yajña of the great king Marutta. Bring it. It will be enough for your yajña.”

Yudhishṭhira asked when King Marutta had lived and how such wealth had come to be gathered at his yajña. Vyāsa then began the account. This is Chapter 3 of the Aśvamedhika Parva.

Marutta’s family line

In Chapter 4, Vyāsa traced the line from the Kṛta Yuga.

• Prabhu Manu, called Daṇḍadhara, had a son Prasandhi, strong-armed and of great fame.
• Prasandhi’s son was the famous Kshupa.
• Kshupa’s son was Ikshvāku.
• After Ikshvāku came a capable king, who is not named. He had a hundred sons, all of great dharma and understanding. He set them up as rulers of the earth.
• The eldest of the hundred was Vimśa, the best of archers. Vimśa’s son was Vivimśa, a man of good signs.

Vivimśa had fifteen sons. All were skilled in dhanurveda (archery), steady in Brahman, truthful, generous, calm and gentle in speech. The eldest of the fifteen was Khanīnetra, a man of great valour. He conquered the kingdom but could not protect it. The people withdrew their love from him and removed him. They crowned his son Suvarcas in his place.

Suvarcas had seen his father’s fall and ruled with careful discipline. He knew the truth, spoke truth, was pure, had śama (calm) and dama (self-control), always kept to dharma, and was rich in self-respect. The people loved him deeply. Yet even under so righteous a king, his treasury and his mounts grew fewer and his store-house ran dry. The neighbouring chiefs, sensing weakness, surrounded him and troubled him on every side.

In his hour of need Suvarcas clenched his hand in firm resolve, and an army sprang from that act. With it he defeated every chief who had risen against him. So he became famous by the name Karandhama, “he who won armies by the clenching of his hand”.

Karandhama’s son was also given the name Karandhama. He lived in the early Tretā Yuga. He was rich and glorious, no less than Indra, and could not be conquered even by the devas. All kings bowed to him. Through his conduct and strength he became samrāṭ (sovereign of sovereigns).

His son was Avikshit, a man of dharma, equal to Devendra in courage. He was given to yajña and to dharma. He had steadiness and full mastery of his senses. He matched Bhāskara (the sun) in brightness, the earth in patience and Bṛhaspati in wisdom. He was as firm as the mountain Himavat itself. By his conduct, thought and speech, and by his mastery of mind and senses, he won the hearts of the people completely. He performed a hundred yajñas by the rule, with Aṅgirasa himself as his yājaka (priest).

Avikshit’s son was Marutta. He surpassed even his father in every good quality. He knew dharma and was a cakravartī (ruler of the whole earth), of great fame, and had the strength of ten thousand elephants. He was called an apara-Vishṇu (a second Vishṇu). As a king devoted to dharma and to yajñas, he had thousands of pure gold vessels made for his sacrifices.

On the northern side of Himavat, where it meets the mountain Meru, lies a vast gold mine. There Marutta held his great yajña. Countless goldsmiths made kuṇḍas (fire pits), pātras (vessels), bhāṇḍas (pots) and āsanas (seats) for the rite, and his yajña hall was built on that very spot. There Marutta, with all the chief kings, performed his great yajña.

Bṛhaspati and Saṃvarta

Yudhishṭhira asked how so much gold came to Marutta, where it lay now, and how it could be had. Vyāsa explained.

Daksha Prajāpati had many sons, devas and asuras among them. They struggled among themselves for the first place. Aṅgirasa likewise had two sons of equal vow and tapas. One was the very bright Bṛhaspati. The other was Saṃvarta, whose only wealth was tapas. Each, though living apart, wished to rise above the other. Bṛhaspati kept troubling Saṃvarta. Saṃvarta could not bear it. He gave up all he owned, went nagna (unclothed) and wandered into the forests.

Meanwhile Vāsava (Indra) had defeated the rākshasas and won the rule of Indra over all the lokas. He chose the elder brother, Bṛhaspati, first among the brāhmaṇas, as his purohita.

