Jaimini and the Dharma-Pakshis

This is the opening narrative of the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa. The ṛshi Jaimini, a great śishya (student) of Veda Vyāsa, comes to Mārkaṇḍeya Maharshi with four doubts that remain from the Mahābhārata. Mārkaṇḍeya sends him to four extraordinary birds on Vindhya Parvata. These birds are the sons of the bird Droṇa, and they know all four Vedas.

The occasion

Mārkaṇḍeya Maharshi belongs to the line of Bhṛgu. He is known for his unbroken tapas (austerity) and for being free from all eighteen yogic doshas (faults). Jaimini came to him and spoke with the deepest respect.

Jaimini first praised the Mahābhārata. He called it the fifth Veda, greater than all other śāstras. Then he asked four saṃśayas (doubts) that had stayed with him:

  1. Why did Bhagavān Vāsudeva, the cause of all causes, take human birth?
  2. Why did Draupadī have five husbands?
  3. Why did Balarāma, the great hero, commit brahmahatyā (the killing of a brahmin) during a tīrtha-yātrā (journey to holy places)?
  4. Why did the five sons of Draupadī, born of mahārathas (great chariot-warriors), die unmarried and without children?

Mārkaṇḍeya’s direction

Mārkaṇḍeya heard the questions with admiration. At that moment he could not answer them himself. He told Jaimini that the answers lay with four extraordinary beings, the sons of the bird Droṇa, who lived on Vindhya Parvata.

These four birds were born in the line of Mandapāla. They had jāti-smaraṇa (memory of earlier births). They carried within them the knowledge of all four Vedas, all the dharma-śāstras, all the Purāṇas and the itihāsas. Mārkaṇḍeya explained that by the grace of Indra and by their own tapas, the birds had become sarvajña (all-knowing) even in bird form.

He told Jaimini: “Go to Vindhya Parvata. Look for them in the mountain cave near the river Revā, and ask your questions there.”

The journey to Vindhya

Jaimini set out for the Vindhya mountain. On the way he thought about a hard truth. After death, only a being’s speech follows it. Wealth, kinsmen and possessions all stay behind.

He reached the cave on Vindhya, beside the slopes of the river Revā, which were wet with its spray. There he found four young birds studying the Vedas. The birds greeted him with great warmth and respect. They said they knew his greatness and were ready to answer him.

The birds’ answer

The four Dharma-Pakshis took up Jaimini’s four questions and answered them over several adhyāyas (chapters). The answers cover:

  • the Caturvyūhāvatāra
  • the account of Draupadī’s five husbands
  • Balarāma’s brahmahatyā
  • the fate of the sons of Draupadī

These accounts bring together teachings on karma, dharma and avatāra. They form the core of Part 1 of the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa.

Sources

  • Mārkaṇḍeya Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 2–3