Ikshvāku and Jābāli

Ikshvāku was a brāhmaṇa who had learning but never put it into practice. In his last days he worshipped the Śiva Liṅga with simple forest flowers at the āśrama of the ṛshi Jābāli on Mount Mandara. Bhagavān Śiva’s own messenger then took him to Bhagavān Śiva. The Pātāla Khaṇḍa of the Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells this in Chapter 109.

A life without practice

All his life Ikshvāku performed no yajñas (fire rituals), no pūjā, no charity, no vratas (vows) and no acts of devotion. At some time he had also spoken against the Śiva Liṅga, and that act carried its own weight of karma. He had the outer signs of a brāhmaṇa, but none of the practice.

The Purāṇic recitation

Ikshvāku heard a Purāṇic recitation that described in detail what happens after death to souls who lived without religious practice. He died soon after, still living in the same way as before.

Sent back by Yama

After death Ikshvāku came to the court of Yama to be judged. Yama did not pass the final sentence. He sent Ikshvāku back to the world and told him to go to the ṛshi Jābāli on Mount Mandara. Yama also told him that only ten days of life remained to him.

Mount Mandara and Jābāli

Ikshvāku went to Mount Mandara. The Pātāla Khaṇḍa describes it as a forest of wonders, where animals had every kind of face, forms that are not found in ordinary nature.

The ṛshi Jābāli received Ikshvāku and confirmed that ten days remained. He told him to worship the Śiva Liṅga every day with whatever flowers were to be found in the forest. No rare flowers and no elaborate rituals were needed. The forest would give what was required.

Days of worship

Ikshvāku did as he was told. For eight or nine of his remaining days he worshipped the Śiva Liṅga with forest flowers, with sincerity and attention.

The messenger Vahnimukha

When Ikshvāku died, Bhagavān Śiva’s messenger Vahnimukha (fire-faced) came. He seized and killed the messengers of Yama who had come to lead the soul away in the usual way. Then he himself led Ikshvāku to Bhagavān Śiva.

Bhagavān Śiva receives Ikshvāku

Bhagavān Śiva received Ikshvāku and gave him a form with a face like a liṅga. This face carried the mark of his earlier pāpa (sin) of speaking against the Śiva Liṅga. Because Ikshvāku had spent his last days speaking Bhagavān Śiva’s name in worship, Bhagavān Śiva also made him a gifted speaker. The voice that had once spoken against the Liṅga now had the power of fine speech, in the service of Bhagavān Śiva.

Sources

• Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Pātāla Khaṇḍa, Chapter 109