Before this, it had been King Karandhama who performed his yajñas under Aṅgirasa’s own guidance. Karandhama had no equal in conduct, strength and power. He was like Indra in vigour, a man of dharma, and kept his vows without a break. He lived out his full life in every happiness and then rose with his body to svarga. His son Avikshit was like Yayāti in dharma and equally great in courage and virtue, and held the whole earth under his rule. Avikshit’s son Marutta rivalled Vāsava himself. The entire earth, “clad in the oceans”, loved him. Marutta tried to outdo Indra every day, and Indra tried equally to outdo Marutta. Yet however hard Devendra tried, he could never rise above this pure and virtuous great king.

Indra’s demand and Bṛhaspati’s promise

Indra could not beat Marutta by his own power. He called Bṛhaspati. With the devas around him and his green-horsed chariot, Indra said to him:

“Bṛhaspati, if you wish to please me, never, in any way, perform any daiva or pitṛ rite for that Marutta. I alone hold the rule of Indra over all three lokas and all the devas. Marutta is only a king. O brāhmaṇa, how can you, without a second thought, become the priest of a king who is bound by death, when you already serve the ruler of the devas who knows no law of death? For your own good, choose either me or the king Marutta alone. Or else give up Marutta and come to me of your own will.”

Bṛhaspati thought for a moment and answered:

“Devendra, you are the master of all beings. All the lokas rest in you. You killed Namuci, Viśvarūpa and Bala. You gave the devas the highest victory. You bear the earth and svarga at all times, O destroyer of Bala. Pākaśāsana, chief of the hosts of devas, how could I, having become your purohita, also perform yajñas for the mortal Marutta? Devendra, be at ease. I will never hold the ghee vessel at a mortal’s yajña. Agni never grows cold. The earth is never overturned. The sun never fails to make the month. Just so, the truth in me will never waver.”

Hearing this, Indra was at peace. He praised Bṛhaspati and went back to his own home. This is Chapter 5.

Marutta’s rejection and Nārada’s guidance

Marutta heard of Bṛhaspati’s vow to Indra. He had already decided on a great yajña and had gathered everything for it. He went to Bṛhaspati and asked him to be his priest. Bṛhaspati flatly refused: “Ruler of the earth, I do not wish to perform your yajña. Devarāja has chosen me. I have given him my word.”

Marutta pressed him: “I am your own field by the bond of my forefathers. I honour you above all. I have set my heart on this yajña as yours. Please accept me.” But Bṛhaspati only repeated his refusal. He told Marutta plainly that he had promised Indra and would perform no man’s yajña at all.

Marutta left, deeply sad. On the way he met Nārada Maharshi. He bowed with joined hands and told the devaṛshi the whole story of his rejection. Nārada said:

“There lives a very bright one named Saṃvarta, son of Aṅgirasa, of great dharma. He wanders digambara (unclothed), bewildering the people, and roams in every direction. If Bṛhaspati will not perform your yajña, go to Saṃvarta. If that tejasvin is pleased, he will perform it for you.”

Marutta was revived by these words. He asked how he could find Saṃvarta, how he should behave with him, and how he could make sure Saṃvarta would not reject him too.

Nārada then gave the method:

“He wears the look of a madman. He moves about Vārāṇasī, seeking darśana (sight) of Maheśvara in his own way. Go to the gate of that city of Kāśī and place a corpse there. Whoever comes to it and turns back, know that one to be Saṃvarta. Follow that mighty one wherever he goes. Approach him alone, with joined hands, and take refuge. If he asks who told you of him, say: ‘Saṃvarta, Nārada told me of you. He told me himself!’ And if he presses further, and wants to know where I have gone, say without fear that I have entered Agni.”

This is Chapter 6.

The account has a gloss in the text itself that this episode quietly teaches the greatness of Kāśī. Seeing a śava (corpse) at the city’s gate is here treated as itself a kind of sight of Maheśvara, since it is Rudra who gives the tāraka-brahma (the saving Brahman) to the dying at the moment the breath leaves, at Kāśī above all places.

The corpse test at Kāśī

The royal ṛshi Marutta did just as he was told. He took leave of Nārada and went to Vārāṇasī. Remembering Nārada’s words, he placed a corpse at the city gate. At that moment the brāhmaṇa Saṃvarta came to the gate, saw the corpse, and turned back at once. Marutta watched him go and followed him with joined hands, hoping to win his grace.

