Satya-tapas Moksha

The Varāha Purāṇa, in Chapter 96, tells of Satya-tapas. He was born in the family of Bhṛgu as a brāhmaṇa, but bad company led him to be born as a Bhilla (a forest hunter) in a later life. Through the company of ṛshis he became a brāhmaṇa again in that same life, and through the teaching of Durvāsa Muni he grew into a great tapasvin (one who practises tapas). In his tapas by the river Pushpabhadrā, he became so pure that when he cut his finger, only bhasma (sacred ash) came out. Bhagavān Vishṇu and Indra came to test him. After the test they gave him liberation, and later he rose to the supreme pada (state) with his guru Āruṇi.

The former birth and the fall

In a former birth Satya-tapas had been a brāhmaṇa born in the family of Bhṛgu. He was learned, pure and of high character. He kept company with those of cruel character (krūra-saṃsarga). The pāpa (sin) gathered from that company bore fruit in a later birth, and he was born as a Bhilla, a forest hunter.

The return through the company of ṛshis

After living a long time as a hunter, he met ṛshis, through some past mark of puṇya (merit). This slowly changed him. Through their company and guidance he became a brāhmaṇa again in that very life. Such is the power of sat-saṃga (the company of the good). Then, through the upadeśa (teaching) of Durvāsa Muni, he grew in spiritual brightness and understanding. Durvāsa sent him north, and he made his way to the northern foot of the Himavat mountain.

The sacred place and the tapas

On the north slope of the Himavat, beside the holy river Pushpabhadrā, stood a divine rock called Citra-śilā. Beside it grew a great old banyan tree, known as Bhadra-mahāvaṭa. At this spot Satya-tapas sat in tapas and became a mahātapasvin (a great ascetic).

The sign of siddhi: bhasma from the finger

One day Satya-tapas was cutting samidhas (sticks for the sacrificial fire) with an axe. By accident he cut off the index finger of his left hand. From the severed finger came no blood, flesh or fat, only bhasma. He noticed this without alarm and went on cutting samidhas. The finger grew back and healed as before, and again only bhasma came. Not a drop of blood and not a piece of flesh came out. His whole body had been made pure by his deep tapas, and had become full of tapas (tapomayatva).

The kinnara’s report

That night a pair of kinnaras was sleeping in the Bhadra-mahāvaṭa and saw this wonder. At dawn they flew to Indra-loka and told Indra and all the devas gathered there: “We saw a great wonder at the Himavat. On the banks of the Pushpabhadrā a tapasvin named Satya-tapas cut his finger, and only bhasma flowed from it.”

The test: Vishṇu as a boar and Indra as a hunter

Indra was full of wonder and said at once to Vishṇu: “Vishṇu! Come, let us go to the Himavat to see this marvel.”

Bhagavān Vishṇu took the form of a Varāha, a great boar, and Indra took the form of a hunter. Together they went to the ṛshi.

Bhagavān Vishṇu, as the boar, appeared before the ṛshi. He was seen, then hidden, then seen again, circling and drawing the eye. Then Indra, in his hunter’s disguise, came to Satya-tapas and said: “O great muni! O master! Did you see a large, well-fed boar here? I must kill it to feed my family.”

The dharma-saṅkaṭa and the ṛshi’s wisdom

Satya-tapas at once fell into a deep dharma-saṅkaṭa (a conflict of duties). He thought: “If I show him the boar, he will kill it. If I do not show him, his family will surely starve.” He looked at it from every side and at last saw clearly:

The eye has been given for seeing. The tongue has been given to the mouth for speaking. The eye that saw has no tongue to speak. The tongue that speaks has no eye that saw. Therefore I cannot tell him.

With this decision he stayed calm. He did not point to the boar, and he did not claim, with false speech, that he knew nothing.

The revelation and the vara

Indra and Vishṇu were both delighted when they heard this. They showed their true forms and said: “We are glad! Ask a vara (boon).”

Satya-tapas bowed and said: “O devas, this alone is boon enough for me: you two Deva-devas have appeared before me. What greater boon could there be on earth? Yet I do ask for two things. First, let those who recite this account to brāhmaṇas for a month on festival days, with bhakti, be freed of all the pāpa they have gathered. Second, mukti. Let me reach mukti.”

Bhagavān Vishṇu and Indra granted both and vanished. Satya-tapas had received the varadāna (gift of the vara). He stayed in his āśrama, and in his very heart he became brahma-bhūta, one with Brahman.

The arrival of Āruṇi

After some time his guru Āruṇi came to the āśrama. Āruṇi had returned from a great pilgrimage to all the tīrthas across the whole earth. Satya-tapas received him with great devotion. He offered pādya (water for the feet), ācamana (water for sipping), a go-dāna (gift of a cow) and more, and Āruṇi took his seat.

By his own jñāna (knowledge), Āruṇi saw at a glance that this disciple had burned away all his pāpa through tapas and had become a siddha (a perfected one). Standing before him with joined palms, the guru said with deep warmth: “O child! You have become a siddha through tapas. You have become brahma-bhūta. The time for your mukti has come.”

The joint rising to the supreme pada

Then Āruṇi spoke the words that decided it: “Arise! Come with me to the Parama-pada. If you go there, know that you will never be born again.”

Both siddhas, Satya-tapas and Āruṇi, meditated together on Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa. In their own bodies they rose to svarga (heaven) and beyond, to the supreme pada from which there is no return.

The fruit of this account

The Varāha Purāṇa says: “One who recites even a quarter of this parva-adhyāyana, or causes it to be heard, gains the puṇya of going to Gayā and making offerings to the pitṛ-devas (ancestors).”

Sources

• Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 96 (Adhyāya 96)