When the brāhmaṇa reached a lonely place, he threw dust, mud and spit at the king to drive him away. Marutta was attacked in this way but did not give up. He kept following the Maharshi with folded hands, seeking his favour. At last Saṃvarta grew tired. He turned and sat beneath a great pippala (aśvattha) tree, many-branched and cool in shade. This is also in Chapter 6.

The dialogue of Saṃvarta and Marutta

Saṃvarta demanded to know how Marutta had found him and who had told him. He warned that if Marutta spoke truly, all his wishes would be granted, but if falsely, his head would split into a hundred pieces.

Marutta answered that Nārada had told him of Saṃvarta while he was wandering the roads. When he learned that Saṃvarta was Bṛhaspati’s own brother, his love for him had grown at once. Saṃvarta said this was true: Nārada indeed knew him even in his disguise. He asked where Nārada was now. Marutta answered that the devaṛshi, having told him this, had taken leave and entered Agni. Vyāsa records that Saṃvarta was delighted by this news and said only, “I too could do this much.” Then, still testing the king, he warned him harshly:

“I am given to moods that cannot be foretold. I change my mind as the wind changes. My form is twisted. How can you wish for one like me to conduct your yajña? My brother is far more able. He is Indra’s own friend and is already busy with yajña. Go to him instead. My household life, those for whom I would perform yajña, and my own household devatās: my brother has taken all of these from me. Only this body has he left me. O son of Avikshit, I will never perform a yajña without his permission. He is deeply honoured by me. Go, then, win Bṛhaspati over and come back. Only then, if you still want me as your priest, will I accept.”

Marutta explained that he had already gone to Bṛhaspati first. He told of Indra’s ban. Indra had secured Bṛhaspati as his own priest and had forbidden him to perform yajña for any mortal, on the plain ground that Marutta was always rivalling him. Marutta said that if Saṃvarta agreed to become his priest, Bṛhaspati would in fact be pleased, since Bṛhaspati stayed devoted to Indra whatever happened. Marutta said he was ready to give up everything he owned if only Saṃvarta would perform the rite. Among all the good qualities Saṃvarta might set, Marutta wished only to rise above Vāsava. He said he had no wish ever to go back to Bṛhaspati, who had rejected him though he had done no wrong.

Saṃvarta was moved and agreed. But he warned Marutta plainly of the cost:

“Bṛhaspati and Indra, seeing me perform your yajña, will both become angry with you. You must be ready to bear this. Can you stand firm, whatever comes? If you waver from fear, and I in turn grow angry, I will turn you and all your kin to ash.”

Marutta swore an oath in return: “For as long as the thousand-rayed sun holds his heat, for as long as the mountains stand unmoved, so long will I hold to this bond with you. If I abandon it, may I never reach the worlds of puṇya (merit).”

Saṃvarta was satisfied and accepted:

“O son of Avikshit, may your mind be set well on the work of yajña. My own heart too now turns toward performing this rite for you. It will give you lasting, highest wealth, by which you will surpass the devas, the gandharvas and even Indra himself. My own mind does not lean toward wealth for those who perform yajña, but I will conduct your yajña precisely to displease both my brother and Indra together. I make you equal to Devendra. This is certain. I speak the truth.”

This is Chapter 7.

Saṃvarta’s stotra to Śiva at Muñjavanta and the gold

Saṃvarta then told Marutta of a mountain named Muñjavanta, on the flank of Himavat. There Bhagavān Śiva, also called Umāpati, performs tapas for ever, together with Umā Devī. He lives there as he wishes, among the roots of great trees, on mountain peaks, on rough ground and in the caves of the king of mountains. He carries the trident, shines with great brightness, and is always surrounded by hosts of bhūtagaṇas (his spirit attendants).

With him live the Rudras, Sādhyas, Viśvas, Vasus, Yama, Varuṇa, Kubera with his attendants, bhūtas, piśācas, the Aśvins (Nāsatyas), gandharvas, apsarasas, Ādityas, Maruts and the yātudhānas (rākshasas). All worship the many-formed Umāpati from every side. Kubera’s own attendants, strange in nature and form, play in that place while Bhagavān Śiva looks on with delight. He shines with a light like the rising sun. His form and state cannot be made out by ordinary fleshly eyes. On that mountain slope there is no heat, cold, wind, hunger, thirst, old age, death or fear. Its very stones scatter colours like the rays of the sun. Kubera’s armed attendants guard the whole region for his sake. This is Chapter 8.

Saṃvarta then recited to Marutta the great Śiva-nāma-stotra, a stotra of some hundred names of Rudra, in the dative case as namaskāra (bowing), followed by further names in the accusative case, calling on Marutta to worship Bhagavān Śiva and take refuge in him. This was the means by which the king would win the hidden gold. At its end Saṃvarta said: “Having taken refuge in Mahādeva, the great-souled and swift Bhagavān Śiva, and having bowed to him, O king, you will obtain that gold. Let all your people go there to bring it.”

Marutta’s men, among them Karandhama’s grandsons, did exactly this. The king had his craftsmen make the gold vessels for the yajña with unmatched skill, on a scale beyond ordinary human power. This is also in Chapter 8.

Bṛhaspati heard of the great wealth and unmatched prosperity that had come to Marutta, greater even than the wealth of the devas. He was struck with deep sorrow. “My rival Saṃvarta has now become a man of wealth,” he cried. He grew pale and thin with grief. Hearing of Bṛhaspati’s distress, Devarāja Indra came to him with the devas around him.

Agni’s embassy

Indra found Bṛhaspati wasted. He asked with concern whether Bṛhaspati slept well, whether his attendants served him properly, and whether the devas honoured him as they should. Bṛhaspati said all was well in these matters. But he admitted the true cause of his grief. Marutta was performing a great yajña with a huge dakshiṇā, with Saṃvarta as his priest, and Bṛhaspati wished that this would not happen.

Indra pointed out that Bṛhaspati had gained every siddhi (power), was free from old age and death, and so had nothing left for Saṃvarta to threaten. Bṛhaspati explained the deeper cause. Seeing a rival do well is itself a cause of duḥkha (sorrow), however safe one’s own place may be. He begged Indra to use every means to put down both Saṃvarta and King Marutta.

Indra called Agni: “Go to Marutta and offer him Bṛhaspati as his purohita. Say that Bṛhaspati will perform his yajña and will also make him amara (immortal).”

Agni took up the task, blazing across Himavat, like Vāyu breaking branches as he went. When he arrived, Marutta received him with full honour and offered a seat, water and water for the feet. Agni explained his errand. Indra himself was well and kindly disposed toward Marutta, and now wished to give him Bṛhaspati as guru and priest. He promised both the completion of the yajña and immortality as well.

Marutta answered simply: “This brāhmaṇa Saṃvarta is my priest. My bow to Bṛhaspati, but it does not suit that great one, already priest to Mahendra, to perform a yajña for a mortal as well.”

Agni pressed the offer. He described the human world, the divine world and even the world of Prajāpati that Marutta would gain, and the whole rule of the devas, if he accepted Bṛhaspati. But Saṃvarta himself answered Agni directly, in anger: “Pāvaka, never again come here on this errand of giving Bṛhaspati to Marutta. If I grow angry, I will burn you with my terrible gaze. Know this.”

Agni was terrified, though he is the one who has smoke for his banner. He fled to the devas, like a dry leaf afraid of being burnt. This is Chapter 9.

Indra questioned Agni closely on his return. Agni reported that Marutta had refused, saying only “one bow to Bṛhaspati”. He said that Saṃvarta would perform his yajña however many times he was asked. Even the worlds offered meant nothing to Marutta if he had to give up Saṃvarta to gain them.

Indra’s threat, the example of Cyavana, and Agni’s warning

Indra ordered Agni to go once more. He warned that if Marutta still refused, he would hurl his terrible vajra at him. Agni was now openly afraid. He asked that a gandharva be sent in his place, and he reported what Saṃvarta had threatened.

Indra rebuked Agni’s fear: “You yourself burn all others to ash. The whole world fears your very touch. How can I believe that you fear this?”

Agni answered with a sharp reply of his own. He asked how, if Indra’s might was truly beyond challenge, Vṛtra had once taken this very tridiva (the realm of the devas) of the three worlds from him. Indra brushed this aside. He boasted that he could shrink a mountain to the size of an insect whenever he wished. He said he never drank soma offered by an enemy, and never loosed his vajra at one whose strength was already spent. He reminded Agni that he had once dragged the Kālakeya rākshasas down bodily from the sky and scattered them on the earth, and had made even Prahlāda slip from svarga. So what mortal, Indra asked, could possibly harm him?

This led Agni to remind Indra of his own past defeat at the hands of brahma-bala (the power of a brāhmaṇa’s tapas). Agni told how Cyavana alone, through the Aśvins, secured soma for them at Śaryāti’s yajña. Indra, in anger, first seized his vajra to strike Cyavana down. But the ṛshi, in his fury, used his own tapas to strike Indra’s hand away together with the vajra. Cyavana then created the terrible, all-formed being Mada. Mada had one cheek on the earth and the other in the sky. His fangs were a hundred yojanas long, and his form had a thousand terrible aspects. Before him Indra had to shut his eyes in terror, join his hands, and take refuge with the Maharshi.

Agni ended: “Śatakratu, the power of kings is nothing beside brahma-bala. There is nothing greater than brahma-bala. Knowing this as it truly is, I have no wish to try to defeat Saṃvarta.” This is also in Chapter 9.

Indra’s own embassy through the gandharva Dhṛtarāshṭra

Indra agreed that brahma-bala was indeed supreme. But he said he would not put up with the pride of Avikshit’s son Marutta and would hurl the vajra at him anyway. He sent a gandharva to Marutta with an ultimatum. The gandharva’s name was Dhṛtarāshṭra, quite separate from the blind Kuru king of the same name. The ultimatum was: accept Bṛhaspati as your priest, or be struck down by the vajra.

The gandharva gave the message faithfully, but Marutta refused outright. He said that mitra-droha (betraying one who has taken refuge) can never be forgiven. It is a great pāpa (sin), equal to killing a brāhmaṇa. He said he would stay with Saṃvarta, Bṛhaspati’s own brother, whatever Indra or his messenger might say.

A terrible sound like the hurled vajra itself was heard from the sky. The gandharva urged Marutta to look to his safety at once. This is Chapter 10.

Saṃvarta’s protection and the final peace

Marutta was terrified at the vajra coming near. He turned to Saṃvarta, who reassured him without delay:

“Lion among kings, your fear of Śakra will be gone. I will drive away this terror at once through the saṃstambhinī-vidyā (the knowledge that halts). I have already used up the power of all the devas’ weapons. Let the vajra wander the ten directions. Let it fall as rain in the forests, or as useless water in the sky. I will stop it. Agni will protect you on every side. Or Devendra himself will rain down every vara (boon) you desire. Or, if the vajra comes on in the flood of its fury, Devendra himself will stop it.”

As the terrible sound of the vajra grew louder, Marutta’s heart still shook, but Saṃvarta stayed firm: “I myself, as Vāyu, will shatter that vajra into pieces. Put aside your fear and ask for whatever vara you wish. Tell me what I should do for you with my whole heart.”

Marutta asked only this: that Devendra himself should come at once and take the offering at the yajña, and that all the devas should take their places and receive the soma he offered.

Saṃvarta called on Indra with a mantra. He announced that Devendra, his very body held down by the power of the mantras, was coming with his horses among the devas who praised him. Indra came in his chariot, drawn by his finest horses, together with the devas, in a greatness beyond thought. He came wishing to drink the soma of Avikshit’s son Marutta’s yajña.

Marutta and his priest went out to meet Devarāja and honoured him by the rule of the śāstras with the highest pūjā. Saṃvarta welcomed him: “Puruhūta, wise one, welcome! With you here, this yajña is greatly adorned. Take now the soma I have prepared with mantras.”

Marutta bowed to Indra and said that his yajña, his life and his purpose were now all fulfilled. Saṃvarta, Bṛhaspati’s own younger brother, was conducting it, and this alone was cause for the highest joy. Indra answered kindly: “I know your guru, Bṛhaspati’s brother, a man of fierce brightness. It was at his invitation that I have come here. My love for you has risen. My anger has gone entirely.”

Saṃvarta then invited Indra himself to set the order of the yajña and to divide the shares of the yajña himself, so that the whole world should know it.

Indra then commanded the devas to prepare grand halls, houses and thousands of rich seats, and platforms for the gandharvas and apsarasas, who danced there. The yajña hall itself was made equal to svarga. Indra accepted King Marutta’s pūjā. He said that he and all the other devas would gladly receive the offering Marutta made, and he named the right offerings for Agni, the Viśvedevas and the yajña itself. The yajña then flourished greatly. The devas themselves took part in the food, the brāhmaṇas were honoured, and Devendra, with his finest horses, sat as one of the sadasyas (assembly members) of the yajña. Saṃvarta himself blazed on the platform like a second Agni. He chanted the mantras with full-throated joy, called on the assembled devatās and made offerings into the fire. Indra took the first draught of soma. The whole assembly of soma-drinking devas took theirs after him. Then all departed, satisfied and kind, to their own places, with the king’s leave.

After this, Marutta, in great delight, gave out heaps of gold at every step and gave vast wealth in dāna (giving) to the brāhmaṇas. He was a giver of wealth surpassing even the destroyer of his own enemies. He gathered and ordered his treasury with new vigour. With his guru’s permission, he ruled the whole earth, bounded by the seas, in complete dharma. This is also in Chapter 10.

Vyāsa’s close to Yudhishṭhira

Vyāsa ended the account by telling Yudhishṭhira: “Such was the greatness of that king. At his yajña that gold still lies in great heaps. Bring that wealth, O king, with faith and devotion, and perform your yajña, pleasing the devas with your rites.”

Vaiśampāyana records that the son of Pāṇḍu heard the words of Satyavatī’s son and was filled with joy. He decided at once to perform his yajña with that wealth. He also took counsel with his ministers on how to go about it. This is also in Chapter 10.

Other accounts of the same events

The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa

The Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa (Chapters 125 to 128) gives a different telling. In it Marutta’s father, Avikshit, is alive. Having come under Indra’s claim, he himself orders Marutta to give up Saṃvarta. This puts Marutta between duty to his father and the duty to protect one who has taken refuge. Marutta settles it by choosing to protect Saṃvarta.

In the Aśvamedhika Parva, Avikshit is a forefather of Marutta, himself a great performer of yajñas under Aṅgirasa. Indra himself drives the conflict against Marutta, through Agni, then the gandharva Dhṛtarāshṭra, and at last by his own approach with the vajra. It ends through Saṃvarta’s own power of tapas and Indra’s own willing peace and presence at the yajña.

Both texts give the main course of the account: Bṛhaspati’s refusal out of respect for Indra, Saṃvarta’s acceptance in spite of the risk, Indra’s hostility, and an ending in Marutta’s favour.

The Skanda Mahā Purāṇa

In the Kaumārika Khaṇḍa of the Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Saṃvarta is again a hidden yogī, a son of Bṛhaspati, hidden at Vārāṇasī. He is known by the same corpse-in-the-road test. He is again fleeing “in fear of Marutt”. He sends the pilgrims Indradyumna and his company on to the Mahīsāgara Saṃgama, and does not take up Marutta’s yajña.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapters 3 to 10
• Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapter 3 (Yudhishṭhira’s difficulty; Vyāsa’s answer)
• Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapter 4 (Marutta’s family line)
• Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapter 5 (Indra and Bṛhaspati)
• Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapter 6 (Marutta and Bṛhaspati; Nārada’s guidance; the corpse test)
• Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapter 7 (Saṃvarta and Marutta)
• Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapter 8 (Muñjavanta; the Śiva stotra; Bṛhaspati’s grief)
• Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapter 9 (Agni’s embassy; Cyavana and Mada)
• Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapter 10 (the gandharva Dhṛtarāshṭra; Saṃvarta’s protection; Indra at the yajña; Vyāsa’s close)
• Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa, Chapters 125 to 128
• Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Kaumārika Khaṇḍa